Midwest guys, how do you hunt whitetail with your primitive bow?

[SDBurntStick]

I think I will finally take a stick bow in the woods this year.  I have shot a compound bow for a long time but have been making/shooting wood bows for the last 2 years.  The problem is, most of my practice is from the ground.  It has always been tough for me to get enough practice from my tree stand with any bow.  I'm thinking about changing it up this year.

So, with that, how do you guys hunt? 

Tree stand, saddle, blind?

If blind, what works best with a bow in the 60"-70" range?

I'm in MO...mostly hunting thick woods.  Occasionally hunt near a field.

[TimBo]

Hey, I am in MO as well.  I like natural ground blinds - cedars are nice if they are located in the right spot since they won't drop their leaves halfway through the season.  Blowdowns are good too.  Sometimes I use a Torges style tree seat.

[Piddler]

Anybody else have any tips to share. Like the op I will be in the woods first time with a selfbow this year. Used a compound for years. I'm a big fan of treestands and see no problem with my selfbow there. I do have a ground blind but it think the selfbow will be too tall. Do you shoot out of them with the bow canted a lot. Gonna have to get that set up and figured out. Oct will be here pretty quick.
Piddler

[Hawkdancer]

I am stuck with ground blinds at my age a fall could have dire consequences! .  You may have big enough Windows to shoot through without a lot of cant. We have to set up our blind and test it.
Hawkdancer

[SDBurntStick]

Thanks for the input.  I think I will try a blind this year.  I was really interested in trying saddle hunting this year just for the mobility of it but I just don't feel confident going that route with my stick bow just yet. 

[Hawkdancer]

 >:DFor a chuckle:  hide under an oak tree and make soft noises like an acorn >:DAlso works under an apple tree, but you have to remember to make apple noises!
You could however get swarmed by acor or apples! 
Hawkdancer

[Allyn T]

I haven't hunted a self bow out of it yet, but I love my saddle. I've seen some trade guys hunt out of them with no problems

[bentstick54]

I’m lucky to have the privilage of hunting about a 1/2 mile section of a small river in southeast Kansas. Being the only one that has permission to hunt this property I am able to put up hang on stands before the season and leave them for the duration. Hunting from treestands has been very successful for me, but know it would not work quite as well on public property.

[BowEd]

I ambush hunt on good sign scouting prior to season and try to practice from a ladder stand a bunch with shots ranging from 10 to 20 yards.They sale for around $75.00 if a person is pateint selecting one.Forget the brand name though.
I have a ground blind too that I've shot from with a 68" bow before killing deer.Shoppng for those taller blinds a person needs to be patient too.A lot of things are back ordered nowadays.Think it has a 72" height inside it.Yes It's 96"by96"by72" blind called a pentagon.I'm 6'3" and can stand up easily without touching the ceiling.Most times I shot from on 1 knee but can shoot standing up in this blind.The bow needs to be canted a bit though of course.The shooting windows are very low to accomodate longer bows too.
I utilize brush piles and blow downs also too.Digging a 2' hole to set your feet in and sit could work in certain areas too.

[boxerboxer]

I’m lucky to have the privilage of hunting about a 1/2 mile section of a small river in southeast Kansas. Being the only one that has permission to hunt this property I am able to put up hang on stands before the season and leave them for the duration. Hunting from treestands has been very successful for me, but know it would not work quite as well on public property.

Hang on tree stands work just fine on public land, but if you live in a state where they can't be left overnight you just need something like a Lone Wolf, XOP, or Muddy stand and sticks that are light enough to carry around with you. It's a little more work, but it offers a great benefit too in that it helps make sure you don't over hunt a particular spot or stay in a particular tree when you know you need to be 50 yds from there in order to have a shot.

In short, there's really not much that you need to do differently than you did with a compound, but you need to make sure that however you hunt you practice shooting from your stand, blind, etc. Depending on how far you were comfortable with shooting an animal with the compound, you may need to work to get a little closer than you're used to.

One small thing you probably want to look into is a way to keep your arrow on your bow without having to hold it in your hand, especially if it gets cold where you live. There are commercially available self adhesive products that stick onto a bow, and plenty of DIY solutions involving rubber bands and such that will release when you draw.

You can adjust things like brace height, arrow weight, string silencers, etc to get a really quiet bow, and you'll probably find more followup shots present themselves than when you hunted with a compound.

Other than that, it's still hold still, play the wind, draw when they can't see you, and aim small so you miss small.

[bentstick54]

Boxer, hang on stands will work here on what little public land there is also, the problem being they stand a very good chance of being stolen. Plus if you leave a stand on public ground in Kansas, anybody can legally hunt it. You could show up an hour before daylight and find somebody else sitting in your stand legally. Being lucky to have private land to hunt for the last 18 years, I have been able to tweek stand locations to where I use the same trees year after year, so preparation is usually minimal.

[boxerboxer]

Boxer, hang on stands will work here on what little public land there is also, the problem being they stand a very good chance of being stolen. Plus if you leave a stand on public ground in Kansas, anybody can legally hunt it. You could show up an hour before daylight and find somebody else sitting in your stand legally. Being lucky to have private land to hunt for the last 18 years, I have been able to tweek stand locations to where I use the same trees year after year, so preparation is usually minimal.

Agreed, I personally would never leave a stand on public either, both because I don’t want it getting stolen/occupied, and because I’m rarely interested in being in the same stand for more than a sit or two. I only mention leaving a stand overnight because to some guys a $40 ladder stand in left in one spot all season is what they want to do and there’s nothing wrong with that if you’re ok with the downside.

[George D. Stout]

I've been on the ground for the past three decades;  I can fall down while walking but bottom line is the shot angles are so much better from the ground and it's a simple matter of just being still and paying attention.  You can't play with your smart phone and expect a lot of action. 

When I started that's how we had to hunt anyway, there were no commercial tree stands and most places there wasn't a convenient limb to shin up the tree to.  So we learned to hunt from the ground.  Make or model or style of bow makes no difference either, it's jut a weapon of choice.  Be safe, and enjoy.