Hunting from blind

[bcartervol98]

I grew up with private land to hunt with stands set up in every hotspot so the concept of hunting from a blind is foreign to me. They didnt have those back when I hunted a lot or if they did I did not know about it. It has been about 10 years but am back in with both feet. I bought a Ameristep Doghouse Blind as it came recommended from a friend that uses one and it is lightweight and easy to set up and take down.

I have practiced and pretty much perfected putting up the blind and taking it down as quietly and efficiently as possible. I left it set up in the small woods in my backyard for a week after spraying it down with scent killer and have a couple awesome Primos chairs for the inside. My son is 10 and he will hunt with me a lot making a blind more appealing than buying a climber this year when I have had to re-buy everything I used to have 10 years ago (gun, blind, all the camo, scope, ammo, etc...)

I have read about not having all the windows open to get silhouetted and have what looked to be a great spot in BSF to set up opening gun weekend when we scouted last week. I have a blaze orange fly that goes on top for visibility to other hunters. Any tips from blind hunters about hunting from a blind that I may have overlooked? It seems to be a great way to conceal movement and even scent to a certain degree especially with a fidgety 10 year old with me.

Any advice or tips will be greatly appreciated.

 

[UTGrad]

1) only have the windows open that you plan to shoot out of. Keep the windows behind you closed.

2) Wear dark clothes...camo isn't necessary..black is better

3) For deer hunting set up several days in advance of the hunt

 

[bcartervol98]

Thanks for the tips! I think I have the window thing down and where we are setting up we have a good 100 yard view from the front but are sandwiched between 2 ridges with a big flat spot up top but it makes the side windows useless so they will stay closed. There are rubs and scrapes everywhere around the spot.

As far as black clothes I thought about it and with the requirement to wear orange even if in a blind I cannot see what the difference would be between camo and black. Is there one?

On public land I cannot set up before we hunt unfortunately, this is my biggest concern but have read countless reports of having good luck on a same day setup and hunt and I have and will do everything possible to cover any scent.

I am a total noob to mountain hunting as I grew up in the Mississippi Rover Bottoms in West TN but cannot wait to get in the woods and learn! I figured out the crappie here I am sure I can the deer as well, especially if we can have better luck finding a lease for next year. Man its hard up here to find anything decent.

 

[cfmartin1833]

I have a farm that I hunt in middle TN, and I never setup my blind until i get to the woods. If its a camo blind that doesn't stand out to the deer you will be fine. One good idea though is to find a good tree or bush and tuck the blind up under some low hanging branches. I try to find good cedar trees. This will help conceal the actual outline of the blind.

 

[bcartervol98]

There is a low hanging pine in the perfect spot I am setting up under. I think I may have found a great spot. Now being public land my only concern is getting there and someone being on it lol. I can't hunt till opening weekend on Sunday afternoon but after that it's every Tuesday and Sunday till Jan 4th then my sons juvy hunt the 10th and 11th!

 

[Atchman2]

The things I"ve learned about blind hunting:

1) The nice thing about a blind, is you could bring a small propane heater. Nothing worse than hunting with a kiddo and they start to get cold.
2) If you have a deer cart, they are awesome to carry your stuff in. My blind weighs 17 pounds! Add to that my other stuff and I'm usually a sweaty, worn out mess, by the time I get to set up. The deer cart really helps take the stress off setting up.
3) I like to figure out the window to leave open early on. Mine has regular fasteners, but the windows have net covers secured by velcro. They can be noisy to open. Normally I pop it up at home and go ahead and get the windows I want to leave open ready (open the screens I mean, I usually leave the windows closed at first so I can use my flashlight to get everything just right).

Hope that helps! I've shot most of my deer from a ground blind overlooking a bottom. It is nice if you can find a place that has a flat spot or a hole where a tree has fallen. It is a pain to crane your neck to look around. I always seem to have to look up at the other side of the draw. BTW take food, something to play with, etc. I have a 10 year old and he has the attention span of a gnat!

 

[Pic IN the Casa]

All great advice.
I would add that when I set up a blind on public land I always put some orange on the outside. Never know who's pointing a smokepole in your direction.

 

[AndyW]

If the soil is soft enough, I push dirt up against the inside of the blind to help keep scent from slipping out the bottom. It also helps keep draft down.

 

[htnseymour]

I tie cedar limbs freshly cut to the corner of mine and set on tree lines. Had a great close up encounter with two nice bucks last night at dark

 

[bcartervol98]

All great advice.
I would add that when I set up a blind on public land I always put some orange on the outside. Never know who's pointing a smokepole in your direction.

Yea I mentioned in OP I have the orange fly for the top of the blind.

 

[bcartervol98]

The things I"ve learned about blind hunting:

1) The nice thing about a blind, is you could bring a small propane heater. Nothing worse than hunting with a kiddo and they start to get cold.
2) If you have a deer cart, they are awesome to carry your stuff in. My blind weighs 17 pounds! Add to that my other stuff and I'm usually a sweaty, worn out mess, by the time I get to set up. The deer cart really helps take the stress off setting up.
3) I like to figure out the window to leave open early on. Mine has regular fasteners, but the windows have net covers secured by velcro. They can be noisy to open. Normally I pop it up at home and go ahead and get the windows I want to leave open ready (open the screens I mean, I usually leave the windows closed at first so I can use my flashlight to get everything just right).

Hope that helps! I've shot most of my deer from a ground blind overlooking a bottom. It is nice if you can find a place that has a flat spot or a hole where a tree has fallen. It is a pain to crane your neck to look around. I always seem to have to look up at the other side of the draw. BTW take food, something to play with, etc. I have a 10 year old and he has the attention span of a gnat!

Thought about getting a propane heater especially for late season but would that not put off a pretty strong odor?