Getting deer to pass in range without detection

[captain caveman]

Struggling with trad set up for whitetails.  The difficulty lies in getting deer to pass my location at trad range for quartering away or broadside shot if cover allows me too draw undetected.  I’m getting picked off visually in the tree.  Trying to avoid hunting to high for less severe shot angles.  Last two hunts have been from Waldrop pac seat and I have had better success avoiding detection at point blank ranges.  Only down side is less shot opportunities from ground usually restricted to a couple shooting lanes.  Called one in to 12 yds last week and was unable to pull off shot because I was too deeply buried in woody cover.  Still wouldn’t trade these ultra close encounters but at some point it would be nice to have it all come together.
 

[hawkeye n pa]

Deer have that uncanny ability to pin point you when your calling.  I've had trouble with that and don't usually call when on the ground.  I'm sure I'm missing out but it's just been problematic and I'm in a high pressure  hunting area. But like you, I still wouldn't trade my ground hunting challenge.  It is so rewarding when it come together!

[1Arrow1Kill]

I strap my turkey seat to my hunting pack and set-up by active deer sign next to a large tree, downed tree or in some thick stuff.  Even in my leafy suit the larger deer are 'good at what they do' and often sense something they don't like and avoid me.  The younger deer sometimes do present opportunities, but I'm just not interested in taking a small deer.  Being on the ground means being very, very still and having lots of patience.  Wish I was more successful, but traditional archery isn't an easy venture, especially on Michigan's State and National Forests where the deer are very educated.  Good Luck!

[captain caveman]

No easy answers for sure.  I’ve been close enough on ground and in trees at low heights to hear deer breathing.  This is truly a challenge like no other.  At some point I’ll need to bring a deer home to prove I’m actually hunting and these high adrenaline encounters are real.

[David Phillips]

Have you checked the batteries in your HECs suit? I know when mine get low deer can see me.
   Seriously though you have to hunt trees with some cover around you height is not near as important cover.

[captain caveman]

I’ve been climbing multi trunked trees when possible.  We have a lot of white oaks that split about chest high. Much respect for you guys who are consistently successful with trad gear.  I guess part of it is redefining “success.“  My hunts are very rewarding and I’m constantly being taught new lessons about the wild places I hunt.  I hope to connect soon but then I guess that’s when the learning ends.

[Overspined]

Deer are hunted hard for many months every year.  They’re smart and know their territories. At least in MI they sure do. Here’s what I try to do: forget all the camo all the patterns all the crap. Pick an appropriate color camo or whatever plaid or something for where you’re hunting so you don’t stand out. Then pick spots where you’re not obvious. Where in the peripheral vision you aren’t obvious. Sit IN A BUSH not in front of it. Take clippers and make a hole to maneuver in. Sit in the trunks of a multi trunk tree. Sit in a blowdown not in front of it. I use a 68” longbow and I’ll just make the spots work for me. I hang and hunt almost every sit every year for 20 years. And I learned I always need to avoid that “what’s that” in order to avoid detection.  In Indiana and Illinois I do it too, although it’s much easier they aren’t quite as amped up on the good private ground. I sit higher sometimes and lower others. All depends on what makes me disappear

[GCook]

Trees with cover.  Elms that hold leaves through fall though brown the movement and noise help.   Trees up against cedars that provide cover or even a tripod in a clump of cedars.  For  me 12 to 15 feet is all I want to be up but if you do it right it's more than adequate.

[buckeyebowhunter]

One thing that helps me get drawn on them is having my bow up in front of my face and move with them slowly and then when you are ready to draw pull straight back. They can't see that you're pulling straight back. Of course this does not work with a swing draw or target style draw but it will work. I feel like I get busted way more by them smelling me rather than seeing me. But they're good at both for sure.

[Recurveaholic77]

One thing that has helped me in hunting from elevated positions is not wearing dark camo in the trees, unless the cover around you is darker!! Deer are very suspicious of a dark blob in the trees even if you have good cover try to blend in with the horizon and not stick out against the horizon! Hunting out of a saddle so i can use the tree as cover has also helped alot, but you have to see them coming so you can set up for them before they are too close!! Looking at it this way has helped my elevated game alot but when on the ground getting in the cover makes a huge difference!

