Trad Gang
Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: The-Talon on October 16, 2016, 09:29:00 PM
-
So today I finally walked right past my treestand and headed into the bush where the game trail leads out of. I cleared a little shooting lane out for myself against a rotting stump and waited for 2 hours until dark. It was a completely different world! I felt so blind down on the ground but it also felt right. I feel as if a deer happened to come out tonight I would have had an absolutely beautiful shot but I would have been very careful getting to full draw cause it seems easier to be caught at eye level, but I think I may be leaning more towards trying some more ground hunts.. I feel so limited in a treestand sometimes against deers changing patterns as the season trudges on.
Do you guys have any tips for groundhunting? I have harvested deer in the past with a crossbow but since switching to trad archery 6 or 7 years ago I've never looked back and I'm sure I never will.. I've come close to getting shots on deer with trad gear but have yet to let an arrow loose on a deer. I'm hunting in southern ontario and the deer are so spooky its unbelievable. Not to mention some weekends our party of 5 will not even see a single deer! so I'm trying to increase my odds..
I'm the only trad guy at my hunting camp and I've gotten my fair share of scoffs but I'm going to stay persistent. Almost got a shot on a doe at 18 yards last weekend but she got hung up behind a shrub and knew something was up.. She needed to take one more step.. but she didn't for 15 minutes right until it got dark she stayed there like a statue.. waiting for whatever she thought was there to move. Finally she started blowing and hightailed it out of there.. She blew about 7 or 8 times as she was running .. Does anyone know what that means? Then the following evening a 6 point buck came out and stopped at 25 yards... and the wind was blowing fairly steady. He was broadside but something told me not to risk the shot and risk injuring this deer.. It just didn't feel right so I gritted my teeth and watched him trot away.. I feeling of accomplishment and defeat all the same time.
-
Stick with it. It is a whole new ball game but not impossible at all. Just like you have to learn to hang stands and position them accordingly and learn from your mistakes, it's the same process. However you are much more mobile and can change positions very quickly according to deer movement or the wind. I've always loved hunting on the ground but still hunt from the trees as well. I use a leafy suit and comfortable chair and always keep pruners and a folding saw in my pack. I also only hunt public ground so it's nice not having the extra equipment out there to get stolen. I don't get winded any more on the ground than I do in the tree either. I do watch my scent and keep everything as scent free as possible. Some times I wear scent lok and sometimes I don't.
-
I've had lots of success hunting from the ground, I find that if I make sure that I am not silhouetted at all from behind me, and remove all of the dirt and debris from my feet, you can draw on deer within 2 meters. If you do the aforementioned, and secure your bow well, it's game on! Good luck!
-
I'm strictly a ground hunter .
I feel like I have better shot properties that way , and the kill zone is bigger .
-
Have passed on 13 totally separate solid shot opportunities on bucks this early season. The vast majority of opportunities have been under 12 yards. Note: Shot opportunities don't insinuate an actual harvest....have 9 ground setups this season...haven't hunted from a stand since 2007.
Effective ground setups have required me to go far beyond the extra mile in most cases.
If the deer even glance at my setup, then I assume that my setup requires more enhancement and I go to work.
-
I only hunt from the ground, I have yet to harvest an animal though. I was very close twice last year, when I become frustrated and think about setting up a climber I reflect on that. I don't always see an animal, but I do my best to keep my eyes peeled for any kind of movement or sign.
-
I am a ground pounder.. Sitting in a tree is soooo boring to me. I'd rather be slinking through the woods feeling like I am a part of my surroundings.I have also been in your shoes when it comes to waiting on a deer to take 1 more step so I would have a shot.The only thing worse is spending over an hour slowly stalking a buck through a cattail marsh on the edge of a tree line to only smack the only tree limb around with the arrow....Keep pounding
-
I do both. I go in an hour before daylight and sit in a stand until I stiffen up (9:30 or 10:00AM) and then I ground hunt until 3:00PM or so for the sunset sit.
The stands are more productive but the stalk/still-hunt kills are more satisfying. My avatar is the first buck I took from the ground.
-
here in coastal Carolina we are blessed with gods perfect man hider......the myrtle bush. they rarely grow over head high and do magic for breaking up my oversized outline. We also had a hurricane hit us dead on which also aids ground hunting as it puts limbs, tops and whole trees on the ground to hide in.
