Ground Hunting. Assistance Requested!

My preferred public hunting area is a 110 acre tract in northern IL called Rockton Bog SNA(feel free to google). I don't have the funds for stands or blinds, so I've been confined to ground hunting. What should I look for when trying to find a spot to hunker down, and once I'm there, what would you all recommend as a course of action?

Can't say I do much ground hunting, but I have a buddy who hunts only from the ground using trad equipment. His secret weapon is a ghille suit. Pre-made suits are costly but check out you tube for homebrew suits. They can be made pretty cheap.

Im mostly a treestand hunter but i have been bowhunting a little bit from the ground the last few seasons and have been killing some deer. Some other people may think different but i would look for cedar trees. What i like to do is to crawl up inside of a low hangin cedar and cut me out a hole big enough to shoot through, its like a natural blind, the bigger and thicker the tree the better. when you get it like you want it throw all you excess limbs and junk outside then bring your equipment inside, then use the limbs to brush yourself back in from the inside out. Me and some of my buddys have been waylayin deer like this because, well the trees arent big enough to climb here, so we are forced to hunt from the ground and to be honest it works pretty well for that spot so it should work pretty well for alot of places. Also when you leave brush your spot back in and make it look good so nobody else will notic where youve been hunting. Hope this helps

I am a meat hunter and a still hunter ,most of the time i hunt gov. land , I sit or stand back in the bushes 20- 25 yds pick good shoot through to trail or scrape , use the wind in my favor, use sent post and sometimes a decoy, sit or stand in the shade . my camo is walmart bug net and leaf bout 50 dollar camo. wash clothes and body with soap Berry's , there free . nuff said.

lastoftheloaners wrote:I am a meat hunter and a still hunter ,most of the time i hunt gov. land , I sit or stand back in the bushes 20- 25 yds pick good shoot through to trail or scrape , use the wind in my favor, use sent post and sometimes a decoy, sit or stand in the shade . my camo is walmart bug net and leaf bout 50 dollar camo. wash clothes and body with soap Berry's , there free . nuff said.

You're definitely my kind of guy! Welcome, we're glad to have you.

I've taken a few from the ground, without the aid of manufactured blinds, suits, or creating ground blinds from logs and debris.It can be done. You absolutely need the wind in your favor. The other thing is to learn how to sit still. Most folks think they sit still, but try it some night when you've nothing better to do. If you concentrate on it, you'll find that you are almost constantly moving something, most of the time your head, in response to sound. It is VERY hard to resist the temptation to look when you hear something out of sight at 20 yards, but this is a MUST ground hunting without a blind. You also have to be very good at reading deer body language, and spotting that opportunity to raise your bow and draw with a deer at 20 yards or less.

This is a good video, from our own Backwaters Bowhunter. I'm rushed @ the moment, but will find you more info by day's end.

I tree stand hunted mostly my whole life but when I needed to or could'nt get in tree. I WAS FORCED TO GROUND HUNT. In 06 I had 2 strokes which turn me into a total ground hunted. Suckie balance and coranation. I did'nt start back up hunting untill spring of 08 gobbler season. I still could'nt feel my(face) ankor missed a gobble at 12 yards that spring.
Now even though I could probley could start back tree stand hunting last year. I perfer the ground now and never go back. Before I have up and puting up and down 10 to 15 stands a year. Lots of work. Ground hunting is way way easyer work. Plus if I fall off my stool I'll walk away.
I only self bow hunt mature bucks 3 1/2 or older. I know a 3 1/2's not really mature but here a 3 1/2's a 120 plus so if I get a chance to arrow a 3 1/2 I do.

I hunt what I call the unpressure aproch.
I do this First, I only scout and run cameras in the winter. All the last falls buck signs there. If noting really changes bucks if they live though the season next year will generally do the same things (patterens). So I scout and set up my ground sites in the winter. Cut and wak in trails ,trim limbs in shooting lanes get my ground site ready then leave it a lone untill the times and winds right for that site. I HAVE DIFFERENT SITES FOR DIFFERENT TIMES OF THE YEAR AS WELL AS FOR DIFFERENT TATICS, SCENTS,CALLING, DECOYS. HUNTING THE RUT BETWEEN DOE GROUPS OR HUNT THE RUT AT BOTTLE NECKS OR WHAT EVER TATIC THAT WILL WORK THERE..
All my set ups are set up in the winter with the WIND IN MINE ,MY APROCH, WHILE i'M THERE AND WHEN i LEAVE. I never go walking around ,scouting or what ever after I done hunting. It's in and out and leaveit alone.
Your only internuceing yourself and your ground site to the bucks your hunting if you do any of these things. There's dozzens of vairables but those are the basic's.
People don't figger in the leaveing into there hunt but you might want to go back next time the wind abnd times right so you don't want your site to be know about by the bucks your hunting.

One of the most important things when setting up your site is ALWAYS ALWAYS have the wind in your favor. Walking in while your there and walking out with it in your favor. If I don't I go to another site that I can stay undetected. I set up sites with this in mine. If I have to park, circle do what I have to do, not to alert any bucks or any deer to me going or leaveing or to my ground site when I'm there. Inkow I've said this over and over but it makes or brakes your site.
When I get to my area (out of the truck) I know by the wind where and what site I'm going to hunt that morning or evening.
I only hunt natural made blinds and there not really a bind to get into. When the ghillies hit the market ALL MY FRIENDS BOUGHT THEM. But they were way to heavy when they got wet plus burlap stinks when wet. I made my own in 82.
Made a full lenth coat out of a nip net with inch mesh. Got a few differnt camo blind materal. Cut them in strips and tied the on. Replace a few when needed.
Instead of mine waiting 20 pounds wet I weights 2 or 3 and will fit into a camo parts leg. Strap right on my pack.
I basicly only but up a few old logs brush leaning against a tree as a back ground for your moveing head .
Plus that way on PL OR NF MOST PEOPLE DON'T EVEN SEE IT AND IF THEY DO They either don't know what it is or it looks naturl to them. THE SAY NO WAY I'M HUNTING THERE. I carry a stool on PL or NF. It also atacts to my pack.

I stalk and sometimes use a blind made up of a few yards of camo material I bought online (can't recall where). Google "camouflage material" find the pattern that suits your location and buy five (5) yards or more then have it sewn (hemmed) to prevent fraying of the ends (try a tailor or dry cleaners if you and/or your wife don't sew).

Before having the material sewn visit the hardware store and buy a few feet of velcro material (both male & female) they should have it on a roll (they sell it by the inch or yard), sew the velcro to the corners and you're done but make sure you buy enough velcro to be able to loop around tree branches or some posts (if you're hunting fields where there are no trees you'll have to get some of stake or poles). Instead of using velcro you can also make straps/ties for securing the camo material to branches or stakes/poles making a blind by using strips of the camo material.

The next step is to find a small (light) portable folding stool preferably black or camo and you're set to go hunting. Once in the woods find a trail or area/scrape where deer signs are visible, set-up your blind and wait.

Amazon.com had some cheap fabric as low as $6.00 per yard for traditional Woodland camoflauge. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Made-America--NuAngel-Green-Fabric/dp/B004N0E7ZC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1348196248&sr=8-4&keywords=camouflage+material

Here's some in WWII USA M111 camo for $1.25 per yard.

http://www.amazon.com/Fabric-Camouflage-print-M111-Swatch/dp/B004HGEL5I/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1348196248&sr=8-13&keywords=camouflage+material