Hunting out of a blind

[loco4coues]

Just wondering what everyone has tried. How long before you plan to sit a blind do you set up the blind? 3 days? 1 week? 2 weeks? Get there early and set it up the same day? If the blind blends in well enough will the deer not notice it? Or do you have to set it up so the deer can get used to it being there?

 

What does everybody do or what have you learned?

 

Thanks,

 

Jared

[bonecollector]

This will be my first year hunting out of a blind. I have read where people setup same day and had success. Just have to brush in your blind good.

[JLW]

i have asked this same question....

2 years ago i sat a blind set up that morning @ 0 dark 30 but i was skylined too much and had 0 sucsess

i had bucks comming in on camera every day usually late morning.

i believe had i not been skylined and brushed it in better things would have went down differently.

last year; after 4 years of striking out ;i shot a spike on opening day( 1st deer ever) meanwhile my brother-inlaw

had built a blind out of brush and logs 3 weeks before and cut some fresh openig day

him and his partner saw 8 bucks opening mornig but never conected.

i believe brushing it in well is the answer most people will give whether 3 weeks pryor or the day of.

good luck!

james

 

[coueshunter]

I would like to set mine up 2 weeks before the season but it would get stolen. That being said, I set it up the night before opener and brush it in pretty good. I shot one season before last and my son missed 2. Last year we had alot of deer come in, but no shooters........... So my experience says you can set it up the same day and still have deer as long as you make it fit right in with the surroundings..................Allen...........

[John O]

Honestly, I think blinds are largely overrated. If you are in head to toe camo, up against some good cover, and the wind is right, the deer will come right in. If you put a blind in early it could get ripped off, and if someone beats you in that morning you have lost your spot. I had several good opportunities last season with just me and my fancy pants homemade stool. At one point I had a doe and a fawn come in and drink, then feed over to less than 10 yards from me and never even flinched. My rear was so sore from sitting motionless for the last hour and a half, that I finally had to stand up, and oh my gosh did they come unglued. Either way, good luck!

 

 

 

 

[wackycouesaddict]

For me the one time i went in about a week early and set it up and brushed it in good had no luck at all. So i usually just go in about three hours early and set it up in the mornings, with a head lamp and brush it in good and always have animals come by. last year even have a pig try and take a nap right up next to it.

[azslim]

Try to build your blind about 3 weeks before you plan on sitting it, this gives them time to get used to it - the first few days it is an "ugly coffee table" and gets a lot of attention. If you can't sit all day sit 4 to 5 hours in the mornings. If you are on a guzzler try to set back about 40 yds from the water, this gives you enough distance to move without spooking the deer, especially if there are more than one. I have got by with a ghillie suit, backed into a bush sitting on a stool but prefer a comfy seat for any length of time.

[loco4coues]

thanks everyone for the responses so far, they've been great.

[Coues 'n' Sheep]

 

 

I have had great luck setting them up the night before...

 

Had some Dirtbag rip off my wife's blind in January.. it was up for a day and a half... sucks knowing who it was and not able to prove it...

[tjhunt2]

I have been hunting out of ground blinds for many years and have killed my share of critters. I don't know anyone who has sat the hours I have and I'm not saying I'm an expert with a blind but I do feel I have earned the right to at least comment on a few things that might help you.

 

Deer seem to be the most spooked by a new setup.

Turkeys are the least wary of a blind.

I never put the blind up without brushing it in.

On spots I've worked over the years I have built large blinds that stay year round and I put my blind in those a week or two before the season starts. If these spots start showing alot of foot traffic then I might wait till the night before. Remember the original blind has been there year round. My shooting window is a very small opening. I plan all my shots between 10 and no farther than 20yrds max.

I use a Harbor Freight moving blanket for the flooring to keep noise down and a comfortable armchair so I can sleep without falling out.

You can actually get up and move around while game is in front of you and they will not spook as long as you are quiet. Being that close you do need to use some sort of scent.

When the wind is blowing and the rain is poring down you can't beat the blinds.

 

They are not over rated.

 

TJ

[jjbuilder]

I too think that brushing the blind in is the key. Ifat all possible you want to do it a few weeks in advance, but I have also lost 3 blinds so far one was before the season started and 2 were in the middle of the season. I have also had success tucking myself in a cedar tree and using one of those Gorilla portable seats that you strap on a tree, it is tough if you are using a bow to get to full draw without getting busted though. I use the same seat to stand on if I use a tree saddle.

