Thoughts on this homemade ground blind

[frassettor]

I purchased this synthetic duck hunting tarp from a local sporting goods store that was going out of business. I hunt a lot of marsh’s here and was thinking about finally doing something with this tarp that has been sitting in the closet for a few years.
I put 3 stakes in it to form a “V” and I would sit at the base of the “V”.
One problem I see already is that it is windy here today and when I was setting it up in my yard, it was blowing in the wind. Maybe it wouldn’t matter , I’m not sure.
Does the tarp look to blocky? More like a blob? Tossing around ideas and always looking for feedback and giving others ideas as well so this may work for them .
 

[Pat B]

If the wind is blowing the camo tarp it is also blowing all of the vegetation around you and if it being blocky bothers you you can always add natural materials like leafy branches or vines to help it blend in. Breaking up your silhouette and staying still would be your main concern.   

[Terry Green]

What he said ^

[frassettor]

What he said ^

I definitely agree, I mostly try and set up a backdrop from where the deer will see me like this photo. Deer trail was coming from my left to right when I was sitting on the ground. Trying to keep my options open and be more mobile since I’m on the ground 100% of the time now .

[Steelhead]

Might add a couple more stakes to the blind.5 instread of 3.

Brush it in after setting up.

One of the things I did with my ground blinds was tie on the fabric leaves you can find at some stores.They have green ones and fall colored ones.That works well and wont cost much. Make sure you do the edges of the blind to break up the outline if you try it

[blacktailbob]

Just remember...deer know their woods. If a new huge heavy bush all of a sudden appears along a well known/used trail...red flags or should I say white flags may come up.
Sometimes less is more.

[Kirkll]

I hunt the jungles of the west coast on the ground 100% . One of the most important things I’ve learned is where ever you choose to set up, do it in the shadows. Often times you are much better off using your blind as a back drop behind you, and have it shade you, and help obscure any slight movement you make. Your silhouette is your worst enemy. Right up there with getting winded.

Getting busted in a ground blind typically happens from animals approaching from behind you, or winding you. If you are hunting creek bottoms your scent typically goes down stream. Set up below the trail crossing in the shadows. If you choose higher ground, use your blind behind you to break your silhouette.

I used one of those leafy camo curtains like you posted for turkey hunting before, and the movement of the blind spooked the birds too much, and they went wide around the blind every time. I was in an excellent spot not far from their roost,  and the birds traveled heading for water every day at the crack of dawn. But… That blind changed their pattern, so I just left it up and moved to another bunch of brush 50 yards away the following day. The birds were so busy keeping an eye on that fluttering blind they walked right into me…… I had fun with that….

Good luck!       Kirk

[Terry Green]

Yeah Kirk.... here's an exerpt from my Double Butcher Knife 7 Point Freak buck story....

"Once I got to the tri-trails I checked the wind and where to set up. I chose the west side of the likely area and got down in a little ditch off the side of the small hill. There was ONE 8 foot maple sapling there among all those pines still full of green leaves and I put it between me and the direction I thought they'd come. I was about 15 yards off the dim road and 15 yards from the transition of the open pines and the hardwood strip that made for some visual cover due to the nature of those transitions being thicker. If something came from that way I was covered for sure as long as I stood still."

It worked out.....

[Kirkll]

Ya gotta love it when a plan comes together.   Where can I read the whole story Terry?   Kirk

[GCook]

Here you'd have to have it up a few days before hunting it.  Pigs would walk right by but deer it would spook them.  Anything different throws them for a loop for a few days.

[Terry Green]

Kirk, at the moment I am in the process of moving all my stories to a personal forum so Rob can tell me how to save them all onto an external hard drive and make duplicates on thumb drives.  I'm doing this so my girls and grand kids, when I have them, can read about my hunts and adventures.  I'm pulling them from all over the site as they are scattered everywhere and I have moved a few to the 'Tarz Antics' forum.... link below to this said hunt.....

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=60516.0

BTW, there is also a few comments in this story about trusting your gut instincts.

[PrimitivePete]

I actually used an enclosed blind to help me in a unique way by accident. I setup an enclosed blind in an inside corner of a wood lot meeting a field, it was about 15 yards in the timber. My plan was to sit in the blind and hope that a deer would travel the edge of the timber and get a shot off. That morning for some reason I decided to not hunt the blind but hunt roughly 150 yards from the blind, a bit deeper in the timber at the base of a swamp oak tree. As the morning hours drifted by, I heard a snort and then from behind me came a troop of does from the direction of my enclosed blind, obviously the blind spooked them and they were single file walking 15 yards to my left when a nice 8 point buck materialized from in front of them all hot and bothered by the site of the girls. Instead of being a gentlemen and let me draw on one of the does, he scattered them in every possible direction except where I could draw on one, let alone him. From then on, I seek to make as little impact while on the ground, and choose the available trees and shrubs as my blind, the best I find are blowdowns where the number of branches make excellent concealment but it does reduce your shooting lanes or cause some obstruction on the bow.

[Sam McMichael]

Some solid advice on a bunch of these responses. I would emphasize use of more stakes and brushing it in, particularly in an area where the deer have had previous contact with hunters. Breaking up your outline and being still are paramount. Basic stuff but so important. I have had a couple of instances where deer actually passed through part of my blind. In each case, though, the deer were very young, the wind was perfect, and I remained perfectly still. Stillness was not difficult since I had already determined not to make a shot. I usually use an elevated stand, but about 20% of the time I am on the ground. It is very challenging but is so much fun. It will teach you PATIENCE.

[Terry Green]

Here is some info for a guy that was handicap and I went 2 weeks before to set up some blinds he could shoot of of a 4 wheeler... still good stuff either way......

https://www.tradgang.com/tgsmf/index.php?topic=71336.msg1297306;topicseen#msg1297306

God Speed Bowmarks... 

[Kirkll]

Very cool… I’ll enjoy reading some of these.   Kirk

[Mike Malvaini]

I  read that story earlier today.  Great stuff!

[charles m]

I read this story when it was posted.  Good read and very enlightening for ground hunting.

[Sam Spade]

I'm going to bump up this blind info as it is good stuff.

[Terry Green]

Oh, and I don't remember if this was in the story or not, but I used wool yarn strung tree to tree to hand the palmetto fronds for two reasons.  1, I didn't want a rutting buck to run into some nylon rope that would cut is neck bad. 2, Wool will biodegrade so I didn't have to worry about going back and taking it down.

[STICKBENDER98]

Terry, that is very interesting about the wool yarn.  I have come across several ground blinds when hunting in the UP here in Michigan, and most of them were held together with zip ties or nylon rope.  Most everything else had deteriorated but that stuff was still hanging strong.


Jason