Ground or stand

[Dirt nap]

When crossbow hunting do you hunt from ground and if so any pros and cons?  

[sodfather]

Those guys sleep in, wake up in their tighty  white’s put on some overalls, light up a Marlboro red walk up within 70 yards and fire away .

[TreeGuy]

Those guys sleep in, wake up in their tighty  white’s put on some overalls, light up a Marlboro red walk up within 70 yards and fire away .

All wrong bro. I smoke marb menthols and my walk is only 50 yards. Oh, and I don't wear underwear.

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[Jdubs]

Both.  Go with whatever floats your boat.  Personally, I prefer to be in a tree where I can extend my field of view while staying relatively hidden.  However, being eye-to-eye on the ground with a deer is one hell of an experience.

[loworange88]

Ive done both with Xbow.  Depends on the day and the conditions.

[GreeneHunter]

I'm in my tree stand with my crossbow .... just walk in with it loaded in case !

[grampy]

95% of the time I'm on the ground, no matter what hunting tool is in my hands. I like the challenge, mobility, and comfort of being grounded. Not to mention like Jdubs said, the absolute thrill of being eye to eye with the deer I'm hunting. That is the pros.

The cons. You REALLY have to keep track of the wind. And keep movement's slow, when deer are in close. And NEVER make eye contact with deer.

 

[wolc123]

My first crossbow buck was killed from an open ladder stand, 15 feet up, from a range of 59 yards (struck thru the heart), The second and third were taken from enclosed (half wall) elevated blinds, with the decks 7 feet up, from ranges of about 15 and 25 yards (both double lung shots, one slightly quartering to, the other quartering away).   All three dropped dead within 40 yards of taking the bolt with mechanical (o-ring style) broadheads, one within sight.

I prefer the 7 foot high partially enclosed blinds.  They are high enough to get my scent off the ground and provide good visibility, yet low enough to be comfortable to hunt out of (the older I get the less I care for heights).   I am still waiting for my first shot opportunity at an antlerless deer with my crossbow.  We have a few farmers in the neighborhood who really hammer them early with their nuissance permits.  That makes them rare to see and quite skittish, by the time crossbow season rolls around.  

I have not hunted much from the ground with mine.   One day last season, I started out in a ground blind, targeting a large-bodied buck that my parents had been watching since the summer.   That buck came out to feed almost every afternoon, around the same time, in a small clover plot that could be seen clearly from their back window.   I picked a day with a favorable wind and was in that blind ready for him.   The trouble was, I forgot the chair I usually use from that blind, and the upside down 5-gallon bucket I substituted was too low for me to see over the branches I had trimmed.

When the buck did not show up at his usual time, I decided to make a move to the elevated blind in the adjacent woods, with only about 20 minutes of daylight left.   That was my first hunt of the year up there, and I was disappointed to see leaves about 1 foot deep inside the half-wall.  Then I thought: what does it sound like when a buck clears a scrape ?.  I tried to sound like that as I pawed out the leaves with my hands.  In years past, there was frequently a buck scrape by the gas-well that was near this elevated blind.      

My parents were watching from the house and they said the buck entered the clover patch about 10 minutes after I departed the ground blind.   He fed for a few minutes, lifted his head and stared for a while, then walked into the woods.  Up in the 7 foot elevated blind, I had just spread a little "Evercalm" around the shooting rail, placed my crossbow up on it, and settled into a swivel chair.  

When I heard his approach in the crunchy leaves, it did not take long to get into position for the shot.  He reached an opening and I slipped the bolt just ahead of his last rib, midway down his body, as he was quartering away.   He changed direction, and ran straight back towards my parents house. I thought I heard a crash.  I sent up a quick prayer for an easy recovery, climbed down with 5 minutes of legal daylight remaining, and soon saw a big lump with a white-spot (his carcass), about 35 yards away.   

The best part of the deal was, when I got down on the ground, I reloaded my crossbow in case a finishing shot was needed.  In the excitement, I lost my rope-pulley cocker.   After the pawing out of the leaves up in the blind, that was the second negative that I turned into a positive on that day.  The replacement t-handle, direct-pull cockers that I made are much faster and easier to use on my 150 pound draw weight crossbow.  They might even help me get my first "double" with it this year.                     

[Reb]

1 hour ago, loworange88 said:

Ive done both with Xbow.  Depends on the day and the conditions.

Same for me,I decide usually based on the weather when I walk out the door in the morning.

[Al Bundy]

Deer have made me so many times in a stand. I don't know how they do it but they look up and see me. Yes they look up. I am not moving when they see me either. My ground blind I Have been made twice by jogging bucks that were cruising toward me.  I think they silhouetted me against the open windows behind me, or saw my eyes.  Interestingly, deer that are moving slow, grazing, etc have not made me in the blind.   Like grampy says.. dont look them in the eye. I am going to be careful this year from my blind.  I prefer my blind due to its more stealthy nature, in my situation.

[Core]

Tree stand. I am basically invisible there and it's very rare for deer to make me. On the ground I've only ever once in my life had a shot opportunity on a deer. This is despite multiple sits on chairs, many times trying still hunting, etc. Two deer with xbow so far from tree.

[J sin]

The only ground hunting I do is on opening day of rifle, late morning  while doing a few pushes of the local area with family and friends. Hunting from a portable stand has dramatically increased my success in my area. 

[Bionic]

I will be doing both.  Some stand, and I will be trying a blind to act as a deer sniper.

[JRod 8G8H]

Both. I hunted with my bow on a ridge in some brush a couple weeks ago and had 3 bucks walk by less than 10 yds.. No shooters. However a couple of my stands i wanna see further away.. If you have the deer patterned then get close on the ground.. During the rut anything can happen so i'll wanna be in a tree.. And climb down to spot and stalk if needed..