Ground Blind Question

[Rakkin6]

Going to be doing some hunting from a ground blind for deer this year. Really this is the first time I have hunted deer from a blind period. I have hunted turkey from a blind during inclement weather but that's it.

How far in advance of the season do you guys put your blinds in the woods ( I will not be doing the August hunt)?

Do you guys brush them in or just leave them has is?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Wrangler95]

Deer are very wary of something they are not used to,so I would put your blind up a month before you are gonna hunt it!!Brush it in would also help!I put up a new shooting house once and the deer advoided it for weeks before they would come out into field and even then they would watch it closely!!

 

[nso123]

I hunted almost exclusively from ground blinds last season and saw more deer than I have in years. A couple of my blinds were set up against a brush line so that the brush line was immediately behind them. The other was set up beside a terrain feature that almost made it look like an extension of the terrain. I put most of them out a week or two ahead of hunting in them, but killed a deer out of one the day after I set it up. I think the big thing is allowing the deer to get comfortable with it being there.

 

[cbhunter]

I have killed a few deer on the same day as set up. Just depends on circumstances and placement. But ideally I would agree with setting them up ahead of time and giving them time to adjust

 

[Dennis]

For me, it depends on how close I expect the deer will be when they are first able to see the blind.

If they are under 150 yds or so, I will brush it in and hide it so it's almost invisible. I would do that and hunt it same day , no issue. But keep it downwind.

If deer will see it a long ways off, you can get away with not hiding it if you put it out a couple weeks in advance. They get used to it .

 

[WTNBowHunter]

The sooner the better but bare minimum I like to set ours out 3-4 weeks before I sit in one with my kids. If the deer are expected to be farther away then maybe that time care be shorter. If you expect the deer to come out closer to your blind then sooner and make it blend in as best you can. Stake it down and tie it off too b/c I've lost a blind to wind before. Good luck!

 

[Popcorn]

I put out 2 or 3 every year for early bow season in places where there are no options for climbing. I put them out 1 month in advance, take great pains at brushing them in and always use some cedar to help with scent. Only hunt them on appropriate winds, dont over hunt them.
I commonly have doe and young bucks within 5 yards. I usually sacrifice most windows opting for black out and wear black, it makes a difference when you are that close

 

[skipperbrown]

I suggest the earlier the better. Deer will notice anything new in woods and will watch it warily every time they pass until they are sure it poses no danger. Now how long that time period is is up for speculation. There is a reason you don't see a lot of old bucks.

I used to hunt a lot of fields with shooting houses at one end and without fail, the first thing a mature deer did when entering a field would be to look at the shooting house for evidence of occupation.

 

[timberjack86]

I put mine up about a month before season last year. The deer grew used to it and my son killed a basket rack 8 out of it our first sit. We saw deer almost every sit together we killed 4 deer from it last year. Laziest got the best of me and I left it up all year. Went out a couple weeks ago to check on it and it's still in great condition. The sun can't get to it where it's sitting so we are ready for the velvet hunt!

 

[Jon]

I love turkey hunting out of my pop up blind and I am thinking about using it for deer hunting this fall but I am afraid to use it on public land as I can't leave it there any amount of time for the deer to get used to it.

 

[oldmanelrod]

You need to get the blind out and set up to get rid of factor scents. As mentioned earlier deer will notice a new blind but one that has been set up in place for a month or so draws a whole lot less attention. Blending in the blind with the environment will help.

 

[K-dub]

I have one under a big hemlock, been there probably 8 years. I just trimmed the limbs up so that it would fit under it. It's still in good shape, have never took it down. The canopy of the tree protects from most all of the sun, wind and rain.

 

[timberjack86]

I have one under a big hemlock, been there probably 8 years. I just trimmed the limbs up so that it would fit under it. It's still in good shape, have never took it down. The canopy of the tree protects from most all of the sun, wind and rain.

Who needs a shooting house?

 

[Lost Lake]

I think it's usually best to set them out a little beforehand, but I've killed a lot of deer shortly after setting up in them for that days hunt.

I just try to tuck it back in some cover so that they won't pick up on it at first glance. Usually back off from a trail or travel route, in such a way that the deer aren't walking right in to me. Then lightly trim a couple of shooting lanes and start hunting. I use a chair blind in the same way sometimes.

Most of the time, I'll take the blind back out with me that day if I can't leave it for the rest of the season.

 

[nso123]

The sooner the better but bare minimum I like to set ours out 3-4 weeks before I sit in one with my kids. If the deer are expected to be farther away then maybe that time care be shorter. If you expect the deer to come out closer to your blind then sooner and make it blend in as best you can. Stake it down and tie it off too b/c I've lost a blind to wind before. Good luck!

You aren't joking about staking it down good. They usually come with some junk stakes. All the wind we had last year caused me trouble a few times. I would show up to find the blind flipped over from the wind. I switched to tent stakes from Walmart and that cured the problem. I did have one small blind that apparently flew away. It was in a 70 acre field and when I went to hunt out of it the only thing there was my camp chair that I kept set up in it. That sucker must have blown into the next county because there was no sign at all of it.

 

[Hillbilly Hunter]

I believe in brushing them in real good. It makes the deer completely ignore the blind.