Ground Hunting Whitetails is underrated

[Calcoyote]

A Couple of Thoughts:

This November I took an Idaho Whitetail by rattling him in. Words cannot describe the adrenalin rush to see movement off in the distance and it be a buck who is rapidly closing the gap. He was so sure there was a fight going on that he came all the way in to less than 20 yards. I was sitting on a stump well camouflaged and had my outline broken up by having another tree to my back. He never even saw me. It was incredible.

My brother in law lives and hunts in Mississippi and he uses lock-on tree stands for almost all of his hunting (and he has had good success). But, He has a brother in law that almost NEVER uses a tree stand. It is crazy. He has a nickname by the locals in the area of "The Ghost". The reason for the nickname is he is able to go into the woods and just disappear. No one is sure how he does it completely. He took me into the woods years ago and tried to show me some of what he does, but to make it simple, he hunts areas close to where he lives that he is very familiar with and has learned how the deer move through those areas and he is able to anticipate what kind of movements they are likely to make based on weather, time of day, hunting pressure. etc. He sneaks into a spot and then blends into the woods around him and becomes invisible. One of the larger bucks that he got was shot at 12 yards with a compound bow. The buck came walking through with two other does and none of them had ANY idea that he was there until it was too late. He is an assassin. I love that kind of hunting.

 

[bootstrap]

Midwesterner00 congratulations on some nice bucks and thanks for the inspiring write up.​

 

[Jermh]

Really makes me want to get more serious about ground hunting. Like others have mentioned the amount of leaf cover on the ground around here really affects what you are able to do. Nice work man!

 

[lyingflatlander]

, that’s awesome! I’m primarily a tree stand sitter, but you helped me recall a time I was hunting at my grandparents farm which was primarily cedar swamp. I had a grunt call and was on the ground during the peak of the rut. (On the farm the bucks would chase doe’s and crash through the woods grunting the whole while.) I started grunting, pounding the ground with my feet while kneeling and breaking every stick with my feet and hands during my first sequence. I looked up to see a mature deer staring at me 30 yards away. Still haven’t read that play anywhere. But your technique is definitely food for thought...

 

[Hoosier.270]

So the past 3 years I have had to learn really adapt how I hunt. Now most of this has been out of necessity as I live 2 hours from my prime hunting timber. These past seasons I have become a father to 2 young children, which has limited my ability to pick up and leave for days on end, let alone for more than a couple hours for sake of keeping my wife from going insane. That leaves me with the option of trying to bow hunt around my house, which consists of small pieces of public land that are severely over hunted or wide open crop fields and fence lines of private land that belong to my neighbors and nobody would even think to deer hunt. Now I will be the first to say that I definitely lucked out on the private land. After scouting and putting up some trail cameras, not only did I find a fair amount of deer in those little waterways and fence lines, there was also some mature deer that I would like to target.

After deciding I could give it a try in the open crop land, I set up some ground blinds and 1 tree stand in the only tree that would hold a stand. In the short times I did that, I noticed that I would see deer but they would often not come into bow range. I then made a decision to scout one evening in an area that I did not have a blind or a stand and I would just sit on a high point and glass to see where the deer were coming from and where they were headed. That night a saw the biggest buck I have seen in this area and he was headed in a direction that I felt I could easily cut him off. I snuck down in the waterway ahead of his path and quickly got a 15 yard shot at my biggest buck with a bow. That moment and that rush of sneaking into position and fooling a mature buck on his level in this open terrain was amazing.

That rush fueled a new obsession that I would take into my next deer season. This year, however I had planned my first mule deer hunt and I would be spending all of my vacation driving out to Idaho. After an amazing but unsuccessful Idaho trip, I was left to hunting the occasional weekend or week night. Even those hunts were few and far between as it was very hard to leave my pregnant wife with our young daughter for very long. Long story short I struck out during the rut. I still had a bow tag good for after gun season in Iowa, although I did not think there would be much of a chance to get that tag filled in the late season with snow covering up what little cover I had been hunting during the fall. One morning I saw a group of deer run into a small draw close to my house and I decided I would go sit near there that evening, thinking I might get lucky and shoot a doe to put my archery tag on. That evening I positioned myself in an abandoned acreage that butted up to the draw where I saw the group of deer and waited. I didn't have to wait long before that group of deer was walking up my direction. In that group of deer was a nice 10 pointer. I had to reposition slightly to get in front of them but I was luckily assisted with a couple of trucks driving by that distracted the deer enough for me to crawl into position. I later shot that buck at 30 yards and was so amazed how lucky I had got for the second year in a row. 2 nice bucks with a bow from the ground in an area that has no timber or substantial cover.

