Hunting in a tree stand with a recurve just doesn't seem "right." How do you hunt?
Thank you,
JDG
Both, just depends on the situation. Hunting on the ground is exciting though.
Mostly spot and stalk for hogs.
Exclusively from the ground...
Another one who hunts from the ground-enjoy it the most and when you do get a shot you've done everything right-nothing like it although for decades hunted from trees. To each their own.
Ladder stands and tripods. Ground blinds and slightly elevated blinds. Spot and stalk for bn pigs sometimes.
Personally I like being up where I can see a little around me. Watch the squirrels and birds.
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I'm finding that I prefer the ground, but will hunt out of a stand too. Depends on the spot and all the factors you have to take into account.
I'm a ground guy.
Ground for me, they don't make stands for guys my size
I'm better with a stick bow from a stand, but I don't have a place to put them anymore so I ground hunt now. I just can't bring myself to put tree stands up on public lands.
On government land you have to remove daily, makes it rough.
Here we can leave them up till the end of the season but there's too many thieves. And it's basically first come to the stand other people are able to use your stands.
I like the ground, but mostly I use ladder stands. Fortunately I own a small place, so I can leave my stands out with low risk of thievery.
For me I'm almost always elevated. I have hunted from stands almost exclusively but this year I've been using a tree saddle. Makes a big difference for me. Also some of the public land I hunt requires I be at least 6' off the ground. However I think I'm going to finish up my season on the ground where I can legally.
-Jeremy :coffee:
My brother in IN has @40 acres that he has sole access to, with about 8 ladders spread around. I really miss having land to hunt.
I like the ground.....!!
I do both. Some times its just nice to sit in a stand and not have to worry as much about movement. Can relax a little more. There's nothing that compares to getting a shot while on the ground though, at least for me. Being eye to eye is pretty exciting.
I'm 95% Tree hunter, 5% ground. I just like being able to shoot over the briars and branches. It also gives you another 5-10 minutes of shooting light. However after blowing out both knees this year I may have to change a bit.
I have hunted with 56" to 62" inches of recurve without a issue 12-15 feet up. I prefer hunting from a tree but not against hunting from the ground. I usually never sit down and usually face the tree, I know, sounds weird but it works for me. I use the tree as cover. But you have to watch your lower limb coming in contact with your stand or upper limb coming in contact with the tree or bow hanger after you release.
Both. But this year it's been about 70/30 on the ground. Once you learn how to set up, it's a lot of fun.
I hunt any way that's legal. For deer stands can help conceal your draw which is nice but they can also highlight your presence. Also stands can help you pick the perfect spot even when cover isn't around on the ground. I really love finding a blowdown in the perfect place but I'm not immune to hanging a stand as needed.
Quote from: Soonerlongbow on November 23, 2019, 08:41:31 PM
Here we can leave them up till the end of the season but there's too many thieves. And it's basically first come to the stand other people are able to use your stands.
This is hilarious 😂 ? Well that will ended very bad
Both, but my tree stands are all ladder and most I've hack sawed down so there around 12 feet high. I do not enjoy hunting out of those "nose bleed" stands.
Quote from: BAK on November 24, 2019, 09:00:50 AM
Both, but my tree stands are all ladder and most I've hack sawed down so there around 12 feet high. I do not enjoy hunting out of those "nose bleed" stands.
That seems to be a reasonable compromise. The one fellow that I know who hunts exclusively with a recurve cuts down ladder stands and sets them up in overgrown fence rows. That type of set-up or a perfectly placed blow down seem to be perfect for hunting with traditional equipment.
I have to admit that I have never shot a recurve from an elevated platform. I've been focused on becoming proficient and confident enough to shoot accurately from the ground.
Ground. I hate carrying a bunch of stuff into the woods and I love the rush of being so close to game at their level. I also like to still hunt, so ground hunting doesn't rule out that change in plans.
Where I hunt it is quite thick, so a stand is very nice, but still not worth the drawbacks to me. That said, I did set up a low hanging (12ish foot) stand this year, as a reminder to why I hunt the ground!
Guys if I may. I personally normally hunt from trees. Many advantages and from a fellow who grew up w wooden stands than bakers it doesn't seem abnormal.
Now there are situations one could up the odds on the ground. Years back a farmer who's land I hunted was complaining we shoot not enough does. There was a hayfield leading to a pumpkin patch. The deer were killing the pumpkins. Between the two there was a dried up brook the deer would cross. I'd get in the brook n move w the deer to the crossing they were using that day. Shooting em was about guaranteed and super easy. It was way less challenging than setting a tree.
