OTG Hunting...

Hunting from the ground whether it be from a chair, a natural blind or other means how many of you hunt primarily from the ground? Share some of your experiences to if you would like.

The first decade or so I hunted, I knew no one who hunted from a tree, everybody killed deer from the ground. Then it got to be that you had to hunt from a stand for some reason. I like to do both. I hunt from the ground a lot here in the mountains. Killed one off the ground Monday morning. Killed one from a treestand a couple weeks ago. Both work well.

I do a good bit of it. I think its very important to have a good background behind you....whether thats a tree, brush, or steep hill....something behind you so that you dont "stand out".

In my experience you just have to be more careful with movement and scent when OTG.

My last comment are that the deer appear bigger when OTG.....maybe thats just me, but horns look bigger and the bodies look bigger....

in some set ups you have much better visibility from the ground. Hunting with a modern rifle there is no reason to not be sucessful from the ground

I love hunting on the ground, enjoy it much more then stand hunting. I've had a few within 10 yards so far this season OTG. Nothing i've wanted to shoot yet, though.

I have only killed 1 deer out of a stand, most of the time I just try to get a pine tree that is wider than me so I don't stand out and wait on them to come by. I have been flinging arrows for six years and it has worked well. In a few places I have blinds built but I just use the camo burlap for wally world and put it out a few weeks before the season starts so they get used to it and it has worked really well as well. I just zip tie it around long straight sticks then zip tie the sticks to small trees or cut a forked tree to rest the straight sticks on.

I much prefer ground hunting because it is a more natural way to hunt.. our ancestors did not have portable hunting stands. It also makes me a better hunter as it is more challenging. I especially like hunting a new area and figuring out how to hunt it, like a puzzle.
I sometimes carry a ground blind, but prefer to look for natural blinds.. which are less likely to alert the deer to something new in the area. Natural blinds are not always perfect, and you have to keep your movement to a minimum.
One time I hunted from a fallen tree in the middle of power lines clearing. It was not a huge amount of cover, but along comes a buck. I was standing and kept my gun pointed at him as he approached. He stepped over the tree not more than 15 feet from me, and I bagged him. My best buck, an 8 pointer.
With minimal cover, it is best to hang back as far as you can, and keep movement to a minimum. If you are still hunting, it is best to move from tree to tree so you look like you are part of the tree.
I had a doe walk right up to me within 5 feet while I was behind a skinny tree. Of course I already had my gun up.
If they are moving you can get away with slow movement.
Another thing you have to be ready for is if they see you. They will react and move away, but if they have not smelled you there is a chance. Get your gun up and figure where they will go to circle downwind.. then blow a grunt. You may have a shot while they circle. This has happened to me numerous times.
I carry a small foldup chair for when I find a good ground setup to hunt from. I practice shooting from a sitting position with my shooting elbow resting on my knee.

I got my first bow kill ever this season from the ground! I have had deer walk by at less than 5 yards while OTG. It's so much more exciting than being in a tree.

I have ground hunted almost exclusively in the past. My main issue in the past is that the area I hunted in was too steep and large to carry around a tree stand. I also like hunting different spots and don't usually hunt the same place more than a couple of times unless it is really good. Lastly, I have yet to find a tree stand that I can sit in more than 3 hours without becoming extremely uncomfortable. With some good prep, ground hunting can be very comfortable with or without a chair. Now that climbers have gotten better, I will probably get one and try that more as it allows me to do a bit of both.

The biggest challenge with ground hunting is find a good space. This typically involves hunting a field edge or where 2 draws come together to form one, of which one needs to have a steep side. Other area are where a ridge comes up and over looks a fairly open flat. Fields are fairly easy as you find a tree or brush to sit in front of. Any "ridge" hunting means you should far enough up to get a good view, but not high enough to skyline yourself.

My last piece of advice is that you have to get turned before the deer get there or your not going to get a shot. I have about 50/50 luck with deer coming in behind me or on the side. Once you see the deer, your not going to get turned if they come in behind you or on your sides without getting busted.

some things are just to big to be high up. and some fall asleep too easily.

i like my ground setup's. chair and camo tarp all around, or sitting in the middle of a short thicket / hedge / bush, and being able to look and shoot over. that generally works for me. the cheap wally-world camo fabric and some tacks and clothes pins work well to hold things in place. between nature and the fabric, you really do need something to break up your outline.

on the few times i was in a stand, it was generally a larger 4x4 mounted platform / bench, 8-12 feet up. with a good bit of room to move around.

If you'll look closely, you can see a small spike that I grunted in yesterday morning while hunting OTG. He stayed within 25yd of me for nearly 30 minutes and never new I was there. That's what's it's all about. Id prefer hunting in a chair with my back against a tree any day. the trick is to hunt the wind and up here in the mountains you have to play close attention to the thermals. Oh and sorry for the crappy phone pic. I tried to zoom in on him and it became a blur.

All of my best deer I have taken on the ground.

I've hunted from pop-up blinds for the last five years, and have killed all of the deer that I needed for the year.

Kawaliga said:

I've hunted from pop-up blinds for the last five years, and have killed all of the deer that I needed for the year.

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love pop-ups!
Unfortunately, mine burnt up in a brush fire back in the spring.

I still carry a little chair into the woods and set up frequently, love the perspective, and the flexibility.

I've had half a dozen deer with in a few yds of me many times, 2 with in feet of me...that is a cool experience.

Watched a buck chase some does in south Dawson tonight up a hill on the ground.

I've done both but I prefer the ground because generally I can use a small tree to sturdy my rifle against. It also depends on what your hunting of course as well. Big woods. Ground. Pines. Ground.

Ten year old cutover. Stand.

But I see deer from the ground all the time.

I`ve come full circle. When I started deer huntin`, there weren`t any such thing as a climbin` stand, that we had ever heard of, so we hunted deer the same way we hunted turkeys. Backed up agin a tree. Then when stands came out we got all slicked up with em. I ended up with a job where I climbed for a livin`, wore out a knee, and now I can`t climb at all. So, I rigged myself up with a chair several years ago. I like it purty well.

I like hunting from the ground more and more. It is way less hassle than setting up a stand and gives you lots of options.
I still hunt some from tree stands, mostly ladders and big comfortable climbers but ground hunting is winning me over.
I have been using one of these seats this year and it has really been nice.

I never shot a deer from a stand until about 10 years ago. I always hunted the ground growing up and shot plenty on the ground. I've had deer walk right behind me,while sitting on the ground. My biggest buck to date was taken while sitting on the ground.

frankwright said:

I like hunting from the ground more and more. It is way less hassle than setting up a stand and gives you lots of options.
I still hunt some from tree stands, mostly ladders and big comfortable climbers but ground hunting is winning me over.
I have been using one of these seats this year and it has really been nice.

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Frank, that looks like a mighty nice setup. Gonna have to look into one of those.

hunt form the ground once in a while. I dont like a pop up blind. most of the time the stick out like a sore thumb and dont have room to move around if needed. I just take a chair, and set it up. most of the time when I do, im hunting some thick pines or on a egde of a field. killed a few does that way over the past couple of years