Ground Hunting with bow or crossbow

[drags]

Hello everyone, As I get older I am not comfortable hunting from treestands, I hunt with a crossbow now. Could anyone help me with ideas on hunting from the ground with a crossbow, I would like advice from sucessful crossbow or any archery hunters that have sucess hunting from the ground.
Thanks Drags

[iiibbb]

Don'tcha got hills in Pennsylvania?

I don't know the effective range of a crossbow... but I groundhunt with my rifle on a hillside and deer pass within what would seem a reasonable crossbow range.  No special camoflage (orange vest and carharts)... they don't seem to see me.

I sit under a large tree to cover my back, and lean 2-3" thick pieces of wood on the trunk to break up my side profile a little.  Have had deer walk within 20 yrds of this and not see me at all

[Redhawk1]

drags, 80% of my bow hunting is from the ground. I set up with fallen trees or stumps as my back rest. I either sit on the fallen tree or in a small fold up chair. Last year I got 2 deer this way. I had them walk within 5 yards of me. I like being closer to the game when bow hunting. It is fun just to see how close they get.  

[New Hampshire]

Find yourself a good, quiet chair to sit in and just make quick little ground blinds using branches and stuff from around the area close by.  Ive hunted from Treestands, chairs on the ground and with a turkey stool type seat.  Sitting for loooong hours in that turkey chair plain stinks.  The chair at least allows me to stay comfortable longer and shift around to another position when the one I am becomes uncomfortable.  The foliage will help break up your outline too.  Keep movements reaaaal slow too.  Ive found that being in a tree allows a little bit of leeway for movement as the deer sometimes seem more perplexed than worried.  But on the ground.....I dont get that luxury.  But there are a lot of time that being mobile on the ground are better than sitting 20 feet up in the air.
Brian M.

[huntsman]

A "scrounger" method of making a ground blind is to find a tree with overhanging branches that is situated as needed for the area you are hunting. Find 8-12 long dead limbs (or cut some unwanted brush from another area) that will reach up from the ground to the overhead trunk or branches. Arrange them in "tepee" fashion, allowing plenty of manuever room up to the top of your bow height at full draw inside the "tepee". Garnish this frame with weeds, brush, limbs, etc. to break up your outline, but leave the areas where you will need to see and shoot free of obstructions. I can usually build one of these blinds in less than an hour, and it usually lasts all season before needing a refreshment on the "garnish" as above. It has the advantage of being all natural, as well.

[tscott]

Drags, I'm with you.... I shot many fine bucks from tree stands, but I started thinking when I turned 50 some years ago. The things I like to do most are deer hunt and workout. I thought if I had an accident, one or both of these things could be taken away. I always hunted deep in public land, so now I can devote more time to that on the ground.
Another adjustment I have made is that I filet the deer on the spot.
It is foolish for anyone to go for an extended perion of time above 85%
of one's recomended heart rate max. A deer drag certainly could do this!
My recipe for deer hunting success approaching 60 = Stay within 10 lbs of ideal weight, strength and aerobic training at least 5 days a week, stay
on the ground, you will hunt like a wild man!!
Many times I have arrived at the trail head on opening morning 10am or so, a nice buck in my back pack. Guys smoking and drinking coffee in their trucks, who ask if i've seen anything... I also see better on the ground!!!

[Woodbutcher]

Dear Drags:
 (1) Get a map of the area you want to hunt.
 (2) Locate all the roads, dirt roads, power lines, and trails of any kind
 (3)Use a crayon and draw parallel lines on both sides of these roads and
 paths that are aprox 400 yards from each road or path according to the  scale on the map
 (4) color in between the parallel lines
 (5) Hunt where there ain't no color
 cause most hunters ain't gonna go more than a quarter mile from their vehicle, so the critters should be where the hunters ain't!!!
 Okay, now that you've suffered through my attempt at humor, may I recommend a book?  Hunting Deer With Longbow and Recurve, by Jim Hamm. (Inter-library loan is a really great thing.) Mr Hamm speaks of the importance of a map. Advice, from someone who's gone to locations several states away from his home, and taken a record book animals, is worth considering. If only a few days are available on such a trip, what's he doing that I ain't? I really enjoyed his writing, he's pretty down to earth.
Maybe one way to put it is "it ain't what you use, it's where you use it"!
A man with a crossbow has a few good things going for him, if he's in the right spot.                                                           Woodbutcher

