Ground Blinds for Deer

[Red Tailed Hawk]

Just wondering if any of you guys have any experience using ground blinds for deer.
Does the blind need to be set up for awhile so the deer can get used to it, or can you just set up and hunt that day?????  

[Deadbolt]

There are mixed feelings...

I have had deer in on me with my ground blind both setting up the same day as well as letting it sit out for a few weeks.

I cannot normally leave my blinds out due to theft so what you can do is set it up and build a brush line around it where you can remove the blind but the brush remains.  Sort of a blind in a blind.  Pack the blind in set it up in the designated spot and hunt.

If you can leave your blind out IMO its best to do so so the deer have time to adjust but like I said before it works both ways.  

If you setup the day of be sure to brush it in well and dont make it obvious there is a new structure...set it back in natural brush where it doesn't look like much has changed.

[huntnut]

I have done it both ways. Set it up same day and brushed it in and left it out a few days but still brushing in. I'm not useing blinds any more for deer, I go out and make a blind out of brush or a set up next to a cedar tree.

[Zradix]

With pop ups that were put more or less in the open I've noticed the deer being wary when they see it the first few times. If I left the blind out a few days they don't seem to care about it anymore.

If you really brush in your pop up blind the deer will hardly notice it if at all. I'm talking about the blind...not your smell etc.

My favorite portable "blind" right now is an eastman adjustable blind. Now the company is Gorilla. Adjustable Height Blind
Model 65644 (Mossy Oak® Break-Up™)
Model 65638 (Mossy Oak® Obsession™)

They are light weight, small, quick to set up. I feel they give me just the edge I need. Small enough not to be noticed and just enough to hide me pretty good. Only bad thing about these is you do need to have a good backdrop.
my 2¢

[jason1040]

Sometimes keep your eyes open to the natural ground blinds available. The last deer I killed on the river bottoms came from a ground blind in a dense cedar patch. The deer had been feeding in the hay fields at night and passing trough a narrow bottleneck on their way to the thick Russian Olive groves where they would bed for the day. I searched in vain looking for the perfect tree to hang a stand in. Then it dawned on me to put myself right in the middle of this patch of cedars and cut some shooting lanes. I did this and then left the area for two days to let things cool down. I came back with a little folding stool and parked myself right in the center of those cedars and the deer had no clue I was there. I got a 10 yard shot at the lead doe. As I was waiting for her to die, I had 10 more deer file by at 10 yards and had 4 turkeys that came by me at 3 yards as they were eating the juniper berries.

Sorry to make a long story but if you don't find the perfect place for a tree stand or a place to put your double bull, then keep your eyes open to the blinds that mother nature sometimes provides.

[David Mitchell]

I prefer ground blinds that are natural.  I don't really understand the concept of using a pop-up and having to cut brush and build what is ostensibly a natural blind anyway.....just the way I think about it anyhow  

[longbowman]

I have to agree with Dave.  If I'm gonna have to lug it around, set it up and then build a natural ground blind around it I don't get it.  That being said, I've hunted from the ground for years and have had just as many close shots on deer as I do from treestands.  The only thing is you won't get away with as much moving as from a tree and the deer get closer faster because you can't usually see them coming from far off.  Leave the blind at home and brush yourself in and enjoy!

[BobCo 1965]

We leave ours out for a couple weeks before the season and then make sure they are all in before gun season. Make sure you leave all the windows open and stake it down.

They make nothing of them if left out. I have had experiences however when using them the same day and having deer see them and stay away.

[Fritz]

I think natural blinds are less conspicuous to deer than pop-ups. I've had fair success with placing a brushed in pop-up a week or so in advance.

[Ground Hunter]

Natural all the way for me.  Why lug a blind when the real stuff is just sitting there.  H

[Onehair]

Cows hate a double bull. That didn't sound right did it. Cows will destroy a double bull.

[trubltrubl]

I use a double bull blind in late November in Alberta when the blind doubles for warmth as  it gets -20 to -35 . You have to use  have the shoot thru screen  unless you are in the shadows and well brushed up.The blind also helps with some scent control . I prefer spot and stalk, then natural blinds, then tree stands, then pop up blinds in that order. If the blind is in the open it can scare deer...however that being said I have used it right at the end of a round bale in a field and the deer were fine with it.

[BOWMARKS]

I have to hunt from an ATV I put up some camo fabric to make me blend in with the natural brush in my area. Usualy is up two months before the season opens so the deer have plenty of time to get used to it.  

MARK

[Overspined]

In my experience whitetail deer HATE pop up blinds. I would only use with guns for distant shots, never deer.

[DeerSpotter]

I purchased a "Dark Horse" And have used it once in 2 years , I put it on the classifieds

Although this past fall I did have 3 deer with in 15 yards .


Carl

[djanko]

I have used pop-up blinds for years...especially good when you get older.  The deer you see in my picture was killed in a primos vision blind at 13 yards.  It is imperative that you brush them in and have them out there for some time to be really effective.  Make sure you have a great stool to sit on, you need to be comfortable to sit a long time.  Can't say enough...they work great.

[Uncle Buck]

I have always used natural blinds, if you get out in the summer and scout you can usually find a good spot to take advantage of. My favorites are old brush piles or blowdowns that you can make a hollow in. place some of it in front of you and youre in business. in adition to being downwind of the trail, I try to get the sun at my back at the time I will be in there. stay still and stay silent

[David Mitchell]

Funny, but one of my most effective "blinds" has NO cover at all in front, just a big fallen over pine tree behind me.  I have had multiple shots from that set-up over the last 3-4 years at 12-16 yards at unalarmed deer. Background is far more effective than stuff in front in my opinion.

[ripstik]

I use a blind every year.I like to be able to move around with out being seen,and I can also use a heater.The deer don't seem to mind it.Last year I purchased a ASAT Leafy Suit.Things have now changed.The deer don't even know I'm there.I find it great fun to just melt into the brush.

[djanko]

ttt