Ok this year. 2020 has been a different animal for many reasons. First of all, screw COVID and everything around this stupid virus. I was stuck going to work and coming home for most of the year and was left with little scouting or sightings of mature deer. Not even on camera. Combine that with the 2 kids at home and I was certain I would not have much time or much of a chance to get my tag punched this year. And honestly I was kind of ok with that. I mean how lucky can a guy be? Well with that being said, I did get out a couple of times in the pre rut but I was having trouble getting to where I thought the deer would be without spooking anything so I kept my distance and did not push anything. That lead to this past weekend. Halloween morning and I had a couple hours to go out before I had to start helping get the kids ready for the day. Very windy day so I was able to sneak down into the waterway where I had seen a lot of deer from the road the past couple evenings. It was a very bright full moon so before daylight I was able to see a couple of does down the waterway about 100 yards. Once they walked the other way a little, I took advantage of the wind and snuck down closer to where they went in hopes a buck may be doing the same thing. I set up in some tall grass shortly before shooting light. As it got light, I positioned myself in the direction I would guess the deer to be coming from and as I was doing that, I noticed a very nice buck doing exactly that. He was freshening up a scrape and headed right towards me. As he went in a small depression in the trail, I drew and he walked right in front of me at 20 yards. As he came right in front of me he was grunting and lip curling at what I later saw was a small buck and a doe to my right. I made a good shot and he didn't go 40 yards.

What the hell? I did it again? How is this happening? All I know is I am not going to change anything and keep riding this wave out. The rush of hunting on the ground and taking those western hunting tactics to these big Midwest whitetails has become my new favorite passion. Good luck to everyone else out there, remember to hunt where the deer are and not where you think they should be.

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2018 Buck

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2019 Buck

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2020 Buck

Heck of a buck congrats! I started bow hunting on the ground for the first time this year. Didn’t even use a blind, just camped out in a dry creek bed. I had close encounters with small bucks, even had a button buck with 10 feet of me.

 

[44maghunter]

Awesome write up!!! Nice bucks with awesome stories. This is so cool to read because its exactly what I have been doing. I haven’t had quite the level of success as you, but I did the same thing after my first western hunt, brought those tactics back to Wisconsin and have been killing bucks on eye level within 20 yards. It is so awesome

 

[bigbuckhunter88]

Congrats on some studs

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[TwentyFeetUp]

First, thanks for sharing. Those are really nice deer. Second, I definitely agree that ground hunting is underrated. Being from Georgia, I grew up hunting the Piedmont region, which is characterized by rolling hills, hardwoods, pasture land, and loblolly pine plantations. That being said, I spent most of my hunting time in a treestand...be it a climber or lock-on. Last year was my first experience with a saddle, and it was a game-changer for me in terms of being utterly mobile...I'll likely spend 70%+ of the rest of my hunting time in a saddle, but last year was also the first time I successfully stalked and harvested a deer. It was late season (December 12) in southwestern Georgia, and I was headed to one of my climbers that I had left hanging on a mature longleaf pine. If you aren't familiar with longleaf pine forests, they are absolutely beautiful...albeit challenging to bowhunt. Mature stands of longleaf that are properly managed look like the attached photo...distantly spaced trees with grassy ground cover and ZERO midstory...in short, they are considered savanna ecosystems. They are super easy to hunt with a rifle, because it's not uncommon to be able to see 300-400 yards from a stand, but with a bow, picking the right tree is critical (as always). Anyhow, I was briskly walking to my stand as I often do when hunting corridors that aren't very close to either food sources or bedding (neither of which are very plentiful in a longleaf stand). As I rounded a bend in the road that skirted a stand of relatively young, thick pines, I saw a tail-flick about halfway between me and my stand, which was only 10 yards or so away. Two does were slowly working their way toward my stand. I didn't want to bump them because it was still the tail end of the rut in that area, but I also didn't want to be on the ground waiting for them to move along. So, I dropped to my knees, quietly set my pack on the ground, strapped on my release, knocked an arrow, and got into a crouching position. The sandy road allowed for virtually silent steps, and the tall understory grasses waved just enough to disguise my movement. I kept an eye on the two, and every time both head went down...I moved. After about 10 minutes of this, I was at what I thought to be about 35 yards (in the excitement, I had not grabbed the ole rangefinder). Once the bigger of the two began to swing broadside, I drew in a squatted position and slowly rose to a full standing position. Unfortunately, in the time it took me to get stood up, she had begun to quarter away again. So, I held a little back and let it fly. I was pretty sure I had seen the arrow fly over her back, and I heard a thud I was almost certain was my arrow burying into an old hunk of deadwood in a small debris pile from a hurricane the year prior. I watched both does run off...tails raised high. I had lighted nocks, and didn't want to poke around spreading scent while looking for my arrow...and I knew on my way out in the dark the lighted nock would make finding the arrow easy. So, I continued on to my stand, climbed up, set up my filming gear, and proceeded to get tons of great footage of some younger bucks passing through. As darkness fell, I was watching a little four pointer that was maybe 50 yards away upwind getting nervous. He kept walking to a certain spot and trotting off only to go back and repeat. As it got darker and darker, I noticed a glow in the grass only 10 or so yards to his right. I was baffled wondering what in the hell was glowing. It was my lighted nock, and I simply didn't put the pieces together because I had been so sure I missed earlier, which would have put the arrow in an entirely different direction. Then it hit me, that was my lighted nock...and, I was almost certain that the 4-pointer was freaking out over the doe's carcass. Sure enough...when I climbed down after dark, my arrow lay only 10 yards from the doe, which had run only 40 yards. It was a wild hunt considering how confused I was when I saw the glow for the first time. I had convinced myself of a miss and simply moved forward mentally, so it was a very AH HA! moment when the realization was made. I had executed a perfect quartering shot that entered behind the ribcage and exited in front of the left shoulder after disconnecting the aorta from the heart. Again, it was merely a mature doe...but the rush of the stalk mixed with the confusion and realization make for a fun memory and story none-the-less. In the future, I definitely intend to be more aggressive when on the ground. It was a lot of fun, and there was a great sense of accomplishment associated with maneuvering into bow range with virtually no "cover" to work with.