-
I recently just began my adventure on the ground. My set up was in a lay down with several beech trees and hollies providing me good cover. Had a tall spike come about 25 or 30 yards from me and never knew I was there until he got downwind of me and smelled me. Despite taking all precautions with the wind and cleaning my clothes in scentless wash detergent and dryer sheets and placing a scent wafer out and doing everything possible, he managed to smell me.
However it was a rush, and in my spot it's only a matter of time before I connect. I even had a squirrel run up and down the laydown I was sitting in, mere feet of me without going in full alarm! But I sometimes wonder if those scent wafers actually work against us? Because I can smell it strongly when I was sitting there
-
I've been hunting the ground for 20+ years. I love it and have as much success from the ground as from trees. I've built big blinds by driving T-posts in the ground and then using wire and dead logs to make yourself look like a log pile - then simply add more logs as the years go by. I've also made impromptu blinds in tall grass and sat on a milk crate.
Good luck and stay after them
-
That's awesome there's alot! And redstag what I've been doing for a few years is taking cedar bows in a garbage bag and leaving my clothes in there !! Or just good old fox or raccoon piss works wonder below the knees and boots !!
-
I hunt from the ground part of the time and due to age am doing it more and more frequently. Since you have been seeing deer at fairly close distances, you are surely doing something right, so press on! Not taking the shot that doesn't feel right is true huntsmanship and requires great discipline. About that deer blowing as she left... she was letting you know that she busted you and was letting everything else in the woods know it, too.
The only advice I can give for hunting a ground blind is to repeat what you have heard before. Be very still and play the wind. Be pesistent! I know how you feel about being the only trad guy in your group. I'm the only guy in my group that uses a bow at all. When the target is set up at the edge of camp and a few good shots are made, they scoff a lot less.
-
Hunt from ground for antelope, mules, elk, and once for whitetail and hogs in Texas. There have been a couple situations over the years when I sat in a root hole or in a blind with a newbie (son-in-law).
For my day to day hunting for whitetails here at home, I intend to stay in the trees until I can't climb them anymore. I love the view!
-
I also do both it's funny how I usually have no good feeling about being so exposed on the ground but yet I seem to have better luck seeing and getting more shots on the ground I have taken a handful of deer on the ground one is on my wall. I look at it this way if I was walking through the woods and browsing and there you were next to a tree I might not even know I walked by you unless you made a sudden movement or noise. Stay downwind and you will know when its time to make that shot. that's why we call it instinctive! good luck it will happen!
-
Originally posted by Graps:
I'm strictly a ground hunter .
I feel like I have better shot properties that way , and the kill zone is bigger .
I will say that I can see a whole lot more hunting from the trees,,,, but if I was on the ground all this time I would of had way more deer in the freezer,,,,, had to pass on a big doe this past week because of stuff branches and leaves in the way if I was at the base of my tree,,,, done deal!
-
Lots of good advice already given. I'll add, try not to walk in on or cross the deer trails you are hunting. Only the wind makes you "scent free". Good luck, ground hunting is a challenge but very rewarding too. My best buck (in my avatar) was from the ground.
-
I do both but this year the season is 17 days old and I've yet to be in any of my 6 tree stands or any of my blinds. I've been still hunting, enjoyable but no shots yet. Once the rut kicks in I'll divide my time between the tree stands and the blinds.
-
I stay mobile when hunting so I'm always on the ground -- mostly still hunting but I'll hang out behind boulders, logs or with my back to a tree for a couple hours at a time. I have yet to get anything with a bow but took a nice little 1x2 last year at about 30 yards with a rifle while still hunting/hiking my way to my backpacking camp. He didn't appear the least bit concerned or all that aware I was even there. The same pace got me busted by a doe at about 100 yards off about a week ago so I probably just got lucky last year. Having to hike in a ways keeps me from bothering with anything semi-permanent, like stands or blinds. I'm a decent shot with a bow but still have a lot to learn about hunting and the local deer habits. So I prefer to stay flexible and get moving if the spot I'm in isn't showing any sign. I probably have a few more seasons before I start to "get it" and learn the areas better. But I figure the more ground I can cover and scout while hunting, the more I'll learn. It's not a good strategy for this year but I'm hoping the payoff will come in 3-5 years.
-
Most of my critters have been taken from the ground, treestands are nice for thenview and shot angle but they aren't always in the right place. A Torges tree seat works nice but once again there is a always an appropriate tree in the right spot.
