Simple question for some of you, why do you ground hunt?
Not a lot of trees in Nevada-at least in some places, Sheep, goat and antelope (all of which we can apply to hunt) are not in trees. Elk, deer and bears hang out in trees which are scrubby many times..that said, i still have a tree stand i intend to use if i get drawn for one particular area
I should have said whitetail hunters
It is warmer, shot angles are better, you can't fall 15 feet and die or be crippled and it is every bit as effective with the right set up. I still use a ladder stand if I must, but I do prefer good ground blind set up. I built a permanent ground blind for my wife on our property a couple years ago and there have been several trad bucks and does taken from it and none over 12 yards. I'll be putting in a couple more, one on a funnel and one in white oaks. The hills here can be so steep in places, you can be on the ground on the side of a hill and have a treestand like shot on a deer at 15 yards. Very effective if done correctly.
It's hard to fall off the ground. ;)
That being said, I did buy a lone wolf last fall and I did use it a bit.
Dave.
Hunting Public Land is much easier on the ground.
I'm more mobile and can move almost instantly if need be. Also as mentioned the safety factor.
It is a challenge to get close, but extremely rewarding when it happens! I had a doe so close a couple years back, feet not yards, I could hear chewing. That close don't allow any shot opportunities, but it sure is fun!
Safety and excitement, not necessarily in that order.
My Wife and I generally hunt together. Its just our thing and we enjoy it. She can sit still without falling asleep, I can't! I'm either asleep or a bit fidgety. First, no way could I get her twenty feet up in a tree (or even twelve) and NO WAY we could BOTH be up there and not run everything out of the county. In a blind we can drink our coffee, eat our snacks and take turns napping without falling out (I did fall off my chair once though, no apparent injury).
When I hunt by myself, I like using my Ghillie Suit, a "wearable" blind if you will. I am very mobile, can play the wind at a moments notice, can sit where I want even if there isn't a good tree nearby and don't have to deal with the "Should have been 50 yards farther THAT WAY" scenario that always seemed to happen when I did hunt stands.
Like most, I do occasionally still hunt a stand or two. Haul all my stuff up, get settled, mess with the safety harness, fidget around, climb down to trim a branch that wasn't there before... yadda, yadda, yadda. All it really does is remind me why I like to ground hunt.
OkKeith
I'm lazy. And i hunt public land.
I can stroll in a long ways on my bicycle and be setup quick and quiet. And if someone else comes blundering along, or the wind changes, or I spot an animal a long ways out I can just hop up and move.
My hunting time is very limited, and I feel that being instantly mobile really improves my chances of getting a shot.
That being said, there are several places where I just can't hunt from the ground without building a substantial blind (mostly open hardwoods). So I do have a climber that I will be using next season some.
I ain't ashamed to hunt either way :D
I don't want to wake up at the base of a tree and wonder if my life just changed forever.
I feel like I have more control while on the ground. I can move, and adapt to changing conditions more readily. Makes me feel like I am truly hunting, not just waiting. I grew up hunting hilly, thick forests on the edge of clearcuts, where stand hunting wasn't impossible, just seemed impractical to me. Old habits, I guess. Good thing I'm not a buck.
I hunt public land away from the trees, I never get crowded out by newbies hanging stands where I want to hunt. I do need to walk by them at times, since they hang their ladder stands on the first trees near the walk in entrance areas. Oh, using a Nifty Seat I have proven more than once that can indeed fall off the ground.
I had my back operated on and carry the hardware still today and adapted to the ground and love it,
No worry of falling out of stand .
I can sit from dusk to dawn in my Huntmore 360 seat.
If your in an area where there are plenty of deer......it's just more fun. Also tougher, but more fun! Use a Ghillies suit and you will be amazed at how close they can be.........