How To Bow Hunt From The Ground 2021 (Full Guide)
If you are wondering how to bow hunt from the ground you have arrived at the right place. In this article I will guide you through my hunting process and give you some advice on hunting on the ground.
Choosing the hunting Area
First of all, you need to find yourself a bow hunting area. If you are familiar within the area and know where there usually are deer or the animal you hunt then great! if not try to do a search on google and find specific areas where your pray is generally hanging out and try to find a similar area close to you.
What I usually look for when I am out hunting, I usually hunt deer, but it can be applied to most animals. It’s choosing a spot where there is an open field, with great food resources with an elevated ground where there is a lot of trees or bushes that I can use for cover.
Finding a spot
When you have found the hunting area, you can start searching for a spot. The spot is incredibly important and plays a huge role if you’re going to succeed or not. To do this you need;
- A shooting path
- Cover and camo
I like to use a spot with a lot of covers as I mentioned earlier, but you also need a shooting path. There is no point hiding in a bush if you actually cant shoot through it.
You can find yourself a great spot if you find a “dip” in the ground or a hill that is in the direction you are hunting. If you have found a dip sit down behind it and let it cover your lower body. This way you can move your feet without having to worry about movements in addition to giving you free camo and cover.
Cover and Camo. You want to cover up yourself and avoid “sticking out.” You want to go as one with nature, sounds a little weird, but it’s needed. If you can easily be seen the deer will not be very tempted to come anywhere close to you.
I like to break off some leaf trees or use bushes and attach them to certain parts of my wear. Use the vegetation from where you sit! It doesn’t help to use vegetation from your home garden, because that will make you stick out.
Don’t overdo it, overdoing it will set you back instead of helping you. If you attach a long tree grain with leaves it will make a bigger movement and make you more visible when you pull your draw.
What you can do is to find an old jacket with camo color and glue, yes glue leaves and vegetation from your spot.
So if you have a regular spot where you know you will be spending the majority of your time then it is a good idea. Or you can go the shopping route and buy hunting gear which can be equally good and less time-consuming.
How to sit when hunting on the ground
The single most important thing when you are sitting on the ground is to keep still. You don’t want to move any part of your body until you have your animal in your sight. Any movement can make your pray notice you and run away. If you have chosen a spot with a dip in the ground can move your feet freely, but make sure to not move your upper body.
Sitting still means sitting still. Decide the direction you are going to look. That angle is going to be the one and only direction you are going to look. If you can’t hear any animals behind you or on the side, don’t even look. The animal will either come in your shooting angle if not it’s all good. It’s better to actually shoot one than see a lot of them.
What I like to do is to choose one direction, put my bow against the ground and lean my head on it. That way I can rest for a long time without having any pain in my neck. I even close my eyes at longer times to rest and just peak to see if there is any animals around after a while.
Some people like to use soft pillows to bring for sitting on. It can work, but for me, it works just fine to sit on the ground. If you choose to bring a pillow make sure it’s camouflaged and scent-free! Everything you bring should be.
How to hold the bow when you are hunting on the ground
You need to have your bow up-right to make it easy to pick up, draw and shoot. You don’t want to lay it on the ground. This will force you to pick it up if you have to shoot leading to big movements and sounds.
You can place on a limb on the ground and rest your head on the top. Remember to put a glove or something under the bow! Or else it will slam in the ground when you shoot and it will put your shot off and can lead to a missed opportunity.
I suggest you too dig a small hole and either put my glove or anything soft under this will prevent the compound bow from slamming in the ground.
Another good idea is to work out your draw. Shooting from a sitting position can be harder than standing. If your target is looking straight towards you, you want to be able to hold your draw until it focuses in another direction.
Placing a distraction. You can put either some food or a fake distraction for the deer to focus on when it comes in your sight, this will make it easier for you to make a clean shot.
How to eliminate scent and why you have to
Eliminating Your Scent
The smell, the second-worst thing that you can do besides being seen is being smelled. Humans sent can make your pray disappear faster than a magician. A deer can smell sixty times better than a human so if you are using perfume to smell good for humans why would you do the same for the deer.
