Digging a hole in the ground is another possibility. Although thisoption is often overlooked today and considered by many to be an old fashioned way of doing things, it is still an effective way of putting meat in the freezer. To do this, you must be on private land in most states. Hunting from a pit can offer many advantages that no other kind of hunting can offer. By digging a hole deep enough to conceal most of your body, you can move freely without being seen and stay warm because your body is out of the wind. Hunting from a pit can be an effective method to hide your body odor. When the wind is swirling and you are hunting from a tree stand, the wind can carry your scent all over the woods. If you are hunting from a pit, your scent will stay in the ground giving you the option of hunting even when the wind direction isn't perfect. If you have a buck that frequents a field and never seems willing to leave the middle of it, building a pit blind close to where he comes out is an easy way of getting the shot of a lifetime. I have heard of more than one hunter who did this and they bagged monster bucks.

If building a pit blind is not feasible for your physical condition, try digging a small hole on the surface and then piling brush around it. Although your entire body won't be hidden, your bottom half will and your human outline that deer grow so accustomed to looking for in the woods will be broken. Never leave a pit or hole uncovered, for obvious safety reasons. If you don't have it in you physically to move around large amounts of brush and limbs, find an area that has a natural depression. Gather just enough brush to break up your outline. I personally look for large downed oak trees and use their branches to keep me concealed.

Conclusion
Tree stand hunting is by far the most popular way to hunt whitetail deer. Deer have natural predators that hunt them from trees as well. This has led deer to always be on the lookout for trouble in the trees. I have had deer walking down a runway and right on cue, they look into my tree and bust me. Although I sat there motionless and thought I was concealed, they made me feel like I was sitting out in the woods in nothing more than a pair of underwear and white flags. The point is deer are accustomed to being hunted from the trees and because of that, hunting from the ground under the right conditions offers hunters several advantages.

Growing up, I always dreaded climbing into my tree. Many stubborn old birds I know are unwilling to quit using their old faithful climbing stand and are willing to risk their safety because of pride and the fact that getting old is hard for them to swallow. I have known more than one hunter who has fallen out of a tree and after the fact, always said that they wished they had been wearing a harness. Don't let that be you; either purchase a harness or hunt from the ground. There are options out there for all of you who have old bones or in my case, a body full of screws and metal that allows you to still fling a few arrows in the woods.