Scissor Lift Deer Blind For Sale? Best 51 Answer

If your hunting experience has grown stale on the ground, you may want to join the ranks of whitetail hunters enjoying the benefits of a raised turret mantlet.

Benefits include:

When you’re high up, you can see farther than in a ground shield.

It never hurts to have a 360 degree view if you are a serious hunter.

When you’re 8 to 10 feet off the ground, you’re less visible.

Over time, the raised wild blind blends into the landscape and the deer don’t seem to notice.

An elevated deer stand can give you some great hunting opportunities when placed in an area of ​​high game activity.

They smell you…

Also, your scent isn’t nearly as noticeable from above as when you’re at the same height as the deer. From an elevated position, the deer are also less frightened by noise. Another plus is that a raised hunting tower blind is much roomier and more comfortable when seated for long periods than a tree stand.

While the range of available raised turret blinds is somewhat limited, they are still a good option for the hunter looking for an easy setup and a more durable blind.

Bowhunters love elevated turret blinds

Elevated turret blindstands are also popular with bowhunters. In addition to many of the same advantages that this blind type offers to the rifle hunter, there are some specific advantages to the bow hunter. First, it provides the bow hunter with a firing angle that allows the arrow to exit at a lower point on the animal, which actually helps create a better trail of blood to find the deer when it runs away. With the increased blind, one hunter is less likely to interfere with another’s hunt. Finally, it provides a better vantage point for spotting wildlife and streamlines the overall hunting experience.

However, there are a few downsides to a raised blind. There may be an increased risk of injury from a fall. This type of blinds can also be difficult to transport or move once set up. Straight winds can knock you down if not properly anchored and it can be much colder at altitude than in a ground shelter. Judging distances and shooting accurately is another disadvantage due to the downward angle. And you’re stuck up there, unable to move towards the game when the situation calls for it like you can on the ground.

Hunting – It’s for families

Aside from the practical reasons for choosing an elevated hunting tower blind, Joe Davis, owner of Avid Outdoorsman LLC, points out that he sees a very special family atmosphere in today’s deer hunting world.

“Not only are husbands and wives hunting together more and more, but more importantly, they’re getting the kids involved,” says Davis. “Now kids are great and really excited when the game moves and they get entertained just by watching. But when the action slows down, little ones can only sit still and be quiet for so long. Raised blinds with warm, cozy enclosures on top give kids the flexibility to play their games or nap on the floor. All in all, it’s a fun outing for everyone. We all know that when our kids and grandkids are out hunting as they age, we don’t give nearly as much thought to where they are or what they’re doing.”

Davis says he recently spoke to a longtime, well-known hunting guide about the benefits of the raised turret mantlet. The guide pointed out another advantage of raised blinds – the hunter encounters a snake much less often in the air than on the ground.

Watch out for snakes!

“He reminded me that, especially in Texas, in many areas of the state, the snakes don’t hibernate at all, if at all,” Davis explains. “Some of the larger and more prestigious ranches he runs for no longer allow blinds less than 4 feet off the ground, simply to reduce the snake’s adhesion factor!”

Davis says for what it’s worth, liability has become one of the biggest concerns for ranches in the hunting industry today, adding that poorly constructed blinds are responsible for numerous injuries every year.

Some ranches require blinds to be removed

“Many ranches I am associated with require all blinds to be approved by ranch management. Additionally, many ranches are beginning to require that the blinds be removed each year at the end of the season. All in all, I believe the Swift Lift is the answer to more than just hunting advantage in the field these days,” he notes.

Mel Robinson of Comanche Peak Outdoors LLC, a veteran Texas deer hunter and inventor and manufacturer of the Swift Lift, designed his pendant hunting tower blind not only to enhance the hunting experience, but also with convenience and practicality in mind. The idea for the Swift Lift actually came to Robinson as a result of his own uncomfortable experiences setting up and moving tower blinds from lease to lease or simply to a different location on the same property.

