Building a Blind

[Bobson]

I've got a good friend who lives on ~10 acres, flanked (back and both sides) by DNR land that's open to public hunting. He's got deer in the clear-cut parts of his property almost all year long.

He's not a hunter, but he already gave me permission to hunt deer on his property this year. I'm thinking of setting up a ground blind near the active lanes and getting out there an hour or so before sunrise come regular season in early October.

I'm totally new to big game hunting (read a lot on it over the years, but never done it before). I've read that when setting up a blind, you should do it months in advance so the deer have time to get used to it, as opposed to setting up a box 25 yards from their trail a week before the season starts. Can anyone confirm this?

What about human scent? The deer on this guy's property seem to be super used to seeing people. I mean, it's not uncommon to see the deer 30 yards or so from his front door. We'll walk outside and look at em from the driveway, and they just stare at us then go back to eating. We actually saw a fawn playing around running and hopping around in circles around his mom about three weeks ago, it was very cool

Anyway, just curious how I should play this out. I'm almost certainly going to be using a shotgun on the hunt; haven't settled on either slugs or buckshot.

Any help is appreciated.

ETA:

I'm not after a wall hanger, here. Looking to put meat in the freezer. Might seem like it's gonna be a "fish in a barrel" type situation, and it kinda does to me too. But nothing's gonna go to waste; this isn't about sport (no disrespect intended to anyone who does hunt for sport, btw).

 

[rcmodel]

Me?

I'd drag some dead brush up in a pile near season opening where they feed or move to water, so you know you put it where the deer are then.

If they are used to humans, they won't pay no attention after they figure out it isn't going to eat them the first few days.

But, with that said.
Deer are very observant to Anything at ground level.
Constantly watching for predators in the brush.
You wont be able to twitch or itch while setting on the ground without one of them spotting the movement.
And you scent sticks at ground level in the calm morning air.

You would be way better off with a tree stand.
They don't look up in trees, because they know the tweety birds aren't going to kill them.

rc

 

[Bobson]

Okay, then I'll explore a tree stand as an option. I don't really want to go out and buy a stand from a sporting goods store. Money is pretty tight right now, which is why I'm planning to just use my shotgun - it's what I've got right now.

So suppose I just build a platform up in a tree, with 2x4s in the side of the tree as a ladder? Kinda like makeshift treehouse style? That should work just fine, right?

What about my scent on opening day? I mean, walking through the woods and climbing up into the stand, I would think I'd be leaving scent around. Do those "scent masking" products actually work pretty well? Like well enough that they're worth investing in?

Alternatively, I've heard of washing your hunting clothes in plain water and just leaving them outside away from the house for a few days prior to the hunt. Is that sufficient?

 

[rcmodel]

That, or leave your dirty underwear next to the stand a few days before.

Again, once they figure out that your scent isn't going to eat them, they will get over it.

I know this sounds crazy, and 180 degrees opposed to what Cabala's would like to sell you.

But deer come up and look in the windows of houses while munching on the potted plants, or eat hay out of the cattle feeders right behind the tractor once they decide its not a threat.

Think out of the Retail Outfitters box a little.
Do some early scouting to find where they live, and you might be surprised what you see opening day next fall.

rc

 

[Bobson]

Sounds like a plan; thanks rc.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Funny, I've taken nearly 10 deer in the past 15 years with my flintlock rifle, and all have been from the ground, and because all were flintlock, I've had to get them in closer than 100 yards (actually one was taken at 110 yards, but it's was the exception... the closest one I shot was at 5 yards.) Most were from ground blinds, but five were from me standing behind a tree to obscure my outline. In fact, since buying my rifle I have not had a venison-less season.

I also don't use a commerical cover scent. I do expose my hunting clothing to the smoke from a wood fire and get them good and smokey before going out. I wash them in real, lye soap, grated into hot water, and dissolved, and then I allow the hot water to cool to room temp before soaking my clothes then rinsing them. (I use a lot of wool and historic clothing when I hunt) Then I smoke them after they have air dried.

Now as far as a ground blind goes, I worry about the wind direction, so if you scout the area and can get a good idea of the prevailing winds, you will then know a bit about positioning your blind, plus as you said the areas that they like to traffic. Still sometimes the wind changes and you're out-of-luck...