A folding chair with backrest set up in a slight depression with some good cover is one of the most effective methods you can imagine. Wind in your face and sun at your back nicely and comfortable sitting with your feet on terra firma, your day back beside you and a good book, the wind and cold greatly diminished compared to the numbing cold of a treestand.
Find a trail and don't sit on it but sit as far away as you can comfortably shoot (20/25 yards) and wait....you'll be surprised how many animals you get a crack at.
-
I have ground hunted my share,playing the wind along with a very scent free hunter and equipment..once near charlestown Wv,i was standing between two larger trees with brush I had cut(a pair of gardening shears and always 50 ft of cord with you.totally silent )on both sides of me..getting dark,raining,fog rolling by..big tall grass field in front of me.rut time..this big doe sprints out of the grass pulls up 3 ft from me then bolts on,i thought she smelled me but then a small 6 pt comes ripping out of the grass looking for her,smellin for her ,,slobber hanging outa his mouth hanging down a foot..he shakes his head ,I'm 3\\4 FEETaway .the slobber goes all over bow and my hand...then he bolts after her..it was intense as hell....
-
Cool thread... But it still sucks w/o pics... :goldtooth:
-
I've always hunted from the ground. I like the mobility it provides me. I hunt Big woods and the deer have hundreds of thousands of acres. I have to be flexible and move to where the deer are right now. I also love the close encounters.
I had a bobcat walk right up to my boots and look at me for a minute last season. I shooed him away cause I was afraid he might get too curious and hop in my lap. He knew I was there and we had a strange moment together. Made my season.
-
Originally posted by The-Talon:
And redstag what I've been doing for a few years is taking cedar bows in a garbage bag and leaving my clothes in there !! Or just good old fox or raccoon piss works wonder below the knees and boots !!
Yeah I need to forget the scent wafer idea. I don't have a lot of cedars around the area I'm ground hunting but I might throw in some leaves or something.
I am with you there about being the only one in my group (family) who hunts with a trad bow, everybody else uses a bow-gun (crossbow). A few days ago my dad took a 4 pointer with his crossbow hunting on the ground.
Nantahala Nut - We have few and far bobcats where we are, but let a coyote come too close to me, I am pulling my knife! :scared: :eek: :smileystooges:
-
I do hunt on the ground and in the trees but mostly very low to the ground. I will carry a very light small strap on stand and have a habit of just getting 5-10 feet off the ground in a cedar tree or groups of trees.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/null_zps47e3f3eb.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/null_zps47e3f3eb.jpg.html)
I had several deer walk by me on the wrong trail at this stand at KennyM's. Then second pick after figuring the wind out here climbed this brush pile and put this stand about head high, hung a little brush and shot a buck at 10yds as a example. The stand is right in the middle of the pick.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/null_zps81827b9e.png) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/null_zps81827b9e.png.html)
View from stand, funnel spot!
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/null_zps1c60ca82.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/null_zps1c60ca82.jpg.html)
Love the big oak trees that's were the steps work great, always a place to sit in them.
(http://i904.photobucket.com/albums/ac248/TmPotter47/null_zps19aacedf.jpg) (http://s904.photobucket.com/user/TmPotter47/media/null_zps19aacedf.jpg.html)
I always carry pruners, saw, zip ties and a few tree steps. All of it will work the same on the ground. The steps can hold branches for making blinds or tying stuff to them.
Tracy
-
My opinion is that deer have had enough generation s to now be more frightened of tree sitters than us groundpounderz , if yu get in amongst the blow downs and have the correct wind and the right shooting lanes yu should do great ,, try some Nosejammer and theyll walk right by.
-
Wow I really like the idea of that semi ground stand! Beauty!! Here's a picture of my setup on the ground a couple days ago as well!!
(http://i1378.photobucket.com/albums/ah84/Spirit_Talon/groundstand1_zpsdzx56z2g.jpg) (http://s1378.photobucket.com/user/Spirit_Talon/media/groundstand1_zpsdzx56z2g.jpg.html)
-
About 13 years ago I had a close call with Coyotes. 2 came over a ridge and I ducked behind a rock pile thinking I might be able to drop both with my rifle. The first one followed my tracks and came right around the rocks to 6 feet away and looked right at me. We were both surprised. He was way too close for the scope so I aimed down the side and put one in the heart. I always wear grandpa's ww2 kabar on my hip now especially when bowhunting. I will never forget seeing that coyote snarl at me from that close.