[Leverdude]

If I were you I'd look into a pop up ground blind like Ameristeps doghouse. I used a doghouse & a hunters view lodge this season & took deer from both with my compound. The lodge is nice because its 7 feet square & tall so you can stand & stretch, theres room for a comfy chair & loads of gear, its also very easy to draw a bow in. Its got 2 small windows per side 12"X12" or so, as well as a large window on three sides that pretty much opens from end to end.
The dog house is smaller at 5'X5' & has one small window per side as well as a large window like the lodge. Its also got that shoot thru mesh over the windows & it really works. I shot a buck from it at 15 yards or so & 2 does at around ten. The does were shot one after the other, I shot the first & the other deer watched her run off without a clue, I shot the second one & the rest of the deer wandered off but still didnt know what was going on.

Both these blinds are a snap to set up & pack away, although I put mine in a few weeks before hunting them & left them there thru the season.
Theyre pretty waterproof as well but snow can cause them to colapse. All that I needed to do once I figured out what happened (thought for sure it got stolen) was clean the snow off & it popped right back up.

Pretty cheap too, the doghouse was about $50 from Sportsmans guide & the Lodge was I think $69 or so plus shipping.

All I need now is to order replacement mesh pieces so I can outfit the big blind with them. Already got the velcro to install them just gotta get around to ordering them.

[poncaguy]

I'm 64, usually just lean against a tree and don.t move............use a crossbow, about 40 yards max range. Have had deer walk by within 15 feet by not moving a hair..........

[JPSaxMan]

For all of you suggesting ground cover as a blind...in PA it is illegal to make a blind out of natural material. Yes, that is a law, might be the dumbest one to date, but all blinds "must be made of man-made or synthetic material"...  :? .

I too have been thinking of ways to hunt from the ground; lack of funding has left me without a treestand for my first upcoming archery season. Yea, we got hills  :lol:  but how useful are hills in setups? The only hills I got around my property are out in a field and well they ain't nowhere near the deer...if anything the deer are on the tops of the hills  :roll:  

[JPSaxMan]

OOPS, sorry, the thing about blinds only applies to turkey hunting... :eek: ...what a time to feel like an idiot  :roll:

[Country Boy]

I'm 63 and hunt from both ground and tree stands(bigones with sides and a roof) but the last three years I've hunted from a ground blind  with my crossbow and rifle. I simply put up 4 metal fench posts spaced about 6 feet, wrapped it with black plastic then wrapped it with camo material then put a rope and couple of bungie straps around it. the plastic help keep your scent in. I use a green lawn chair inside and have no trouble moving and scsaring deer.Try to put them in place at least a two weeks before you hunt. I have also just take some scrap plywood to buld blinds and put the plastic across the back so you can get in.
  Of course terrain features will dictate what kind of blind you use. I used one of those pop up blinds but had no luck as they seemed so conspicious and had blind spots. The first thing that cought your attention when I looked into my bean field was the blind sitting in a brushy fence row. I changed to the typle of blind I mentioned leaned some brush around it and had deer with in 10 feet.

[Savage .250]

IMO, one of the best if not the nicest ways to ground hunt is from a
   hunting blind like a "Outhouse" from Cabelas.
  My son has one and he loves it. No kind of weather( rain,snow,wind)  bothers him.
   These things are light, easy to put up and take down.  He carries a little chair with him so he`s as comfortable as you can get. . Life is good.
   I`m from the old school. You can always find a blind that Mother Nature has left for you or make your own. Either way there is no set up/take down involved. I have to admit there have been times over the years i sure would have liked to have had one.  
 
 " The best part of the hunt is not the harvest but in the experience."

[THE#1hunter]

Here this might help your decesion for a good blind... http://www.ameristep.com/

Good Luck

[kymac]

I use the Doghouse pop up blind and love it.When the temp gets around 30 or below .I have a small camping propane heater I bring to keep me warm.Deer walk within 15 feet of me every year.......