Hunting on the ground

[Dom]

I'm interested in knowing how and what you all do,in the past when I have located where I would like to set up I would clear all leave's and sticks away from my seat so I would have aprox 4x4 area to move around and keep the noise down.Now that I think about scent I may have been messing up what should have been a great set up.The location is great to myself and just looking for some Ideas for this season to come

[bigpaul]

Pop up blinds are great!  If your able to set it up brush it in and leave it there for the season.  It takes a while for deer to get use to it.  They help keep you protected from the elements and help conceal your movement.

[thphm]

If it is on your own property, a friends.A pop up blind is great,you can hunt in any kind of weather and do not have to spend big bucks on all kinds of camo clothes.If you go that route, do not get one of the outhouse size blinds, go big, something you can sit on something and shoot a bow or firearm.Kneeling down to shoot sucks.The more comfortable you make yourself the longer you can stay out there and your chances are better on getting something.

[Terry]

I am going to try a ghillie suit this year. I like that there is no set up and I can stay very mobile.

[Dom]

I did purchase a ground blind but it seam's to be to confining to myself,they do provide dry conditions but just dont have the range of view from them as being just on the ground seat

[Uncle Nicky]

I'm assuming you're talking about deer hunting.

 

If watching an open field, I like to sit at the top of the field, hopefully with the wind in my face, usually in a camp chair with brush or burlap breaking up my outline.

 

I hunted the first 10 years with my father on public land in PA, we never used any type of stands, just tried to get at the top of a ridge, wind in our face, and try to sit as still as possible. To be honest, now if I'm hunting in the woods, I like to get elevated, you can see a LOT more than you can sitting on the ground.

 

[Zem18]

I too clean the leaves and twigs away so I can move if need be and be quiet about it. Your scent is minimal that you leave behind by doing this and the earthy smell is actually masking most of the scent off your boots.

I have a tree next to a large rock that I set up by each year for rifle season. It is in the middle of a bench, with runs along the bottom of the next hill and the top of the one I walk up. I clear all the way around the tree so I can stretch the legs as I stand most of the day. I also still hunt if I can't stand sitting and waiting as we have some acreage to cover.

A ground blind is a good idea as well if you want to stay out of the elements. I like to still hunt when it rains or snows. You can move quietly and sneak up on em and feed em some lead.

[BizCT]

I always hunt on the ground. I sit on a hot seat against a tree. I just clear enough leaves where I sit and my feet are. I always look around with my eyes and not my head or body. I'm usually good at not moving for several hours at a time

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[Elmo]

I'm usually good at not moving for several hours at a time

Me too. Usually from the hours between 2AM and 8AM. =)

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[Doc]

I too clean the leaves and twigs away so I can move if need be and be quiet about it. Your scent is minimal that you leave behind by doing this and the earthy smell is actually masking most of the scent off your boots.

I have a tree next to a large rock that I set up by each year for rifle season. It is in the middle of a bench, with runs along the bottom of the next hill and the top of the one I walk up. I clear all the way around the tree so I can stretch the legs as I stand most of the day. I also still hunt if I can't stand sitting and waiting as we have some acreage to cover.

A ground blind is a good idea as well if you want to stay out of the elements. I like to still hunt when it rains or snows. You can move quietly and sneak up on em and feed em some lead.

Yes, I always have a leafless surface to move around on at my ground blinds. There is nothing worse that having the noise of your feet on leaves just as you are getting ready to shoot. Or worse yet having some unseen twig snap just when the deer shows up. However, I have often wondered about the smell of the exposed earth. There have been a lot of times when I have returned to a ground stand for another day's hunt, and found a deer track in the freshly exposed soil. This at a place 20 yards or so from any trail, so what exactly caused him to come over and check it all out? That exposed dirt has a unique smell that actually is quite strong it means different things to different animals. For deer it means that somebody has been kicking around looking for acorns, or some randy buck may have been starting a scrape. Whatever it signifies to them, it can be a feature that will draw deer to your stand. Perhaps close enough to locate a scent of just who really was there for a few hours earlier in the evening .... lol.

 

No, there's nothing you can do about it, and it doesn't happen every time. But it is just another thing to be aware of when cleaning those leaves away. It can give away the location of your stand.