From the ground success

[futuredoc]

Any of you guys have success from the ground with deer? If so, what are your tactics?

I find that the number one reason I don't want to hunt these days is the pain of lugging in my dang treestand. I hate setting the thing up, climbing, the noise etc. I am just trying to get the courage to hunt from the ground with a bow. I have taken many, many, deer with a gun from the ground, but none with an arrow.

fd

 

[ky_longbow]

I usually hunt from the trees- came down last fall and hunted from the ground several times- no commercial blind- just used natural cover -------to be honest- i felt rather naked, and felt as if i was sticking out-couldnt see very well and didnt have any success- but i went back up in the trees and was successful-

not saying i wont try it again- i think its just a mindset and you have to program youreself------ill give it another go this fall-

 

[Al33]

Hunting deer from the ground can be extremely exciting. Over the past couple of years I have been doing more and more of it despite the difficulties involved of remaining undetected.

I used a rootball hole and some drape blind material for my one and only successful set-up. The rootball itself hid me on my left side and the blind material on my right and in front of me. I was positioned on the side of a ridge looking down it lengthways towards a bottom and the high point of the ridge was on my right. A spike came in from behind me on the top of the ridge at between 15 -18 yards but he detected something wasn't right. He started stomping his foot then turned quartering away when I let the arrow fly through the blind drape. Because he was higher than I was the exit was higher than the entry which can be seen in the second pic (his opposite left shoulder). That was my first longbow deer and it did wonders to encourage me to try more ground hunting.

I think less is more when it comes to using blinds because the deer will know it if the furniture has been added to or rearranged in their home. I try to avoid creating horizontal lines, preferring instead vertical blind spots that will allow me to move if and when a deer moves past one. There really is no particular method that will work for all circumstances so you just have to work with what you have in the particular area you want to hunt. Even the perfect set-up for one day might be the wrong one for the next so you just have to try and realize what a deer might see if he looks at your set-up.

 

[Kawaliga]

You can be successful bowhunting from a ground blind if you truly believe in, and understand the power of a deers nose. Scent is the number one enemy, and you have to have the wind in your favor. Other than that, a good, cleverly constructed natural blind and a lot of patience will get you shots at game.It's amazing at how much movement you can get away with if you are hid good, and understand deer body language, when to move, and so on.It's an adrenaline rush for sure!!

 

[ky_longbow]

AL33-congrats- like the bow also- bow details------please !

 

[Al33]

AL33-congrats- like the bow also- bow details------please !

Thanks! The bow was made for me by Mr. Bobby Lofton from Indianola, Ms. It has an Osage riser with bamboo limbs, is 66" long and has a draw weight of 65# @ 28". I have another one just like it accept that is right hand, 64", and 62# @ 28" if you know of anyone interested in it.

 

[ky_longbow]

i hear those Loftin bows are sweet-
62#@28" is too much for my 29" draw-
i never would have guessed osage as the riser material,
with the grain and the straw color- i would have guessed zebra wood----
were you shooting a 2 blade head ? or a woodsman ?
i cant tell from the pic-

 

[ky_longbow]

now that ive looked at the pic again- i would guess a woodsman-
just out of couriosity- what are you asking for the Loftin?
you can PM me if you want-

 

[Al33]

It was a two blade Magnus.

PM sent.

 

[futuredoc]

thanks

Thanks for the replies. Al, nice deer I think I heard your story on tradgang at some point. I hope to get to take the recurve out a little in the fall, but I don't know with my rotation schedule if I will get enough practice. I am getting tired of lugging my mess into the woods though, and I just wish I would get the courage to try it from the ground.

fd

 

[Al33]

futuredoc,

the courage or confidence will not come on it's own, you just have to make up your mind you are going to do it and get-r-done. The confidence comes when you have deer at less than 30 feet that are oblivious to you. Even if you cannot pull off a shot, just having a deer that close at eye level does wonders for your confidence. After that it is only a matter of time before you will likely score.

Try to keep in mind that that's the way it was done for a very long time prior to tree stands unless you climbed a tree and sat on a limb. You CAN do it but it won't happen until you try.

tetgunner hit the nail on the head with avoiding the deer's nose. That is much more important than cammo.

There is one more detection concern you will have to deal with and that is noise. When a deer gets really close to you your heart will be sounding like a big drum.

Good luck and remember it is the difficulties that make the success that much more rewarding.