It isn't fool proof however, and one of the areas that I hunt is adjacent to a farm where the owner boards horses. Since I have no idea if or when a horse might be in the field to the East of me... I situated my blind facing an area where I found the deer like to bed down, and with my back to the horse boarding operation. I'm not going to risk a shot that might hit somebody's horse, so I simply accept that if a world record buck comes up behind me and I spot him, I will have to pass on the shot unless he is kind enough to walk past me to the West, where I can shoot him. I'm not out for trophies either.. just venison. The other location where I hunt I put my back to a very thick section of brush in the woods... to see a deer in there they'd have to be at about 10 yards or less, so I don't think they'll get that close before they realize I'm there.

Now as to a blind, YES get it set up now. You can set up pairs of verticle stakes || and then stack branches between them to form a wall. It's better if you have something behind you so that your head, which will be the part most visible and moving the most, has an outline broken up by the background.

My favorite blind is next to an old, overgrown fence, as the vines have grown over it forming a hedge, the interior has died off, leaving a space for me to get inside. If you can find such a spot, great. If not, then set up the walls.

You can get fancy if you wish with the blind walls, by planting some climbing plants on the outside to climb up the walls to give you extra cover. I've seen it done with English ivy, as well as morning glory, but the guy who used honey suckle had a disaster (too many bees) in the early season. You have to check the blind from time to time if you do this to be sure the vines are climbing, and also that they don't choke the interior.

Nothing is fool proof, remember, “Alle Kunst ist umsonst Wenn ein Engel in das Zündloch Prunst” German Proverb - All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses on your flintlock.

WARNING, if you are in a blind, be sure you put some hunter orange to your rear area, while you are wearing orange to the front... that way you can be seen by any other hunters while in the blind and hopefully they won't toss a shot in your direction.

LD

 

[Bobson]

that way you can be seen by any other hunters while in the blind and hopefully they won't toss a shot in your direction.

Yeah, hopefully. lol

I appreciate you sharing your experience with me, Dave.

 

[Patocazador]

I wouldn't take a chance on the deer scenting me. They might be used to people but they're not used to people in their area. If you are going to be mainly a morning hunter, situate the blind on a ridge or high spot so the thermals will rise from deer to you. In the evening get as low as possible because the opposite is true.

You can fool a deer's eyes but never its nose.

If you have never built a tree stand before, don't. Get someone who is experienced to help you. Homemade tree stands can be death traps.
Also, check with the land owner before building anything semi-permanent. Some don't want to have "squatter shacks" on their property.

 

[yzguy87]

I hunted on 10 acres for several years. It was a good hunting property. I hunted out of ground blinds or just sat at a base of a tree. Had 3 blinds... 1st wast made of camo burlap we got at Walmart for cheap, 2 was a big old brush pile. I sat on some big tree limbs or a small chair depending on which direction I wanted to see. 3rd was just a pile of split wood. Shot deer out of all locations. Even once just sitting at the base of a tree.

 

[Texan6G]

figure out what the prevailing winds will be for your hunting times. You may may need to plan for several blinds depending on wind direction. You want to be downwind of your prey.

 

[627PCFan]

You said this place is flanked by Public hunting areas? I would post the holy hell out of it to avoid "Flow over" as I call it. Boundaries aren't marked well around WMA's IMO and it wouldn't be a stretch for someone to walk/shoot in your direction past the property boundary.

 

[buck460XVR]

Ground blinds will work just fine for gun season. I would build more than one on opposite sides of the trails you want to hunt. That way, you can hunt the one where the wind blows your scent away from the trails on any given day. Opening day, depending on the pressure from the near-by public land, there may be enough scent in the air that yours will not matter.....especially at gun range. Covering any amount of movement with a blind would be more important than scent. Most new hunters do not realize how much they move and how little movement it takes to alert a deer when it is spooked.

 

[another pake]

There is a lot of good advice in the previous posts because there is no "one right way". You will eventually develop your way.

As has been said, for deer, scent is everything. But you might be surprised because as RC and others have mentioned, if their experience tells them the scent won't kill them they aren't as spooked by it. My old dairy farmer neighbor never bothers about his scent. He heads straight out to the woods from his barn after morning chores wearing coveralls and boots loaded with manure. But the deer are used to it so it works for him. I doubt that it will be like shooting fish in a barrel for you, come hunting season, but you never know.

Something tells me that this will turn into something more than a meat gathering mission.

Just sayin...

Enjoy it!

pake