Ground blinds....

[beeugle]

so does anyone here use a ground blind while bow hunting, I'm thinking about getting one or is being in a tree stand better? watching wild tv , they seem to use them alot but I'm curious if anyone here in bc uses them with success......

[boing-whap]

I use one, this season my deer walked past me, only about 8 ft away from my blind at one point, I tagged it at 15 yards. I shoot a PSE Bow Madness XS, its only 28.5 inches A to A, anything longer and I would have to get at taller blind, seems obvious, but figure out how much height you need and go from there, any movement and that deer is gone. BTW I sit on a 5gal bucket with a small pad for comfort.

[BCsniper]

My brother and I both have the older double bull 360's. Have used it for hunting deer back in Manitoba and have had great success. It was great getting within 5 yards of the deer without any problems getting busted and we have killed some deer at less than 20 yards.

When you are looking at buying one I would suggest that you avoid going with the plastic styles if you can afford to. The fabric has little to no reflection during a sunny day and on a cold fall/winter morning it won't make as much noise setting up and when the wind is blowing you won't get a fake sound.

A friend bought one of the ameristep blinds after using mine during the 2009 elk hunt. He came to camp this fall and after opening the box returned it when he compared it to the doublebull blind. It made alot of noise and was harder to setup.

2 things I would look for before buying one like Boing-whap stated make sure the blind has enough room and height for you. I see some of the blinds that have the shooting windows higher in the blinds and thats an advantage if you are planning on standing up or are in a low spot.

Second, is to find a comfortable chair that is good for comfort, quiet and will provide you with good height so you can shoot through the window. I had a couple of $20.00 chairs and it made it hard to sit for the morning. I just purchased the doublebull chair from Cabela's to go with the blind.

I am sure there are other brands that offer a good product, but I have had no issues with my blind and any rods that broke, customer service has replaced them without issue.

Good luck.

[Big Lew]

I've not used a commercial blind, but have made ground blinds using up-turned stumps and covered then further with a few branches. I've had very good success, (it doesn't hurt as much if you fall) and it's very exciting when animals come in so close you can almost touch them. As others have said, it's very important to have a comfortable stool that is high enough to shoot from if need be.

[Bow Walker]

I think it also depends on where you are. Hunting blacktail deer or mule deer from a ground blind will be really hard. They don't 'pattern' well and they use a lot of different travel routes to get from A to B to C.

Find a food or water source, find a choke point or a travel corridor, find a crossing area or a place where deer are pinched into closer proximity to your blind location. This will give you way more chance at them. I say "chance" rather than "chances" because you'll most probably ony get one chance or shot.

[Big Lew]

I think it also depends on where you are. Hunting blacktail deer or mule deer from a ground blind will be really hard. They don't 'pattern' well and they use a lot of different travel routes to get from A to B to C.

Find a food or water source, find a choke point or a travel corridor, find a crossing area or a place where deer are pinched into closer proximity to your blind location. This will give you way more chance at them. I say "chance" rather than "chances" because you'll most probably only get one chance or shot.
This is where knowing your area is a great help. I know of several areas, the sides or tops of slashes, saddles or draws that mulies tend to consistently use during the late summer and the first 2 weeks of September. I've found trying to situate a tree stand impractical because most of the trees are too small, or are too far away from the game trails in areas I hunt.

[CanuckShooter]

I don't bow hunt, but have used both for deer hunting....the bonus to the tree stand is if your feet are over 12 feet off the ground they don't usually scent you, and don't usually look up for danger, so I think they are better when the wind is swirling. Another bonus is your up and off the ground and don't have to worry about bears sneaking up on you [important when using calls for elk/deer etc].

[boing-whap]

All excellent information, my blind is so easy to set up and take down, its alot like those kiddy play tents, you push it down and twist it into a disk that fits into a case with shoulder straps for packing and it just pops up form compressed form. I like the idea of a tree stand, sounds chilly though.

[Pioneerman]

I bought one of the ground blinds that is a fold out chair that has a dome that pull up and over from behind, so you are in a small blind with built in chair. You are limited to facing that one direction and a little to either side, and behind you is not possible, so stuff it against a big tree or stump so you won't be wishing you could look that way anyway . I do think that off the ground a bit would be better, but it is not always possible

[bugler]

I've done a bit of ground blind and a lot of treestand. I've concluded that if there is a suitable tree to cover the area I want and stay downwind of likely travel route I'll go with the treestand. There are some situations where there just isn't a good tree and the blind makes a good second choice, better than sitting in a tree that is too far from the most likely shot opportunities.

