Hunting from stand or on the ground?

[Captain*Kirk]

After reading all these posts. I cant believe how many of you guys hunt from the ground. Here in Wis. just about everybody I know hunt from tree stands for whitetails during bow season. I have hunted from the ground occasionally with no success. I hunt highly pressured public hunting grounds and have to put my stand up and take it down the same day. Sooner or later im going to have to hunt from the ground cause im not getting any younger.

Mark, back in the '80s when stand hunting really caught on fire, deer almost never looked up giving a huge advantage to tree hunters. Recent research* indicates that in heavily-hunted tree stand areas, the 'survivor' deer have been educated to 'death from above' and have learned to scan the trees as well as the ground for danger.
I don't think ground hunting has the stigma anymore of an unsuccessful hunting technique, and personally, I have seen more deer close-up and personal from the ground than from stands where I hunt. Plus, advances in scent-technology and blinds/seats/stools have made ground hunting a realistic tactic that can be very effective in the right conditions.
PHL restrictions (carry in/carry out) are making tree stands a major PITA for the walk-in day hunter. And as we age, the prospect of shinnying up a tree becomes not only more of an effort, but more of a real danger to be concerned with.

* Dr. Ken Nordberg;

"We hunted from trees when the kids first started, back in the early 1970s. We hunted from treestands and back then, they were primitive because treestands were unheard of then, nobody hunted from treestands. Stand hunting was sitting on a stump somewhere back then. It worked well for my studies. Deer were vulnerable to that back then. You could almost reach out and touch deer walking by. Our platforms were only six feet above the ground and deer would eat right under ours and they go and lay down a few yards away. All my kids took good bucks. One of my daughters took one of the four biggest. They were taken by a Nordberg when she was thirteen from one of our early treestands.

By 1988 and 1989, we were starting to see things were changing. All of a sudden, bucks were running away from our treestands as they had never done before. They were avoiding them even if no one was in them. We could see things were not working out well. We didn’t see near as many deer. I started in 1990 trying to figure out ways to restore buck hunting like we were used to. The same was true of does and estrus. I started experimenting with ground-level hunting. After years of telling people, “If you want big bucks, you’ve got to be in a treestand,” and people say, “You’d never get me up there in a treestand.” Now, it’s the other way around. Nobody wants to leave their treestand. We hunt at ground level using backpacks, tools, and unaltered natural cover only and starting the day three or four of a hunting season.

Some of the hunters in my camp still use treestands during those first two or three days of a hunting season. It’s a great advantage. After that, because we’ve got to keep moving to stay with those bucks, we use backpack stools. Those can be carried without sound and they can be put down without a sound and you’re a lot less likely to tip off a nearby buck that you’re near them. We use natural cover. If you’re not used to hunting on the ground, you think, “That’s terrible. How do you find that?” There are all kinds of natural cover, a lot more to hide your silhouette at ground level than up in a tree.

Our bucks up there are so good at, almost everywhere nowadays, any but two-and-a-half years of age or older will quickly recognize a hunter in any stand on the ground or in a tree and begin avoiding the area. During the hunting season, most time we don’t realize that’s going on because they don’t see it happening. Once we started the ground level hunting, then things changed again and that’s our primary way of hunting deer after day three or four of a hunting season. We start with treestands early and then from then on were on the ground."

full link to the article:

https://whitetailrendezvous.com/episode-013-dr-ken-nordberg-a-full-time-whitetail-naturalist-hunting-method-researcher/

[MrKSB]

On the ground with a Ghost Bling, Millennium tree seat and a leaf jacket

Light, portable and all I have to worry about is the wind 

[Keefer]

I’m a ground hunter that mainly tries to look for natural cover from blow downs with root balls where deer would funnel from beds to food source . Not always possible but I absolutely like this type of blind .Now I have used some stands but my personal preferred method is on the ground while sitting in my “ Huntmore 360” seat that Mike Mitten sold me on years ago by telling me how it kept his father seated and they got to hunt together.   

[Ryan Rothhaar]

99+% treestand. I've told myself a thousand times that a bad treestand is better than a good ground blind

R

[Wudstix]

I need to get some place where I can hunt the way that I chose.    