-
I hunt a lot but I haven't hunted from a stand in years and I don't know if I ever will again... maybe.
I used to enjoy viewing wildlife that way while deer hunting, but I haven't hunted whitetails "down south" in quite a while.
In the north antlered animal sign is not as concentrated.
-
The-Talon
I hunt almost exclusively on the ground. I may sit in a tree stand one or two times a season ... maybe. I use a packseat and a Cabelas 3D seclusion leafy coat - that is so old ( not made anymore) it looks like a shaggy guille. I wear my hood to break up my line. I have found that it is far more important to have cover behind me than in front.
Also, it is very hilly where I hunt and having a hillside behind me covered in fallen leaves has helped me to blend in so well, I have had deer inside of 10 yards - too close to draw, but awesome to watch the whiskers and jaw muscles move as they chew acorns right in front of me.
I have found with experiments with my scent hound I am far more likely to be winded from my breath than my body or clothes, unless it is very humid. So, I use mouth wash before I go and breath through my nose ... as well as keeping my body and clothes clean and paying attention to the wind ... but the thermals in hill country matter too.
I read a book when on stand, looking up slowly every paragraph or two ... moving my eyes, not my head. This has helped me to not fidget while hunting - I am prone to that and often do not realize it until it is too late.
Lastly, as little movement as possible - really matters. Then when the deer are there, the wind is right and all is going your way .... try to draw on them. It is not easy, but it is so fun and satisfying ... hunting on the ground with no blind is not easy - but for many is the most rewarding hunting experience they can have. For me, it is my preferred method.
Good luck to you - I can not find my pictures right now but will try to find some.
Bob.
-
Not many trees tall enough for a stand down here and I have had mixed results with tripods since the canopy is so "light". I have yet to connect with a deer on the ground with traditional equipment but have shot a hog. I also had a doe at around 6-7 yards two years ago. She NEVER knew I was there until I started to draw and the arrow drawing along the rest spooked her. It was VERY still that day. Also, I was wearing blue jeans, long sleeve canvas tan shirt and brown vest with a tan ball cap. NO CAMO and I was just tucked in the brush along a sendero. It can be VERY effective but as I learned, there is little to no room for error. Sure is fun though!
-
Nosejammer LOL! BAhahahahah...
Hunt the wind. Period.
Make sure where you ambush has back cover. Clear debris around your feet as stated so you can adjust silently. Stay off to the sides of open areas or trails. A few weeks ago I had a deer peg me easy as pie because I was out in the open just sitting on a log...never moved but she pegged me immediately. The oak was a good spot so I found a spot off to the side with a lot of vines and multiflora on the field edge. Used my pruners to cut a little tunnel in there for me to sit. Missed a doe out of that the next day and killed another the following.
Move slowly if at all. Don't make eye contact. Wear soft soled boots (like LL bean Maine hunting shoe). Wools and natural colors (I don't use any camo either and have a white glassed bow and shoot white arrows.
The more you hunt from the ground the better you get.
It has drawbacks and good points like anything else. You don't have much time to react and things occur quickly, but I seem to get more encounters on the ground....
Watch the tail.....if it flicks they are about to move....
Don't be afraid to shoot when they are walking....moving
Use fingers, hogbacks, ridges, whatever you want to call then but crest blind corners ready to shoot and expect a deer to be on the other side.
Movement is your asset on the ground...if things change or the conditions say to move, you can silently adjust. the tree guy is stuck.
Learn to shoot from unorthodox positions and under / over brush...
Don't be afraid to shoot at small game and squirrels....often deer will not pay much attention to the noise of a shot....but if they see you game over....on the ground it is harder for them to see you at distance too. Works both ways.
Takes a lot of effort...you get tired quickly being on top of your game 100% of the time.
Feels great though.
Here are some pics to add...I don't hunt a super private "rack farm" so excuse the small bucks...they are big for my area.
Last year's buck during fire arms season no camo from an ambush.
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/IMG_0499_zpsv0becpe5.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/IMG_0499_zpsv0becpe5.jpg.html)
Little doe shot from a stalk....
