Ground Blind

[xedge2002]

I was wondering if anybody has used ground blinds for archery hunting? I have a spot I would like to hunt but the trees are real young and won't hold a stand. Can you see well enough in ground blinds? Is it hard to shoot out of them? Any ideas would be great. Thanks

Josh

[NELS-BELLS]

I just picked up a ground blind. I plan on using it mostly for bowhunting turkeys. On the box it said that you can shoot through the mesh windows with a fixed blade broadhead. Has anyone tried that and does it effect the flight of the arrow?

Nels

[SCCO9803]

I hunted out of a blind for the first time this spring turkey hunting. The first morning I thought I was going to hate it and soon I loved it! You can get away w/ so much movement and if you get the right kind of blind you can see 360 degrees, which is difficult in a tree stand. Also they are much more comfortable thus you can stay out longer improving your chances. I'd imagine if you could control the smell it would play out the same for deer. Try it out and see what happens. I'll never turkey hunt again w/ out one and may try it deer hunting the gun season this year.

[delmuts]

ground blinds can be great. for turkeys it seems it is not as important to blend the blind in , but for deer; they seem to be able to pick it out more unless you use some brush or branches to break up the outline . i have never tried the shoot thru ones, but have heard good things about them.

[harvey lee]

I would without a doubt brush it in as the deer have shyed away from it when I have put it up and hunted out of it right away.You cannot see out of it like you can in a tree but yes they do work.I have shot 2 deer from it through the mesh windows without a problem using fixed blades.You can get away with more movement than in a tree.I only use it in places where a tree is not a option.I have also used it for rifle hunting.I own 2 of them and in my mind the double Bull makes a very good one.I also have a less expensive one that works well but takes longer to set up and take down.I have shot expandable broadheads for pratice through the mesh and my arrows hit fine but I have not used them for deer.I like my Muzzies.

[Dahitman44]

My ground blind said that it is scent locked so that has to be good. We all know how well that works.

I was watching deer out of it earlier this summer and I couldn't believe how they would stay away from it untill I thought about it. Deer on not dumb. All of a sudden their is a big black "rock" where there never was one before?

Deeeerrrr ... Smart.

Guys sitting in the open in a "rock" ... Dumb

[harvey lee]

Next time you put it out pile some branches with leaves up agaisnt it to break up the outline of the blind.If you put a few around it will help.It would be like putting another T.V. in your living room and you would notice it for sure.Same with the deer.

[chucker34]

"My ground blind said that it is scent locked so that has to be good. We all know how well that works."

The scent locked part is a joke in my opinion. How can it be scent locked unless you had all the windows shut tight and everything, I mean everything on the blind, sealed up tight. You'd need an oxygen tank.

Brushing it in is a definite way to improve your camo. A big part of it is letting the deer get used to it and be able to see it from a distance. They can assess it and find there's no danger from far away when they don't see anything moving.

Think about when an alfalfa field is cut and baled. All of a sudden, there's these big blobs of alfalfa out there in the middle of the field. They won't necessarily spook the deer if the deer have time to study the bales and realize they're not a threat.

Last year, I had a half dozen does/fawns come across one of my blinds for the first time (I think) when I was in it. They saw it from about 75 yards out, stopped, milled around for a bit and then continued toward me - each stopping to smell a mock scrape and presenting me with a shot.

I need to set up my blinds soon so the deer can get used to it. When I brush them in, I'll take some pics to show you how I do it. If anyone cares that is.

[harvey lee]

Chucker34 is correct.If you have private property that you hunt and dont have to worry about it being stolen then set it up a few weeks before the season and brush it in.

[xedge2002]

I'd like to see some pics of how you brush your blind in. Just to see how others do it and maybe get some ideas for myself.

[Dahitman44]

I'd like to see the pics, Chuck.

[Sportfish1850]

Yes I'd like to see pics of your blind set ups too Chuck.

I have plenty of good areas to hunt on my lease but only about 1/4 of them have a tree big enough to support a stand close enough for a bow shot and in many of those cases the tree is isolated so the back drop doesn't provide much camo to blend in to. Two or three good blind setups would definitely improve my options with the bow.

Does anyone build "natural blinds" ? from dead falls and brush ? How well does that work and what's your technique ?

[harvey lee]

I guide for a group called Twist of Fate in North Dakota for handicapped hunters in wheel chairs.We do build some ground blinds for these guys but the majority are in manufactured blinds.We will sometimes use hay bales and have a shooting hole in them.We will also build some with logs and branches along the edge of trails in the woods.These dont work just to bad as some do harvest a deer from these,but the ones you buy do work better as you have more clear shooting lanes to deal with.I have had a hard time building these so that the hunter will be camo'ed enough so the deer dont catch thier movement as with a regular blind you have less of a problem with movement.The homemade type ground blinds are better for the deer as far as getting use to as they are use to the tree branches and such but as stated before movement is a problem.Now,for a non handicapped person to use it may be better as you will not have the diffuculty with moving for a shot as they do and you will be quieter than they will be also.I personally use the ground blinds if I dont have a place to hang a stand but I prefer to hunt from a elevated position to help with scent control and detection of movement and for seeing deer coming before they are right in front of me for a shot.I do feel that the ground blinds will work but a elevated stand will do much better if you have a place to hang one.

[Studer]

I had bought an Ameristep Doghouse and think it is great. It has ties on all seams to tie local forage to the blind itself and it helps immensly with camo'ing the blind so that it is not just a big blob. I have yet to harvest a deer out of it as I only used it maybe 3 times. I believe that it is a 6 or 8 sided blind with mesh shoot-thru windows on all sides as well as clear windows for scent control (not sure how well those work??) I too like hunting from an elevated position but this is not always possible. Looking forward to sticking one soon!!! I will be out in the woods tomorrow setting/moving stands etc.

[chucker34]

Hey Studer, I have the Doghouse too but maybe the cheapo model. It has shoot through windows on just 3 sides with three smaller portholes. It did the job last year as I took a doe the first morning of gun season from 20 yards in it and could have had shots at others had they not been leaping and jumping by me at break neck speed in fear of the gun hunters on adjoining property (BTW, even on private land, I recommend putting lots of blaze orange markers on your blind just in case).

I upgraded this year with a hub style blind that has windows on all sides. Practiced shooting through the mesh on Saturday to make sure it didn't affect broadhead flight and then set it up this morning.

Some of the guys asked for pics of what a brushed in blind looks like, so here are a few I took afterward. I will probably bring some more brush with me the next time I go back for my trail cam but here is what I was able to do with what nature provided me with for now.

Here is the view a deer would have if it looked to the left of one of the main trails and a mineral site.

And here is the view they would have from one of my mini-foodplots. Note how all of the vines, thicket right behind helps as background for what I did to the blind itself.

I believe one of the main things to do is to add vegetation to the top of the blind and lay some saplings across a few of the sides to break up the outlines.

[Studer]

Sorry Chucker....after thinking a bit harder I think that I have a Ameristep Roundhouse. That is a little bigger and looking at your pics, mine is more "Round" hence the name. I look forward to using it more this season.

[chucker34]

Easy to get them mixed up Studer. Ameristep makes a lot of them. My new one is a Groundmax Escape Deluxe from the people who make Big Game treestands. It is very big and roomy. I can make standing shots (though prefer sitting) and has windows you can raise and lower silently from the inside. I only like to keep a few open at the max.