Anyone hunt exclusively from ground blinds? I have tried to make natural ones from cedar trees and brush, but have not been very patient with it. Any tips or pics of success?

I normally use what nature has already created. The best advice I can give you is to learn to be still and patient. That's about it if you're in an area that has deer. I also like the outside of a turn in a trail if there is cover available there. The deer are more focused on the path ahead at a turn than the direction they aren't going. Wind has to be right of course.

What Mr George said. I have hunted out of natural ground blinds 90% of the time for yrs. Like Mr George said, movement will get you busted. I like to have thick stuff in the back ground but I also like some cover in the front to help conceal me. It really doesn't take that much to hide from deer on the ground. Just have to learn when to move. Also, try to blend in where your head n shoulder outline is not sticking out.

just sitting up against a root ball on the ground

My son uses one to pistol hunt. I told him it would not work. He set two out about a month before the season started and shot a deer about 20 yards from each one of them. He just set them up and leaned a little brush against them, not very much like you see most people do. He made a liar out of me.

I don't hunt exclusively from ground blinds but I do hunt from natural ground blinds often. Here are a few pictures of deer I've killed from the ground. Movement is the biggest thing to give you away. I also make sure I have plenty of cover in front and behind me to break up my outline. And of course pay attention to the wind direction at all times.

Patience. They are deadly.

Natural ground blinds are one of the best ways to kill deer. I make it a point to have my backstop wider than my shoulders and taller than my head. This helps a lot. I then make sure I have thick cover in front. The most important thing is where it is placed and maximizing the time you spend in it. If I cant hunt all day, I prefer to hunt from 10AM to dark. When you hunt only in the morning you usually only have a 1-2 hour window of activity at first light before the deer bed down to chew their cud, if its not the rut or super cold. When you hunt from 10Am to dark, you catch the very overlooked time of high deer activity around 11AM-3PM. The deer are getting up from being bedded down all morning and stretching their legs while browsing again. Not to mention everyone is usually back in camp eating breakfast. I routinely do this "old man hunting" and it amazes me on how well it works. Its all about knowing deer routine and how they think. You gotta be patient and have the blinds comfortable enough to make long sits as well.

i hunt ground blind most of the time i have deer come 7 yards past my blind at times , the most important thing i do is only draw when the deer is passing behind a tree .when it comes out the other side of tree i am at full draw i stand and draw my bow back in one fluid move .i stay much warmer tucked in to my ground blind,and even use a heater in cold weather i thought they would wind the propane fumes but they dont seem to mind it,

The hot exhaust from the heater probably whisks your scent right up off the ground....

Not that the tent-like blinds don’t help contain your scent to a degree...

I’d expect they’re as effective as a tree stand if not more so, because what gets me busted quite often is movement.

But I just have this nagging sense that Hunting is an OUTDOOR activity and that sitting in a tent all day just somehow isn’t what I really want out of a hunting experience...

YMMV

I went out deer hunting this afternoon. I took about a dozen shots with a judo point heading in about 3/4 of a mile. I decided it was about time to get serious and put a broadhead on the string and kathump, my back quiver hit the ground. The leather lace that held the bottom of the shoulder strap gave out. So I sat down gave what left of it a tug and that broke as well. So I sat on a blow down branch and tired it up with what i had left. Stood back up, after spending 20 with my arm in the quiver and thinking about what to do next and a nice fat doe came around the bend passed between me and the corn field and head north, paying no attention to me standing there. When she was about 50 down wind her head went up she turned around sniffing the air and then went on her way. I figured what the heck I will sit here, sat back down on the bare 12" tree trunk and about 20 minutes later the corn started to move about 50 yards away, then a healing 6 pointer charged out of the corn stood in front of me about ten yards away, looked around and then headed out into the slight breeze. There was no cover between me and the corn and I had no camo, both deer seemed to not notice my white bow. About ten minutes before sunset, fog and mist rolled in and I headed back to the car. I did get a royal butt chewing from who I am calling Pebbles the Chipmunk. I think he may be related to Pebbles the cockatoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAmrSNDrWSg

not healing 6 pointer, yearling 6 pointer. I got interrupted, an ambulance pulled up to the neighbors, Looks like pneumonia or he inhaled too much dust at the elevator, they have five little ones to watch. neglected to proof read

I have taken 4 bucks and have also had many come close most around 10 to 15 yards from using fallen trees near funnels coming from bedding areas to fields .If you can find a fallen tree with good back cover and what I look for is to try and use the root ball as much as possible to help hide one side of you . I like to keep my left side against the root ball and if possible have some limbs or dead fall in front just enough to lift my bow and be able to shoot over some front cover.A few years ago I was inside a root ball sort of like a cave or umbrella and shot at a 7 point on a small hill side he was cruising and I missed that first shot but did a grunt and he circled right back around and I got both lungs on the second shot. He basically came in the exact spot and never saw my in the root ball. Now this buck is just another I have taken and I have shown several times and he had no idea I was hiding behind a root ball on a different piece of land and walked in at about 7 yards but I couldn't get a shot on him until he came me a broadside shot at 12 yards as he was cruising to a Big scrape at 10:30 a.m. As others have mentioned keep still and I spray down with earth cover scent when I get my gear on at the property I'm hunting and I spray all around my seat and try to use the wind in your favor as much as possible.

I like natural blinds too. My feet are kind of fidgety so I like to get my lower half concealed and get the area clean of leaves and brush. The most important thing is backdrop. Make sure your silhouette has one. Regards

Be where they want to be and have the blind set up off that trail and hidden. They see movement in blind and they can also smell you so stay clean as you can and play wind in your face. They also hear you if you shuffle in blind to reset on a sit that's not real comfortable and they are near you.

Last season I had a beautiful 10 I was after and 2 times he came in from behind me and winded me as he stood alongside the blind at 10 feet. We saw this in cameras that's how we knew what he was when he came in alongside. That's close and no shot because I didn't have side window open. My buddy said he felt deer would come in from front and he didn't. He came in from side twice and I got busted.

4 days later he sat the blind and shot the animal when he had the side window open. I didn't I only had front open. You would have thought after 1 rst. time I would have realized. All the does and a smaller buck did come in from front. This animal must have circled around and had the wind in his face behind me.

I have natural blinds also and what i do is put up a camo covering inside so they can't see me fidget to draw and shoot either when its to late when i have bow on lap and i am sitting in chair. I had turkeys stand right along side of this natural blind and not even know I was there. No critters knew was in the natural. Its best to use as much brush as you can to conceal.

Natural blinds are what I use 95% of the time. Sat in a man- made one in Ontario once and about went nuts in there, never again! On rare occasion when terrain or lack of cover dictates I'll shimmy up a tree, but I much prefer the ground.

One of my ground blinds using natural material. This year I've had does and a couple small bucks 25 to 10 yards from me. It over looks a funnel and quite a few trails. It's in the perfect place to take advantage of the wind and thermal currents. It's pretty comfortable for a long sit.

I do like those big fallen trees when they are by a spot to sit. You can cut a nice hole in the middle of them to sit.

I have a brand new ground blind in the box. I havent had a chance to open,test yet

I prefer being in the open, but for late season I could see where these would be helpful

also they hide movement I would think.

There can be visibility issues though Ive experience the same with heavy brushed in natural blinds with a small shooting opening

I really like a blind made from tree limbs Just enough to hide you , but not so much that you cant see Remember that this use to be the only method of hunting before the tree stand. It worked then...it can work now

No, I don't hunt exclusively from ground blinds, but they work just fine.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here