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/Greenridge038_zps4979478f.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/Greenridge038_zps4979478f.jpg.html)
Spike shot while stillhunting
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps9tvprguj.jpg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps9tvprguj.jpg.html)
Last weeks doe:
(http://i481.photobucket.com/albums/rr180/two4hooking/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgd0s0k73.jpeg) (http://s481.photobucket.com/user/two4hooking/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsgd0s0k73.jpeg.html)
I've shot my share from the trees but...just not the same satisfaction.
I haven't been in a tree all season and don't plan to.
-
Enjoyed the pics 24hook!
Here's a little coyote story from a couple years ago. I have a river spot where the deer tend to cross as it's low spot. The river bed has tall banks and up at the top of the bank is 4 huge maples growing from the same spot- all the trunks are 2+ ft diameter. That's where I stand. I leaned some dead logs up against the trunks also to blend me better. The deer cross the river- head up the bank- stop at the top to look at the corn field they want to feed in - and I zip an arrow through them from the side.
Well one night right at dark I catch movement-- not deer- coyotes, two of them. They came down the embankment quickly and crossed the river- I readied myself - already at half draw for when they pop up...I catch between the trucks I'm STANDING next to and the coyote had snuck up the faint trail that goes right behind my clump of trees- I spun around quietly in the moist dirt and as the coyote came past the next trunk I zipped an arrow home. He ran only 40 and piled up. Coyote was only about 4 ft from me....on the ground.
Tim
-
I have been hunting from the ground a lot more and really like the flexibility. On my scouting trips in summer and early autumn I build ground blinds wherever I think a likely ambush spot is. I try to fill the background with small fir trees or branches as they hold their needles for a long time. I will say that it is tougher to draw. They pick up the slightest motion and you have a deer staring at you. And they are faster than the arrow from my bow. I have loved my Waldrop pack seat. Easy to carry, super light, comfy for the first several hours. A pack or in my case a large catquiver attach easily.
Good luck and keep at it.
-
I can thank my Sabor Widow Maker climber fro 6 deer in the two years i used it. I have never shot a deer from a tree stand. It made a nice place to sit and eat my lunch, drink my tea, have a pipe or cigar and rest a while before heading out and start hunting again. All six deer were shot sneaking to it or away from it. Someone stole the seat off of it when I went to town for lunch one year year, when I decided to try it once again. Bowhunters around here will steal anything they can get their hands on. The climber hand thumb tighteners, the base had nuts and washers. A Nifty Seat assembled and strapped to my side with a stretchy belt is my place to sit now. A butt pad snapped to my belt works pretty good as well. I haven't found a log in the right spot yet that fit my butt right.
-
(http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/pavanldb/Photo%20on%2010-18-16%20at%202.57%20PM_zps2741dydg.jpg) (http://s872.photobucket.com/user/pavanldb/media/Photo%20on%2010-18-16%20at%202.57%20PM_zps2741dydg.jpg.html)
-
I was emailed, about the orange thing on my wall. Quetico, Agnes lake, petroglyphs, Paddling by them I said to my artist daughter, they should take that thing out for a run. (http://i872.photobucket.com/albums/ab283/pavanldb/Photo%20on%2010-18-16%20at%203.40%20PM_zpsxkj1hpz3.jpg) (http://s872.photobucket.com/user/pavanldb/media/Photo%20on%2010-18-16%20at%203.40%20PM_zpsxkj1hpz3.jpg.html)
-
Ground hunting is definitely the most exciting way to hunt whitetails in my opinion. Attention to details and timing is paramount to be able to consistently harvest whitetails from the ground.
G. Fred Asbell's book, The Ground Hunter's Bible is a great starting point and a must read for anyone passionate about the ground game. But at the end of the day, it takes time in the timber and experiences on the ground to learn the ins and outs of the ground game.
A ghillie suit is an amazing tool for the ground hunter. I use one religiously while on the ground. I've trimmed mine down to be just a jacket / hood, as I'm usually tucked into thick cover that hides the lower half of my body. This also allows for easy movement or repositioning if the wind shifts.
As mentioned in previous posts, cover and concealment behind you is much more important than in front. However a nice pair of pruning shears is the ground hunter's best friend. I like to trim hardwood branches, saplings, bushes as I approach my final 40 yards to my target hunting area. I trim them at an angle like you would a rose, so I can stick them in the ground in front of me or fill in some gaps behind me for my final ambush location. You can have an awesome hide built within 5 minutes using this pruning method that will offer great cover. EZ Kut pruning Shears are amazing. The owner of the company (Avid Elk Traditional Archery Hunter )gave me a demonstration on the different cutting methods for this tool. You can effectively cut just under 2" diameter branches with this pruning shear by using the spiral cut method. Anyway, I'm going off on a tangent. Check them out, great shears and I feel naked without them in the timber.
