Hunting on the ground

You can hunt from the ground and be just as sucessful as any other hunting method. Just from the ground you cant see through things as good as you can see above them in a tree. Pay attention to the wind direction and cover your scent really well and you ought to be in good shape. For me blinds have scared deer away more than when I'm tucked away in good cover. If they just see a blind for the first time without either being used to seeing it there or having it brushed in and a part of the woods they will usually spook quickly so cover well.

so that brings another question. I have never even made an effort to "cover my scent" do you mean buying some of that spry stuff. Man hunting in the marsh of louisiana is much easier stand by a tree smoke a cigarette and shoot when they walk out.

Yeah any type of cover scent scent elimination stuff works good but don't rely on it fully. Using the wind direction is the best bet. Around here I take any pine tree branches and squish, break, and crush the needles and twigs to make a killer scent cover. It works awesome everytime even if pines are not native to the area you are hunting.

whodat: you need to shower/bathe in scent free body wash/soap too before you hunt. Also it doesn't hurt to wash your hunting clothing in scent free soap. Just remember when you are hunting on the ground you are on the same level as the deer, so if you stink, they will more a little more likely to smell it faster than if you were up in a tree. either way, you don't want to get smelled (is that a word?).
That blind you got looks like a good one, but i'm with timberghost, make sure you brush it in, make it look like it belongs there. If you don't have alot of branches to cut down to brush it in, you may want to set the blind up 1-2 weeks early before you even hunt in it. that way the deer get used to it.

yeah cant set it up early I am hunting on a WIHA

I see a lot of deer hunting on the ground
But i don't smoke cigarettes out there
I use my stand umbrella to cover my feet and lean back on a tree
I have good hunts like that deer come up almost to close
I all ways use cover sent and shower before i walk in the woods

You're not going to want that ground blind in the link, the windows are WAY to small. Get one with nice big windows, but when you sit in it leave the one behind you closed.

Stands like these are what I use, with the rail going around. I think it would be pretty hard to fall out...unless you were standing up, but you just have to watch where you're stepping. - http://www.cabelas.com/product/Hunting/Hunting-Treestands/Ladder-Treestands|/pc/104791680/c/104783580/sc/104271480/Big-Game-The-Avenger-DX-17-Ladderstand/1096831.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fhunting-hunting-treestands-ladder-treestands%2F_%2FN-1100103%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104271480

problem isnt really a fear of fallin it is finding a stand that is portable I hunt public and WIHA in kansas and cant leave stands in the areas. I weigh almost 400 pounds the ladder and climbing stands arent sturdy enough fo my weight

I use to have a small fold up turkey screen it was about 8 ft long and 2ft high
I would stick it in the ground around me ..it folds up small and the deer dont think any thing about it in the woods ..Just sit still

I started using ground blinds a long time ago, my first was several old burlap bags with leaves and twigs and other natural debris shoved into it and draped over low lying brush, just enough to provide a little cover for inadvertant movement on my part. I now use one of the large pop up blinds, I try to place it somewhere that it cannot be easily seen, such as inside a group of trees or in tall grass, I also brush it in some and use cover scents to mask not only my smell but the smell of the nylon (if I can smell it, I am sure the deer can too). i can sympathize about the tree stands not being strong enough, I weigh about 285, so I bought a summit gorilla, it is rated for 350 lbs. this is my first year to use one and I still get a bit nervouse climbing up those tree's with it

AMEN to the weight thing fella's... i too am a big guy... 6'3" and 280 lbs. (and never played a day of football in my life, can you believe that???-- didn't have it at my old H.S.) any stand I use is a ladder stand... I DO have one climber, but it makes me pretty nervous sitting in it. Ladder stands tend to be more secure (to me at least). I do prefer to be up in the tree though.. and not on the ground.

Sounds like me.

Whodat seems to have many of the same questions as me. Although I'm in central Tx. I too hunt on the ground. my box blind has been in the same place for years so the deer are used to it. Deer trails within a few feet of it. I have questions about scent control. I too smoke but I am on the property so much I wonder if they are not used to it. I posted a new thread with some of these questions. Charlie

Hey there Charlie, I'm also in Central TX and have a ground blind made up of a couple of 6 ft T-posts and several old wooden pallets. It's just enough to get behind to hide any movement. Have used it to low/high crawl into place when getting out to my "huntin' spot" a little too late and the deer are already there.