“The Swift Lift gives you the benefit of going where the deer are. Raising or lowering the Swift Lift takes less than 5 minutes and is a one man job. And if you enjoy chasing the rut, you can go where the action is instead of watching the hunt from afar and wishing you were closer to the action,” explains Robinson. “Also, if you hunt large ranches or run a guide service, one Swift Lift per hunter or guide will do the job. No need for multiple stationary blinds.”

The hassle-free Swift Lift is portable and trailer mounted. It works via a remote control and takes about 5 minutes for a man to set up or take down. You simply line up the outriggers, remove the transport pins, pull it up, secure the stabilizer bar, set up the ladder and you’re ready to hunt!

You simply line up the outriggers, remove the transport pins, pull it up, secure the stabilizer bar, set up the ladder and you’re ready to hunt!

never worry again

“With the Swift Lift you never have to worry about picking up tools to move your hunting blind again. And if you already have a trailer, a freestanding Swift Lift available in 8 and 10ft. large models that can be towed on your existing trailer,” says Robinson. “So if you’re thinking of buying a raised turret blind, the Swift Lift makes the most sense.”

What reveals you in the Tree Stand?

Have you ever been caught by a curious deer in the trees? If you’ve been deer hunting long enough, you’re probably familiar with that horrid puffing sound whitetails love to make when they have you. While it’s impossible to completely hide from a deer forever, there are several ways you can make it easier on yourself and fool them a little longer. More time in the tree stand might be what you need to seal the deal and stamp your label. Let’s start with the first of these six hunting tips.

1. Tree stand placement

Many hunters may think twice about it, but the placement and arrangement of your tree stand can make a big difference in a hunting trip. Of course, you need to make sure you’re in the right area and have a good chance of seeing a whitetail within range. But that’s only half the battle. You also have to make sure that the deer don’t notice you when they finally come by.

Here is the first hunting tip: put yourself in the shoes of a deer. What do you see when you walk down your main path or enter a fall feeder and look up at your stand of trees? Does it stick out like a sore thumb? Or does it blend seamlessly with the trees around it? Here are a few ways you can improve your tree stand placement a bit.

Consider the season. Early fall will be full of bushy green leaves covering your tree stand. Late autumn could mean nothing but barren stems, leaving you unprotected.

Are you sitting too deep in the tree? The taller you are (within reason), the less likely deer will look up and notice you. In addition, your fragrance should be carried up over their noses.

If they still notice you, have you tried placing your tree stand on the opposite side of the tree? That way there’s a lot less to stand out and it can hide your move from big bucks.

2. camouflage clothing

Another big reason you get caught in the tree stand is that your deer hunting attire predates that dusty high school trophy you’re still attached to. While anyone could kill deer at any moment in blue jeans and a white t-shirt, the latest camouflage dramatically increases your ability to hide in the trees. Most people may not think of their hunting wardrobe for deer hunting tips and tricks, but clothing deteriorates over time and old camouflage patterns fade. That’s why Drake® Non-Typical™ clothing stands out from the competition. The comfortable garments feature Realtree® patterns that are super realistic and won’t fade. They remain true to detail so that they blend perfectly into their surroundings for many years to come. Plan the best camouflage pattern for the area and time of year you will be hunting. Wearing late-season waterfowl patterns high up in a tree in September doesn’t exactly blend in. This may not be the Deer Hunt 101, but it’s pretty close.

3. Scent Control

Of course, we have to mention smell control – we’re talking deer hunting tips, after all. Most of the time a deer will smell you before they see or hear you when you are in the trees. One of the best hunting tips is to play with the wind when hunting. If you’re always downwind, they can’t smell you. But sometimes you can’t avoid it. Maybe the wind is swirling in a valley or your favorite spot can’t be approached without alerting a troop of deer. Either way, you need something different.

Start your hunt with D/Code odor control products from Code Blue Scents®. From laundry soap and shampoo to field towels and sprays, the products kill odor-causing bacteria on your skin to give you a clean start. From there, you need to use some sort of odor-controlling clothing. The Non-Typical™ garments’ Agion Active XL™ Advanced Control technology odor control to keep you odorless in situations where you can’t avoid the wind.