All in all I believe for the most part, trees are far advantageous but we're trying to add to the challenge oftentimes using stykbows (some know no other way) and I fully understand that. I just find many of the oak ridges I enjoy hunting are better in the trees. Ground set ups could work but you need to adjust techniques or pick other locations to succeed. Nothing better to me than watching sunrise from either though.
I do both but prefer ground.haven't arrived there but I figure if I can get proficient in taking game on the ground with trad bow Im getting closer where I want to be as a hunter and that's what I thrive towards.
I actually think I get busted more when I'm in a tree.
I really like the ground for many reasons.
The kill zone is bigger, don't need to worry about dropping something, can sit more relaxed and many more reasons.
But after joining the fraternal order of the Deer Divers, it's STAY ON THE GROUND for me.
Two years ago an older friend fell 10' from a stand while lowering his day pack. Fractured his pelvis and three vertebrae. He survived but he is ground bound now.
Wisdom dictates using a safety harness and climbing system.
As we age it is harder on us if we fall.
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I hunt exclusively from the ground now. Although I used to hunt tree stands,
I hunt public now and it's so easy to grab my Waldrop Pac seat and go. I hunt the areas that most hunters don't want to hunt in due to the lack of trees to put stands in.
Both
I've been hunting white tails from trees (15-20') since my first bow hunt in 1970. In 1970 everyone hunted with stick bows. I didn't know anyone who did not hunt from tree stands. Right as rain.
I hunt mulies, Turkey, and pronghorn from the ground. I did kill a deer in TX from the ground. This year I dabbled from the ground in a new surround view Primos. Much more fun than peeking through windows of normal pop ups.
I love the view from trees. Very rarely busted.
I hunt from both but prefer hunting from the ground now that im getting older.
Plenty of action on the ground... Still Hunting and Stalking can be very rewarding, even if you don't fill a tag... In fact, it's been many years since I've brought home the bacon... Wouldn't have it any other way...
... mike ...
I find this fascinating! Back when I began bowhunting, NOBODY I knew hunted from the ground. Even suggesting it got you funny looks. Now I'm reading there are a lot of us out there. :thumbsup:
I'd lay odds it's kind of like traditional vs. modern equipment archers. The percentage of successful hunters from ground vs. elevated is probably significant. Although pop up binds and modern blinds designed for bowhunters has probably changed that over the last decade.
I've killed more and more from the ground as the last few years have gone by. Especially from pop ups. Set up a few days in advance and they become a very effective hide.
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I do both for Whitetails. I typically still hunt my way from stand location to stand location. I am not one to do all day sits. I move!
Rather be in a tree, but will do what the situation in front of me calls for. This weekend will be a ground game.
Depends on the animal I'm hunting and the terrain I'm doing it on. Thick cedar swamps and my oak ridges are better suited to the ground game, while I'm in the trees in other spots both on my land and friends property.
NOt sure why it wouldn't feel 'right' ....Bakers were made in the 70s long before most folks were using compounds...and long before Bakers folks were climbing up into trees and hanging on a branch or jamming a 2x8 into the crotch of a tree.
and no, I haven't used a treestand in 3 seasons...but I do use a saddle:
Treestand, tripod, enclosed ground blind, natural ground blind; whatever I feel gives me the best chance to get the critter I'm after!!!!!
Most of my permanent setups are enclosed ground blinds these days.
Bisch
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For those of you using pop-up blinds (I use natural blinds) do you find them to be confining to the point where you might be missing seeing or hearing deer?
Quote from: Captain*Kirk on November 26, 2019, 02:46:35 PM
For those of you using pop-up blinds (I use natural blinds) do you find them to be confining to the point where you might be missing seeing or hearing deer?
Sometimes. But I also find the to be very concealing and a great wind break. A comfortable sit for a few hours at a time out of the weather.
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Quote from: Captain*Kirk on November 26, 2019, 02:46:35 PM
For those of you using pop-up blinds (I use natural blinds) do you find them to be confining to the point where you might be missing seeing or hearing deer?
I have used them for firearm season and I don't like them. They are very effective for keeping me dry and out of the wind but I don't like how they limit my view and my ability to hear some sounds. I also find myself moving around more than I should in order to get a better view out of the windows. I normally hunt out of a "C" shaped blind built against a tree trunk built made of brush and limbs. I have found that set up let's me see deer before they see me and I can draw and be ready when they walk into the gap in the "C".
