Whitetails from the ground (Natural)

[Wiley Coyote]

I have never shot a deer off the ground. I have had a few opportunities over the years but they never pan out. Congratulations to all of the ground hunters!!!  

[Builder]

I think it's time for me to buck-up and hunt from the ground. You guys proved it's possible.
Old habits are hard to break however.

[Mojostick]

My humble advice is, if you hunt in a very heavy pressured area like the central NLP of Michigan, you better build a birds nest around you with great background cover. That's why pines work so well.
What you can get away with in a mile section with 2-5 bowhunters on bigger private parcels vs a section with 15-30 bowhunters revolving in and out with a mix of small private and public land is night and day.
There is no room to overlook any detail with intensely pressured whitetails. While I know many can kill deer from the ground in plaid with lighter cover, at least in my area, which happens to be the heaviest hunted county in the heaviest bowhunted state, I suggest you have head to toe good camo, with facemask and gloves covering hands. IMO, ASAT and Predator are best for hunting intensely pressured whitetails from the ground. But it does depend on your area. About 50% of the land around me is heavily hunted public land. My area fawns are more spooky than some bucks I've seen in other area's. LOL

[Trab]

I got my 1st deer of my life this season.......did it with a longbow from a tree.....a small buttonbuck..... but I have a STRONG desire to improve my skills on the ground. A couple of weeks after my first taste of success, I was on the ground, and had an awesome game of cat and mouse with a doe..I was kneeling down, bent over a fall down tree, trying to blend in as she approached.......after about 2-3 minutes of her walking around trying to deke me into moving, she walked past a tree and gave me the opportunity to squat up fast and get into to shooting position....as she cleared the tree my arrow was already pointing right at her....well, right toward her anyway....as my adrenaline reached a height it hasn't reached in a long time, I took aim and shot....but in all the excitement, I forgot to pick a hair spot, and merely shot at the silhouette.....the arrow went about 3 inches over her back and stuck into a tree directly behind her....the shot was only 10 or 12 yards away, but I missed....she still had no clue I was a human, and ran off only at a slow pace to about 25 yards....I even notched another arrow, but she slowly walked in the opposite direction, hardly scared at all.....
WOW......all you tree guys think about the thrill I'm describing....it was awesome, even in "defeat"  !!!!!   Yea, the ground is SURREAL......... and it's the way to go for me  

[FlightMedic744]

Great pics guys! And some great stories.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

I have hunted from the ground a lot over the years, had many opportunities and yet to kill a deer.  I love it but at times places require tree stands.  I was busted this year immediately on one property, just couldn't seem to hide enough for the deer!

Congrats on some fine deer.  Gotta love the excitement of ground hunting.