Learning to adapt

[raydaughety]

The wife and I were sitting up late last night chit chatting when she gave me a serious look and said " I want you out of this house" . She began to explain that bow season has been in for almost a week now and I have only been out once. That is kinda unusual for me . Anyhow, she went on to explain that she had oreded from literature from "New Heights" and wanted to discuss buying one for me because I cannot climb anymore. Here is the model that she suggested :http://www.new-heightsinc.com/classic.asp At first I got a bit excited but then I saw the price accomanied by the fact that I would probably have to invest in a larger atv to get it in remote areas and there is no way that I'm going in debt for a deer stand.

I have asked this question many times on this forum but there is a lot of new blood out there that may give me some insight on my question. I have an ameristep ground blind that I have tried hunting out of but I get busted many more times than not while hunting in it. I have tried brushing it in, you name it and finally got a shot out of it last Saturday. I have hunted from climbers and tree stands all of my life and am not comfrtable hunting on the fround but now I have no choise in the matter. I have a friend that I grew up with in SC that is a guide and all he hunts out of are ground blinds. Double Bulls are the only ones that he will hunt out of claiming that the cheaper ones have a shine to them that gives their position away. I know that several members here use the ameristaep blinds ( Wabi is one I think). Anyhow, I sure could buy a lot of ground blinds with $14K . So if you will fire away with some tips on hunting from the ground. BTW, has anyone ever had success in hunt on the ground like one would do when turkey hunting?

[Pydpiper]

Ray, all my hunting is done from the ground, the same way I would hunt for turkey. Matter of fact, I often wear my turkey vest to take advantage of the seat and pockets.
Success rate is perfect, I have never been left holding a tag.

Portable blinds are another great way to hunt from the ground, but they can be cumbersome to carry with a crossbow.

[sumner4991]

I only hunt from the ground. I'll get in front or behind something(trees, shurbs, thicket) to break up my outline. I use the natural terrain to give me an advantage. I've touched deer before without the use of full camo or scent attractants or odor block. It's more of a challange and I get busted . . .but, I always get my deer.

[raydaughety]

I understand what you guys are saying but in my neck of the woods where hunting with hounds and extemely high hunting pressure keeps these whitetail on edge. I love the idea of hunting on the ground like I did during turkey season. I carried a small chair that resembles a lawn chair with extremely short legs but because I wiggle around so much trying to get comfortable, I afraid that I will get busted more times than not. Are your deer pressured as bad as ours? Sumner, your probably are in Va, I would think.

[randy rickmon]

Ray,
I use a Lucky's Tent Blind and love it. It was made for vertical bows but with a 7 1/2 foot base there's plenty of room for a crossbow. Can you leave it in the woods during the season? After a week none of the deer seem to pay any attention to it. Also, this blind holds up really well. A friend of mine has one that is 15 years old, and I believe Jim Shockey uses them.

[wabi]

Ray,
I have never had any problem with getting busted from ground blinds, but I do set them out well before season and leave them there. I think weather will fade them and dull the glare given enough time.
I'm trying something different this year - had the rare bright idea - I painted the windows of my blind at the food plot flat black. I figured if the deer (and other critters) get used to seeing those big black panels on the blind they won't give it too much of a look when the windows are actually open.

Will report success or failure as the season progresses.

I also use blinds with the black interior and wear black (or very dark solid colors) clothing while inside. If you wear camo or light colored "patterns" you are much more easily seen when inside. I also avoid setting where direct sunlight can hit me - stay in the shadows and become part of the shadow. You will notice in the pic that my blind is located in some brush and has some limbs overhanging it. There is a very good trail at the extreme right in the pic, and one just beyond what you can see at the extreme left of the pic. I've had deer walk within 3 or 4 yards of the blind and never give it a look. They have accepted it as part of the landscape.
One other "trick" I use (this blind is at the food plot/feeder location) is to wear rubber boots most of the time when I'm in the area, but always make a trip to the blind while I'm there. If I'm filling the feeder, squirrel hunting, photographing nature, trapping, or gathering bait at the creek nearby for fishing, I still walk to the blind. That way a faint scent trail leading that direction is not unusual.

[sumner4991]

I hunt the same way here in Georgia. I've found the Georgia deer to be smarter/more alert than the deer in the area I hunt in rural Virginia. Since it's a multi-use public property here, the deer are constantly alert for people. Using the terrain is a key element. I try and find a high bank or a gully, anything to help me hide. It can get a little creepy in the early morning hours, sitting on the ground. That's why I want colder weather . . .it gets rid of the bugs/snakes.

