Its all winding down and time for a Friendly debate

[lpcjon2]

So as we all wind down from hunting season I am missing some of those good ole debates we would have on a given topic(sharp vs razor sharp ect). So lets get to talken about ground hunting tactics and skill level compared to tree stand tactics and skill level.

       I have done both and feel that tree hunting is simpler and takes less effort in hunting except when its go time. Granted wind still plays a great deal of a factor but depending on how high you go you can get away with it a little. Also sitting in the tree does give you a bit of an edge on the animal.

     As far as ground hunting I have done it often in a blind(natural cover) and the wind does play a serious factor. You have little playing room to move around for comfort and shooting, and it also gives you an advantage over the animal.

      And the spot and stalk option on the ground, in my opinion is by far the hardest and most challenging form of hunting. Every move you make can make or break the deal,its a stress filled challenge for any who take it on.The wind is the main factor next to limited cover and patience. You have almost no advantage on the animal and no room for error. In my opinion this form of hunting is the hardest and demands the most skill of a hunter. by far spot and stalk is true hunting.

    So whats your opinion on the tree hunting and ground hunting. Keep it friendly please

[LKH]

Friendly? Friendly? Now you've taken all the fun out of it.

I do almost exclusively spot n stalk.  I generally have limited tags and want my hunts to last as long as possible.  SnS takes care of that.

Killing something out of a treestand just doesn't have the sense of hunting to me anymore.  

That said, I sure understand why hunting in the east with limited property makes tree stand hunting the only reasonable option.

[don_h]

Tree stand skill level...hmmm. I hunt the ground, but there sure are a lot of guys who do well out of stands. Have hunted out of stands before but can't sit and wait too long, feel like I need to be on the ground working, but to each their own and good luck no matter what your method.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Hunting from a stand for elk in Montana is too passive! Unless you are on water in a dry year or have a super sweet honey hole, spot and stalk or calling is the most consistent way to find animals in my experience.

[kbetts]

Funny you bring this up.  We are in last days of our season here in DE.  Currently its black powder but tonight I took the longbow and hunted from the ground.  I saw seven deer and the same amount of turkeys including a couple of nice longbeards.  Crazy as it sounds, I think I could have taken a Tom, but the deer wouldn't cooperate.

I personally think stand hunting is easier, but ground hunting is where its at.  The 25 yard shot I had at the deer would have most likely happened but since the wind swirled, well you know.  Still worth every second.

[Chromebuck]

Another AK response!  Elevated treestands are a method used predominately for black bear over bait from what I've observed.  However, I think they are used over bait also as a precaution from Brownies. A sow and two yearling cubs enters your bait station and you get winded on the ground...mmmm, not good.

I have nothing at all against hunting from a tree and would do it if our critters actually patterned more like whitetails.  So spot and stalk is almost by neccesity.  Higher altitude and tundra both treeless environments.  Moose on the otherhand could be looked into a bit more for sure.  They just have such long legs that they tend to travel anywhere they choose with ease.

~CB

[RC]

This is a hard to answer question due to Tradgangers being scattered all over the place and hunting different critters.A deer in the south east thats been shot at for 4 months is tuff no matter how you go about it.
  In my South Ga, opinion treestands are easy once you find the right place to put it.A ground blind in that same place is a bit tougher because of the wind and getting spotted if more than one deer comes by.If you can spot and stalk a South Ga. Mature Buck your talents are being wasted....You should be a Navy Seal..RC

[kbetts]

Don't think I could slip up on a buck, or wise ole doe for that matter.  But I can slide into a spot they're going to be.

[buckeye_hunter]

I have actually seen and been closer to more deer on the ground than in a tree. I generally hunt from a tree, but statistically have done better seeing and getting in the proximity of deer on the ground. I'm only talking about seeing and being close to deer, not "closing" the deal though.

Still hunting is not my strong suit. I do better finding ambush locations and waiting.

[LKH]

SnS is not nearly as hard as many think, especially for muleys and caribou.  Antelope too if the country is real rough.

First you need a high tolerance for failure.

Get a hat that you can put some kind of brush around a place or two in the band.  It gets rid of that "round predator" dome look when you get caught peeking over.

Hunt rough country that allows you to move.  Much of the tundra I hunt requires you to actually hunt the spot you think they are heading to.

A range finder is very helpful since many times you can't see any of the ground between you and the target which makes any estimate of the distance nearly impossible.

Use light colored clothing.  Things like Trebark look like a black blob at any distance at all.

Take a cane or use your longbow as a "third leg" to allow you to lower your foot very slowly in dry grass, etc.  A muley bedded in juniper with a 10mph wind can hear you trying to sneak at 175 yards.  The finish has been ground off several of my Harrison's tips.

If you get caught looking over, freeze.  Do not move no matter how long they stare.  Make them move off.  You'll be surprised at how often they will eventually calm down.  The worst thing you can do is duck back down.

