treestand vs groundblind

[Jahnke76]

I was talking to the guys Im heading to co with and they were talking about taking our climbing stands with us. Im not much for stands anymore and prefer groundblinds for whitetail. Is a blind a good Idea for elk or do they pick them out to easy and I should just take my stand for sitting on wallows and such?

[CrazyElkHunter]

I'm not much for sitting in tree stands because I get bored easily, but I do use one over a hot wallow in Colorado. If you know of a good wallow and have a tree stand over it the 1st 10 days of the archery season you should get your elk. I was stubborn for a long time and missed out on a few nice bulls for not sitting in one every evening the 1st week of the season. The bulls were consistent in hitting them between 3:00pm and 8:00pm late Aug and early Sept. Just started committing to the stand a few years ago. The positive side of he stand over the blind is keeping your sent above the elk and a lot more visibility.

[Swede]

Based on the little experience I have had with them. it seems the elk don't seem to mind the blinds at all, but I too would rather have a tree stand. Two of the advantages of the tree stand are visibility and shooting opportunity. I can see and shoot better from a tree.

[Jahnke76]

I can definately see an advantage of a treestand for sure. Im not great with heights and to me it would seem easier to carry my blind and my pack than a climbing stand and my pack. Maybe I will take both. I just wasnt sure if blinds spooked elk as bad as they will a whitetail.

[Swede]

Friend, if heights bother you, then do yourself a favor and stay on the ground. You are not alone, and the people I know of who have trouble with heights, have a real problem when they have to stand, focus on the target, draw and shoot, from up in a tree.

[bullrub]

Like Swede I have used a ground blind many time and it didn't seem to bother them. I don't use a store bought blind I build my own out of matrial at hand.
The scent problem is better in a treestand but when your down in a canyon are a small draw it don't make much matter because the wind is swriling around anyway. And i don't like the tree moving all around when the wind blows.

[Jahnke76]

Dont get me wrong I can sit and shoot from a stand, I just rarely go higher than 12 ft. I am comfortable to a point but prefer to keep my feet on the ground. I have sat as high as 35 ft in a tree and was fine but for the most part no way will I go near that high. Thanks for the info guys I think I will take the blind and leave the stand at home.

[T/H]

you can hunt out of a stand for deer at home anytime. everyone should experience "Run n Gun" elk hunting and you can't do it from a tree and if i'm runnin and gunnin i dont have space for a blind in my pack neither

[HurricaneHuge]

Maybe save the weight and skip the blind? Maybe just good blind chair, bow stake, and pick a spot with good cover? Or pack a lightweight camo mesh to cover the movement of picking up your bow? I've hauled a blind on really nice blind packs and they do carry easier that way, but I would think trying to save the weight would make the hike in easier while keeping you more mobile in case you need to.

[ElkManDan]

you can hunt out of a stand for deer at home anytime. everyone should experience "Run n Gun" elk hunting and you can't do it from a tree and if i'm runnin and gunnin i dont have space for a blind in my pack neither

I second that. go from canyon to canyon bugling for elk. Cover as much ground as you need to and go after the elk don't wait for them to come to you. Calling a rutting bull in is way easier than waiting for one to wander in to you.

[Jahnke76]

you can hunt out of a stand for deer at home anytime. everyone should experience "Run n Gun" elk hunting and you can't do it from a tree and if i'm runnin and gunnin i dont have space for a blind in my pack neither

I second that. go from canyon to canyon bugling for elk. Cover as much ground as you need to and go after the elk don't wait for them to come to you. Calling a rutting bull in is way easier than waiting for one to wander in to you.

That is the plan however we will be out there early. sept 2 for two weeks. So we might do some sitting as well.

[Swede]

I don't object to whatever legal means a hunter uses to kill an elk. If you prefer running and gunning, fine, but I disagree with the contention that running and gunning is more productive that still hunting. Last year, I ran an survey online to try to see what method of elk hunting was most productive. I got back 59 responses. The 28 callers in the survey harvested a total of 13 elk. The average hunt time per elk killed was 16 days. The 11 stand hunters killed 7 elk with only 6 days per elk killed. The stand hunters did just as well as the callers in harvesting big bulls too. When I calculated the spot and stalkers vs the ground blind hunters, the trend did not change. I know my little survey was not scientifically irrefutable, but it was unbiased. Those stand hunters, who do their preparation right and show a little patience, can do very well. You do not need to think twice about that part of your decision on how to hunt.
I believe there are times and places where running and gunning are better, but there are also many times and places where the odds significantly favor the hunter who is sitting and waiting. With all of this in mind, it is nice to think us old coots can still do as well as the twenty something hunters.

[planebow]

I pack a stand and a ground blind into the trailer every year and will again this year but have not used them yet. If I do want use one then it will be there. If I do not take them I know for sure that I would want one or the other.

[mongopino915]

I run and gun for elk from canyon to canyon but totally agreed with Swede. I do know of several tucked away wallows that are heavily used and the elk are bedded not to far from the wallows. I know that if I placed a stand there, it should not take more than several days to kill an elk, especially during dry seasons like this year. Give it a couple more years when the legs do not want to cover 10 plus mile/day and I will alter my elk archery plan. For now, I like chasing and calling too much to be sitting around waiting around for elk. There is nothing wrong with using stand/blind but you do have to do your homework, know the elk and area well.

[tracker12]

I have hunted Whitetails out of trees so long I still remember th Baket Tree Stand which was one of the first comercial ones out there. When I started elk hunting I left them behind and ran around the mountains struggling to find and kill and elk. Was to stupid to pay attendinn to the guys that camoped next to us each year and always killed more and were never tired, and could stay up a party long after we were in bed. Fianally realized they knew where the elk were and where they were going each day and sat waiting for them. Kind of drove me crazy since I really enjoys walking around. But when I got serious about killing elk I went to the stand and my success went way up. I'll have two tree stands and two ground blinds with me this year and be prepared at least for the first two weeks to be sitting over a water hole.

[stringunner]

" Calling a rutting bull in is way easier than waiting for one to wander in to you."

That comment there might need to have it's own thread entirely. Many different scenarios can prove that statement both correct and incorrect. For the average public land hunter, hunting areas with a ton of pressure and therefore call shy elk, I think this statement may be a bit optimistic.

We we are switching to tree stands this year after many years of chasing and calling to rutting bulls, we shall see how much harder tree standing hunting is....