How many of yall do it? I was thinking setting up on the ground would allow some one to get in further on public land since the load would potentially be lighter. any tips or tricks?

Not sure about that logic. If you are bow hunting from the ground you better be moving at a molasses pace, eyes peeled, and ready to draw back at any moment. Don't think you'll be able to cover more ground hunting that way. Now, you can bow hunt from the ground and not do any of that and cover more ground and not kill any deer. But what's the fun in that?

I mean like setting up on the ground in stead of climbing in a tree.

I don’t purposely bow hunt from the ground. In all of my years of bowhunting I’ve killed one deer from the ground. Just happened to walk up on a group of does feeding in a plot and all the stars were aligned.

I did while I lived in southern Arizona. The only real advantage a tree gives you is some better line of sight and maybe a very slight advantage on wind and hiding your movement.

I would carry some 4’ fiberglass poles used for fencing and a roll or two of burlap to help supplement some ground cover for concealment.

As long as you have the wind at your advantage, some good concealment, and good line of sight, you should be golden.

Gotta stay concealed with cover in front of and behind you. Can’t move. Gotta be ready to draw in less than a second. It’s not real fun unless you do spot and stalk, which ain’t very easy in the south. I’ve killed 3 from the ground. One in a blind, two stalking.

I've archery hunted natural ground blinds for whitetails in 3 states and was very successful. We built the blinds before season and hunted the wind... The most fun was a pit blind we made

About all I have done for last 10 years...i just use natural cover and wind...its fun but a tad more challenging...ive killed several

Ive hunted 90% of the time on the ground for the last 45 yrs. This yr I plan to hunt more from a treestand though.
People killed a whole lot of deer on the ground long before treestands.
I use natural ground blinds. I like a lot of cover behind me to break me up but I like cover in the front too.
Its harder getting a shot of usually but you just have to pick your time to draw.
I hunt with recurves and longbows so I cant hold as long once Im at full draw.
Movement will get you busted. As far as scent I just try to stay as clean as I can and I use baking soda in my boots.
A good cover scent wont hurt either.

ive killed two in the last two years on public land from the ground. Ive hunted from the ground 5 times in those two years. if the situation allows it im gunna get in a tree but sometimes its just not possible or needed. It cam definitely be done and if accessing deeper areas is what youre shooting for then it can definitely be a tool.
Ive got a spot this year where Im taking in a 4 foot step ladder to sit on just for vision sake. I think I could get it done from the ground but the little extra vision would really help me in this particular spot

I’ve done it. Just knew where I wanted to set up. Made sure the wind was right. I had a piece of that burlap set up between two mesquite bushes in New Mexico. It’s worked well every time I’ve done it there. Had does within 10 yards eating sunflowers. Can’t shoot the does there. Had a bachelor group of 3 buck. Shot mine at 35 yards. Pretty lucky though. Oilfield our there helps some. But the wind was absolutely perfect.

same here Shaw. total ground kills is ONE. I got down out of a stand mid morning to slip up to another stand 200 yards away. Spotted a good eight point coming to me. I hid and waited , made a 40 yard shot and killed him.

I have 1 kill from the ground. I was walking a road bed through a pine thicket and heard a limb pop, caught a glimpse of a doe in the mess headed to the road bed. I took a knee, drew and waited about 15 seconds when she stepped into road bed I smoked her. I have slipped up on a few others only to have wind or lack of cover ruin my stalk at the last minute.

David

I've never had a lot of luck on the ground, but I haven't done a lot of it either. In my limited experience from hunting on the ground, the deer have always spotted the blind and known something wasn't right.

Ive killed some off the ground...not a bunch tho..ever once in awhile ill run across a spot that is just better to be on the ground...an in texas an out west...its brush blind or ground blind for bowhuntin alot anyway...i got good at it out there..whole lot of back cover an bein able to shoot at least 25yrds through a small gap while sitting is necessary in my oppinion

I’ve killed 52 still hunting, no blind, recurve and snap shooting. Extreme attention to scent, leafy clothing and also used a leafy attachment on the front of my bow that hide my draw. Choose an area (edge) where you can expect deer, move like a snail and plan on covering short distances. Primarily using wax myrtle as a cover scent, crushed and smeared on me and stuffed in my pocket. Work the wind and thermals. Have killed some from ground blinds but with a compound. Still hunting is challenging and intense and sometimes frustrating.

People that bow hunt from the ground have very high deer numbers. At least everyone I know....

I'm your black sheep...our numbers suck

Got a friend that smokes em from a ground blind every year... he got to big to climb
a tree several years ago, bait made it a lot easier for him

[quote=MC21]How many of yall do it? I was thinking setting up on the ground would allow some one to get in further on public land since the load would potentially be lighter. any tips or tricks?
Yes you can make it work, but safety becomes a factor more on the ground than in a tree. There is places I would not want to be on public land sitting on the ground bow season is ok, but rifle season no way. Just be careful and know where you can and can't be seen because there are some idiots out there. Here is an example. One year I set up on an area that deer crossed. Only one way any one way out type place. That morning in the dark a guy parked right next to my vehicle and walked within two feet of me on the way in without seeing me. He shot a deer and came out by me again. He then attempted to tell me deer would not cross there where I was sitting. Really pissed me off in a way because where I parked there was only one way into the area and he parked right at my vehicle. I didn't tell him I had seen deer cross there before and kept my cool. This was not a young kid, but a veteran hunter that had no respect. So, be careful there are a lot of good people hunting, but the idiots like that will get someone shot over a deer and not everyone will be as nice as me.