Each year I pursue whitetails with a crossbow, compound and recurve. I enjoy practicing with the recurve the most. With no left-off or bowsights, shooting a recurve accurately is a supreme challenge, and killing a deer with a traditional bow is, in my humble opinion, the ultimate bowhunting achievement.

I spend the most days in the field each fall with a compound in hand. I find it much easier to use in a treestand, especially when hunting from a hang-on portable that’s nestled in the “Y” of a single tree, or hidden among two or three trees. It’s cumbersome to use a crossbow in these settings because its horizontal limbs bump into tree branches and trunks. I tilt/cant my recurve when shooting, so it, too, can be troublesome to use in many treestands.

When ambushing whitetails from the ground, a crossbow is my top choice. It’s often difficult to draw a recurve or compound from ground level without being spotted by nearby deer, and of course, this isn’t a factor with a crossbow. Yes, you need to switch a crossbow’s safety into the “fire” position, but you can make that small move well before a deer is within shooting range.

During the past decade, I’ve learned to depend upon different gear items — clothing included — when deer hunting with a crossbow from the ground. If you’re new to this challenge, the text below will hopefully shorten the learning curve for you.

 

Dressed to Kill

When hunting with a recurve or compound, my choice of outer garments is absolutely critical. The clothing must be 100 percent silent, and they can’t be bulky on my chest or left arm because they could interfere with the bowstring (I’m a right-handed shooter). Not the case with a crossbow.

Don’t misunderstand me; I certainly don’t wear what I would consider to be noisy garments, either. I’m still sneaking into and out of ground blinds, and I’m moving a bit to raise and lower my binocular and rangefinder. I also like to read to pass the time on stand, and if a deer suddenly arrives, I must set down the book without being seen or heard. Note: While I have to avoid bulky jackets when shooting my compound or recurve, they work fine with a crossbow, which means dressing for cold-weather hunts is easy.

Regarding camo choices: In natural ground blinds, I’ve found success wearing outer garments that incorporate large blotches of darks and lights. Camo patterns with fine details of leaves, acorns, bark and such look impressive on a retailer’s display rack, but my goal is to have a deer look through me — i.e. to simply disappear. KUIU camo patterns fall into this category, as do the new garments from Code of Silence, the old-school (but still very effective) patterns from Predator Camo, great designs from King's Camo, and several others. When hunting from a pop-up ground blind, the best way to disappear in the dark interior (and inner black walls) is wearing black, or something close to it.

Gloves, facemasks, neck gaiters and hats are a must, too. In a pop-up blind, I’ll wear black or dark-brown colors; in a natural ground blind, I’ll choose medium camo tones. In a treestand you can often get away with having your face and hands uncovered, but not on the ground. Even on cloudy days, your exposed skin will be noticeable to nearby whitetails; on sunny days, it’ll reflect almost like a mirror.

 

Stadium Seats and Chairs

When I sit in a particular natural ground blind, I’ll know beforehand whether I need a small chair or if it’s best to sit butt on the ground. In the latter case, unless I know I’ll be leaning against a tree trunk or stump, I’ll utilize a stadium seat for back support. One of my favorites is the Weekender Seat from ALPS Mountaineering.

For a small chair, I carry a backpack model from a company that went out of business at least 30 years ago. To be honest, I’m surprised more companies don’t offer small backpack chairs designed specifically for hunters. Most of the ones I see on the market are too bulky and too heavy. A quick online search revealed one backpack chair that looks very similar to my current model; check out the Bohning Shooter Stool. It has optional accessories designed for 3-D shooters (like an arrow tubes), but you’d need just the stool itself for hunting.

 

Other Necessities

I never shoot my crossbow without the aid of a shooting rest. A monopod, bipod or tripod will suffice, but of the three designs, a tripod is most effective. I prefer a tripod because I can place a crossbow’s front stock on the yoke, and the butt stock on my knee; this allows me to balance the crossbow in a near-ready position while keeping both gloved hands in my pockets.

Several companies offer outstanding tripods. My three favorites are the BOG Havoc Tripod, Primos Trigger Stick GEN3 Tripod, and Vanguard Quest T62U Combo, which can be configured into a tripod, bipod or monopod.

I’ll end this article discussing one item rarely mentioned for deer hunting — a hedge shear. Yes, I’ll carry a pruner and small saw in my pack, but when hunting from a short stool or especially a stadium seat, it’s a chore clearing shooting lanes — even thigh-high grass can be a problem for arrow clearance. It takes way too long to clear grasses and other vegetation for a couple shooting lanes when using a pruner or small saw; these tools are designed for twigs and saplings. A hedge shear makes quick work of clearing shooting lanes. I have a 22-inch model from Fiskars and paid about $30.