ground blinds ?????

[hunter jenkins]

i am lookimg to buy a blind besides a doublebull what would you guys buy or what do you hunt out of

[AkDan]

I was like you, trying to find something cheaper that would be as good.

I bought the lightning quick blind from cabelas (since discontinued).  

It worked, I shot my first bird out of it.  Also managed to get busted way to many times in it.  I'm buying a double bull.

Primos DB has a new blind coming out next spring that is going to be a cheaper version of the 360 if you can hold off.  It'll still have the hub system and the 360 shooting winds and silent window setup, but made of a different fabric.  

Kinda like optics, do it right once and you'll never have to do it ever again.  A double bull matrix 360 is worth the price tag as I found out this spring after a month and a half turkey hunting.

[LKH]

Have had a DB for years and never killed anything out of it.  Feel like I am cheating, but they really work at times.

[JockC]

I've heard good things about the new ASAT blind, though I see where replacement windows aren't available...It's quite a bit less than the DB.  Can't vouch for quality, just design.

[koger]

YOu might want to look at the Ameristep Penthouse, 90 inches tall, 61/2 feet wide and long, lots of windows, camo with waterproof material, black scentkiller inside lining. I just bought my 2nd one for more than one location from Natchezss.com for $139 plus shipping on sale. I often leave mine up for 2 weeks at a time, enough room for 2-3 people inside, me and a buddy can stand up and shoot our recurves at the same time. It basically pops up and then you stake the 4 corners and put up 2 tent poles that cross at the top in a upside down U. Takes about 5 minutes to put up. I have had good luck using cheap blinds, just take care of them and if you leave them out, stake them down, tie them down secure and you are good to go!My wife and I took 6 deer last year, all from on of these blinds.Hope this helps. Sam

[waiting4fall]

[centaur]

I just ordered an Ameristep Stackhouse off their website..$99, and they ship for free and throw in a chair. It looks like a pretty good blind for the money. I guess I will find out shortly.

[hunter jenkins]

thanks boys

[owlbait]

I like my Eastman LX-5 Undercover. Hub style, lots of windows and a good carry case. @$160.

[AkDan]

gotta ask being all these blinds have mesh you can shoot through.  Anyone see any effects of shooting through them?

I put up the penthouse at cabelas, looked neat, but what a pain to try and fold up alone.   Also questioned after this spring how stable it is in the wind (KS and NE wind).  Spooked birds this year due to blind movement alone.  Birds were close, not quite where I wanted them in shooting range/position but close enough that just the blind expanding in the middle slightly was enough to spook them off.

As for the db 360, was aprehensive I could fit in it and shoot comfortably with a 66" bow...found out it can very easily be done.

Also had issues with velcro windows like my cabelas blind had, saw a lot with them, didnt seem bad at first.  In the field learned (what I should have already known) velcro stinks lol.

Anyways, was curious on the shoot through mesh.  Was so stuck against not shooting through it I never bothered to try.   The mesh windows velcro'd on and most of them didnt line up anyways leaving folds and sags in the mesh and also the window itself when you shut it.   So I shot with no mesh and windows open.

[John Nail]

sc3000 Whitetail extreme. These are a clone of the doublebull, black interior and all. They are taller, and I can shoot a longbow from mine. Best thing? $249

[snufer]

I have owned three Penthouse blinds, great blinds with lots of room, not good in high winds, once found one of mine about 40 yards from where I left it on the end of a field, ( no damage!) Went to a Eastman Carbon Venture Magnum blind with a hub system, nice design with lots of room. The first time that I set it up, the zipper broke and the windows kept falling down (magnet system) The second time that I set it up, the zipper was still broken and the windows kept falling down and one of the fiberglass poles shattered, sent several e-mails to their customer service, only response that I received was telling me to use velcro in place of the magnets, nothing about the zipper or broken pole! I now own a Double Bull and a piece of s--- Eastman.

[Widowbender]

I have a couple of hunters view blinds and have had several Ameristep blinds. I have a G'30 hub blind out in the shop right now....with a broken hub...So after all the noisy settin up, pole breaking, hub breaking, noisy velcro, shiny fabric, shooting windows in the wrong place, kind of blinds, I bit the bullet and bought a Double-Bull Dark Horse. Nothing I've seen compares in quality. I know its a lot of money to put in a blind. A cheap blind will work, but just be aware of the drawbacks.

David

[AkDan]

draw backs being.....you'll likely spend as much or more buying blinds over the years trying to find that perfect one for a better price lmao

[Widowbender]

Originally posted by AkDan:
draw backs being.....you'll likely spend as much or more buying blinds over the years trying to find that perfect one for a better price lmao

Exactly!!

David

[baretraks]

About shoot through mesh...

There are two very important things that need to happen in order to shoot through the windows on these blinds.

1. The mesh windows MUST be tight!! Acomplishing this is a little easier if you stake and tie down your blind, that way you can adjust tension a little easier for each side and assure that the mesh window has no folds or wrinkles in it. It doesn't have to be "banjo string" tight, just tight enough so that when you push it with your finger, you feel a little resistance.

2. You MUST be shooting a RAZOR sharp , cut on contact broadhead. Any damage to the tips of three or four blade broadheads will cause the arrow to fly crazy after going through the mesh. I switched to two bladers just for this reason, although a three and four blader will shoot through it if it's not all dinged up.

My advice would be to sacrifice one of your windows for the purpose of experimenting. Get the window good and tight, then put your broadhead on the arrow, touch it to the mesh and gently push the arrow from the nock end.

The broadhead should pop through the mesh with very little pressure being applied to it. If not, touch up your edge or check the tightness of the window.

With just a little experimenting you'll figure it out and trust me folks, if properly used these things are EXTREMELY effective!!

[hotfootTG]

I bought a Cabelas;
  http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/horizontal-pod.jsp?id=0046611&navCount=1&parentId=cat540014&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20712-cat540014&parentType= index&indexId=cat540014&rid=

$200, quick setup, has tiedowns and lots of room for my 62" recurve.

Al (Als Decals)

[AkDan]

Thanks BT,

Kinda figured about the tight windows and sharp heads makes sense anyways.   Didnt have the blind here in AK to practice out of so hence shooting through the open windows.   And that blind though having tiedowns were on all 4 corners didnt allow the side walls, even staked to be tight at all.  

Thanks again.  I know what my next turkey blind and likely my last blind will be.

[AkDan]

HT,

That is the exact blind I have.  Becareful on the leg joints (folds in half).  I broke in one spring one of the hinges on the last morning of my last hunt, how convenient.   YOu can easily shoot a 66" longbow out of it.  HOwever the windows dont come tight (mesh or closure windows due to the poor placement/misalignment of the velcro)...the sides in any wind do flex, almost like the tent breaths.  Much more noticable in a rainy environment like we had on my last hunt in MN.  

Seemed like a good tent at first....ended up being throw away cash spent.  Hope yours does better.

[hotfootTG]

AkDan, was it one of the umbrella joints (up top) that broke or one of the joints in the middle of one of the folding legs?  If you're going to throw it away, would you sell me the mechanicals for spare parts? [email protected]
Al (Als Decals)