Seats are also a hot topic for the ground hunter. Waldrop PacSeat, Nif-T-Seat, Torges Seat, and the list goes on and on. I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to entering the woods, so the Nif-T-Seat is my all time favorite. Small, Compact, versatile, and quiet. If I'm going to be sitting for 4+ hours in a ground location, I'll opt for the Waldrop pacseat. I like the Nif-T-Seat's short 6' pole for short ambush sits where I know I won't be sitting for more than the last 2 hours of the day. I sit on my knees and lean my butt back on the seat with the 6" post in between my feet. No pressure on my ankles / knees, so no numb legs 30 minutes into the sit, and you're in a great stable shooting position at all times.
Hunting from the ground is all about the details. You can go into an area blind and have a successful hunt if you take your time setting up your ambush and you don't rush getting in there. I like to slowly approach the general area of where I will be hunting. Stopping often, and evaluating the 40 to 50 yards ahead of me. I like to pay very close attention to my entrance path, as not to lay scent over a potential travel route. I also pay very close attention to the wind direction for my entrance. I avoid dusting bedding areas with my scent on my entrance at all costs. Once you've picked out your target hiding spot from 40 yards away, I slowly pick my way to that location, trimming hardwood branches, bushes, and saplings along the way and tucking them under my arm. (about 3 feet tall) Once at the final hiding spot I fill in the gaps with the trimmed lengths. I tend to gravitate toward blow-downs / Corn Fields / Tall Weeds & Grasses / etc. I like to have a good base to start my hide from. I rarely simply hunker up to the base of a lone large tree in the middle of the timber, but I've heard of some hunters having success with this tactic. I target hardwood (oak) limbs as my favorite impromptu hide material. They will hold their leaves on the branch throughout the season even after being trimmed from the tree. So if I want to use that ambush again sometime later in the season, I'll have a good base to start from with only having to fill in minor gaps or propping up some of the limbs that have fallen over.
Ever-calm has also been a great addition to my ground hunting tool box over the last few seasons. I've had mature animals cross my entrance trail without batting an eye. However it is not a solution for deer downwind. That is game over, no magic bullet for that. But ever-calm has definitely gotten me out of some sticky situations with whitetails during brief wind shifts, or deer coming in from down-wind and lightly spooking out of the area instead of blowing out the whole wood-lot.
Some common mistakes I made my first couple seasons on the ground and things I currently do today can be seen below:
http://i1007.photobucket.com/albums/af200/mzirnsak/33359631-4524-44B3-9F8F-538164220C7A.jpg
EVENING HUNT - Animals moving from bedding to food source.
Shooting Lane 1: Wait for this shot. Allowing the animal to pass before starting my draw sequence. This will allow for a quartering away opportunity with minimal risk of getting caught drawing.
Shooting Lane 2: Getting excited and trying to force this shot. Drawing as the deer approached being broadside. This is a sure fire way of getting busted early in your draw cycle. I still make this mistake sometimes. I got busted this season by starting my draw cycle too early instead of letting the animal pass a little further. I get trigger happy sometimes ;)
Shooting Lane 3: If you want the broadside shot, position your opportunity with "head blockers" (standing timber / other obstructions) that the deer will pass through allowing you to draw when the animal's head is behind the obstruction.
Shooting Lane 4: Much like #2, most likely will get caught drawing. No "head blockers" and the deer will catch movement in their peripheral from the broadside position unless they are looking away from you. Doable, and have harvested animals at this position, but there is always the risk of the animal being aware of their peripheral sight picture catching your movement.
Shooting Lane 5: Instead of rushing #4, set up for number 5. Quartering away, and could also use the head blocker.
High level approaches to this hunting area:
The northern hunting position will be suitable for a SW / S / SE wind. For a mature animal, Playing with a SSW / WSW / W wind may put the wind just barely enough in his favor for him to come out in daylight hours. But you better be sure he will approach using the southern travel route! The two northern travel routes may be a little to in his favor giving him enough of your scent..