[katman]

All the methods take skill to do it well consistently. Like mentioned we all hunt different critters in very different terrain. Stalking on the ground is the most challenging. Very difficult in my neck of the woods, it is more like stalking and spotting not spot and stalk due to the THICK woods/swamps. I found spot and stalk much easier out west than in my neck of the woods. Tree stands do give the hunter more of an advantage over being on the ground.

[ron w]

A lot has to do with game numbers. I see on average 2-3 deer a year. That's from the ground or a trees stand. So to say one way is easier than the other when there are not many to start with.....I guess it's tough either way. I like being on the ground as I feel it makes me more able to adapt to changing winds and such. I believe if game numbers were higher it would make it easier to maybe pattern animals and maybe put a tree stand to good use....it's just not that way around here!

[adamgti]

I'll play the devils advocate here. Ground hunting of any kind is easier for me than tree stand hunting, and the answer is simple. It's to "HARD" for me to sit in one of those boring things all day.  

[Jeff Strubberg]

I think there's less margin for error on the ground.  I think both are a heck of a lot of fun!

[coachA]

From my hunting experience the same skills are used for both types of hunting. The difference is in the concentration. Stalkers and still hunters can not have any let down in concentration. Every move must be calculated and planned to prevent detection. Tree stand hunters on the other hand also have that concentration but once they have scouted, hung and enterred the stand they can sort of relax as long as they are super still. So, both use the same skills for success, they are just different in the times and duration.

[Bowwild]

I'm a tree stand hunter when hunting white-tails in the east where I live. I've kiilled blackies from trees over bait in Ontario.  

I ground hunt when after mulies and elk.  I suppose if I ever hunted sheep, goats,bou or moose I'd be still-hunting.

I've hunted antelope from blind (killed one) and by still-hunting -- educated quite a few.

In order for me to spend the time necessary in a tree stand I have to do a lot of homework. My scouting, stand placement, and shooting lanes must all be well thought out. If I'm confident in my scouting it is much easier to spend the hours on stand.

I'd grant that in most cases hunting from the ground, especially if not in a blind, would be more difficult to get in bow range.

I dearly love the view from trees. I'm better able to disappear from the woodlot critters.

I also think the shot from the ground is a bit easier with no steep angle to deal with

Finally, given the choice, when I'm hunting from a tree stand I prefer that no one is still hunting and disturbing the natural movement patterns I've scouted. (I know, they migut spook critters to me.)

[Spurs]

In Mississippi, you are the man if you spot and stalk even a doe.  Our ground blinds basically have to rot with cover on them before deer get used to them.  Treestand hunting here is by far the easiest,  but I wouldn't use the word easy lightly.  These deer look up!!, where as mid west deer seem to be more relaxed and look asleep when they walk by.  I like the midwest deer better because they are generally bigger, but my experience is the further north or west that I get out of my state, the deer are more calm like cattle compared to these overhunted, overstressed, dog run used and abused ghost like deer. Lol!!  The list of verbs to describe these deer goes on and on.  Still fun to hunt, and yes can be killed.

[JDinPA]

Originally posted by ron w:
A lot has to do with game numbers. I see on average 2-3 deer a year. That's from the ground or a trees stand. So to say one way is easier than the other when there are not many to start with.....I guess it's tough either way. I like being on the ground as I feel it makes me more able to adapt to changing winds and such. I believe if game numbers were higher it would make it easier to maybe pattern animals and maybe put a tree stand to good use....it's just not that way around here!

Wow. I would have to find a new place to hunt. I would go crazy with only seeing a few deer a year.

[YORNOC]

I'm a die hard tree stand guy for hunting my local area. To me, its absolutely easier than getting a shot at a smart, schooled buck from the ground. Thats why I'm in a tree!
Now, does that make it easy?  HA! Far from it.
Ya gotta know the land, the animals, the food sources(no farms here..natural browse), the time of year, the human pressure, when to hunt it as far as wind,cold,rutting activity,etc.
Most importantly (IMHO) is when to BAIL on a stand and move if nothings going on, no matter how good it looked pre season.
Now, sitting for hours in the cold can be boring, cold, uncomfortable, etc., but I can often use thermals to sit in an area that the wind is bad in but still be above a deers nose...not easy on the ground!
  In reality, if I could get a shot at as many bucks from the ground as I have from a tree around here, I would ground hunt. Its more fun and not as cold. But to me in my experience around here....ground hunting for a mature buck is brutally hard.  I took my biggest buck ever from the ground, but it was not my skill that got him. I was damn lucky. I know "I" made the shot, but I did not plan on outsmarting him before hunting. I knew nothing and he was dumped in my lap.
Love to ground hunt, but I'm good at tree hunting, I'll stick with it around here anyway.

[maineac]

Like Ron, numbers here are low.  I have lots of ground blinds I set up all summer long as I scout.  I often go for my climber though.  Our winds are so unstable I often give the nod to the tree stand to try to get a little advantage over the wind.  During any sit the wind usually varies 90 degrees every couple of minutes and will do a full 360 several times an hour.  I like to still hunt, but our woods are thick in the understory and I can rarely see a deer before they spot my movement from their beds.