ground blinds for deer hunting

[cajun 48]

I'm getting a little too old to climb a tree and too feable
to stalk. Are ground blinds a viable alternative. If you can, would you please suggest something in the 100-200 dollar
range.

 

[matrem]

Are you gun hunting or bow hunting?

 

[3pairs12]

I used an Ameristep I think doghouse. It was the 2 person blind. If you brush it in it'll work well. At our lease we have box blinds right on the ground painted beige. Seems to be fine with the deer and pigs as long as you don't let them get your sillouette through the window. Oh that ameristep blind was under $100.

 

[cajun 48]

Matrem,
Hunting with handgun and occasionally with a bow. My son hunts almost exclussively with a bow and he'll be person #2 in a two man blind. He usually is up a tree but with 20+ years on him, the only thing getting me back up a tree is a mac daddy boar or mac momma sow!!

 

[matrem]

It's been my experience that ground blinds are a big disadvantage to treestands for bow hunting deer for a couple of reasons:
Fiber optic pins(& peeps) are nearly useless in first & last shooting light.
I don't trust shooting through a net window & deer get very nervous at "black holes".(turkeys don't seem to mind though)
The obvious visibility disadvantage.
The "scent stream" disadvantage.
For handgun hunting,(I have no experience)I doubt those disadvantages would be nearly as pronounced,and at rifle/slug gun ranges,ground blinds are a great "set-up".

 

[janobles14]

blinds rock! just make sure to leave them a week or two before you use them. also what matrem said is true. leave the windows open just like you would if you were in it.

 

[charby]

I hunt deer in Iowa.

I don't use a ground blind for gun hunting, I find a nice large tree to cozy up against and wait for the opportunity to shoot.

I also used to bow hunt and I used to make a couple ground hides out of the down limbs way before season. I was pretty successful with that. This was before the days of scent lining clothes and scent killer sprays. I used to keep my hunting clothes in a garbage bag full of stuff from the forest floor where I was hunting.

This year after a 13 year absence on bow hunting I am getting back into because I have permission to hunt a parcel of land near my house for deer and its a little small (lots of houses within gun range) for using a gun on. I did break down and buy a ladder stand to put up where a bunch of trails merge but I am planning on hunting from the ground in a couple other places. I like the ladder stand for getting up and down on compared to climbing sticks or screw in steps.

 

[PawDaddy]

A good idea for blind hunting is to wear black clothes. The inside of the blind will be dark, so you should blend in.

 

[Kingcreek]

a ground blind is a great option but I don't plan to give up my tree stands. I use a double bull matrix (about $400). scent can still be controlled but its not magic. The shoot-thru net really doesn't interfere with arrow flight with non-mechanical broadheads. It is really exciting to be at eye level with the deer. I've had them walk within 5 yeards of my blind while I was in it.
great in cold weather or rain and sleet. I can stretch my legs, grab my water from my pack, read a book, etc and no visible movement to give me away. very useful at times when there is no good place for tree stands.
disadvantages:
peep sight visibility. I had to add an illuminator for the last 10-15 minutes of legal shooting time.
they can get pretty hot esp if in the sun.
depending on terrain, they will limit your area of visibilty.

 

[357sigRog]

Ameristep doghouse blinds has worked well for my young son and myself. We have 2 and put them out at 2 different locations. I think it helps deaden the scent. Also with my son being nine years old, his hands and feet sometimes do not always stay still and this hides his movements. Plus on those real cold days when the wind is blowing pretty good it knocks a lot of the chill down.

 

[moooose102]

if you are talking your land, a good natural blind is hard to beat, but on public land, somebody else always squats in them. if you are hunting on public land, i am afraid i cant help you. but there is something that worries me about using a camo ground blind on public land. hunters, wearing blaze orange, get shot every year. how in the world is anyone going to see you inside of a camoflage blind? if they shoot blaze orange, it just seems to me that a camo blind is just not safe. this year, i bought a medium sized hunk of camo material. i am going to cover up my bottom half with it, and i am working on breaking up my blaze orange jacket, so it will at least not look like a huge orange punpkin in the middle of the woods. my goal is to hopefully fool the deer into thinking i am further away than i really am. if you think they can not see blaze orange, you are only fooling yourself.