4. Stay stealthy and quiet

Whether you’re heading to the tree stand or you’re already in it, one of the first hunting tips most of us heard was to be calm. This principle applies to your trees, your hunting clothes and your behavior.

Also, take some time to test out your hunting clothes to make sure they aren’t noisy in the woods. A lot of waterproof clothing is extremely noisy – you might as well wear wrapping paper! Non-Typical™ clothing with HydroHush* is 100% waterproof, but the plush fleece material is absolutely silent! If you’re chasing a prone deer, heading to your tree stand, or just need to stretch in the tree, your clothes won’t give you away as long as you move slowly. One of the best tips for early season deer hunting is to clear some paths to your tree stand areas in midsummer so the deer are used to it before opening day. That way, you can still sneak into your hunting territory without disturbing them.

“It’s exciting to work with a company that has developed a great product like Non-Typical™ clothing. However, when you combine the product with the whole family and team behind the company and you are just as amazing as the clothes they make, you now have the perfect situation!” – Michael Waddell

5. Don’t let deer eye you

If you’re a creature of habit, it’s fairly easy to go to the same stand of trees day after day, regardless of the weather conditions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for deer, especially adult bucks, to start eyeing your movements and giving you the slip. For large bucks, any sign of hunting pressure will cause them to change their routines. Ask any consistently successful hunter for hunting tips and they will likely tell you to change things up and watch the weather.

For example, pick a tree stand that you can stealthily sneak into without even alerting the deer (remember number one above?). Always stay downwind of bedding or feeding areas and tiptoe quietly into position. If the wind isn’t right for your location, just don’t chase it. You might be able to put a deer in the freezer, but the risk of scaring an adult buck is too great. Save your best tree stands for the perfect weather conditions. That alone is one of the most ignored deer hunting secrets that could help you tremendously.

6. Lighten the load

If you just have a few hours to hunt after work, you probably don’t bring too much gear. But when you need to trek to a remote location for an all-day hunt, or want to film your own hunts, it sometimes feels like you’re more of a mule than a hunter. It’s easy to fill a backpack (or even two) with all the hunting gear to collect. And if you have to rely on a deer hunting gear list, you may be using too much gear. All that extra weight makes you sweat more hiking in, is bulky in tree cover, and can even be a source of noise if you bang it around.

As far as hunting tips go, this one might seem counterintuitive. Instead of bringing everything you might need with you, try reducing the size to the bare essentials. Eat some high-energy snacks and drink a bottle of water before exiting the vehicle. Then grab your gun, ammo, a knife, your driver’s license, and maybe some rope. That should be enough to get you through a hunt with as little bulk as possible.

This fall, heed these hunting tips and see how they affect your ability to stay hidden in a stand of trees longer than before.

When bowhunters notice the long summer days getting shorter, they know that bow season is approaching. The need for more target practice is always in the back of their minds. For some unknown reason, it’s a lot easier to practice at 20, 30, and 40 yards than it is to practice shooting from a single elevated position. There seems to be an unwritten law that a bowhunter must practice a standing shot at 40 yards before he can ever practice from a tree stand.

This mental roadblock is insane considering how much work bowhunters put into getting a whitetail within 20 yards of their stand of trees. Until a bowhunter has spent a few years tree saddle hunting or hunting from a tree perch, it’s shocking how different things look from up there. Would you know where to aim if there’s a buck walking under you right now? Let’s look at a few decisions you need to make to be more confident about where to aim when shooting from a tree stand.

Never ready, always prepared

In almost every sport, you’ll hear a coach say that perfect training makes perfect players. Perfect training is an excellent philosophy for sports where the target never moves. When bow-hunting for deer, a standing broadside stag will not stand there for long. Deer are always taking a step to munch on the next bunch of clover, turning their bodies to see what the other deer are doing, or raising their heads to pick up the scent of something suspicious. Bowhunters need to be mentally prepared for this, as all of this often happens at full draw.

keep it elevated

Increased practice is the first line of defense for bow hunting deer. It can be from your balcony, scaffolding in the driveway, or an old tree stand you have in your yard. The main thing is to make it as realistic as possible. If you want to hunt while seated from your tree perch, put a chair on the balcony and practice shooting while seated. If you plan to rise to a standing position, then rise from the chair on your gantry to a standing position and take the shot.

stay real

A 3D target makes practicing more realistic. Place the 3D target at different distances and different angles. The scoring rings on the stag give you a good idea of ​​whether your shot would have been fatal. It’s surprising how torso curvature, the smaller sight image from an elevated stand, or even the tilt of a 3D target on uneven ground can affect your aim. Ideally you have a range finder with angle compensation. Practice slowly reaching your aim, choosing your aiming point, going to full draw and taking the shot.