[David McLendon]

I had always hunted from a stand until 2007 when I blew out an ACL the Friday before bow season. I bought a pop up Primos Dark Horse and hated it, I felt too removed from the hunt. It didn't stop me from killing stuff because deer were unaffected by the blind.
  After that I stayed on the ground and went through several iterations of Ghillie until I found what worked for me. I learned to still hunt with the Ghillie, avoid briars and pay attention to your surroundings. I've had to wait for game to walk far enough away from me so I could draw my bow. If that doesn't get your motor going, then you are dead.
 I haven't climbed a tree since 2007. Before I waited, now I hunt.

[kopfjaeger]

Both. It depends on the terrain, vegetation, primary wind direction, thermal currents, etc.

[degabe]

Been ground hunting for years because it is safer and easier. At 73 I'm too old to be hanging out in a tree.

[tzolk]

99% ground. In Idaho I was all ground. Now that I am back in Michigan, I have to use public land nearby. Going out today and I pack a Big Jim tree seat with me, just lean it up against the tree.

[KSdan]

Like trees. 90%.  Hunt portable so rarely hunt same spot twice.  Never leave a stand. Takes under 10 minutes to throw one up. (Its a skill like anything else). Love seeing deer long before they see you. Can most often draw without being seen. I do think you need to pick the right spot and the right tree. I don't like telephone pole trees. I like a good hide. Im 59 and have limited balance due to inner ear disease- so need to be careful.  I work out all year so I can still climb.  Still works for me

Dan in KS

[Cory Mattson]

Nordberg ??????? I didn't know he bowhunted.

Been hunting with recurve from trees since 75 and it has always seemed so natural. I like the ground in some particular situations so I now hunt 15% on the ground each year.

[toddster]

I have been bowhunting for over 30 years.  In the beginning it was exclusive treestand hunting.  I distinctively remember the time, that my thinking changed.  I had been hunting a great public place in Illinois 18 years ago that had a lot of deer and nice bucks.  I had a sweet spot that could harvest a doe just about any day (wind right of course).  Then I started carrying binoculars, few times, in the morning I noticed that in a distance I could see nice bucks running this one ridge.  Not being the quickest gear in the motor, one afternoon I went in to check it out.  I walked it and found awesome sign, then the more I looked the more I could not find any kind of tree for a stand.  I left and thought about it for a week.  Then one morning fate gave me a stroke of vision.  One day, I road with a buddy, we got there and started getting are gear out to hunt and noticed, my stand strap was bad.  My buddy and me searched but no replacement in truck.  "What you going to do?"  My buddy asked.  I said I was going to try something.  That morning I walked back into the ridge, remembering a blowdown, I set up, waiting.  I figured this would be a morning of just watching deer, with no chance.  I ended up harvesting a nice 9 pointer, that was 16 yards from me.  It was that moment, I realized, that I should figure out how to hunt animals and not tree's.  More and more I ground hunt, but once I find a great spot that a stand works will use it.  I still believe can't beat the advantages of stand, but you just can't throw one up either.

[Deno]

Ground


Deno

[8upbowhunter]

100% from a tree stand since I started bow hunting in 1985. I have been thinking more and more about making some hunts from the ground but that probably won't happen until next season.

[Captain*Kirk]

I suppose if one takes a stance, he should explain that stance from a logical POV. Since I have become a ground hunter and am definitely in the minority among bowhunters and trad bowhunters especially, so I'll try to explain my choice.
First, the advantages of tree stand hunting are many; you're out of the straight line of sight from deer on the ground, your scent stream takes longer to reach the ground and has more chance of being dispersed before it reaches the ground, you can see further and have a more complete field of view the higher you go. Having stand hunted for many years, this is undeniable.
However, having narrowly escaped serious injury while removing a ladder stand 10 years ago, I began to re-think my position. Fortunately I was left on crutches for 3 or so weeks with nothing more than a serious sprain after a fifteen foot drop, but it could have been much worse. Had the ground been frozen, the ER Dr. told me my ankle most likely would have been broken. Figuring I had used up my 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card, I changed it up the following year and have been a ground-pounder ever since. Here are some of the positives of natural ground blind hunting, from my perspective:

1) Easy in/out
When hunting public land, as I do, the rules are pretty specific WRT putting up tree stands. No nails, screw in steps or hooks/hangers are allowed. Stands may not be left up overnight in many PHL locations, which means carrying in your stand and climbing sticks, and taking them with you when you leave. ATVs are also not allowed in many locations...do the math. My portable stool weighs less than a pound, can be slung over my shoulder with the attached sling, and walked in with my bow and day pack to a predetermined blind site (usually a blowdown or large tree I've arranged a brush-out around). One trip, then sit and hunt.

