Useful Experience in Ground Hunting
By Christine Rowe
I'd be lying if I said I'm a great ground hunter, but I sure do enjoy the opportunity to be eye to eye with whitetails at close range. I've been trying my darndest to stick a buck from the ground without a man-made blind for about five years. Speaking generously, I've accumulated a lot of useful experience. I thought I was really gaining traction a few years ago when I arrowed a doe from the ground in late season. I later learned that she was injured and probably lacking a keen awareness of her surroundings. As any prideful bow hunter would add, I've also passed on numerous 1- to 3-year-old bucks and plenty of does. Mostly, I've screwed up a lot. I have a few stories to tell that will keep my ego in check and maybe help you avoid the same rookie mistakes should you decide to sit on the ground this season.
Tip #1
Keep your equipment on your person
One morning in early November, I'd spent a few hours sitting on public land, overlooking a private cut bean field, with two bucks locked down on a doe about 300 yards away. If they made a break for cover, I was sitting in the area they'd head for. Eventually someone else spotted them, attempted a stalk, and got them on their feet running straight for the property line. I leaped into a 100-yard sprint to meet them at the brush-covered fenceline. Completely out of breath, I peeked through the tangled mess of blackberry and prickly ash and saw that I was only about 30 yards away from the bigger buck. I crouched down, nocked an arrow, removed my quiver from my bow, then got a quick range on the trail I thought he'd use to cross over. My hands were full, so I set my quiver and range finder on the ground next to me. Then I grunted, made some scraping sounds, and snort wheezed. That really ticked him off. I watched him drop his head, walk about 20 yards away from me, parallel to the fence, then turn to duck under it. I matched his pace and crouch-ran about twenty yards to get a closer shot. As he took a few more steps to stand out in the open, I drew my bow back. As you may recall, I didn't have my range finder or quiver with me since I'd left it 20 yards back where I'd grunted at him. I guessed the distance to be 35 yards and watched my arrow sail right between his legs. Then he offered me two more beautiful broadside opportunities before heading back over the fenceline to his doe. Lesson learned: know your distance, and don't take your quiver off your bow.
Tip #2
Don't get caught with your pants down
It was late October and pretty chilly out. I forgot to pee when I left my vehicle, so of course when I got myself tucked into some brush at the edge of a swamp, I thought, “cripes, I'm not gonna make it until dark” and I snuck over to the nearest deer trail to make a mock scrape. As I was zipping up, I felt like someone was watching me. I looked up to see a nice 8 point about 25 yards away, curiously observing my hunched figure before turning to run off.
Tip #3
Tuck in really tight…and then tighter
I've even had does pick me out in cover that's lacking. You've got to have something in front of you and behind you. If you can find a big dead fall in the right location, that's where you want to sit. The worst spot to sit is the first spot your eye is drawn to when you scan your location.
Tip #4
Bring a seat or knee pads
When you're on the ground, deer are on extra high alert to your movements. If you're uncomfortable kneeling or sitting on the ground, you're going to move more and that movement will expose you. Tip #5 Bring clippers and pick only a couple shooting lanes Bring something to cut a quick lane or any brush that your bow might knock into as you draw. When you find a spot to sit, keep it simple and pick 1 or 2 shooting lanes. Your opportunities will usually be close, and you'll avoid more deflection risk if you pick just a couple of spots. I wish I'd picked just one shooting lane and stuck with it a few years ago in late November when I had a buck standing broadside at 20 yards. I'd been unable to stop him as he walked through my shooting lane, so when he stopped in what appeared to be another open spot at the same distance, I let one fly and watched it snag a twig before ricocheting into a tree. I could certainly continue telling stories of my struggles in the whitetail woods, and this article could just as easily have been titled, “what not to do while ground hunting.” Even though today's world (especially online) is focused on showcasing our trophies, something gives me the impression that I'm not the only one to leave a broadhead embedded in a tree. Sometimes knowledge comes from your own experience, and other times you can glean a fraction of that from another hunter. Take my tips or leave them. Either way, I'd recommend giving ground hunting a try just to see the world from the perspective of the deer.