To draw or not to draw

You’ve been practicing all season, archery season is here and you’re sitting in your tree stand. The buck is on its way and you must decide whether to draw your bow or let it run. There are so many factors that go into this decision: Is this a legal deer to shoot? Is it a deer I want to shoot and will there be a lane to shoot if it’s in range? If so, will he show me the angle I need to take an ethical shot? All valid questions that a bow hunter must ask himself. All of this and more often needs to be done in a matter of seconds.

Don’t make it difficult for yourself

Some things are child’s play. You don’t have to draw your bow when a deer walks away from you or directly under you. These angles are difficult for any bowhunter and generally not an ethical shot. A deer roosting, standing on its broadside or roosting towards you is another matter. Let’s discuss how to get a little closer to these shots.

Know your angles

The four-quarter shot is the most difficult of the three angles to make from a tree stand. Most of the time, it’s best to wait for the deer to turn around. Even the slightest movement of the deer can drastically expose vital signs and give you a better shot. When you are confident that you can take the four angle, aim only for the back of the elbow of the front leg. If you can, wait for the deer to step forward with that leg; This move gives you a better chance of hitting the lungs and liver. Try your best to get that shot at deer less than 15 yards away.

A bowhunter should never say that every shot is an easy shot, but the broadside shot is definitely a shot that needs to be taken. The best advice for this shot in simple terms is to plan your exit. In other words, where should your arrow leave the deer? This is where the angle of the tree stand comes into play. It’s ideal if the arrow exits on the opposite side of the deer just behind the shoulder, so the aiming point on a deer from a tree stand is higher than you think.

The Bowhunter’s Dream

The four-way away shot is every bowhunter’s dream. The deer is less aware of your movement; his vitals are well exposed and he is less likely to jump the wire. Similar to the broadside shot, your aiming point is different from where you want the arrow to exit. It’s best to aim for the opposite shoulder and worry less about the entry point.

If you hit the opposite shoulder on a deer moving away from a tree stand, the arrow’s entry point will be high. When you hear the click of the arrow exiting the shoulder, you’ll know you’ve hit a great shot.

The trust factor

Perfect practice from the balcony will hopefully lead to a perfect shot from the tree stand. Experienced bowhunters know that at full draw you can have your needle on the ideal target just to let the stag make a slight movement and everything changes. In the blink of an eye, you’re aiming for a whole different spot, and that can happen eight times in 30 seconds. There’s no substitute for experience, but with increased practice at realistic targets and knowing where to aim for deer to get a good angle, you can rest assured that you’re getting the best shot possible.

You’ve found a great spot for bow hunting. It’s riddled with deer tracks, and young trees the width of baseball bats are riddled with attritions. However, no tree in sight can support a tree stand. What now?

Floor blinds solve such problems. These portable hideouts are built from waterproof polyester, just like a tent, and their fold-out hub systems help you get them in place quickly. Once established, their dark interiors hide bowhunters from their prey. They’re roomy, too, and many models hide two people while allowing room to tighten a bow.

Bowhunters like ground blinds because, when used properly, there is no better way to get up close and personal with game. Blinds help archers move and protect them from wind, rain, and snow. The ability to bow through harsh weather increases time in the field, which means more tag stuffing opportunities. Blinds are also great for introducing people to bowhunting, as they allow mentors to guide newcomers through each encounter.

Initially, place your blind within easy arcing distance of field corners, waterholes, crossing paths or other areas where game frequents or passes through. Because blinds hide movement, you can set them up closer than you can with a tree stand. You can even disappear into a standing cornfield by cutting off a few stalks. Don’t be surprised if deer feed just a few meters away from you. If you tried this without a blind, you would startle potential targets before they even entered the field!