The southern hunting position will be suitable for NW / N / NE wind. Same discussion can occur for a mature animal hunting a very finicky dangerous wind direction if your scent will barely skirt his approach into your ambush location.
Notice the entrance routes for the hunter. There is no dusting of your scent into bedding areas. Both the north and south hunting positions will be good for an eastern based wind for the evening hunt and a western based wind for the morning hunt. However, a mature animal is usually the last one out to the food source. So if you have an eastern wind for an evening hunt, there is a chance the doe and immature animals that make it to the food source early may catch your scent before the mature animal reaches your ambush location. (something to consider)
For a morning hunt, the southern hunting position may not be ideal with that entrance route, since you'll be exposed to the deer feeding in the early morning hours as you make your entrance skirting the open food source. (bean field / clover field / etc) The northern position would be a great morning tactic if you get a Southern based wind direction, so you can catch them heading back from the food source to bedding.
Notice no foot falls for the hunters entrance cross the deer travel routes.
These were just some random thoughts I had on the subject. Obviously this map is "best case" scenarios. Deer moving along the northern and southern border of the map is almost unavoidable depending on terrain features. Using terrain features like bodies of water / high walls / etc to prevent a rogue deer from entering the picture and putting the hunt at risk are always things that I look to capitalize on. (picture a large pond just south of the southern hunting position)This would prevent a deer from catching you from downwind.
One major thing for the ground hunter to consider that I still to this day struggle with on a hunt by hunt basis is cutting too many shooting lanes for my ambush hide. Take for example the southern hunting location. Sometimes I want to cut a lane to shoot just right of lane #3, cut a lane for #3, #4, and #5. This sometimes exposes you too much. Especially if you're drawing on a deer at position 5, but there is a deer at position #3. The deer at #3 sometimes will bust you, never allowing you to get the shot off at #5. I constantly have to remind myself that I am choosing to hunt from the ground because this area is most suited for this type of tactic which puts me in the best position to harvest. NOT because I want to see a lot of deer. The best most successful ambush hunts that I've had came from brushing myself in to the point that I could barely see up the trail for approaching deer and only have a single shooting lane cut. (barely seeing position #3 and to the east, but only physically being able to shoot position #5) This allows you to draw on the deer at #5 regardless of other deer or eyes around the woodlot, your movement is concealed.
Can you tell I like ground hunting??!
Shoot straight and good luck.
-
Thanks CPN That was a post rife with some really good information. Super good read!
-
Adjust to the conditions. If it is windy and breezy and deer are not moving, feel free to get up and Slowly stillhunt.
If it is deadly quiet with crunchy flakes on the ground, move more quickly to an ambush site and do more sitting then moving.
Make noise sporadically like a squirrel or other animal. Some carry a turkey call to periodically call if you are making more noise then you want. Squirrels, turkey and animals make normal forest noises which generally do not concern deer much.
Walk leading with the balls of your foot and balance on the back leg until you place the front one down to avoid breaking twigs.
I like to skirt bedding areas on breezy days when sitting is not productive.
Use binoculars to help you see the deer before it sees you. Scan with your binos after every few steps. this also helps you slow down a little.
Soft fabrics...preferably wool.
Stay in the shadows....move through open and sunny areas and stop in the shadows. I often lean up against a tree trunk for a few minutes when moving.
Keep pruners with you to get through thick areas quietly....this will also establish a trail you can use in the future.
If you are hunting private property and have good established ambush sites, I have leaf blown paths after the leaves have dropped to help move through areas quietly and quickly. Once done they stay good until spring when new growth takes over.
I tend not to crash noisily through the woods at dark anymore and sleep in a little and sneak around to my hunting spots. You can't move quietly if you can't see usually.
-
Yes...Deer, Bear, Javies, Hogs, bison and antelope shot on the ground. Its a blast and a rush....you gotta stick with it...and the longer you do the better you get and the most success you will have.
You will learn how and where to set up and not only be 'camoed' ...but also how to get out of the 'line of sight'. And, set up two places in the same area if the wind changes.
-
On the ground these are most important to me.
1. Wind.- on my own property I have a wind vane I made out of an old arrow down near the blind so I can keep tabs on the shifting winds.
2. Face Mask. Wear a face mask or something to break up your facial outline.
3. Gloves. Wear gloves to hide the flash of your shiny hands.
4. Never look them in the eye.