20 years ago, I went on my first bow hunt. I had a green field of about a 1/4 football field in size surrounded by hardwood bottom on one end and thick pine and brush hillside on the other. I used a large bundle of tree branches and brush to make a blind right in the middle of that field. I then sat my small stool right in the middle. I sat as still as I could as a slight breeze blew from north to south. Thirty minutes after sunrise a large doe and two yearlings came out to feed on the green grass in the field. She came so close to me that she literally stepped into the edge my blind only five feet from the end of my broad head. One yearling actually nibbled on the end of one of the exterior branches. They slowly went on their way never knowing I was there. Only after they walked off did I notice the smallish 6 point on the edge of the thicket that never came out into the open.
I watched them constantly look up into the trees and perpetually stare at the empty shooting house on the edge of the field. Once the three got downwind from me, they picked up their pace but never really got startled.
The deer in that area were under lots of pressure from rifle hunters on atvs and pickup trucks hunting out of elevated shooting houses or tree stands. They were either nocturnal or accustomed to looking up into trees to spot hunting stands of all types. I can only assume that doe did not expect to find danger in the middle of the field in long grass where I was sitting. She was too concerned with what may be in the trees.
Those same deer were very wary of atvs and trucks but allowed me to get within 50 yards when I approached on a mountain bike, on foot or even an electric golf cart. On poor weather, strong wind days, I could stalk on foot to near 25yds before they got spooked.
Your best blind may be the one that the game animal has not seen before or does not recognize as a foreign object in their habitat. I still favor natural vegitation over shooting houses or manufactured blinds. Also consider the scent that metal and plastic emit. If you do chose a manufactured blind, be sure to cover it well with lots of tree branches and such to break up the outline and help mask scent.
Topic: GROUND BLIND advice????? (Read 707 times)
