Moving out of the trees for late season!(season is over)

[Mike Bolin]

October and early November saw me pass up shots of some younger deer, both bucks and does. Not sure why really, just didn't take the shots I was offered. Our gun season in Indiana goes out today and we have a 5-day bow only season leading up to next Saturday when muzzleloader season begins and runs for 16 days (we can bowhunt thru muzzleloader season and then up until January the 7th this year). I have never seriously hunted from the ground for whitetails, but I am going to try keeping my feet on the ground for the rest of the season.
My wife would much prefer that I ground hunt all the time anyway. She is not comfortable with heights, so she figures I shouldn't be comfortable with heights! LOL! After 40 years of working in/building powerhouses and refineries, heights are really not an issue for me, but the added challenge of hunting from the ground might just be what it takes to get my juices flowing! If it works out for me, I may finally pull the trigger on a Waldrop seat! Hopefully I will have something to report back here over the next 5 days!

[frassettor]

Good luck to you sir. I love to hunt on the ground .. I hunt from the ground 100% of the time n. I love it. You’ll also like your Waldrop pac seat, I have one from David . Sure comfy, lightweight .

[ed lash]

Good luck. This is a great project you’re doing. I keep thinking about hunting from the ground, but I can’t make myself do it. My go to is to revert to the tree. Let us know how you do!

[IndaTimber]

I too have been looking hard at the Waldrop but will probably never give up trees 100%. I just have too many places on public ground where a good tree just isn’t available and have had some fun hunts on the ground but a better seat would be something nice to have!!

[Wudstix]

Have one of Dave's original seats and it is just what you need to go ground hunting.  Doesn't take much to throw a blind together or sit in a clump in the shade.
 

[Terry Green]

Ed, you will never know till you try.....

I started hunting from the ground years ago and I didn't totally give up the trees.  You might be surprised what you can get away with.

I rattled this one in on Thanksgiving years ago and he was my 1st ground kill deer.

I killed this big doe at KennyM's place from a natural blind.

I killed this one hiding/standing behind an 8 foot maple sapling.

You just have to learn and study the sign and the terrain around the sign, and  make your 'hide' out of the line of sight.  Now those are just deer.  I have no idea how many hogs I've killed from the ground, but I have also taken many javies, an angora goat and an antelope from the ground.

Hunting from the ground is the ultimate rush.... try it sometime.

[Skates 2]

Best of luck!  It's a blast!

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Man, you are taking on the challenge Mike! Right after the gun pressure with no leaves on the trees! You are tougher than I am! If you need a tracker don't hesitate to text me....our new dog has been doing great and is rarin' to go!

R

[Friend]

Enjoy this most fulfilling experience...

[the rifleman]

Mike best of luck.  After being used to a bird's eye view that treestands afford ground hunting--especially in our thickets is definitely a different experience.  But so rewarding to have a deer at eye level 5 or 6 steps away. 

[Wudstix]

I'm rooting for you!!!
 

[Mike Bolin]

Time for a brief update. I have had one encounter where I had a very reasonable shot opportunity. Had a button buck at distances from 25 yards to 5 feet. I chose to pass on the little fellar, but having him that close did get the pulse elevated quite a bit. Had 2 does in the field last night. Well out of range, but gradually feeding somewhat in my direction. The neighbor to the west did his usual property check on his side by side right at sunset. They heard the side by side long before I did. They both froze, staring to the west until he drove up onto his pond dam and they saw the headlights. They tore out of there like they were about to get ran over, and the neighbor was at least 400 yards away. Gun season makes them a bit jumpy I reckon. Not getting out this evening and will wait until the storm front passes thru tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow afternoon or Sunday afternoon. At least I did see some deer!

[Hud]

I hunt exclusively from the ground, either spot and stalk, or waiting along a well worn game trail. My first whitetail was one of four, running through a thick river bottom.  When they crossed my open lane at 10 ft., I took one from a kneeling position with natural cover. It went about 25 yds with a lung shot.

I prefer hunting from the ground, where I can move a few feet or across a canyon if needed.  In really cold weather, moving is easy and more comfortable. Good luck.

[Mike Bolin]

Quick update-deer movement has been slow to non-existent for the past several days. Muzzleloader season is in until the 24th, but I am hoping that movement picks up, although I haven't heard very many shots close by...or at all for that matter.
I guess it is more that the deer movement is much more random for this time of year. The entire season which started on 10/1/23 and will end on 1/7/24, has been fairly dry and pretty warm. Forage has not been a problem this year as there is still a lot of green in the woods. Walking in on a trail the other day I was surprised by the amount of grasses and forbs that were still green. Good for the deer, but more challenging for the hunter! Usually by December, you can find a good food source and post up on a travel route, but not so for this season. Getting some much-needed showers this afternoon, so I am taking today and tomorrow off. Back at it on Monday!

[Wudstix]

Glad to hear you're after them.
 

[Mike Bolin]

Quick update. Morning activity has been slow to non-existent. On late afternoon hunts there have been some deer movement, but nothing within range. Last night the deer moved earlier than usual, as I had a pair of does feeding within 75 yards at 4:15. By 5:20, there were 4 does and 2 young bucks in the field, The bucks had quite a bit of interest in the does, but the does were only interested in having some supper.
Heading back out this afternoon. This will be my last evening to hunt for a few days as my son and his family will be arriving from Tennessee tomorrow to have a late Christmas celebration. They will head back south next Wednesday, but I have a board meeting at church that evening, so that will leave me 4 days to get it done before the season closes on the 7th. Nothing like taking it down to the wire!

[Mike Bolin]

Our season ended last Sunday, and I ended up without a deer in the freezer. I did spend the entire latter part of the season hunting off the ground. Although I blanked for the season, I did have some close encounters, just not close enough! I learned some things, the most important being that I need to invest in a much more comfortable seat! I also learned that if you stand up to stretch your legs, make sure your seat is still in place when you ease back down. Otherwise, you make quite a bit of noise when you smack into the branches of the deadfall you are using for cover and just as much if not more noise when you try to get untangled from the branches!
I won't be selling my ladderstands quite yet, but I did enjoy hunting on the ground enough that I intend to do it more next season. The excitement level is intense when you have deer 15 yards away, even if it's just a couple of yearlings.

[Wudstix]

Ground hunting can be addictive.  Check out a Waldrop seat.
 

[Hud]

Mike, you may enjoy reading a collection of stories, made into a paperback book by Petersen's Bowhunting, published in 2007, "Best of Trail's End". Jim Dougherty past away a few years ago, but hunted extensively, first in California on the Rock (Catalina Island), then as a resident of OK.  USA, Alaska, and spent a month in Africa. He shares a lot of great information. 

[Mike Bolin]

I'll look for that Hud, thank you!