Do you prefer to hunt from the trees or the ground for deer?

[410-er]

I will say I feel MUCH safer hunting out of my Tree Lounge than any other stand.When I told my buddy I bought one he said I will miss more deer.....because I will be sleeping more.He is right.I do often sleep in it.It is heavier than a reg tree stand but I would sooner carry one in than be carried out!

 

[rdillion]

The older I get the more I prefer the ground. Lately I've been using a brown cloth folding chair when it's practical. I find a spot with a couple of small trees close together and lash a limb crosswise between them for a rifle rest. Fill in the openings with brush and I'm ready. Just give me a good book and I can stay for hours. The key is getting comfortable and I no longer seem to be able to do that sitting directly on the ground. Tree stands do have advantages and I hunt from them a lot. Just can't talk myself into carrying my climbing stand out like I used to do.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I use a variation of Dean Torge's tree-seat and have for many years. I have three holes in mine to loop the rope through instead of his notch and knot method.

http://bowyersedge.com/treeseat.html

Dean's a gentleman of the first order. :hatsoff:

Went back through my notes and have taken 38 deer over the years. Most from the ground while seated either in a ground blind, stump or on that seat. A couple with a bow from a tree-stand. One with a bow (recurve) while on the ground taking a break from still-hunting while seated on a blowdown. Maybe a dozen while still-hunting and moving slowly.

Here's a shot from my current tree-stand (about 15 feet up - NOT in a Torges style tree-seat). The rub in the center wasn't there three days ago but no-one has stopped back to freshen it. Sure adds some encouragement! (Hard to see in the image).

This is the intersection of three trails that skirt an open brushy/small disused meadow area and shows about the only open spot in 60 yards of tangle. I figure I'm good to 25 yards with my bow and can see only about 20 yards clear in a few directions here. Three old apple trees in a group and one more about 20 yards to the right. No deer yet, but I saw a nice buck there yesterday too far off for a shot passing through the open meadow. Patience, patience.


Here's me disguised as a pumpkin on the tree-seat. Have not yet tried a muzzleloader from an elevated tree-stand but someday I might. Usually too cold hereabouts by the time gun season rolls around. Shot the deer in that image at a distance of 10 yards as it walked towards me. All blaze is GREAT camo against a colorblind prey. :wink:

 

[Goldhunter]

I'm a ground guy. Prefer to still hunt, spot and stalk, or sit in a saddle I know they are crossing though. But I don't sit much, I prefer to move. Spot and stalk is my favorite.

 

[brawny man]

I hunt mostly from an enclosed tree stand. I built it so my kids would be able to stay on post longer. I have to say we see and kill more deer this way then by stalking. For pure enjoyment I enjoy stalking. I just don't eat as much venison then. :wink:

 

[Little Wattsy]

I too "Prefer" to hunt from the ground...Most of the reasons have already been listed but basically because its "easier"...I honestly believe that a properly placed tree-stand is superior (I too use and like the tree-lounge) You are above the wind/scent currents...above the normal view of the critter....have a greater radious of vision.

 

[marwat06]

When hunting Public Lands I am in my climber and up a tree. Too many other hunters around.

 

[Snow on the Roof]

Stumpkiller, I like your variation on Dean's tree seat. I've used one for several years and just may try your little trick.
I hunt the way which conditions dictate. Tree stands, ladder stands, ground blinds, still hunt... all are methods to keep in your collective " bag of tricks". I prefer not to limit myself to one techneque. I do admit, as I seem to get slower with every passing season, I find myself on the ground more. It makes me more versitile when conditions suddenly change and the fall doesn't hurt as much. Then again its not the fall but the sudden stop that hurts... :grin:

John

 

[bigbore442001]

Not to sound like a real stick in the mud but I do see a problem with that seat. It appears you are leaning forward a lot. I had a seat that would do that and it became very uncomfortable. I finally got rid of it.

 

[RonT]

The seat can be set to "cam lock" into a level or slightly above angle. To each his own.
Stumpy, look around his site and see if you see a familiar name... :grin: Neat breakup camo on the seat BTW.
R

 

[playfarmers]

I like to hunt from the ground still hunting mostly, but sitting in my pop up blind sipping tea this year was nice. Most years it just gets too cold to sit up in a tree.

 

[GunnyGene]

Sittin' in a rocker on my front porch. Can't really call it hunting at all. Just a way to put meat in the freezer, and keep the local population under control.

 

[roundball]

One of the best items I have ever bought for turkey and deer hunting...large size, extremely comfortable, quickly/fully adjustable for any angle you want or angle of the ground you're sitting on, light weight, shoulder strap, lets me stretch my legs out comfortably, no more lower back or sore butt problems...have literally hunted a spot from sunup to sundown in comfort.

It can be used stand alone but I find it best when up against a tree so there's a head rest for naps :wink:

 

[BrownBear]

Sure like to try stand hunting since I enjoy duck blinds so much, but it's surely a whitetail thing for the most part.

Out west (for mule deer, Columbia blacktail and Sitka blacktail anyway) the deer tend to have larger, looser territories. It can get pretty lonely if you hunt the same "blind" or hide all the time, because the deer might only pass by every week or two as they circulate around their larger, looser territory.

So it's almost entirely ground hunting, but lots of "mobile" stands along the way when you come across a really active area. Just find a good spot to sit or lie out of sight, be still and wait. If you're on today's migration route, in the right place in the face of a storm, or staking out some does during the rut, you stand a better chance of connecting than if you are up a tree somewhere.