Quote from: Doublegun on November 26, 2019, 06:32:36 PM
I normally hunt out of a "C" shaped blind built against a tree trunk built made of brush and limbs. I have found that set up let's me see deer before they see me and I can draw and be ready when they walk into the gap in the "C".
Ditto... :thumbsup:
I use both blind and treestand and spot and stalk.
I love the view from my stands. Although, given the right terrain, it really is fun to still hunt.
Still hunting is a blast and can become standing still hunting if the right spot is found. :coffee: :archer2:
I hunt from the ground and the tree,,, I'm 10' max usually in a tree many times I'm only 6' off the ground... I go in with only two LW ladder sticks to give you an idea but try the tree low to the ground its pretty cool it gets you some better shot angles that are just above the bushes but it feels like shooting from the ground to me,,, you need to find a tree that's nestled into a young pine or better just behind one then trim off a branch or two to shoot thru or something else because the deer will see you like on the ground your background is super important for it to work. .... I have friends that go up to 20' in a tree that's just crazy..
Most of where I hunt you have to bring out whatever you hunt with everyday. Don't have any portable stands, so I am a natural blind kinda guy. Just carry a stool, maybe. Going to ghillie suit next year.
Quote from: Wudstix on December 01, 2019, 11:59:04 AM
Most of where I hunt you have to bring out whatever you hunt with everyday. Don't have any portable stands, so I am a natural blind kinda guy. Just carry a stool, maybe. Going to ghillie suit next year.
I picked up a small 3-legged stool that collapses easily. I can secure it to the side of my back pack and never know it's there.
I'm liking the idea of a ladder stand cut down to fit the cover and I have a couple of places where that type of set up would work well.
I have had a really slow bow season here in Iowa. I prefer to be up in a tree but am going to work to find areas away from timber stands that hold hunters in trees. I am mostly on public land so hoping I can find more deer and less people.
Tree stand
Quote from: CovertHunter55 on November 24, 2019, 08:39:42 AM
Quote from: Soonerlongbow on November 23, 2019, 08:41:31 PM
Here we can leave them up till the end of the season but there's too many thieves. And it's basically first come to the stand other people are able to use your stands.
This is hilarious 😂 ? Well that will ended very bad
It has! :biglaugh: It's your property and can kick out anyone that's in it. Or do like a coworker did and just unlock the chain around the stick and start taking them down.
There's a similar thing with semipermanent waterfowl blinds. There's a lottery to place them. Have to have a tag marking the owner, and if they aren't using it then it's available for use by others. Bit more complicated than that for the duck blind involving dates and times and such but that's the idea.
Quote from: Tajue17 on December 01, 2019, 09:20:45 AM
I hunt from the ground and the tr8ee,,, I'm 10' max usually in a tree many times I'm only 6' off the ground... I go in with only two LW ladder sticks to give you an idea but try the tree low to the ground its pretty cool it gets you some better shot angles that are just above the bushes but it feels like shooting from the ground to me,,, you need to find a tree that's nestled into a young pine or better just behind one then trim off a branch or two to shoot thru or something else because the deer will see you like on the ground your background is super important for it to work. .... I have friends that go up to 20' in a tree that's just crazy..
I'm one of Ted's crazy friends that's normally 20 feet up, lol. Last Friday, Ted, I did the same as you...2 sticks up just above a white pine off my left hip...had a doe and 2 fawns 10 steps from my tree for 45 min feeding. I think having the 'back cover' helps. (I was close to a field edge and didn't want to get skylined)
These conversations always reveal provincial differences and personal biases. I assume that we are talking about whitetails here. I also assume that we are primarily talking about Eastern bowhunting. The big time deer killers that I know rotate stand sites regularly and hunt primarily from elevated stands. They do not force a situation that isn't high percentage and they will occasionally hunt from the ground if it seems like the best likelihood of success.
I don't consider myself in their league, but I've played this game for 35 years and know that I have been busted significantly more at the ground level than I have in a treestand. I try not to educate deer in areas that I hunt regularly so I prefer that non-target deer pass below me blissfully unaware. The only time that I consider hunting from the ground as an equal option to stand hunting is if I have access to lots of places to hunt, I'm planning to shoot the first deer that comes along, the deer density is through the roof, and I do not intend to hunt the specific area again any time soon.
Both depending on the spot but prefer on the ground.
