tree stand or ground?

[daniel collums]

went to a spot this morning that i have a couple tree stands over looking some heavy used trails in open hardwoods. About 9:00 i see a good buck(looked like a 16 inch 8 pointer) making his way up the ridge and he walks right under my tree, i had to bite my tongue when he walked by because its doe's only this week. I put the bead on him just to see him in the sights thats when i knew i was way to high up, the target area was so small the way he walked by. if he would have came by 40 yards away it would had been an easy shot or if i had been on the ground sitting with my back to the tree. I started to come down to about ten feet from the ground but i was needing to come out of the woods by 10:00 to go to a parade so i just stayed put, about 9:10 here comes two more deer a nice big fat doe and a yearling on the same trail. They came under me and after they got about 20 yards away i took aim and shot. I think i shot right over her back, they stood there trying to see where the noise came from then saw me when i went to pull the ramrod out. no more muzzle loading hunts from the nosebleed section for me, its alright for scoped rifles but i need a more straight on shot. (could have been just a slight case of buck/doe fever that hit me)it has happened before.

 

[flyfisher76544]

Well..... it happens to us all. You could move your game to the ground or just move to a different tree if they are all walking right under you. Due to my injuries I prefer ground hunting. Is there a spot where you could hide on the ground?

 

[silly goose]

I rarely have the occasion to hunt on the ground, it is way too thick here. If there is no snow on the ground, you cant see them walk by at 30 yards from a tree, much worse on the ground. I do like the comfort and warmth of a ground blind though.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I use a tree stand for my bow season (I use recurve and wood arrows and like 20 yard shots) but I much prefer the ground for a muzzleloading rifle where I can reach out 80+ yards.

It's usually too darned cold to sit for any time in a tree during our gun seasons here. I couldn't climb a tree in the bulk I'd need to be wearing.

Besides, a 44" barrel just doesn't work well up in a tree.

I use a tree-seat that ties to a tree at ground level and sit for a couple hours, still hunt to warm up, then sit another couple hours and repeat while daylight lasts. That magic first two hours and last two hours of daylight I want to be sitting and quiet.

 

[Ron LaClair]

The ground for me, I want a level shot when the opportunity comes along.

These two deer were taken with one shot from a 20ga smoothbore that is now named "Two-Fer". If I had been up in a tree it wouldn't have happened.

 

[sidelock]

I have taken about 200 deer and never one from the air. I don't like being up in the air, and it ain't necessary.

 

[satx78247]

My personal preference is 15-20 feet UP in the air, as I can SEE the deer, through the south TX brush.
(You can't shoot what you cannot see.)

Also in a tree-stand, you don't have to worry about "finding a convenient tree" if a hostile boar comes your way & can at your leisure invite him for a future BBQ!!!

just my opinion, satx

 

[Roguedog]

I have a couple of ladder stands that I will sometimes use but for the most part, I am a ground hunter. I have had some leg injuries in the past and can't afford a fall from a tree. Also, I just like the comfort of being on the ground. I can set my stuff down, have a cup of coffee if I want and I find it's just more relaxing. I've killed quite a few on the ground as well.

Jeff

 

[Loyalist Dave]

In my state it's rare that folks get hurt or killed by a gun or bow in a "hunting accident"... the vast majority fall from their tree stands, getting in, getting out, or toppling out of the seat... it's not the fall that hurts or kills them, but it's the sudden stop on the ground that does the deed.

So I don't get up into trees. I've only done it twice hunting, as a kid.... nope, I stay in a ground blind or still-hunt. It has worked very well for me, so no need to change.

LD

 

[Katahdin]

Been my experience no matter which one I go with it works out I should have gone the other way,ha ha ha like which rifle to hunt with, second guessing while I set and wait,,,hearing shots from over in my other area..I have never heard of anyone falling 'Out" of a ground blind,,I have fallen asleep in one or two,,,,and there is less gear to carry into a ground blind,,stash some in it,,

 

[Patocazador]

I fidget too much to sit on the ground. Tree stands for me. 15' up is not too high and the angle isn't bad. When you get to 20-25' up, you have to aim short of your intended target spot (lower). Whenever shooting downhill, you have to aim low or you will shoot over your intended spot. The steeper the angle, the lower you need to aim.

 

[LRB]

I have one particular tree in which I use my climber stand, in a hardwood bottom near a creek. Since 2004, I've taken about 44 deer from that tree with quite a few being doubles after reloading and waiting a little while. Some with FL LR, others with a Shiloh Sharps #3 45-70. I like tree stands. Last time I used a blind I was looking left at a movement, turned my head to the right and had a beautiful big antlered 10 point staring at me about 5 yrds away. By the time I had my long rifle shouldered and pointed, all I could see was a white tail waving bye bye through the trees. Had I been in my favorite tree, I could of taken him with a hand gun.

 

[nwtradegun]

deer, elk ground blind. hog and bear tree stand.

 

[palonghunter]

I hunt from the ground. I mostly still hung with my muzzleloaders, but I sit and wait sometimes too. I used to hunt almost exclusively from tree stands, but I kinda have that up after a bad experience with my ladder falling off the tree.

 

[slumlord44]

Been hunting from a ground stand for many years. Warmer and safer. Built a box on a pallet. Have propane heater it. Works great. On missing a deer from a tree stand. I would suggest setting up a target under your tree stand and doing some target practice from the stand. You may be surprised. You tend to shoot high when shooting from an elevated position. Ask me how I know? Shot over the back of the first deer I ever shot with a shotgun 3 times. Reloaded and aimed low and hit her high.

 

[LRB]

If you are shooting high from being elevated, it's because you aimed high. You must be aware of the angle that the bullet will track through your target. Assuming you have a proper sight setting, the bullet goes where you aim it.

 

[rja72]

On the ground in natural cover. Never been busted except for the one that walked up behind me. He finally saw me when he was 15ft from me.

 

[Homesteader]

I've done the tree thing plenty in the past, but I like the ground. Always have. Though I'll make a blind and ambush shoot, I really really really like stalking. Don't know why that is, but it is. It also means (I must admit) that I miss a lotta meat other hunters would have brought home. Don't care.

That may be why I enjoy squirrel hunting so much. And why I really value the larger game I bag.

:hatsoff: :thumbsup:

 

[Grumpa]

Sometimes hunt from tree stands, you get to see a lot more game, that doesn't see you! It has to have a good seat and a good, safe railing, in case I need to doze off for a few minutes. :grin:

Sometimes I get to hunt from a Texas Tower - it's like hunting from your bedroom window!

Sometimes, I just stand on the ground, by a tree or bush. Or sit, on a hillside.

My favorite has always been still hunting, especially if it's raining. The rain takes your scent to the ground, and the deer can't catch movement as well.

I've got deer using all those methods.

 

[George]

If you are shooting high from being elevated, it's because you aimed high. You must be aware of the angle that the bullet will track through your target. Assuming you have a proper sight setting, the bullet goes where you aim it.

That seems intuitively and logically right, but it's actually not. All guns will shoot high when fired either up or down at a steep angle, and the slower the bullet, the longer the range and the steeper the angle, the greater the error. Take a look at 'Incline Angle" at this link.
http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/OddShots.html

I hunt on the ground in natural cover, always. I get more satisfaction from taking them when I'm down amongst 'em.

Spence