Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Ground or Tree?

Hi guys. I am relatively new to bowhunting, having been a rifle hunter since a kid. I recently moved to an area that is more heavily populated (with people unfortunately...) so I got a bow 2nd hand and have been practicing with it. I am getting pretty comfortable with it so now I am looking at setting up a blind/stand. I am curious what is generally more effective, a ground blind or a tree stand. I can see advantages to both, tree stands being elevated gives you a farther view, but you are more exposed as well. Ground blinds sheild you movements visually, but have decreased visibility. What do you guys recommend? The areas that I will be hunting are treed with larger poplars, some scrub brush, usually overlooking hayland or slough bottoms. Any advice on where to position your stands/blinds would be appreciated as well. I assume that you don't want to be right on a game trail, likely 10-20 yards off of it would be better right? Thanks for the advice guys...


SS

Get in a tree and stay there. Puts your butt in one position, making you less likely to move around and spook deer. Puts any movement you make generally above the deer's normal level of vision, and backscreens you against the canopy. Puts your scent above the deer's normal level of scent-awareness.

Get a GOOD stand (Summit, IMHO, is about as good as they get), get used to it, position it well, and bring home venison.

Ground blinds can work, and do, but if you've got trees, use 'em.

Very good advice, I have a Summit Viper and a Ameristep Penthouse. use the Viper 10 to 1 over the Penthouse. Use a good anti-scent product like Downwind. USE a harness at all times!!

Okay, I will start looking for a treestand. Any opinion on the treestands with the ladder attached compared to those that are permanent compared to the "climbing" stands? I like the idea of having the ladder always there (seems more sturdy too) but I like the ability to change the height on the "permanent" stands. The climbing ones seem somewhat impractical for my application since any climbing is more likely to spook off deer. Those are my thoughts, but I would like to hear from you experienced guys.

Also, more thoughts on stand placement?


SS

Get a Summit. Quiet climbing; very quiet. Ladders work, but ain't my thing. If the wind shifts directions today from yesterday, I want the advantage of moving my stand to the other tree that I've picked out for just such reasons in the same area. And, I want that option NOW.

As for spooking deer, never really had that problem with climbers before, but not to say it couldn't happen, esp. with hyper-skittish deer in a hard hunted area with lots of fellas hangin' outta trees. Of course, in that case, I'd probably switch tactics anyway...

Stand placement? Depends on terrain and location. Generally 15 feet up is a good start. Sometimes less, sometimes more, depending. Try to be within 50-75% of your max range from the likely target location (i.e. trail, waterhole, stream crossing, etc.); that gives you enough room between you and the deer to get done what you need to and enough cushion so the deer's not max range when you get a shot if it comes where you expect/want it to, plus the option to stretch the range if/when it shows up further out.

Everything else is dictated by location and terrain, IMHO.

get a treelounge, get comfortable, stay longer and be much safer

SS,I belive you're in northern Alberta,correct?Go with what you can.I have two ladder stands and a hang on stand that I'm just really starting to use,Hell I've killed two bull moose,a white tail and two mule bucks from spot an stalk hunting with a bow,still waiting to take one from the stands.

I hunt west of Caroline,kinda in between Rocky Mtn House and Caroline really.The game there don't know about tree stands,as there ain't really many tree stand hunters in the area.We do alot of spot and stalk,the selective logging going on really facillitates this. I spent a lot of time scouting areas for stands and found that it's just not neccessary.As a mater of fact I'm headed up there friday afternoon for three days of spot and stalk hunting with the bow.We know the trails and can set up ambushes in a number of places(comes from spending the summer up there).There's no shortage of game,we're just bound by the laws,lost the moose hunting bow privelidges when the zone went to draw two years ago <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />,but we can kill any elk,deer or bear that crosses our path,with the exception of griz.

Good advice given thus far & I'd only add to practice from whatever stand you get. If you're going to be 18' up and 25 yds off a trail, then you should be practicing from those conditions. Obviously, your pin for 20 yds when shooting flat at targets will not translate to the angled shot from the stand & it's best to get that worked out before you get a big guy where you want 'em. You should also feel comfortable in whatever angle/direction you may need to shoot. Get used to "non-optimal shots" & figure out how you'll draw if/when that deer decides to work off the trail & only give you a shot off to your shooting side. It's a whole lot easier to know beforehand what you can and cannot accomplish from your particular stand & that way you know your limitations for the hunt.

BN, I used to live in Red Deer up until this past Feb when I moved up to Edmonton. You have some really beautiful country out there. I used to go in that area and try to fly fish. Never did get out there to hunt though. I had a two door tempo and no place to hang and butcher game. No one that I knew there hunted. Hope you have/had a good time out there and that you will be/were successful.


SS

TREE! You must not be a tree guy. If you were, you wouldn't even be asking this question. Where I live and where I hunt, there are next to no trees you can use a climber on. It is very rare. I've killed many deer from ground level, but usually on the way to a tree stand---2MG