After reading all these posts. I cant believe how many of you guys hunt from the ground. Here in Wis. just about everybody I know hunt from tree stands for whitetails during bow season. I have hunted from the ground occasionally with no success. I hunt highly pressured public hunting grounds and have to put my stand up and take it down the same day. Sooner or later im going to have to hunt from the ground cause im not getting any younger.
Depends on the terrain, the situation and where I hunt.
At my age and physical condition I am staying close to or on the ground. Just a few years ago I would go as high as 12 feet but that is no longer safe for me.
Now I mostly sit a ground blind using natural cover and a stool.
I like spot and stalk, but again due to physical condition, I cant walk much without a break which works well for this type of hunting save for coming back out. I don't do well with hills any more.... Getting old and infirm sucks.....
Quote from: doubleo on December 06, 2019, 02:59:05 PM
After reading all these posts. I cant believe how many of you guys hunt from the ground. Here in Wis. just about everybody I know hunt from tree stands for whitetails during bow season. I have hunted from the ground occasionally with no success. I hunt highly pressured public hunting grounds and have to put my stand up and take it down the same day. Sooner or later im going to have to hunt from the ground cause im not getting any younger.
Mark, back in the '80s when stand hunting really caught on fire, deer almost never looked up giving a huge advantage to tree hunters. Recent research* indicates that in heavily-hunted tree stand areas, the 'survivor' deer have been educated to 'death from above' and have learned to scan the trees as well as the ground for danger.
I don't think ground hunting has the stigma anymore of an unsuccessful hunting technique, and personally, I have seen more deer close-up and personal from the ground than from stands where I hunt. Plus, advances in scent-technology and blinds/seats/stools have made ground hunting a realistic tactic that can be very effective in the right conditions.
PHL restrictions (carry in/carry out) are making tree stands a major PITA for the walk-in day hunter. And as we age, the prospect of shinnying up a tree becomes not only more of an effort, but more of a real danger to be concerned with.
* Dr. Ken Nordberg;
"We hunted from trees when the kids first started, back in the early 1970s. We hunted from treestands and back then, they were primitive because treestands were unheard of then, nobody hunted from treestands. Stand hunting was sitting on a stump somewhere back then. It worked well for my studies. Deer were vulnerable to that back then. You could almost reach out and touch deer walking by. Our platforms were only six feet above the ground and deer would eat right under ours and they go and lay down a few yards away. All my kids took good bucks. One of my daughters took one of the four biggest. They were taken by a Nordberg when she was thirteen from one of our early treestands.
By 1988 and 1989, we were starting to see things were changing. All of a sudden, bucks were running away from our treestands as they had never done before. They were avoiding them even if no one was in them. We could see things were not working out well. We didn't see near as many deer. I started in 1990 trying to figure out ways to restore buck hunting like we were used to. The same was true of does and estrus. I started experimenting with ground-level hunting. After years of telling people, "If you want big bucks, you've got to be in a treestand," and people say, "You'd never get me up there in a treestand." Now, it's the other way around. Nobody wants to leave their treestand. We hunt at ground level using backpacks, tools, and unaltered natural cover only and starting the day three or four of a hunting season.
Some of the hunters in my camp still use treestands during those first two or three days of a hunting season. It's a great advantage. After that, because we've got to keep moving to stay with those bucks, we use backpack stools. Those can be carried without sound and they can be put down without a sound and you're a lot less likely to tip off a nearby buck that you're near them. We use natural cover. If you're not used to hunting on the ground, you think, "That's terrible. How do you find that?" There are all kinds of natural cover, a lot more to hide your silhouette at ground level than up in a tree.
Our bucks up there are so good at, almost everywhere nowadays, any but two-and-a-half years of age or older will quickly recognize a hunter in any stand on the ground or in a tree and begin avoiding the area. During the hunting season, most time we don't realize that's going on because they don't see it happening. Once we started the ground level hunting, then things changed again and that's our primary way of hunting deer after day three or four of a hunting season. We start with treestands early and then from then on were on the ground."full link to the article:
https://whitetailrendezvous.com/episode-013-dr-ken-nordberg-a-full-time-whitetail-naturalist-hunting-method-researcher/
On the ground with a Ghost Bling, Millennium tree seat and a leaf jacket
Light, portable and all I have to worry about is the wind
I'm a ground hunter that mainly tries to look for natural cover from blow downs with root balls where deer would funnel from beds to food source . Not always possible but I absolutely like this type of blind .Now I have used some stands but my personal preferred method is on the ground while sitting in my " Huntmore 360" seat that Mike Mitten sold me on years ago by telling me how it kept his father seated and they got to hunt together. :archer:
99+% treestand. I've told myself a thousand times that a bad treestand is better than a good ground blind :knothead:
R
I need to get some place where I can hunt the way that I chose. :campfire:
I had always hunted from a stand until 2007 when I blew out an ACL the Friday before bow season. I bought a pop up Primos Dark Horse and hated it, I felt too removed from the hunt. It didn't stop me from killing stuff because deer were unaffected by the blind.