However, unlike a tree stand, a floor blind will draw the immediate attention of a deer. You will even avoid it for a few days after placement. But don’t be put off. Brush in your blind by cutting branches, brush and tall grass and zipping it on the outside. The natural camouflage keeps foreign bodies inconspicuous. Within a week, deer accept it as part of their habitat.

To take full advantage of a ground blind, bowhunters must blend into both the blind and its surroundings. The inside of a roller blind is dark, so leave your camouflage gear at home and wear a black jacket, hat, gloves, and face mask instead. Fleece clothing is the quietest material there is, letting you run at full speed silently so as not to alarm deer.

Hunting gear is just as important as your clothes in a blind. Laying the bow across your lap quickly becomes uncomfortable. Instead, hang your bow on a hanger hanging from the ceiling or on a bow stand to keep it within reach.

What about the bow itself? You’re less likely to scratch the top of the blind while sweeping a short arc. Also, choose a visor with light-colored fiberglass pins that are easy to see in the dark interior of the blind. Consider an illuminated sight or a glow-in-the-dark sight housing to take advantage of every second of legal shooting light. However, check your state’s regulations to make sure it’s legal where you hunt.

After your hunt is over, you need to have a good exit strategy if you plan to hunt in the same spot again anytime soon. Deer feed heavily at dusk and early evening, and most blinds overlook food sources. This means that you should evict deer from the area before leaving so they don’t associate people with the site. Have a friend drive a truck or ATV to your blind to pick you up. Deer will flee the area when the vehicle approaches and will not associate the hideout with bowhunting pressure. If you’re alone, use a cheap coyote call and do your best howl and howl when you’re done hunting. When the deer flee the “invading predator,” sneak out the back door.

Few things compare to the adrenaline rush bowhunters get when a buck runs at eye level within 20 yards, and ground shields make these encounters more likely than any other hunting method. By locating a blind in the right spot and pairing it with the right gear, you increase your chances of filling your day up close this season.

With a little ingenuity you can set up this blind at your hunting spot in less than 10 minutes.

The popularity of hunting from the ground has grown tremendously in recent years. Placed in a strategic location, a ground shield can provide the most exciting close-up encounters with deer and other game that a hunter could hope for.

This is especially true if the blind is left in place for a long period of time to allow the animals to get used to seeing it.

I put a kennel style pop up shade in a spot at the start of a deer season that I thought would be a good spot, then left it alone and didn’t go until the next season. The first morning I hunted him I had a bobcat running by within 20 feet, a young six point buck slowly digging by about 20 feet and a very nice eight point buck running about 60 meters away was working on a scratch.

None of the beings knew that I was sitting there.

The only downside to leaving a portable blind in place for long is the effects Mother Nature has on it. Later that year after that memorable hunt, my blinds began to fall apart (literally) from exposure to too much sunlight, wind, and rain.

However, I was so pleased with the success of my earlier hunts from it that I decided to investigate the possibilities of a more permanent ground shield. That’s how I came up with my version of the pallet blind.

“A full-height shade works well on a raised platform when you don’t need as much concealment. Wrap it in burlap and screw some leaf sprigs to it. You will be amazed at how well it blends into the natural environment.”

The pallet blind is just that – a blind made from shipping pallets. Most of us are currently interested in saving a few bucks on hunting gear whenever possible, and pallets are usually free.

In fact, most companies are happy when someone drags them away. Just ask for permission. Never assume the takeout pallets are free when you see them sitting there. Some companies reuse them. Or the pallets were promised to someone else. But I assure you there are plenty of free ones out there if you’re willing to do a little legwork to find them.

Once you’ve found the pallets, you’ll need a way to transport them to your hunting camp. A few hand tools plus a little carpentry knowledge and you’re good to go.

A full-height blind works well on a raised platform when you don’t need as much concealment. Wrap it in burlap and screw some leaf sprigs to it. You will be amazed at how well it blends into the natural surroundings.

