This coming season, my son and I will be hunting in areas where we are setting up natural cover that we can put our PopUp blinds inside of.
We are planning on leaving the popup blinds in place a good two weeks before the season starts. we're working on the natural cover now.
Do you guys run into any damage problems with leaving the blinds up for long periods? Maybe from wind, etc. Any tips?
We've had bears rip them up and have had them stolen(from posted property one was stolen).
Make sure you stake the corners. If the blind has teathers on the outside, stake them down, too. Leave the windows open, and screened if you use shoot through mesh, so the wind can blow through. I place my stool in the center and use an extended shooting stick proped to the roof so that it will not collapse and hold water.
If you leave stuff inside the blind, try to keep it off the ground or in a bucket with a top.
I leave mine out all season and never have a problem.
Only problem I ever had was a little mouse chewing and one inquisative black bear sow who I am sure was making sure things were safe for her cubs.
I left one out for turkey season last year. Had it tied in and staked down. We had a CRAZY spring storm. When I got out to it, it was a mess. The ties broke. Never found my staks. Trees down everywhere as well. The blind was re-usable. Just had to fix the tabs. I felt it did ok due to the size of the storm. Was thinking I would find it 2 counties over!
We assume you're talking private land? On public land, it's even more rude that leaving tree-stands out.
Left mine out for late archery once. Heavy snow snapped te upper poles....still need to replace em.
I guess I'm less concerned about it getting stolen then elements.
Getting stolen is alway a possiblity.
Does everyone pretty much leave the windows open? The blind that I am using has the windows and the shoot through mesh. Should I take the mesh off also. It also has the ties downs and I have some stakes.
My experience was a bit like Katie and Ishi's.
Tried leaving it out for 3 weeks before season some years ago to see if I could get the deer used to its presence. Used tent stakes and tied off all the tethers. All was well until we had a thunderstorm rip through my "windy prairie" at 50+ MPH.
The tent stakes pulled out, three of the fiberglass rods snapped, and the blind pivoted around to contact a lone strand of barbed wire, resulting in a couple ripped holes.
Got it fixed up (except for the holes, which still serve as a reminder), but I will only leave it out on my property for a night or two during turkey season... with an eye on the weather!
Joey seems to have it figured out for his area, but the frequent stiff winds here make mine a temporary set up. LOVE the blind... just cannot afford to buy another!
Daryl
Chipmunks and mice chewed an 12" hole in one of mine last year.
Left mine out for an entire season, yes on private land. Sun really bleached the material. Which I didn't mind, cause I thought it was too dark to begin with. But this made the material really apt to rips from falling tree branches. I had to sew a few patches in. Yep the rodents love to chew up blinds too.
I don't know if there any cows in the area you are hunting, but here in Idaho where i hunt Antelope over water holes, the cows rub on them until they collapse then just stomp all over em coming and going to water..
i pound in some fence post around my blind and strech hog wire around it, then when i show up to hunt i just take the wire down while i am there..
Hawkeye, I think that's an important part of question. "My area".
My blind is normally in the woods or along a treeline, and that acts sort of like a wind break. If I knew a hurricane was coming, I'd drop the blind. A little common sense approach. :)
I have that luxury, as I leave it out on MY property.
It's an older model DB that I have for about 7 years. It's a really tough, well made blind.
Keeping the top from collapsing was the most important part of what I've learned from leaving it out for extended periods.
the onlyh problem i ever had was with snow i had mine up for a full year (wasnt the plane but it never got taken down) the heavy snow we go tin wisconsin broke the poles and the sun faded the camo aolt still need to get a new one I wouldnt have aproblem leaving it out for a couple weeks at a time at all
I've left them out in michigan for up to two months. Heavy snow really takes a toll on them...snapped poles but the fabric holds up pretty good. If snow isn't an issue I think they would be fine.
The mice chewed holes in mine.
Like Vermonster13 said, had mine stolen off our posted property last year,to this day if I find out who it was I will break there fingers slowly.
I had one stolen a few years back. This year I had one out on a private property I hunt. I staked it down at each corner using plastic tent pegs and used guy lines too. It stayed in place through some nasty windy weather. It's down fall came when we got a freak October snow storm that toppled many trees. Well one maple tree decided to give up the ghost and fell on top of my blind breaking only one cross member bar. Thankfully no one was in the blind when the tree fell.
They will blow away (try using trapping stakes) and I had one stolen this year.
Last Dec.I had a tree fall on my wifes favorite blind.It snaped 3 poles.
Question
If a tree falls in the woods,(on a $400 blind),and there is no one there to hear it,Does it make any sound?
