Need some ground blind tips

[Turkeygirl]

So I amexcited because I checked my trail cam yesterday after moving it into our woods last Thursday...and captured my first photos of "our" deer...deer in our woods. We have a small piece of woods, surrounded my fields but they pass through quite a bit. Well I stuck it under an apple tree near our little creek and got a bunch of photos of a doe and button buck during the morning and afternoon on Saturday then a bunch of photos of 2 days at night on Sunday...

I am going to try and build a ground blind or two in our woods..I have a thing of camo burlap that was originally going to be used for hiding purposes during counselor hunt at camp:clown:

So I need some tips for ground blinds, whether with the burlap or just with surrounding cover and brush...Should I have some like a big tree behind me?

I'm planning on putting one opposite the apple trees, as they seem to come from the one side and cross over before heading across the field into the big woods. Then I am thinking of putting another one down further, near a corner, along the field edge.

I'm hoping to try working on a couple trails today so I can walk in quietly through the woods as they are usually out in the fields in the AM.

[GWSmith]

One thing I look for building ground blinds is a deadfall.

It's been there for awhile and whatever is using the area knows that shape and is used to it.

Then just build upon it by gathering brush and your camo burlap around it to make the blind. Clear everything off the ground to eliminate noise. If you dont have enough back-cover cut some of the burlap and hang it where you need it.

Make sure the blind is at a level you can shoot over it and not have to stand up;)

Probably the biggest tip I could give you is to walk out from the blind in the direction you expect the deer to be, turn around, and look to see if you need to make any changes in the blind.

[Dawg]

I would do a combo of both, burlap and brush. I usually try to have some kind of structure behind me to help break up my silouette (sp?).

Good luck!

[Ethan Givan]

Brush it in extremely well. Maybe try to put it back up under some low hanging limbs or something to keep it in the shade. Sunlight shining right on a blind makes them stick out more I think.

I used a pop up blind last year, and I brushed it in until you couldnt even see the actual blind. It looked like a big pile of brush. It was inside the edge of the woods under a some big limbs that hung down real low over top of it. The first morning I hunted it I had three does come within 15 yards of it and they never knew I was there.

Also be very scent conscious because you are gonna be at nose level with the deer.

[RangerClay]

Get them up ASAP. It sometimes takes a week or so for the deer to get used to the change. If your Mother rearranged the livingroom you would spot it in a heartbeat. You will be changing the deer's livingroom and they need a little time to adjust.

[redkneck]

I dont like bowhunting from ground blinds, but I've learned a couple of things in trying. For starters, you can definitely get TOO much cover. When the time comes to shoot you can find yourself struggling to get a clean shot. Secondly, be careful with your new burlap. If it's the camo stuff like they got at wally-world, and it's new, it does have a distinctive odor that deer will blow at pretty quick. If it's old, you're ok, but the new stuff needs to air out for just a few days in the wind. Good advice above. I'll take ground-level shots with my bow, but sure do like some elevation, I've had a few bad experiences with level shots over the years.

[mikewink]

I love hunting from the ground. But you do give up the birds eye view. When setting up ground blinds or ambush points, first think about the wind. What is your most common wind direction. And then where are the travel routes compared to the wind direction. Then start looking.

I like to find brush piles or dead falls. Or look for a large pine or cedar tree with low hanging limbs. These can hide your movements fairly well with little work. Provide lots over head cover during bad weather. Pine cover scent can be used. And the needles on the ground make for quiet movement. But you also have to deal with sap....

If you don't have any pines think about planting a series of 3 or 4 for future use. Plant them where in the future you can use the trees as a blind themselves.

[Doc]

Pay a lot of attention to what's behind you. If the area behind you is fairly open and bright, you will have a silhouette effect that will make any movement stand out like a beacon. One other useful thing for a ground-stander is to learn to shoot well from a sitting position. This gives you the ability to keep everything shorter and therefore less prominent in the landscape. When I do hunt standing up, my stand is usually built around a rather large tree or clump of trees so that I can draw behind the tree and simply lean out (very very slowly) to take the shot.

Needless to say, wind direction has to be the prime concern. Quite often I will build two blinds on opposite sides of where I expect the deer to be so that I can make a last minute decision based on current wind direction.

I find that visibility is also important so that I am not surprised by a deer all of a sudden being in my shooting lane and then.....poof!....gone. For that reason, in super thick cover, I cut at least three shooting lanes. The outside lanes are mostly observation lanes so that I can see approaching deer, and the center one is the actual shooting lane. Even then, things can get pretty hectic and I hate hurried shots. It is amazing how those critters can move through thick brush and vines without making a sound. You have to be alert all the time in those deep thicket hunting locations.

Also, be prepared for one of the most exciting, heart-pounding experiences in hunting. There is nothing more exciting than taking the deer in an eyeball-to-eyeball situation on the ground. I have had deer so close I could have reached out and touched them (if I were quick enough.....lol). That is a total rush!

Doc

[Rhino]

About all I can think to add to the others is a role of electrical tape comes in real handy when using brush on your blind. Tapping brush together, especially around your shooting holes really helps keep everything in place from one hunt to the next.