Prepare your hunting clothes
Wash them with steril washing powder and dry them up. After doing so put them in an anti scent bag. Don’t use a trash bag, it’s not the best idea. You have probably noticed if you put them outside with trash you can smell it, well if the smell is coming out it’s for sure coming in too.
So purchase yourself a scent-free bag and put the clothes in it straight after you have washed the clothes. You can purchase the bag I use here (Link to scent-free bag on Amazon)
Along with having the clothes in a scent-free bag, you want to make the clothes smell like the woods and nature. There are a lot of mistakes made here.
Some people put leaves in the bag, don’t do this. It comes with bacteria and can give you things you don’t want. Same with using urine, don’t do this either.
If a deer or any animal smell a urine scent up in the three or on the ground it will look in that direction and you cant make your shot.
This is what you should do! Buy yourself a scent cover and put it in the bag. It is really simple and can save you a lot of headaches. It’s really cheap too. You buy any scent cover you want, but make sure to check the reviews and the scent needs to be based on natural smells and no animal smells. I personally use this one (Link to my scent cover on Amazon)
Before using any scent cover, take care of your own body scent.
To do so, go and use the shower, but don’t use your coconut shampoo but use an odorless shampoo. Same with your towel, it should be washed with sterile washing powder
After the shower, you can put on your hunting clothes, but I recommend having a pair of your regular clothing (washed in sterile powder) and wearing those until you are at your spot because this will prevent you from sweating in your hunting clothes. You want to smell as little as possible as a human and sweating in it won’t help you to do so.
Bring your hunting clothes in the scent-free bag and change clothes when you have arrived at the spot. Take the regular clothes and put them back in the scent-free bag!
Using a blind for bow hunting
You have probably seen these tents that are used for bow hunting and generally hunting. They can be great to use if you decide to hunt on the ground. It can cover you up fully and you can be able to move more without having to worry so much about being seen.
Still, if you are inside a tent the same principles apply here. Hide your scent and cover-up. Instead of using trees and leaves on yourself, you need to use them on your blind. Still if the blind is a camo color you need to make blend in with the nature around it.
Using vegetation on the blind. Using vegetation on the blind is what you should do, but it’s important to not chop down any vegetation around the blind or the area you are staying in because the animal you hunt will notice this and can prevent them from coming up close.
What you should do. Drive a distance away from your blind and find similar vegetation and chop it down there and bring it to your blind. The animals will only see that there is more vegetation than before rather than seeing chopped-down trees. Making it look more natural.
I usually hunt deer, but it applies to a lot of big game animals. They usually like to walk beside the wood line. So if you have an open field you can notice the deer walking along the wood line instead of walking inside the woods.
You can keep this in mind when you are setting up your blind to get the perfect spot.
KEEP AS FEW WINDOWS AS POSSIBLE!
I understand if you want to see as much as possible, but it’s not smart to do. The windows and more sight you see through your blind the more visible you will be. I suggest you only use two windows and keep the other closed.
Don’t use the windows behind you, because light will come through and reveal your hiding spot.
The last tip I want to give regarding blinds is to use the see-through / shoot-through mesh.
Wind: Use the wind in your favor
The wind is something a lot of hunters forget to think about, but it’s actually something very important to have in mind when you are choosing your spot.
The wind brings scent and sounds with it so you need to make sure the wind is blowing towards you if your target is in front of you. This will help you to stay hidden and make your target come close.
Tips For Bow Hunting: All you need to remember
If you haven’t remembered a thing from this article or just want to make it stick or easier to remember. Here are the things I have said, but a few more important tips
- Use the wind to your advantage
- Avoid sitting on a bare top or hill, you will break the silhouette.
- Clear the ground remove all the leaves and sticks, to prevent sounds.
- Use camo and cover
Related Questions
Can you bow hunt from a ground blind? Yes, you can use a ground blind for hunting with your bow and arrow. Using a ground blind can be one of the best options for cover when you are hunting on the ground because of the camouflage and cover it provides.
Can you hunt deer without a tree stand? Yes absolutely, you don`t need a tree stand to hunt deer. Hunting from the ground is as good as hunting in a tree or on elevated ground.
Is it better to hunt in a stand or on the ground? If it’s better to hunt in a stand or on the ground depends on the nature around you and what you prefer. Both options work equally well, but each one has their benefits for certain situations.
