Ground Hunters Rompola and Anthony
General Topic
You came to the INTERNET and you don't want "a lot of nonsense." Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
Goodluck with that... Mike
There was a big flap over Marc Anthony in the last couple years. Criminal charges about a fake deer rack? Something like that.
Can't offer much advice but I switched back to a recurve two years ago and find myself hunting off the ground maybe 30% of the time now. I'm more accurate when on the ground or with stands hung 12' or less off the ground. I killed my biggest buck this year using some old rotten hay bales for a blind. You defiantly get more "creative" when ground hunting.
This link will tell you everything you want to know about Marc Anthony.
Follow along.
This facebook post pops up of an antler buyer comparing two bucks he owned.
The antler buyer then sold it in like 2010. 2013 Marc Anthony kills an ILL 190" giant. People familiar with Marc's buck notice that the deer on left of first pic is an exact match.
Here is Marc's buck
Rompola was killing giants long before the buck many question him on. I believe he has also killed some big ones since. I think the guy is just a deer fanatic.
I can't speak to Anthony's or Rompola's situation but I can speak about mine. I've been deer hunting for close to 50 years, and much of that was in trees. 10 years ago I started hunting on the ground and now that's how I hunt pretty much all the time. No blinds, shy of sitting on a blowdown I may come across while wearing a ghillie.
Now, of the 3 biggest deer I've killed, a 168, 145 and a 174, the 145 and the 174 were taken on the ground. The 145 was at 30 yards while I was sitting on a log and the 174 was while stillhunting at 35 yards. These were gun kills.
My point is that while I do know my hunting areas extremely well, I am not a world class deer hunter, just a passionate one. I was amazed after I really started to ground hunt seriously (meaning that I started planning my entire hunt on the fact that I would be stillhunting...the clothing, footwear, strategy, mindset, etc.) how many BIG deer I was seeing and getting close to. My contention is now that I see and have within range more big deer that I ever did while treestand hunting. But the rub is that with the bow getting a SHOT is another matter entirely.
A lot of things have to go your way on the ground from when you first see a nice buck approaching to if you are going to get a shot. I will also add that I am very selective about any shot that I will take, but being that close to them even if you don't get a shot is still a great hunt.
So....if you want to see and have adrenilin pumping experiences with nice bucks with the bow then groundhunting is the way to go.
If you don't mind not seeing as many and having a lot of them out of range, but when the ARE in range you will most likely get a good shot then the tree is the way to go.
I do a lot of still hunting. For me, it's far more fun than sitting in a tree. It's very difficult though. Your patience level has to be incredible. I salute folks who consistently kill deer off the ground.
"Your patience level has to be incredible."
You got that right! I know I didn't have the patience I needed to stillhunt effectively until I could sit dark to dark in a treestand. It takes the term "moving slow" to a completely different level.
I also hunt more and more on the ground or very low in a tree since I started hunting traditional again. It has not hurt my opportunities at big bucks. I do prefer to use a ground blind. Due to thefts in my urban areas this year I am gong to get serious about building some natural blinds and see how it goes.
For those of you so inclined, I HIGHLY recommend G.Fred Asbell's book, 'Stalking and Stillhunting, The Groundhunter's Bible'.
I believe you can get it from 3 Rivers Archery.
I learned a lot about this type of hunting from this book.
"Rompola was killing giants long before the buck many question him on. I believe he has also killed some big ones since. I think the guy is just a deer fanatic."
The guy is a weirdo, but he has killed a ton of big bucks and most in an area that is not known for big antlers. He should though because he lives year around with the deer and has the better part of his life. I have no idea if that biggest one is legit, but I don't doubt it.
I hunt from the ground quite a bit these days. I really enjoy the eye to eye game. The last few years I have managed to take at least one deer each fall from the ground with a bow all under 20 yds. In fact my biggest deer to date 181"er was taken from the ground at about 10yds and was what really got me fired up for hunting on the ground. I don't rely on blinds or ghillie suits I just use natural cover.
It amazes me, the people who think hunting from the ground is so nearly impossible that only the best of the best can do it successfully. Climb down out of the tree and just learn to hunt. Sitting in a tree will only teach you the best ambush sites 20' above the forest......and nothing more.
Whatever you think about the Marc Anthony controversy, I have used his methods and had a lot of fun doing it. Being about 10 yards from a huge buck on the ground is really cool. With that said, I have a lot of difficulty getting drawn on them from the ground. Give it a try. It's fun.
All I can add is this. I have known both Bertalan and Rompola since before the buck caused the storm. I know that they are also friends. I know that Rompola probably knows more about the deer and their movement in his area than anyone else. I know he almost lived with them year round and picked out the buck he was after as much as a year in advance.
That is all I can add to this.
Used to be a lot of information on his website, which has shut down. I also went to seminars at the deer classic. I have had deer looking at me from less than five feet trying to figure out who is that idiot in the ghillie suit.
Bowriter, I never doubted Rompola's skills. I just couldn't understand the reluctance let the deer be validated.
Used to be a lot of information on his website, which has shut down. I also went to seminars at the deer classic. I have had deer looking at me from less than five feet trying to figure out who is that idiot in the ghillie suit.
Bowriter, I never doubted Rompola's skills. I just couldn't understand the reluctance let the deer be validated.
"I have had deer looking at me from less than five feet trying to figure out who is that idiot in the ghillie suit."
I've had the same experiences. And when it does happen I'm STILL amazed. With my heart racing and me not trying to look directly at the deer I still think....
"How can he not see me? Why hasn't he bolted out of here? How can this be??"
But it is. And it's things like this that keep me addicted to this type of hunting. The big problem is that when they're this close getting a shot off is VERY difficult. Having them walk away not knowing you were there is pretty darn close to making a kill though IMO.