[RoscoeP]

What about a camo net then make your blind with it? I used to have a large military one that I took duck hunting. It was so big I cut it in two. It worked great, you can see through the holes but from any distance you can't see in. Easy to just wrap around some stumps or deadfall etc. Just a thought. Cheers

[wolverine]

I use a ground blind and the answer is yes, they work, really well in fact especially if you can set them up and leave them up for a day or two before you use them. The one I have is an Eastman and it's just big enough for two people. If I get another one it will be a Double Bull and be bigger. Not so it will hold more people but just for the extra room and options. I haven't seen one in winter camo yet but if I find one I'll add it to my gear for predator hunting in the winter.

[hotload]

Just to help out here, if we knew in what part of the province you were situated, and what type of animals you were hunting and how big of a man you are then a lot more answers to your questions could be obtained. I see you are a junior member on HBC. The ability to get a few of these questions answered would enable us to help you achieve what you set out to do or.......not.

[beeugle]

Just to help out here, if we knew in what part of the province you were situated, and what type of animals you were hunting and how big of a man you are then a lot more answers to your questions could be obtained. I see you are a junior member on HBC. The ability to get a few of these questions answered would enable us to help you achieve what you set out to do or.......not. hmmm seems you may have a point....lets see.... I Hunt in the south end of the province , as you can guess by my name... (seemed kinda obvious... you know.... beeugle.... never heard a deer do that..) I m 6 foot give or take under 250 pounds... got a friend the size of chewy the chewbaka.. but he won't hunt here cause of the bears.... so ground blinds out for him but I'm thinking about it...specifically for my bowhunting.. also thinking of a ghillie suit and a built rather than a manufactured blind, got a great new spot where no one goes no quads or, traffic only the elk and lots of them so should be good, got some good advice by pm from someone on this site too.. so some great advice... looking for more though... thanks for the replies....

[Bow Walker]

Not so obvious - names don't mean jack around here. You better pony up and get a decent blind, sounds like you're going to be using it a lot.

[uraarchr]

I've had some sucess building one out of sticks and branches.Not too elaborate to stand out too much;but enough to break up my outline and mask my movements.Have had deer and yotes come within spittin distance.Have a Aeristep bone collector hub type now.Set it up in the snow this extended archery and had deer come by at 47yds(I threw a white couch cover over the top to blend in a little better).The DoubleBull and Rhino blinds look sweet.

[evhunter]

I have a Double Bull Dark Horse and use it a lot. I really like setting it up in re-gen log blocks for whitetail. The planted blocks grow up thick, have great travel corridors but not many suitable trees for stands. Wouldn't be without one for turkey hunting either. Just another option...

[Bucks&Ducks]

It all depends on the terrain youre hunting. FOr brush or other undergrowth it is nice to have some elevation to get away from obstacles that could obstruct the perfect shot. Bot for more open situations they can produce great success

[pickaspot]

From my experience, I've found you can really make a groundblind deadly if you "brush it in." I'll take a small set of pruning shears when doing a setup and clip natural grasses/shrubs/deadfall and cover our Double Bull blind with them (obviously not over shooting holes). Your going to be clearing that stuff for making shooting lanes anyways.. just take the extra time to brush it in, goes a long way for breaking up the outline of the unnaturally shaped blob.

Best of luck.

[dawn2dusk]

I got a cheap ground blind from walmart on sale one year. It is really noisy in the wind and just dont have any confidence in it. Each year I go now I build or repair existing ground blinds made of plywood and natural cover in the area. I much prefer these built blinds if you have well established hunting grounds. THe pop up ones I could see being good if you are going to new areas and want to move around.

[thatskindafunny]

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_0002.jpg (http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/showphoto.php?photo=6314&size=big&cat=500&ppuser=2788)

[thatskindafunny]

A swivel chair on a wooden pallet covered in carpet works well here. Room for a 5 gallon wood heater. I use my propane heater. This blind is 40 years old. Handed down to me.

[dawn2dusk]

That's what I am talking about. Nice natural Blind.