[arrow30]

hiding in mature oak woods is pretty difficult, use shadows and put your stand on the backside of the tree so your hidden behind the tree. its tough i know.

[Overspined]

hiding in mature oak woods is pretty difficult, use shadows and put your stand on the backside of the tree so your hidden behind the tree. its tough i know.

In this pic, in my opinion, there are two obvious spots where 3 mature trees are close to each other. These are where I would start. Put my sticks on the opposite side I expect the critters and only get as high as I think would maximally hide my profile.  I did exactly this the other day and had em walk under my platform. I used 3 sticks each 3 steps, and 2 had aiders. The other stick I tossed aside. Probably 15’ up ish at the platform.

[captain caveman]

Would you pick clump to left?  Ones in center are lower in the draw and would potentially require higher stand placement to avoid line of sight.  That’s another issue I’ve come across hunting the trails right above more severe drainages.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Cover is key. If your woods is open and ccx all the trees straight, you may need to doctor up a spot.   Also a lot of people consider a shooting lane as a wide open path to a target.  Unfortunately once trees are cut they are gone. Often this is what you need to get away with movement.  Try to think of shooting lanes more as shooting holes.

[Recurveaholic77]

hiding in mature oak woods is pretty difficult, use shadows and put your stand on the backside of the tree so your hidden behind the tree. its tough i know.

In this picture the three trees that are close together in the middle would offer decent cover if you get up where the limbs are forking and giving you more cover to break up your outline that is your main concern when it is so open! Make sure to break up your outline and keep your movement to a absolute minimum and your chances will increase!!!

[HOOSIERGRIZZ]

I hunt a lot from the ground with a ghillie suit.  I've been amazed at how close I can be w/o being detected, even with some movement.  Last year I had a nice 10 walk in front of me between 5-10 yds.  I had to move some to get a shot. Every time I moved a little, he'd stop and look right at me.  I'd stop and wait and in a few seconds he'd walk on.  Repeated this 3-4 times until he was quartering away about 12 yds when I hit him.  I wish I'd bought one years ago.

[Sam McMichael]

It all comes down to basic deer hunting. The only problem is that this is very difficult, even though the basic premise is simple. Good cover is essential, especially if you consider scent control as part of the cover. As you know being still is a major factor as well. The trick is finding where the deer wants to and setting up in such a way that you are hidden and the wind is favorable and you still have a good shot angle. In addition to cover in front of you, don't forget having a cover screen behind you. Yes, you learned all of this in the first book or video that on the subject of deer hunting. In short do these things: find a good location, sit down and point your nose into the wind, BE STILL. Finally, pick a spot. Even with all these basic hunting habits, pray for a bit of luck. Ground hunting has always been very challenging, and in those areas of heavy hunting pressure, educated deer are adept at checking out the trees. Actually it sounds like you are basically doing most of the right things, so it is just a matter of time. Remember, in trad bowhunting, the odds favor the deer. That is what makes it so much fun.

[TDHunter]

 I do on occasion sit on the ground and was lucky enough to take a nice Whitetail at 10 yards. I just sat off a scrape line under a dark tree and made sure the wind was right pretty basic stuff. A while later along comes a nice buck stopping to Scrape along the way and one well-placed arrow Gotter done

[Stringwacker]

Seems like every time I try to stand....even if they are a 100 yards away in thick cover...they pick me off in a tree. I rarely am seen when I' shoot from a sitting position. I just try to reposition myself in the stand for a  sitting shot before they are close.

I agree thicker cover is a big help. That said, I've killed deer in wide open river bottoms in trees that look like telephone poles without cover...and no more than 15 ft up.

They don't usually see you unless you move; at least that is how it works for me. Deer where I hunt are heavily hunted. They are issued combat helmets at birth:)

[Lefty38-55]

Interviewer:  Hey Mr. Fred Bear, what is the color of your favorite camouflage?

Fred Bear:  Don't move ...

Interviewer:  Yes, I know, don't move, but what is your favorite camo color?

Fred Bear:  ... don't move ...

Interviewer:  Right, got it ... don't move, but what's your favorite color?

Fred Bear:  ...  d o n ' t  m o v e  ...