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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Scoobiedooo on January 01, 2012, 12:30:00 PM
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I am seeking to do much more hunting in 2012-13 from ground blinds and wonder what TG's suggestions and opinions are concerning hunting from a man-made ground blind using natural foliage, etc vs. and commercially purchased camo ground blind.
Is there really enuff reason / advantage to warrant purchasing a commercial blind?
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The more natural you go the better. This year I didn't use and commercial camo at all and I didn't have any difficulty getting within twenty yards of whitetails. I think the commercial blinds stand out, you'd be better off in a ghillie suit which blends in much better.
I have a friend that pushes deer in his area by setting up ground blinds in areas where deer travel, pushing them to where he wants and hopes they will go. You could see how tense the deer are when they spot the blind and move away from it.
Now if we are talking turkey hunting, that is a different story.
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I like to look at it this way. If I walk into my house and a piece of furniture has moved, I know it or if something has been added that was not there before. Deer do too. Taking an making natural blinds are more natural than any commercial blind you can set up. They see trees fallen all the time, but rare do they see a big mound that just pops up. Just my way of thinking.
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Pretty much depends on what you are hunting for. For deer you'll need to set it up and brush it in, leave it in the woods for a while so that the deer get accustomed to the blind being there. Turkey don't seem to mind if you just put it up.
Another thing to consider is if you are hunting a place where it could get stolen. I've had one stolen and it stinks.
I now hunt natural blinds 100% of the time. I bring along a folding pruning saw and ratchet pruners in my CatII quiver. It allows me to move around and set up depending on deer movement and wind direction.
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I haven't tried my Hidden Hunter blind for deer hunting, mostly because of all the claims that it would have to be brushed in completely, which makes using it kind of pointless.
I do use it for turkey hunting though, and now I'm not so sure about how observant deer really are. I often set my HH right out in the open corn or soybean field with my decoy about 10 yards away, but closer to the timber. On too many occasions for it to have been coincidence, I've had deer come in and sniff my decoys. I don't mean some dopey fawns either, but mature does. I've had bucks come and chase turkeys away before they could get to me. Apparently deer don't care all that much for turkeys.
Last spring I was dozing a bit in the blind (one of the problems with blinds). Suddenly I heard a deer snort and stomp. I looked out toward my decoy and three does were snorting and stomping at my tom decoy. They kept at it for several minutes. Since they couldn't get the tom to run away, they finally got tired of that game and wandered off into the woods. All three were inside 15 yards of my blind, which was sitting in an unworked soybean field.
I keep thinking I need to take a turkey decoy deer hunting with me, but I never seem to remember it. I may give it a try when I go out this week. At least it would give them something to look at other than me.
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Go natural......makes you much more mobile and it's sure a lot cheaper.
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Do a search on this subject and a few threads would have come up. pop-ups are good for some spots and natural are great in others. I think it comes down to the area Your hunting.
Pop-ups for deer You have to cover them up with brush, So Your making a Natural blind for your pop-up.. That's My .02$
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Why hall a blind in when they are all around you? Seems an easy choice.
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Natural blinds for me......
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Looks like most guys are saying natural but I had a great time hunting from my Primos blind this year - I had my spots picked out before hand and some brush cut and ready to use as cover for the blind when I got there to hunt - didn't have any issues getting close to deer in it and the freedom is amazing. Natural blinds have their place too but there is nothing like being able to stretch out and move around a little without being caught, which may happen in a natural blind. Just make sure the commercial blind is brushed in and you're good. Both methods have their place though. Like most hunting scenarios it pays to be versatile. Don't corner yourself to only one or the other.
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God has all a guy ever needs to build some awesome ground blinds. Also I haven't seen to many people the would want to steal a stick. :0) All it takes is a little love and labor.
JMHO, Jason
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I like my Double Bull out back on private property where I can leave it up. Deer eventually ignore it and it's dry, out of the wind and ready to go whenever I can get an hour or two to hunt. On public property it's easier for me to build a natural blind than to lug the Double Bull in, set it up, then take it down and carry it back out again. Around here, leaving anything on public property is to never see it again. Sad, but a fact of life in rogues island.
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I like natural blind as well. in the Dec/Jan issue of TBM they have a great article on natural blinds. I set a few up each spring and go out during the summer and freshen them up so when the season starts they are ready to go.And as soggested do a search on natural linds there are a few good threads on the subject.
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To me commercial blinds are for filming, and act as a little house which most hunters try and supply like a home.
Have no use for them, natural blinds are cheaper less noticeable, and a whole lot lighter walking to and from the truck.
The only type blind I use now is a "Bush in a Bag".
works great with or without a natural blind and doesn't weigh much more than my quiver and arrows.
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Natural blinds work well but they tend to leak a little more. ;O)
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I use natural by myself.My 12 year old is with me most of the time so we use commercial.HIdes his movement and helps with scent.
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Natural seems more traditional, but I killed my first "blind" deer this year out of a bought blind. I didn't brush it in much at all. I felt like it stuck out, but the deer didn't. I had deer close, real close and they acted like it wasn't there, almost seemed unfair it worked so well. I think it helped keep sent in too.
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Natural if possible. If not, make sure you're in an area that it's unlikely to be stolen.
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I think natural blinds are less noticable by the game, but a commercial blind can do well against deer if you brush them in well.
Also, I've found that turkeys don't mind the blinds at all, even in a wide open field they don't seem to mind. So, for turkeys, a commercial blind is the way to go so you can move as needed throughout the day.
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I like to always carry a set of pruning shears and folding saw then ever I am in the woods all year round. When I see an area that looks good I set up a natural blind. I have many set up that I can just slip to when I have a "feeling" or scrapes have opened up or food sources shift.
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I love my double bull for turkeys. You can get in the blind, pick it up and walk in under the roost. A turkey's brain don't have a lot of lobe! Deer are quite a bit more particular. It seems that they require a lot of brushing in. I want to try one of those "Ghost" blinds (plastic mirror).
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I am natural all the way. You will usally find me hunting from a natrual evergreen blind fashioned from whatever is around.
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My Double Bull blinds seem to lessen the effect of needing a particular wind direction. I've had lots of deer pretty close over the past two years but only one smelled me and the wind was blowing directly towards him. Still he didn't get alerted until he was 10 yards away. The biggest draw back to commercial blinds is that they are subject to theft.
I've been pretty successful with natural blinds. It's important to be comfortable to minimize the need to move...squirming is a no-no. Unless you set up your natural blinds beforehand you need to bring some tools to clear brush and litter on the ground. I like to use a grunt tube when clearing shooting lanes so that if you are heard you just might be thought to be a buck making noise. I have also found a leafy suit to be a good thing in a natural blind but not necessary. Face cover and hand cover are essential IMO.
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I took my first archery deer out of a natural blind, but this year I took one from an enclosed blind, and I've found that enclosed ground blinds, whether they are permanent or pop-ups have HUGE advantages. It has already been noted that you can get away with more movement, like drawing your bow, without spooking game. But enclosed blinds also allow you to be more comfortable in almost all weather conditions; they protect you from the sun, rain, snow, and wind. With a natural ground blind, you have to pay attention to the wind direction as much as you would with a tree stand, meaning you may have to skip certain blinds on certain days, and a shift in wind direction or a swirling wind can ruin your hunt. But in my enclosed ground blinds, with just a narrow window open in front, I don't even check wind direction anymore, because the deer never seem to wind me.
Some say, if you have to brush in commercial blinds, what's the point? All of the advantages listed above is the point.
Paul