[bojangles]

I have been hunting out of ground blinds for many years and have killed my share of critters. I don't know anyone who has sat the hours I have and I'm not saying I'm an expert with a blind but I do feel I have earned the right to at least comment on a few things that might help you.

 

Deer seem to be the most spooked by a new setup.

Turkeys are the least wary of a blind.

I never put the blind up without brushing it in.

On spots I've worked over the years I have built large blinds that stay year round and I put my blind in those a week or two before the season starts. If these spots start showing alot of foot traffic then I might wait till the night before. Remember the original blind has been there year round. My shooting window is a very small opening. I plan all my shots between 10 and no farther than 20yrds max.

I use a Harbor Freight moving blanket for the flooring to keep noise down and a comfortable armchair so I can sleep without falling out.

You can actually get up and move around while game is in front of you and they will not spook as long as you are quiet. Being that close you do need to use some sort of scent.

When the wind is blowing and the rain is poring down you can't beat the blinds.

 

They are not over rated.

 

TJ

 

+1

 

in a properly set up blind, scent control is not an issue. that's why i like them. the wind can shift all day long, and the deer just sit there and have no idea you're there.

[azbownunter22]

I have been hunting out of ground blinds for many years and have killed my share of critters. I don't know anyone who has sat the hours I have and I'm not saying I'm an expert with a blind but I do feel I have earned the right to at least comment on a few things that might help you.

 

Deer seem to be the most spooked by a new setup.

Turkeys are the least wary of a blind.

I never put the blind up without brushing it in.

On spots I've worked over the years I have built large blinds that stay year round and I put my blind in those a week or two before the season starts. If these spots start showing alot of foot traffic then I might wait till the night before. Remember the original blind has been there year round. My shooting window is a very small opening. I plan all my shots between 10 and no farther than 20yrds max.

I use a Harbor Freight moving blanket for the flooring to keep noise down and a comfortable armchair so I can sleep without falling out.

You can actually get up and move around while game is in front of you and they will not spook as long as you are quiet. Being that close you do need to use some sort of scent.

When the wind is blowing and the rain is poring down you can't beat the blinds.

 

They are not over rated.[/b

 

TJ

 

Great post, with lots of good info!

[John O]

I have been hunting out of ground blinds for many years and have killed my share of critters. I don't know anyone who has sat the hours I have and I'm not saying I'm an expert with a blind but I do feel I have earned the right to at least comment on a few things that might help you.

 

Deer seem to be the most spooked by a new setup.

Turkeys are the least wary of a blind.

I never put the blind up without brushing it in.

On spots I've worked over the years I have built large blinds that stay year round and I put my blind in those a week or two before the season starts. If these spots start showing alot of foot traffic then I might wait till the night before. Remember the original blind has been there year round. My shooting window is a very small opening. I plan all my shots between 10 and no farther than 20yrds max.

I use a Harbor Freight moving blanket for the flooring to keep noise down and a comfortable armchair so I can sleep without falling out.

You can actually get up and move around while game is in front of you and they will not spook as long as you are quiet. Being that close you do need to use some sort of scent.

When the wind is blowing and the rain is poring down you can't beat the blinds.

 

They are not over rated.

 

TJ

 

Great comments TJ. I think you are right on. I want to just clarify my comment above. I stated that ground blinds are "largely" overated. Just like thinking a fancy rifle, scope, or pair of binoculars is the recipe for success, I think some are under the false impression that you can just throw out a blind wherever you want, sit in it and shoot a deer in an hour. If you use them properly, and you can keep them from getting ripped off, then they can definitely be an asset. Last fall archery season I sat and watched this joker try to set up a blind in the middle of a dirt road about 5 yards from a cattle drinker in 100 degree weather. He fought this thing for at least a half an hour, having it repeatedly collapse on him, and him throwing it to the ground and stomping on it over and over. It actually was quite humorous from a distance. Anyway, I think this thread is providing some great information, and hopefully others chime in with their thoughts and experiences.

[azslim]

For the most part my blinds consist of my ghillie suit and a 4'x12' strip of burlap strung out in front of me with some brush piled around the front and a flat spot for my chair. I need to pile the brush early for guzzlers, I have built in the morning and killed a deer that evening on a dirt tank, they didn't seem as skittish about the change around the larger water source. I string the burlap in front of me to hide my hand movements then take it with me and I usually don't have to fight with someone to sit it next time as it looks like a poorly built ground blind without the burlap.