Getting Frustrated!!!

[Dozer]

I have been hunting on the ground since I started hunting six years ago. I have learned a lot of things the hard way but I still haven't gotten a deer. The amount of close encounters, but no shot opportunities, are so numerous I can't count them.
I've been thinking of buying a tree stand, but I feel like that's cheating. Any advice besides the usual "Life is hard, stick with it".

[BowMIke]

I think I would try a Ghillie suit and set up with cover behind me.

[Chris Shelton]

My dad always used to say to me, "you have to go where noone else goes" . . . and that may seem like some lame advice, but it is really very good.

But going where noone else goes may not be as far back in the woods as you can get. Try and find thick brush with funnels, shelves on steep terrain . . . that type of thing. During deer season dad goes up right behind camp, its like a 60% grade for about 400 yards then it levels off a bit, noone follows him!  And he sees lots and lots of deer.

Also I try to think outside the box. One of my honey holes is not but 200 yards back a trail, everyone overlooks it and marches right on by. Now granted its a ridge that looks like a cliff, but once you get up on somewhat level ground its easy still hunting terrain!

I'm by no means an expert, but I've been hunting public land my entire short life  

Hope I was of some help?!

[Rooselk]

I hunt on the ground and I've never set foot in a tree stand. That's because I hunt in the west and I feel that spot and stalk is the most effective way to hunt mulies. But there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with hunting from a treestand! It's NOT cheating. Indeed, it might just be the most effective hunting method for your area.

Besides, just because you use a tree stand it doesn't mean that you can't continue to hone your skills on the ground. This is not an either/or situation. You can do both.

[centaur]

I hunt mainly from the ground, but I don't have any qualms about using a tree stand. It is an effective hunting tool. Use whatever works as the terrain/wind/weather dictate. Right now, it is so dry around here that it is really tough to be quiet, so with the rut for whitetails becoming imminent, I will probably climb a tree. Given perfect conditions, I prefer to be down eye to eye, but just know that you will get busted more often if you are on the ground. It just goes with the territory.

[Guru]

Cheating?    

[J-KID]

Originally posted by Dozer:
I've been thinking of buying a tree stand, but I feel like that's cheating. Any advice besides the usual "Life is hard, stick with it".

Put some tree stands up and act like you are going to hunt out of one.  the last two trips to my tree stand I've walked up within 15 yards of a doe by accident.  I drew on one last evening just for fun and she just looked at me goofy.  I started walking again and she took off.   I've walked up on more deer walking to stand than I ever have still hunting.

I have two tree stands up close enough to see one from another and I've had 3-5 shooter does under my stand just about every trip.  The buck I want, a decent 8 point and the biggest I've seen this year, has tended to be under the stand I'm not in!  I seriously doubt I'll ever walk up on him and I just hope he gets confused and can't remember which tree stand I'm in.  You make your own rules so tree stand hunting can be as hard as you want to make it.

[J-KID]

Originally posted by Dozer:
I've been thinking of buying a tree stand, but I feel like that's cheating. Any advice besides the usual "Life is hard, stick with it".

Put some tree stands up and act like you are going to hunt out of one.  the last two trips to my tree stand I've walked up within 15 yards of a doe by accident.  I drew on one last evening just for fun and she just looked at me goofy.  I started walking again and she took off.   I've walked up on more deer walking to stand than I ever have still hunting.

I have two tree stands up close enough to see one from another and I've had 3-5 shooter does under my stand just about every trip.  The buck I want, a decent 8 point and the biggest I've seen this year, has tended to be under the stand I'm not in!  I seriously doubt I'll ever walk up on him and I just hope he gets confused and can't remember which tree stand I'm in.  You make your own rules so tree stand hunting can be as hard as you want to make it.

I have never shot a deer from a tree stand, I sat in them often enough to know that it is easy if the deer are where you want them to be. Of the dozens of deer I have shot, all on the ground, I can thank a tree stand for getting some of them.  One stand was really comfortable, stolen last year, on public land I would sit in it until I heard the compunders stomping out of the area and leave with there loud pickups.  Then I would sneak back to my van and find deer running all over the place.  I got a deer every year after 10 in the morning and before 4 in the afternoon sneaking to and from that stand.  One other thing, if you are sitting on the ground, get a strap on tree seat and park your back up a tree in a cluster of four or five tree trunks and keep the wind in your favor.  It will allow you to play every option and still be able to get a shot off.  You could add a Gillie suit to this and make the system more fool proof than a tree stand.  Some more, learn to shoot smooth, don't stare at the deer's eyes (my wife uses nothing for concealment and just stares at her feet until it is time to shoot), keep the bow in a steady low position, then in one smooth motion take your shot.

[Airborne]

tree stands are not cheating!  Don't knock it til you try it--who knows you might like it.  You have to walk before you can run--maybe get a deer or two under your belt from a stand and then go to the ground.  Even in a tree stand its not easy

[lpcjon2]

If buying one is cheating than just borrow one instead.  

[leatherneck]

I'm a BIG cheater!!!  I like to enjoy the company of the birds as much as the ground dwelers.

[cedar]

I have been hunting with a longbow on the ground for the last 6 years and have not released an arrow yet.  I've had deer so close I couldn't move to draw, had the nock fall off the string while drawing on a buck, and have had numerous deer within range just know something wasn't right.  I know it can be done and when I get one, its going to be my best one yet.  Keep the wind in your face and try to position yourself so your outline is broken up.  Good luck.

[Looper]

If you're having close encounters, why are you not having shot opportunities?  Are they seeing you? Are they moving too fast? Is the cover too thick? Are you ambushing or stalking?

Without the details of your setups, I'd say you're doing things mostly right, you just need to slightly modify your position to get a shot.  You might want to consider using a scent trail to get them in the right position.

[ishiwannabe]

You could try another technique....dig a hole and brush it into a "submerged blind". Of course, a no no on public land. I have heard of some great success from" getting low" though.
food for thought...

[Cottonwood]

Dozer, I have had one of the hardest bowhunting seasons to date, as I also hunt from the ground or blind.  But it has been the most rewarding season of all, and today I sealed the deal in honor of my friend and fellow trad bower Rick Ricks who passed away from cancer this last year.

This season, more close encounters and misses, but so rewarding I would not trade it for anything.

[Hoyt]

If you consider buying a tree stand "cheating" maybe you ought to think about giving the deer a bow and arrow also.

Just kidding with you. Hunt how you like, both ways are effective..ground or tree. I have noticed a lot of people..especially when age is a factor...going to ground blinds and with very good results.

[Robert Honaker]

Ghillie suit!

Ground hunting will never be the same.

Also there is nothing wrong with a tree stand either.