Grounded...

[Captain*Kirk]

I know there are a number of you fellers in my position. For whatever reasons, personal, medical, physical or what-have-you, we find ourselves hunting from terra firma. For me, I've never felt at ease up in the air, though I did it for the better part of a decade. But bulging discs, sciatica, and a general unease about moving around on a tiny platform 15 feet up, plus a nasty fall from a ladder stand 10 years ago made me re-think my position. When I made the switch to full-time trad, I also made the commitment to become a full-time 'ground-pounder.' With the added comfort and abilty to shift positions for comfort, etc has come some very real disadvantages...limited line of sight, more room for error with regard to scent and movement detection as well as other things. And while there are literally scores of books, TV shows, videos, and testimonies all over the web about how stands, saddles, towers and other elevated practices can be tweaked and tuned for your advantage, very little information is out there regarding the lost art of 'stump-sitting' or ground blind hunting. So for those of you who have 'grounded' themselves, would you mind sharing some tips, tricks and setups that help make you a better and more effective ground hunter with trad equipment?

[Pine]

Play the wind and stay concealed. And don't forget cover behind you and use shadows. 

So, another member of the fraternal order of the DEER DIVERS 

[Captain*Kirk]

So, another member of the fraternal order of the DEER DIVERS 

Yessir! I was taking down a ladder stand on private land after an early thaw and winter rain. As soon as I released the strap the stand pitched backwards and I had to jump off or go down with the ship...on top of me. I thought I broke my ankle and had to crawl to my truck over 50 yards. X-rays showed no fracture but a very bad sprain...on crutches for 2 weeks and a pronounced limp for another 6. One of those 'wake-up' moments for sure! That was my second incident...and as "third time's the charm", I decided not to push it any further...

[Doug in MN]

Your lucky that was the extent of it, I grounded my self a decade or so ago bad back and a fall could mess with the spare parts I have installed at 67.
Deadfall's are good if there is one in a usable location, you have to be more aware of scent and wind, I carry a swivel stool with a back so I fidget less.
If you can find a location that puts the wind in your favor and the sun low and at your back, stay in the shadows as mentioned above and your GOLDEN !!

[woodchucker]

We hunt mountain deer...

There are tree stands around the mountain, but most haven't been used in years.
On the mountainside, deer are "eyeball" level behind you, or 40-50 foot below in front of you.

Mostly, we just slowly walk the woodroads, sometimes sit for awhile on a rock or log.
Just FEELS like hunting!!!   

[M60gunner]

Only did the tree stand gig one year. I prefer what we called the “hasty ambush” . Stay in the shadows, walk slowly, stop often. If something catch’s my eye find a place to set in. I have also used blinds made from natural materials. I like sitting more these days though

[hawkeye n pa]

IMHO a bottle of  wind detector in your pocket is a necessity and used often.  Squirt it up and watch for the thermals and breeze.  Quiet boots = soft soles you should be able to sneak up on squirrels with out them going into alarm.  If I'm going to sit I slip on a leafy headnet, sometimes  the jacket also.    Hunt with your eyes and go very slow.  When you find deer beds remember them, they are in that location for a reason, thermals, hearing,  security,  field of view, learn from it.  Usually deer will bed outside the thicket unless really pressured then they might be in it.  When I tree stand hunted I've watched nice bucks belly crawl into greenbriar thickets.  Don't like todays hunting clothes that has a sheen to it.  And your clothes have to be 100% quiet to be able to draw  on them.    Good Luck.

[Tomas Stieber]

GF Asbell's book Stalking and Still: The ground hunters Bible. This book covers it all. I'm sure there are other books too.

[Soonerlongbow]

Your lucky that was the extent of it, I grounded my self a decade or so ago bad back and a fall could mess with the spare parts I have installed at 67.
Deadfall's are good if there is one in a usable location, you have to be more aware of scent and wind, I carry a swivel stool with a back so I fidget less.
If you can find a location that puts the wind in your favor and the sun low and at your back, stay in the shadows as mentioned above and your GOLDEN !!

Don’t forget that critters like deadfalls for the same reasons. Last night reminded me of this. As I was setting up in an elm that had broken of twice into a V, I noticed it looked like someone else had set up in this little spot recently. But after I’d sat there for a moment & placed my daypack on the ground in front of me, it moved the tall grass from around several large, still glossy, deer droppings.

[woodchucker]

Just one old fart's opinion....

A deer's nose is as good as any dog's. I don't care what you do, you are not going to fool it.

That being said, all deer are differant, and how much they rely on their nose varies.
Case in point, high human population areas. These deer smell humans 24 hours a day.

Up in the mountains where we hunt, although you have morning and evening thermals, the wind direction changes about every 10 minutes. You would go crazy trying to change position every time the wind changes!
A deer's nose is an alert system, like their eyes or ears. If they cannot pin point the direction of scent, they rely more on their eyes and ears. It seems to be a combination of alerts, that actually spooks them. I have watched deer that have obviously smelled me, walk right past me, as long as I sit stone still. Case in point, the beautiful 12" spike (we have a 3 on one side antler restriction) That walked up the woodroad toward me then past me at 6 yards, then proceed to wander off the road and feed through the Beechwhips behind me!! That entire encounter lasted almost a half hour.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

The biggest thing I've learned about hunting from the ground is that you need a backrest if you're going to sit for longer than 30-45 minutes. Otherwise you will fidget and twitch and shift and twist and... well, you get the picture.

[Kelly]

The biggest thing I've learned about hunting from the ground is that you need a backrest if you're going to sit for longer than 30-45 minutes. Otherwise you will fidget and twitch and shift and twist and... well, you get the picture.

Amen and ditto to the backrest!

[Captain*Kirk]

Some good info here. I never considered using the shadows to conceal a ground blind. All my blinds so far have been using tree trunks and deadfalls and brushing them in. How do those of you using burlap or mesh like that option?
One thing I try to adhere to is simplicity. Since we are only awarded a 7 day window here on the PHL/State Park land I hunt, I can't afford to waste time setting up and taking down extensive blinds and such.

[Sam McMichael]

Of course, playing the wind is essential, but movement (or lack of it) is also crucial. For example, don't swivel your head back and forth. Instead, shift the eyes, and then move the head very slowly to avoid a sudden flurry of motion.

[Captain*Kirk]

Oddly enough...once I perched my stool behind a V'd tree trunk, looking out in between the two trunks. I was in full camo with a mesh net over my face, wind in my face. A young 4-pointer walked within 12 yards and stood staring at the tree. We had a standoff for a full 3 minutes or more as he stomped his foreleg and tried to figure out what's wrong with this picture. When I tried to raise the bow, the movement spooked him and he turned tail and ran. It was the movement that did it.