Ground Hunting

Recently I began hunting more from the ground. There is somethig with being eye to eye with your quarry that makes it more intimate. Trying to use all of your skills to harvest your game. Interestingly when I hunt in other regions, this is the norm. Here in the southeast it is not. With our thick forest and leafy canopy, most hunters prefer to stand hunt. While I will admit I too like to hunt from elevated stands, I am gaining more and more appreciation for ground hunting.

A few years ago I purchased one of those "pop up" ground blinds, admitidely the initial intention was so I could take my son, and his movements would be covered and the safety factor from not having to climb a stand. As i did this more and more I began to like it more and more. I often abandon my ladder stands and opt for the blind, as time moved on, I often abandon the blind and simply slip through the woods to a good location and sit. This has given me a much greater appreciation for our ancestors who did not have the option of climbing stands, and food plots. It tests your woodsmanship to the hilt. And in our thick forest, it puts the deer close when the opportunity arises.

If you have not hunted from the ground, give it try, you too will find it challenging and rewarding. The opportunites may be less, but the rewards when they happen will be more extreme. There is little more exciting in hunting than harvesting a big game animal from the ground, whether bow or firearm, it is a rewarding experience. But be careful, you may be hooked.