I gotta say, about 99% of the rested shots I've had came because I had time to drop down for the shot, or my stalk has put me in a position to use some handy rest. Otherwise my shots are offhand at deer I've stalked or walked up, or have come walking up to me.

Enjoy those tree blinds, whitetail hunters! I'm serious, cuzz it sure looks like a fun way to hunt. :hatsoff:

 

[Stumpkiller]

The seat can be set to "cam lock" into a level or slightly above angle. To each his own.
Stumpy, look around his site and see if you see a familiar name... :grin: Neat breakup camo on the seat BTW.
R

Yep. I like my knees lower than my hips so I can get off the seat without added motion of leaning forward. You can adjust it to any height or many angles (+/-20º or so). It's a friction/leverage locking design. Many times I have had a deer approach from behind or to my right and to be able to ooze out and get into position, or even to use the seat as a rest, is a great advantage.

:hatsoff: Hi ya Ron!

I'm an equal opportunity idea-stealer-fromer. If I didn't already have a Jack Bower's Solo-Stalker rigged up on my riser with half a "Piggy-Backer" as a one arrow quiver I'd have stole your Double Header idea off Dean's site. :haha: Not sure what the second arrow is for? I'm too old anymore to drag two deer out. :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

I've got an old Kwikee Kwiver Kwik-2 two arrow quiver on my 45# Bear Kodiak "bunny bow". Terrible when your one owner equipment is collectable.

 

[XXX]

The art, theory and practice.
http://www.gfredasbell.com/GFA_Books_Videos.html#Stalking_Stillhunting

Mechanics aside, Asbell talks about the "why" of it very thoughtfully. He offers a story of a baited bear hunt where a smallish blackie came into the bait when he was in a tree stand. Asbell had little interest in taking the bear and let it walk. Another morning he took a stand on the ground right in top of the bait. The same bear came in and this time his excitment level was as high as if it had been a trophy size animal.

 

[Snow on the Roof]

The art, theory and practice.
http://www.gfredasbell.com/GFA_Books_Videos.html#Stalking_Stillhunting

Mechanics aside, Asbell talks about the "why" of it very thoughtfully. He offers a story of a baited bear hunt where a smallish blackie came into the bait when he was in a tree stand. Asbell had little interest in taking the bear and let it walk. Another morning he took a stand on the ground right in top of the bait. The same bear came in and this time his excitment level was as high as if it had been a trophy size animal.

An excellent read. Though G.Fred is a traditional archer his methods and theories apply to any hunter be he carry a longbow, flintlock or an '06.
Another excellent read is the Whitetail Hunter's Almanac by Dr. Ken Nordberg. Dr. Norberg has refined the "portable stump" method of ground hunting. I have the 5th and 6th editions but there are several. I beleive Amazon carries them as well the good Doc may still have a web site. A google search should prove so.

John

 

[Snow on the Roof]

The art, theory and practice.
http://www.gfredasbell.com/GFA_Books_Videos.html#Stalking_Stillhunting

Mechanics aside, Asbell talks about the "why" of it very thoughtfully. He offers a story of a baited bear hunt where a smallish blackie came into the bait when he was in a tree stand. Asbell had little interest in taking the bear and let it walk. Another morning he took a stand on the ground right in top of the bait. The same bear came in and this time his excitment level was as high as if it had been a trophy size animal.

An excellent read. Though G.Fred is a traditional archer his methods and theories apply to any hunter be he carry a longbow, flintlock or an '06.
Another excellent read is the Whitetail Hunter's Almanac by Dr. Ken Nordberg. Dr. Norberg has refined the "portable stump" method of ground hunting. I have the 5th and 6th editions but there are several. I beleive Amazon carries them as well the good Doc may still have a web site. A google search should prove so.

John

Found it! www.drnordbergondeerhunting.com

Isn't Google a wonderful thing... :wink:

 

[longcruise]

Stumpy, Trying to figure out how your "torges" seat attaches to the tree. Looks perfect for the impromptu stand.

Have not yet tried a muzzleloader from an elevated tree-stand but someday I might.

I have done it a couple times. Once I dropped my rifle out of the stand from about 15 feet up. Landed right on the butt pointing up in my direction. Saw it coming and wrapped myself around the tree. :shocked2: Didn't go off but cracked the wrist. TC replaced it no questions asked.

Didja ever notice the different terms used in different parts of the country for sitting on a stand? A friend from upsate new york calls it being "on watch". Thought may he was an old navey man but, no, that's what they call it where he came from.

 

[jethro224]

I used to always hunt from a treestand, bow and shotgun, but not so much anymore. Early in bow season I still sometimes climb into a treestand. Haven't yet used a treestand with a MLer but ya never know.

Generally I prefer to stay on the ground. Sometimes I sneak around but mostly I sit. I have a couple of brush blinds set up, but a lot of times I just hunker in a fallen tree-top or a bush, or maybe lean back at the base of a big tree. I have a three-legged folding chair with a backrest and shoulder strap, carries like a quiver of arrows. I actually attach a bow-quiver to it for archery season. That or a buttpad always goes with me.

In my hunting area, if it's flat, it's a field. All of the woods and brush is in the gullys where the tractors can't go. I hunt just over the edge where I can shoot across or down into the valleys, I always have a good backstop, I don't have to worry much about getting shot from behind, and I can see most of everything in front.

I've had slugs rip past me too close for comfort both on the ground and in treestands. I don't hunt with those guys anymore. But I still feel safer down below the line of fire.