First from the ground

[BMN]

After reading all the threads over the last couple of years about hunting deer from the ground I finally decided that this was the year to give it a go. After spending 20+ years sitting up in the trees I told myself that this year I was going to kill one from the ground or not at all. A few months ago I bought a rancho safari shaggy longcoat and made all the necessary modifications so I could shoot my bow without interference. I practiced with the ghillie a few times a week and felt fairly comfortable shooting with it on. On my first hunt from the ground I actually got a shot at three jakes but only managed to bring home two tail feathers and a lot of confidence in the ghillie suit.

This past Wednesday I was back in the woods with my feet firmly planted on the ground and decked out in the ghillie. I attached my Torges tree seat to a large oak and waited for shooting light. Shortly after sunrise I heard a turkey yelp off to my left. As I slowly turned to look for the source of the yelp 6 or 7 long beards appeared walking down an old logging road. They were about 75 yards away but heading my direction. They continued on a slow but steady pace directly at me. In a short time they had cut the distance to 40 yards. This was starting to get serious. Since the birds were approaching from my left, and I shoot left handed, I was going to have to wait until they passed directly in front of me or over to my right side before I could shoot. They continued on with absolutely no clue I was there. Thirty yards. Twenty yards. Now ten yards. I kept thinking to myself "Is this really happening? They are going to bust me at any minute." But they kept coming. The lead bird was now at 5 yards and had to choose to pass in front of me or behind me. He chose the later and the rest of the flock followed. I could easily hear their footsteps in the leaves as they passed directly behind me. I was looking out of the corner on my eye waiting from them to appear on the other side of me. They made a slight change in course and by the time I could see them again they were 30 yards out and shielded behind to many trees and limbs. I watched as they slowly made their way down the ridge and out of sight. What a rush! I just couldn't believe they had been that close and had no idea I was there. Too cool.

I sat back and tried to regain my composure. The rush of adrenalene and 20 degree temperatures had brought on a serious case of the shakes. It took me several minutes to get my breathing and heart rate back to normal. I was day dreaming and reliving the experince over and over again in my mind when something to my left caught my attention. How the small buck had gotten to within 12 yards of me or where he had come from I don't know. But there he was, head down, picking up acorns..........

[woodchucker]

AND!!!!!  

[MI_Bowhunter]

     This is gonna be good

[Gatekeeper]

Violation… cliff hanger and no picture.

[BMN]

It took me a few seconds to realize that yes he was truly there and not a figment of my imagination. He was standing broadside in the same spot the turkeys had been not 20 minutes earlier. Considering the circumstances, I was fairly calm as he crunched acorns and scratched his ear with his back foot. It was easy to see at this distance that he had a long 7 or 8 inch spike on one side and was forked on the other. I usually pass on deer this size but considering my freezer was empty and I really wanted to try and pull off this ground hunting thing I decided that if the opportunity presented itself I was going to shoot this deer. The green go light was on.

Following the path of the turkeys, he turned and headed straight toward me. My heart started to race and calm was over. You have got to be kidding me. This is not happening again. As he headed on a path that would very soon have him at my feet I stared at the ground in front of me trying with all my might not to look directly at him. Now at 5 yards he veared slightly to his left taking a path right in front of me. I remember watching the tip of my longbow to see if he was going to run into it. I held my breath and watched his feet step through the leaves as he passed in front of me at 3 steps. I didn't move a muscle.....

This picture shows my tree seat and my fanny pack is sitting where the deer crossed in front of me.

 

[Talondale]

Awesome, isn't it?

[Shaun]

Feel the rush! Love the gillie. Keep it coming.

[JEFF B]

wow!!!thats cool same sort of thing happend to me while i was over there but we just did the look at each other thing then she ran like hell.  

[BMN]

He continued on a slow walk until he reached my right side. The only problem I had now was that all I had to shoot at was his hind end. At a distance of 3 steps a deer goes from broadside, to quartering away, to straight away in a matter of a split second. As he walked away I really thought it was over. I was going to have to explain to my hunting friends how I had a deer that close and didn't get a shot at it. He was about 10 yards away when he made an abrupt turn that would bring him back in front of me at 18 yards. I slowly followed him with my bow arm and started to apply tension to the string. As he entered a shooting lane straight in front of me he stopped and put his head down. I concentrated on a spot behind his shoulder, came to full draw, and released the string. The small buck never moved until the snuffer slammed into his side. He took off on a dead run until I lost sight of him. A second later I heard a crash and then all was silent. I couldn't believe what had just happened. The shot looked good, just a tad bit high, but I still wanted to wait and calm down a bit before taking up the trail. I sat there shaking my head, grinning from ear to ear, and chuckling to myself. That did not just happen, that did not just happen, that did not just happen. But it did. I tried not to get over confident in what I thought was going to be a short blood trail and forced myself to wait for twenty minutes before looking for blood sign. A short distance from where he was standing I found this:

 

The 75 yard trail was easy to follow and at the end of it lay my first whitetail killed from the ground. After taking several deer with a recurve, it was also my first with a longbow. I knelt down beside him a gave a short prayer of thanks. I had been truly blessed with an unbelievable experience.

 

 

He's not the biggest deer I've ever shot but it sure was a Pope and Young experience. Thanks to all you ground pounders out there that have shared your experiences and given encouragement to guys like me to try something new. I owe you one.

Bill

[allanburden]

congratulations on a beautiful deer

[drewsbow]

congrats well done :0)

[J Buck]

awesome! long bow fever!

[Gumby]

Awesome deer .. and a great story.

[Stone Knife]

What a story! Thanks for sharing that  

[BOFF]

WOW O WOW!!!!
What a rush it gave me reading your story!! I can't imagine how it felt in person- heart attack?

Nice deer!! Congrats Bill!!  

[sticshooter]

Yep thats why I perfer hunting from the ground. It's wild and oh so exciting!CONGRATS!<><

[Bonebuster]

Congratulations!!!!

Ground pounding is a good way to check for blocked arteries isn`t it!!!!!

Many happy returns.  

[FJTOYMAN]

Thanks for sharing. The Oregon late season Sat. I plan on trying your technique.

[Jack Denbow]

That was really cool.

[vermonster13]

Well done