 

[Grbrrr]

I think there is a time and a place for both. I have shot my biggest buck to date on the ground. Some of the property I whitetail hunt on is only 80 acre parcel so I would like to keep a lot of the bedding and swamp areas untouched. I think hunting from the ground on public land can be very productive. Awesome bucks!

 

[TN2shot07]

Holy cow, those are some studs! Nothing quite like the rush of being with them on the ground. I’m still primarily in a tree, but there’s definitely a time and place for pinching up next to a cedar looking at beds!

 

[Jfitz]

Similiar thoughts hoping to ground hunt more this season!

 

[FLATHEAD]

killed all my best bucks hunting from the ground.

 

[Pilarczyk85]

Im terrified of heights and force myself to stand hunt. I have limited movements when up there. So this thread gives me hope. I've been considering trying the ground game. Seems like the thrill has to be through the roof. Great bucks btw.

 

[taylorholte]

Good for you man! I'm hoping to someday have the same success that you have been able to achieve!

 

[Yard Candy]

I'll jump in. Story time.

I'm in Maryland. Our woods are thick with debris, leaves, and branches. It's almost impossible to walk quietly.

Last season I was in my ladderstand when 3 small doe ran through the woods passing literally right infront of me, but they never stopped. They were passing through. They ran out of sight but the path I thought they took led out of the woods and into a farmers field, behind me (which I had permission to hunt). With 10 minutes of legal shooting light left I quickly climbed down and crouch walked through this path, towards the field. And to my surprise, through the breaks in the brush, I could see the 3 deer feeding in the field. I crawled to the end of the trail, right to where it opened up to the field. Crouching behind some brush I slowly popped my head up just enough to range the closest one which was at 35 yards. I successfully harvested that deer.

The thrill of following their path, guessing their moves, seeking them out, and sneaking around is unparalleled to any stand I've sat in. Even though it was a small doe. I stalked it. I beat it on its turf, on its level. It felt great.

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[long hunter]

All my hunting is from the ground, trees are ment for squirrels not old men. Most of my shots are under 50 yards, sit still,watch the breeze and the deer will walk right too you.

 

[Idkwhyimhere]

There are 3 kinds of hunters. Those who wait for things to happen, those who make things happen and those who say what the hell happened.

 

[Rich M]

When I started deer hunting, very few guys would hunt out of trees. It just wasn't the thing to do.

 

[Mtn_Nomad]

I do alot of still hunting during rifle season. It can be so nerve racking but I've had some awesome encounters but also blew alot of opportunities Lol

 

[bigeyedfish]

I had the closest encounter I've ever had a couple nights ago. I was face to face with a doe at about 3 yards. Way more enjoyable for me than sitting in a tree stand.