Here is the full height version of the one man curtain. Just screw three more pallets on top (with shooting windows already cut out):

The one-man, full-height blind is made up of six pallets, two 2×2 corner moldings, and a handful of wood screws. I also recommend finding a few scrap pieces of treated 2×4 block to sit on top of so the untreated wood doesn’t sit directly on the floor. The best plan is to have all of your parts cut and ready to assemble before heading into the woods with it. Then all you need is a cordless screwdriver and you can set up the roller blind at your hunting ground in less than 10 minutes.

Once the blind is up, it’s time to let your imagination run wild. Remember, it’s a wooden blind. You can do practically anything with it. Do you need a bow hanger? Screw in a hook wherever you want. Need a shelf or two? Screw in some shelves. want a roof on it Get some wooden slats and a piece of tarp.

You can also make it warmer and keep the wind away from you. Simply staple roofing felt around the inside or outside. Then wrap it in camouflage sacking, screw some leaf (or pine) branches to it, set it up on a raised platform and you’ve got a shooting house instead of a floor blind.

Add another stack of two pallets to the front and you now have a two man blind. Be creative and have fun. The sky is the limit and you will have a really nice almost free hunting blind that will last a long, long time.

Here’s a diagram of the standard shipping pallet that works best and a simple instructional diagram for building a one man full height roller blind:

A tip that will make this easier and faster for you is to get six pallets that are all the same dimension. When you start looking for free pallets you’ll quickly find that there are several different sizes and configurations, but you can find six of them after a little searching. And even if you can’t find six palettes to match, you can still make it work with a little creative cutting and shimming.

If you would like a free copy of this guide, as well as instructions for two other variations of the pallet blind, the two man floor to ceiling blind and the half-height pallet blind, please fill out the form below.

If you don’t want to take your iPad into the bathroom, we can send you a free magazine subscription!

Ground blinds are a great way to set up white-tailed deer, especially in areas where you can’t put a tree stand or raised blind. Fast and portable, they provide great cover to hide hunters and help block human scents. They’re equally effective for rifle, bow, or crossbow hunters, with specific designs for a variety of loadouts. They hide the hunter’s movement, provide protection from the elements, and allow you to access additional gear without scaring the game.

There is an art to knowing where to put blinds, and when done right, gives the hunter a distinct advantage. Choosing a blind location along a travel corridor or feeding area is a key factor, but blending the blind into the environment and adjusting to the prevailing winds can be even more important. Setting up a new object in the forest of deer can be compared to having something new in your neighborhood.

As with anything in hunting, the more attention you pay to the small details, the more successful you will end up being. Here are six basic blind-hunting tactics and techniques to help you get up there with the big bucks this fall.

See also: Primos hunting blind with all-round vision

1. Pre-season scouting

Knowing where to put your blinds is probably the biggest factor in making big bucks. An adult deer just won’t roam outdoors, and the deer trails weaving through thick brush are always a better option for finding trophy antlers. You could simply toss the blind at the edge of a field, but with a little exploration time, a hunter can locate the travel corridors between forage and litter areas and make informed decisions about blind placement. You can then set up where the large adult deer are hiding.

If you don’t have time to walk the trails regularly, a couple of trail cameras can do the job for you. The bottom line is that the most important hunting hours are those spent figuring out where the deer live and what they do on a daily basis.

Related: 10 Best Floor Blinds for 2018

Don’t make the mistake of building on what you’ve experienced and observed over the years. Conditions are changing, and with an increasing presence of predators, crop rotations, droughts, and other weather and seasonal events, the best guides are the most up-to-date ones you can get.

2. Set up well in advance

Whitetails are always difficult to fool, and putting up a blind well before you plan to chase from him will maximize his effectiveness. Deer will avoid new objects in their range until they prove mundane. If you set up your blind a few weeks before deer season, the new smells and shapes can become part of the deer’s familiar territory.

If you can’t set it up in advance, be sure to place the shade where it won’t be obvious. Forget the edge of the field and bring it inside the tree line for better concealment. Once you have done your homework on herd habits you can put the blind back in the trees or some other natural cover, which should not hinder you in any way if you plan on having the deer walk right in front of you.

