Taking whitetails from the ground

[J.Wells]

Hey Guys!!! I’m wanting to take 4-5 days at the end of September to go hunt public land whitetails from the ground. We aren’t looking to chase bucks just any deer because neither of us have shot a deer with our longbows yet. We don’t have access of the budget to buy stands which means we will probably be hunting from the ground in big woods.

Would anyone have any tips for a newbie trying to get really close on the ground ?

 

[go_deep]

I tried to brush myself in so the deer would be quartering away before entering my shooting lane on a trail, once they get past you they tend to be more focused what's in front of them giving you the opportunity to draw.

 

[Tank9]

A ghillie suit will be your friend. Whether store bought, custom made, or a combo of both try to blend it in to whatever environment you'll be in.

 

[J.Wells]

A ghillie suit will be your friend. Whether store bought, custom made, or a combo of both try to blend it in to whatever environment you'll be in.

Ok I'm sure I can come up with something on that front!

 

[Wrench]

I've never killed anything from a tree. I try to use natural blinds on corridors. You typically only get one chance per setup as you will get winded at some point in their route.

Move stealthily.....they're jumpy as heck.

 

[Btaylor]

Still hunt heavy cover on light rain days or high wind days. When you think you are going slow, slow down some more.

 

[blazingangel09]

Check out The Hunting Public channel on YouTube. They are compound hunters but do a lot of hunting on the ground with great success. They have had some success using a decoy to draw bucks in and distract from their shooting position.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Get a really comfortable seat... so you can sit really still. Your movements are 100x more visible on the ground. You need more back cover than you think, and you need to set up so you're able to draw without them seeing you. Usually, that means after they've walked past you. A good leafy suit is almost as effective as a ghillie, and won't be nearly as hot, or as hard to shoot from.

 

[ledflight]

I got one from the ground in my leafy suit and have fooled others in it. Practice in it - make sure it doesn't snag your bowstring on your face or arm!

 

[fatlander]

Killing a whitetail, in the woods, with a bow, from the ground is extremely difficult. I’ve killed a few from the ground, and frankly I don’t think it’s too much easier than killing turkeys with a bow outside of a blind. Tree stands allow you to get away with so much more movement and hunt near 360 degrees. Sitting on the ground is going to limit you around 90 degrees. Everything has to go perfect in that 90ish degree window. Good luck!


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[TxxAgg]

Build a Torges Tree Seat and make/buy a Ghillie Suit

 

[Newtosavage]

Hey Guys!!! I’m wanting to take 4-5 days at the end of September to go hunt public land whitetails from the ground. We aren’t looking to chase bucks just any deer because neither of us have shot a deer with our longbows yet. We don’t have access of the budget to buy stands which means we will probably be hunting from the ground in big woods.

Would anyone have any tips for a newbie trying to get really close on the ground ?

You'll need a lot of luck. What you're suggesting is nearly impossible to do. People do it, but not consistently. Especially in the South where whitetails are spooky as hell.

I've hunted public land whitetails for decades and have only taken two from the ground. One from a well brushed in pop-up blind and the other from a perfect natural blind under a small dense cedar tree that I stumbled on, and still use to this day.

If you're successful in killing a whitetail on public land from the ground with a longbow, you will have achieved something that 99.999% of hunters will never accomplish. Again, good luck.

 

[SirChooCH]

What I do for my ground blind spots is use a Hawk swivel cushion seat that snaps onto a 5 gal pail. I pick spots where there is a pine you can cut branches to sit into to break up your outline and have a back rest to lean against or else a brushy spot with log/down trees to also help camo you in. Shot a doe and spike like this both within 15 yards on public. My spots like this are on travel corridors for deer so they move through and as others said once slightly past you draw carefully and shoot. They see movement.

If you can afford it pop up blinds really help cover your movement. Shot lots of deer out of those. Its a great $100 investment.

Play the wind.

 

[Beendare]

Some

.

 

[kpk]

I've probably shot 50ish from treestands and only 2 that I can recall from the ground - and it really hasn't been for lack of trying. It's very difficult.

Best strategy IMO is to find a VERY well used trail and basically wait them out when the wind is in your favor. The ones that I shot were at small creek crossings. I brushed in both in front and behind me as much as I possibly could. A creek crossing or the like gives them a natural spot where they might stop for a second and you can get a shot.

Still hunting is a blast but it's sure hard. Wind (which brings it own challenges) and rain will help you. Carry some tic-tacs in your pockets to help you slow down. You can't go slow enough.

 

[Highvoltage1]

The last few I’ve killed has been from the ground, now I’m hooked. I like pre/rut get in thick cover and don’t be afraid to get loud kicking leaves and grunting etc. works well. The buck I killed last year came through a natural funnel of laurel to me stomping and grunting. Made a scrape at 15 yds and gave a nice frontal shot. It’s a rush! Best wishes

 

[J.Wells]

I'll have to check back in as season progresses. This is all really solid Intel.

I'm gonna try to find a pinch point or corridor I can hunt in heavy cover and I'm gonna work on getting a ghillie put together

 

[J.Wells]

What I do for my ground blind spots is use a Hawk swivel cushion seat that snaps onto a 5 gal pail. I pick spots where there is a pine you can cut branches to sit into to break up your outline and have a back rest to lean against or else a brushy spot with log/down trees to also help camo you in. Shot a doe and spike like this both within 15 yards on public. My spots like this are on travel corridors for deer so they move through and as others said once slightly past you draw carefully and shoot. They see movement.

If you can afford it pop up blinds really help cover your movement. Shot lots of deer out of those. Its a great $100 investment.

Play the wind

This right here is probably what I'm going to do!

 

[sneaky]

ASAT leafy suit is your friend. I've killed deer on public land from the ground that looked right at me and kept walking. Inside of 15yds.

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[FLATHEAD]

99% of my kills have been from the ground.
Taught myself to still hunt in my 20's.
Nothing more satisfying than taking a big buck while still hunting.(not stand hunting)