Tips for ground blind hunters

[Moengo]

Terry, Very good idea and illustration. Your experience with bears is the same as mine with tapir. I had to force myself to walk in right at first light instead of in the dark. It's paid off more than once. Anyway, thanks for the tip...should not be much of problem to find 8-10 foot saplings here in the rainforest.

[BamBooBender]

Again good stuff! Keep it comin.

Here's a pic I took of a doe coming through my place that also shows my setup. It's taken from my kitchen window because the blowdown I have been using is only about 75 yds from my house. Couldn't see it when the leaves were still on, but you can now that they're all gone. I just edited it to show what I'm talking about. The blue circle is about where I sit(and should have been sitting this morning at 11am       ) The green arrows on the top left are the usual wind direction. The yellow arrow on the bottom is the trail they take quite often. The red is the other way they come through. If they come in on the yellow line they exit on the red line, and vice versa.  The pic also shows the lack of vegetation this time of year. Sorry about the poor image quality it was taken with full digital zoom, through my kitchen window and screen, and it was kinda dark this morning.
   

[the Ferret]

Hey Boo, that's pretty cool.You wear real light colored camo? I would think light grey sweats would be the ticket up there.

[Moengo]

BBB,

It is hard tell, but looks like you're sitting in front...or back of a fallen tree. Probably that was good for a back-drop before the leaves fell. If you moved (farther to the right)behind the tree's branches, or kind of into it could you open a couple "windows" to shoot thru? Good luck today, I sure want you to get a deer and I know you will. What is that white thing off to the right?

[Molson]

Boo- That looks like a good set up based on the photo.  Have you considered moving to the right and using the top of the tree as cover?  Try getting behind or inside that tree top, build up some back and front cover, and cut shooting lanes for the angles.  That will give you depth of cover and should improve your odds quite a bit.

(Oops, Looks like we were posting at same time Moengo!)

[KodiakBob]

After reading about hunters in Africa using warthog decoys as a "makes them feel safe" decoy I wonder if it would work here. Maybe a squirrel decoy. I have heard of duck hunters having a heron decoy for the same reason.

[DeerSpotter]

Great TTT

[bentpole]

Great Info Mickey.

[TSP]

Good access and exit to and from the stand site is critical...human scent hangs on vegetation for awhile.  Deer may or may not spook when encountering your in/out trails, but they WILL eventually figure out your setup if you use that route often.  Don't just work the wind relative to your ground stand...work it relative to how you come and go.

The BEST face camo is a headnet turned backwards so that little eye hole is in the back of your head.  Yes, you can't see quite as well with the netting over your eyes, but at 15 yards it makes little difference.  And your face will be all but invisible to the deer.

Beware of ticks if you sit low or in vegetation.  Deet won't work for long, clothing treated with Permethin (don't put on the skin) works best.

Unless you tuck your pantslegs into your boots, wear drab socks.  You may look 'camoed' when standing up, but sitting down your pants may hike up enough to show those white/light socks you have on.

Once set up, always draw your bow from several angles to make sure it clears brush, trees and ground.  

Eat an apple or pear, etc. before hitting your stand.  Nothing like warm bad breath to flag your whereabouts.

Knee pads or a foam pad for kneeling can be handy for shifting into shooting position from a sitting position once deer are spotted.  Clear all leaves away in a 360 around your stool and sit to allow slow 'melting' to your knees from the stool (rubber boots best...more flexible).  Minimal noise, minimal movement, maximum shooting flexibility.

[rastaman]

Good info..thanks

[b.glass]

I was thinking that I would like to get some peoples cut Christmas trees after the holidays and place them stratigicly for ground cover for next year. What do you think? Some one also suggested I could use old artificial trees. Should be cheap to pick up at a rummage sale. I don't normally do rummage sales but I would for this! Sorry for the late post.

[Mudd]

I used turkey decoys this evening. I didn't see any deer or turkey so I can't say if they helped or not.
God bless,Mudd

[Michael Peschek]

Lots of good info here guys, thanks!

I will generally walk some trails I find to get the general idea of the area. Will the deer avoid these trails because of the scent I left? If so for how long?

Thanks!

[b.glass]

I have heard that our scent lingers for about three days. But the buck in my avatar walked the same path that I took, twice. Either my scent control was that good(rubber boots used for hunting only and stored in dirt for the first week after bought, scent killer spray)or he was used to human scent, or both.

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I tried a gillie suit this year.

It worked very, very well...the critters didn't "look through" me...I simply was not there.

And backing off to 20 yards or so is much better than being 10 yards away.

Bob