Bill
My Ameristep faded terrably!!
I left mine out an pulled the roof hub down to try and hide it a little. When I came back the next day there was a little block of ice built up in the roof depression. It wasn't exactly the quiet entrance I was hoping for. Hey I'm a rookie!
My brother and I left one out for about a month during deer season this year. We didn't hunt it during the last couple weeks. When we went to retrieve it the wind had blown it on its side and a pack rat the size of a rabbit had moved in and completely destroyed it. Needless to say that rat won't be chewing up anymore blinds.
2 weeks to a month no problem. Many months in the Texas sun and they fall to pieces. It dosen't matter if it is a cheapie or a Double Bull. The sun will kill them after too long.
Bisch
I have heard of guys making a "fake" blind out of cheaper material. Then exchanging for the real thing when ready to hunt. Makes sense in getting game use to it.
I'll be setting mine up on private land today for turkey season, which starts next week. I'll leave it out for about two months. I've left it in the deer woods for that long, no problem. I like to set it up between small trees, so the trees keep the wind from blowing it away. I used it once in windy weather out in the open, and I had to tie it to the fence it was next to, to keep it in place. It's a Yukon Tracks Elite.
The spot I've picked is in a switchcane thicket under some low branches of a big oak tree on the edge of a strutting field, and it will be so well hidden that I'm not concerned about it being spotted as new by the animals. I'll have to cut some cane to get it in, and the cut cane will work for more camo.
KSDan is in line with what I do. I take cardboard or camo burlap and make something ad hoc that resembles the blind. The animals get used to it and then I replace it with my blinds when we hunt. I put it back up when we are done for the day and move on.
I take it down after season to prevent the eye sore some find not to thier liking, landowners if not on my own place. This system works great and keeps the blinds from undue exposure, damage,theft, and conditions the game to them as desired.
By the way...I picked up a blind this week at a department store. It was originally $80.00 and I paid $27.00 for it. I picked up bow hooks too for .33 cents each. Clearance time.
I seen ten Gobblers and seven Hens this morning on a short walk.
Wind can definitely be an issue. I left one out all last fall, and recovered it in January. A severe wind storm had blown it into some nearby cedars and pushed one of the pop-out frame sides the opposite direction of how it folds. I was only able to fold it up part way and it wouldn't fit into the case, mind you it was in the dark and it was cold so I decided not to mess with it. It's in the garage and I have been waiting for warmer weather to see if the blind is actually broken, or just needs to be popped back the right way.
me and my dad left one up on private land, came back a week later and there were beer bottles and cigarrete buts in it.
I just found a ladder stand on public land. Lazy is the word for that. I called the game commission to let them handle it. Please take them with you if you use them on public land.
If you are leaving a Pop up out and there is a chance of rain.. Prop up the center of the roof with a pole inside.. The weight of the rain will probably invert it, and if you get enough rain it can collapse the blind and break poles.
Had one in the U.P. several years ago that a bear had his way with and messed up pretty good. Here at home I won't leave them out anymore. No bears, but a bunch of two legged theives. Lost one blind to thieves and the neighbor lost six treestands. dino
We have two Hidden Hunter 6x6 blinds that have been up since Sept. 2008 -- still up and no problems. We have had over 60" of snow this winter and afew days of 40mph winds. One is set-up in hardwoods and one is on the south edge of a 5 acre open field. We also have a 6x6 that has been up for two years now , this one is tucked under a jackpine and has fairly good cover.--- Gus
I think it really depends on the brand and quality of the blind. Some are better designed for snow/rain loads. I have 3 different blinds. My oldest one is a Lucky blind, and its tall and doesnt hold up too well over time with wind. Snow doesnt seem to bother it too much over the short term.
I have a cheap Ameristep that held up great through gun season and into January before i got up to pull it down. The other one blew over even with being staked down pretty good, but it was more exposed to wind. Both are good blinds, although we only use them gun hunting, too hard to shoot a longbow out of it.
I would be more worried about theft than wind damage.
Dan
I had cows and a South Dakota wind relocate mine by about 3/4 of a mile... and my cousin had a bear use his as a chew toy/rubbing branch.
r-o-d-e-n-t-s!!! :banghead:
Private land. I always put them out at least 2 weeks before the season opens. Leave the windows open, screens up if you have screens. Stake it down, put the stools inside, etc so I just go in when it's time and not make a lot of noise. Deer walk right up to it like it's been there forever. Mine is a tepee type so snow is not a problem. Previous was more like a hut and snow would push the roof in. Tepee lets you stand up better too.
sam