I still have not been out. The forecast is for "Occasional Down Pours". Been that way for a few days and looks to continue for a few more days. Rain has been dropping like "piss out of a boot". I wonder how that saying got started. And, it's been warm.

Get out there and have some fun.

Good advice from wabi on using the shadows and staying out of the sun . . .I do that too without a blind.

[bluemoon]

Had the same experience with commercial blinds, deer picked them off without fail, even when brushed in. Maybe if left in the woods for a long time deer would get used to them, but that brings into play one of the same reasons I quit treestands- they get stolen, no matter how far into the backwoods I hauled them.

I hunt much the same way as sumner, though I do set up several brush hides well before the season, using whatever is available on-site. Still get busted sometimes, but nothing like with the commercial blinds, and no more than when I used treestands. Actually, my success rate has gone up since switching to ground hides (8 deer the last 2+ years). Opened up access to thick spots where elevated stands wouldn't go or didn't make sense. Also helped me get past my inclination to sit a stand even when the wind wasn't right, or changed mid-hunt. Moving from a hide with unfavorable wind to another location nearby, but with favorable wind, helped me bag an 11-pointer early last November. Would have been busted all morning in the first location, so I trekked ~200 yards to another, and 30 minutes after settling in among some cedars with scattered brush out front, I was tagging a deer.

It's certainly a cost-effective approach too! That said, if the New Heights is appealing & you can swallow the price (that is a lot of dough), go for it. We (hunters) need as many high-quality gentlemen (& ladies!) like you out there in the woods as we can get!

[Grizzly Adam]

Ray, I've never been in a portable tree stand in my life, though I have hunted out of some permanent tree stands and a few ladder stands.

Most of my hunting is "bucket hunting" where I sit on the ground against a solid backdrop of brush, or even in the brush, shooting out of a hole.

I imagine you have the same sort of impenetrable thickets there that I do. Lots of times I'll just cut out a "room" to set a chair in, with a "window" to shoot from.

Many of my best hunts have been walk-ins.

I always keep a pair of pruning shears with me.

[wabi]

I will add that I also have used a blind which is no more than camo netting with a few fiberglass rods to hold it up.
http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabe ... in-Medium$
I even have a camo umbrella I can strap to a tree to keep me dry to add to it's use in bad weather.
The main thing with these is to have a comfortable seat to use. (turkey hunting seats work well)

As my dad told me when he was teaching me to weld - the first thing you do is get comfortable! If you're not completely comfortable you can't do your best!

[Grizzly Adam]

As my dad told me when he was teaching me to weld - the first thing you do is get comfortable! If you're not completely comfortable you can't do your best!

No doubt about it, Wabi.

The COMFORTABLE hunter is the SUCCESSFUL hunter.

I couldn't count the deer I've shot off of my "Sportsman's Barcalounger" ... a dove / fishing box with a boat seat on it, complete with backpack straps.

[Undertaker]

Grizzly said-The COMFORTABLE hunter is the SUCCESSFUL hunter.


Focus on that one aspect and you will be both happy and successful. If you fidget, try to conceal that. I have seen big bucks stand at the edge of a thicket and peer out with just their heads. They just stare for a long long time. If I had moved one little bit, his full scan feature would have alerted him to my presence.

Oh..... nice wife. Good on yah.

[vixenmaster]

ground blinds are good during very cold or rainy/snowing weather. i lke to set mine up where trees & vines breakup its outline. plus mine is flat dull no shine even when sun hits it. Another item thats very good to use gilly suit blends very well and you can sit in a comfortable chair

[raydaughety]

Wabi, I have 2 of those blinds for turkey hunting but haven't tried them while deer hunting yet. I am most comfortable either in my turkey chair or a camo folding lawn chair. Grizz said it best, on the field edges it is so thick that you could fall from a plane and never touch the ground. I have a pair of pruning shears too and I know how to use them . I think that it would do me good to invest in an aluminum deer cart to haul my bow, chair and pack in. I can't see where I would ever hunt over 100 yards of the truck anymore so that should work well for me. I wonder if they make one that I could pull behind the 4 wheeler if I wanted to get off of the road a bit? I know, I know, I'm jumping from one subject to another in a desperate attemy to figure it all out . Anyhow, just trying to adapt .

[sumner4991]

Talk to munch.

http://www.excaliburcrossbow.com/phpBB2 ... light=cart