After that I stayed on the ground and went through several iterations of Ghillie until I found what worked for me. I learned to still hunt with the Ghillie, avoid briars and pay attention to your surroundings. I've had to wait for game to walk far enough away from me so I could draw my bow. If that doesn't get your motor going, then you are dead.
I haven't climbed a tree since 2007. Before I waited, now I hunt.
Both. It depends on the terrain, vegetation, primary wind direction, thermal currents, etc.
Been ground hunting for years because it is safer and easier. At 73 I'm too old to be hanging out in a tree.
99% ground. In Idaho I was all ground. Now that I am back in Michigan, I have to use public land nearby. Going out today and I pack a Big Jim tree seat with me, just lean it up against the tree.
Like trees. 90%. Hunt portable so rarely hunt same spot twice. Never leave a stand. Takes under 10 minutes to throw one up. (Its a skill like anything else). Love seeing deer long before they see you. Can most often draw without being seen. I do think you need to pick the right spot and the right tree. I don't like telephone pole trees. I like a good hide. Im 59 and have limited balance due to inner ear disease- so need to be careful. I work out all year so I can still climb. Still works for me
Dan in KS
Nordberg ??????? I didn't know he bowhunted.
Been hunting with recurve from trees since 75 and it has always seemed so natural. I like the ground in some particular situations so I now hunt 15% on the ground each year.
I have been bowhunting for over 30 years. In the beginning it was exclusive treestand hunting. I distinctively remember the time, that my thinking changed. I had been hunting a great public place in Illinois 18 years ago that had a lot of deer and nice bucks. I had a sweet spot that could harvest a doe just about any day (wind right of course). Then I started carrying binoculars, few times, in the morning I noticed that in a distance I could see nice bucks running this one ridge. Not being the quickest gear in the motor, one afternoon I went in to check it out. I walked it and found awesome sign, then the more I looked the more I could not find any kind of tree for a stand. I left and thought about it for a week. Then one morning fate gave me a stroke of vision. One day, I road with a buddy, we got there and started getting are gear out to hunt and noticed, my stand strap was bad. My buddy and me searched but no replacement in truck. "What you going to do?" My buddy asked. I said I was going to try something. That morning I walked back into the ridge, remembering a blowdown, I set up, waiting. I figured this would be a morning of just watching deer, with no chance. I ended up harvesting a nice 9 pointer, that was 16 yards from me. It was that moment, I realized, that I should figure out how to hunt animals and not tree's. More and more I ground hunt, but once I find a great spot that a stand works will use it. I still believe can't beat the advantages of stand, but you just can't throw one up either.
Ground
Deno
100% from a tree stand since I started bow hunting in 1985. I have been thinking more and more about making some hunts from the ground but that probably won't happen until next season.
I suppose if one takes a stance, he should explain that stance from a logical POV. Since I have become a ground hunter and am definitely in the minority among bowhunters and trad bowhunters especially, so I'll try to explain my choice.
First, the advantages of tree stand hunting are many; you're out of the straight line of sight from deer on the ground, your scent stream takes longer to reach the ground and has more chance of being dispersed before it reaches the ground, you can see further and have a more complete field of view the higher you go. Having stand hunted for many years, this is undeniable.
However, having narrowly escaped serious injury while removing a ladder stand 10 years ago, I began to re-think my position. Fortunately I was left on crutches for 3 or so weeks with nothing more than a serious sprain after a fifteen foot drop, but it could have been much worse. Had the ground been frozen, the ER Dr. told me my ankle most likely would have been broken. Figuring I had used up my 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card, I changed it up the following year and have been a ground-pounder ever since. Here are some of the positives of natural ground blind hunting, from my perspective:
1) Easy in/out
When hunting public land, as I do, the rules are pretty specific WRT putting up tree stands. No nails, screw in steps or hooks/hangers are allowed. Stands may not be left up overnight in many PHL locations, which means carrying in your stand and climbing sticks, and taking them with you when you leave. ATVs are also not allowed in many locations...do the math. My portable stool weighs less than a pound, can be slung over my shoulder with the attached sling, and walked in with my bow and day pack to a predetermined blind site (usually a blowdown or large tree I've arranged a brush-out around). One trip, then sit and hunt.