2) Line of sight
While it's true that you can see much further from an elevated stand, it's also true that if you can't see deer at that distance from the ground, they probably can't see you either, if you are still. Since I limit my shots to 25 yards or under, I really don't need to see a deer 100 yards away other than to try to coax it in closer by calling or rattling. In a ground blind, your ears are your friend, many times tipping off 'incoming' long before your eyes do.

3) Scent
While true that as mentioned above, your scent stream behaves differently elevated than from the ground, I find that using scent control methods can generally keep your scent down to a minimum. When hunting from a blind you really aren't as concerned about watching your downwind area, because deer are likely going to scent you long before you see them. If you position your blind downwind from your shooting lane, you can still get plenty of field of view where the deer will be upwind of you, giving you the advantage.

4) Flexibility
If the wind shifts, you have the easy option of picking up your stool and moving 100 yards at a moment's notice.

5) Terra Firma
Even in the best of tree stands I feel ultra-cautious. The safety harness I wear is restraining, uncomfortable, and doesn't give me any confidence to lean into it for difficult shots. I always feel like I'm walking on eggshells regardless of the stand, though ladder stands are much better. You don't have to worry about falling asleep, slipping on the way up or down, falling out of the stand onto a sharp broadhead (or worse) or crippling accidents. If you fall asleep on the ground, you might fall off your stool, but that's about the worst of it.

6) Comfort
Generally the winds are calmer at ground level, no seasick-swaying nosebleed carnival rides on the ground. You can stretch your legs and move around. I suffer from a bad back and sciatica, and sitting the ground gives me the flexibility to shift and move when I have to, and not get busted from 100 yards away. You can set your pack and other gear where it suits you in your blind and not worry about things falling or being accidentally kicked or blown down.

7) Longer time in the saddle
Rather than spending time setting up and taking down stands and ladders before and after (and getting sweaty in the process, you simply walk in, park your posterior in the saddle, and begin your hunt. Easy peasy. Tired? Go ahead and snooze a little. Bored? Read in comfort...no worries.

8) Security
In those PHL areas that DO allow overnight stand/ladder installations, you don't have to worry about locking or securing your gear...because you walk in/out with it. It's not there to steal.

9) Shot angle
No more worrying about downward angling shots and trying to calculate entrance/exit angles...if you get the shot, take it.

10) In Tune
I've found myself to be much more in tune with nature and my surroundings on the ground, rather than being detached and isolated in a tree. I get to see squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and other small game up close and personal. And I've been eyeball-to-eyeball with a surprising number of deer from my blind, the past season with a small (too small to shoot) doe grazing not 15 feet away, apparently undetected, until the wind shifted after several minutes. It was truly an enjoyable experience and I left that day feeling all the better for it.

Obviously, ground hunting is not for everyone, but I've managed to make it work for me. If anyone has been considering giving it a try, I would encourage you to have a go at it and see if you can make it work for you as well.

[mangonboat]

Started hunting when trees and other elevated stands weren't legal, yet. Been way up in trees, in 'permanent' elevated stands that were like tree forts, on tripods, done the Baker-slide down a few slick maple trees, etc. Now I'll hunt in a ladder stand or lock-on  on private land if my host prefers that, but otherwise I pick a new location every time out and create a ground 'blind' as close to my "perfect" location for wind, thermal, funnels, etc, where I find some cover at my back, sometime still hunting from one 'blind' to another if wind,  weather  or cover suggests a change. Far less stuff to carry and the critters seem to be less bothered by big 'blobs' on the ground than up in trees.

[RAU]

95% treestand. Was exclusively the lone wolf hand climber since around 2007 but last summer I picked up a lone wolf assault and 3 pack of lone wolf climbing sticks and I’ve been using that rig quite a bit now. I can hang 3 sticks and the stand real fast and with an aider on the first stick I can get plenty of height in just about any tree. Trees I’d never be able to run my climber up.

[Mike Burch]

I love deer meat, so I’m in a tree. For me, getting deer in close from the ground isn’t the issue, getting in position, drawing, and getting the shot off without getting busted, is the problem. I have done it, but I’m more successful in a tree.

I’m not a good enough shot to take 25+ yard shots, which would make it easier to pull off for me. I’m more of a 10-15 yard shot hunter, and it works better from a tree for me. ...but I would love to only ground hunt, would be nice not to haul a tree stand around!

Mike