2) Line of sight
While it's true that you can see much further from an elevated stand, it's also true that if you can't see deer at that distance from the ground, they probably can't see you either, if you are still. Since I limit my shots to 25 yards or under, I really don't need to see a deer 100 yards away other than to try to coax it in closer by calling or rattling. In a ground blind, your ears are your friend, many times tipping off 'incoming' long before your eyes do.
3) Scent
While true that as mentioned above, your scent stream behaves differently elevated than from the ground, I find that using scent control methods can generally keep your scent down to a minimum. When hunting from a blind you really aren't as concerned about watching your downwind area, because deer are likely going to scent you long before you see them. If you position your blind downwind from your shooting lane, you can still get plenty of field of view where the deer will be upwind of you, giving you the advantage.
4) Flexibility
If the wind shifts, you have the easy option of picking up your stool and moving 100 yards at a moment's notice.
5) Terra Firma
Even in the best of tree stands I feel ultra-cautious. The safety harness I wear is restraining, uncomfortable, and doesn't give me any confidence to lean into it for difficult shots. I always feel like I'm walking on eggshells regardless of the stand, though ladder stands are much better. You don't have to worry about falling asleep, slipping on the way up or down, falling out of the stand onto a sharp broadhead (or worse) or crippling accidents. If you fall asleep on the ground, you might fall off your stool, but that's about the worst of it.
6) Comfort
Generally the winds are calmer at ground level, no seasick-swaying nosebleed carnival rides on the ground. You can stretch your legs and move around. I suffer from a bad back and sciatica, and sitting the ground gives me the flexibility to shift and move when I have to, and not get busted from 100 yards away. You can set your pack and other gear where it suits you in your blind and not worry about things falling or being accidentally kicked or blown down.
7) Longer time in the saddle
Rather than spending time setting up and taking down stands and ladders before and after (and getting sweaty in the process, you simply walk in, park your posterior in the saddle, and begin your hunt. Easy peasy. Tired? Go ahead and snooze a little. Bored? Read in comfort...no worries.
8) Security
In those PHL areas that DO allow overnight stand/ladder installations, you don't have to worry about locking or securing your gear...because you walk in/out with it. It's not there to steal.
9) Shot angle
No more worrying about downward angling shots and trying to calculate entrance/exit angles...if you get the shot, take it.
10) In Tune
I've found myself to be much more in tune with nature and my surroundings on the ground, rather than being detached and isolated in a tree. I get to see squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and other small game up close and personal. And I've been eyeball-to-eyeball with a surprising number of deer from my blind, the past season with a small (too small to shoot) doe grazing not 15 feet away, apparently undetected, until the wind shifted after several minutes. It was truly an enjoyable experience and I left that day feeling all the better for it.
Obviously, ground hunting is not for everyone, but I've managed to make it work for me. If anyone has been considering giving it a try, I would encourage you to have a go at it and see if you can make it work for you as well.
Started hunting when trees and other elevated stands weren't legal, yet. Been way up in trees, in 'permanent' elevated stands that were like tree forts, on tripods, done the Baker-slide down a few slick maple trees, etc. Now I'll hunt in a ladder stand or lock-on on private land if my host prefers that, but otherwise I pick a new location every time out and create a ground 'blind' as close to my "perfect" location for wind, thermal, funnels, etc, where I find some cover at my back, sometime still hunting from one 'blind' to another if wind, weather or cover suggests a change. Far less stuff to carry and the critters seem to be less bothered by big 'blobs' on the ground than up in trees.
95% treestand. Was exclusively the lone wolf hand climber since around 2007 but last summer I picked up a lone wolf assault and 3 pack of lone wolf climbing sticks and I've been using that rig quite a bit now. I can hang 3 sticks and the stand real fast and with an aider on the first stick I can get plenty of height in just about any tree. Trees I'd never be able to run my climber up.
I love deer meat, so I'm in a tree. For me, getting deer in close from the ground isn't the issue, getting in position, drawing, and getting the shot off without getting busted, is the problem. I have done it, but I'm more successful in a tree.
I'm not a good enough shot to take 25+ yard shots, which would make it easier to pull off for me. I'm more of a 10-15 yard shot hunter, and it works better from a tree for me. ...but I would love to only ground hunt, would be nice not to haul a tree stand around!
Mike