3. Camouflage it

Don’t just settle for a shade set up on a fence line or ridge or in a strip of trees. Blend it into the environment with scrub, grass, cattails or whatever is convenient for natural vegetation. Most quality shades have straps or cords to add a natural camouflage and make your shade disappear. Freshly cut branches and tufts of grass or straw also help disguise the smell of your blind. Some blinds come with carbon odor suppressants, but there are still odors from manufacturing, packaging, and travel that take time to dissipate. The best way to keep it odor free is to leave it set up outdoors in the elements. Over time, it becomes part of the habitat in sight and smell.

If you can’t get it out in the field, put it in your yard so it can air out and doesn’t smell like a cargo ship’s hold. It works better when it rains a few times and the sun has a chance to warm the fabric. The more time outside the better.

4. Play the wind and the sun

No matter how hard you try to mask or hide human scent, a deer can still detect it. Experienced hunters know whenever possible to search upwind of their quarry to avoid a Whitetail’s incredible nose.

Spraying odor-removing sprays on new blinds, chairs, and equipment can help tremendously. Ozone machines can also be used to better hide a hunter at the molecular level.

A whitetail’s eyes are as sharp as their nose, and they don’t miss movement, bright objects, or smiling faces. If you find an active game trail being used by a big buck, try to find a spot to set your shade downwind with the sun at your back. When the morning sun shines on your face, you’ll glow like a lightbulb when you look out the window. This may mean setting up different blinds for hunting in the morning and evening, depending on the prevailing winds and where the sun rises or sets.

Dress in dark clothes to take advantage of the dark cave you create. Wear a face mask or apply camouflage makeup for another advantage.

5. Don’t pigeonhole yourself

One of the biggest mistakes hunters make when using ground blinds is pigeonholing themselves by setting up in a location with limited visibility and a single firing lane. When you actually see a deer, you never have time to react, Field Judge, and get your rifle or bow in position before they’re gone.

Make sure you find an area where you can see deer roaming up and down a path, through muddy ground, or along the bottom of a valley. It allows you to set up and identify potential shooting lanes and ensure you have time to look over the antlers before pulling the trigger.

Feeding grounds can be great places to set up, especially during the rut. A good feeding station or agricultural field with high protein forage is sure to attract a large number of cows and rams at any time. Having the ladies come out to feed regularly is a surefire way to find the biggest buck in your hunting ground. Just schedule during the main mating season and the females will inevitably lure the big boys out of cover.

Pinch points, or alleys that direct deer into small areas, are honey holes. One of my favorite places to hunt is a small strip of land between two lakes. The short trees and shrubs in the area make it impossible to hunt from an elevated position, and the best option is a ground shield. I put one at each end of the 125 meter peninsula so I can hunt it morning and afternoon depending on the wind and sun conditions.

6. Don’t let the deer eye you

By taking advantage of every possible advantage, you can be sure that the deer will move comfortably in front of you throughout the hunting season. Be smart and never let a deer see you in the blind which involves walking and exiting the structure. If a deer ever confirms you as a human in the hideout, it will be looking for you every time it walks around. Deer even change their travel moves to take advantage of the wind or hide to avoid the blind. Deer have their favorite patterns, but they will instantly change them to evade hunters. Make sure you eye the deer and don’t let them eye you. It may mean arriving at the blind well before sunrise or sitting well after sunset, but don’t even think about coming or going until you’re sure the deer won’t see, smell or hear you.

Once you start looking for the small details, you’ll find that you’re seeing more mature deer throughout the season. Stacking every perk in your yard will pay off in total inches of antlers in the future.

If hunting from a tree perch isn’t for you, consider using a deer hunting curtain instead. Deer blinds are a great way to hide while chasing a trophy buck. These small structures give you plenty of shelter to hide in plain sight, allowing you to harvest some amazing deer this season. But setting up your deer hunting hide isn’t always easy. Today we’re going to talk about setting up your hunting hide and some insider tips to help you succeed.

Below are three pro tips for setting up your deer hunting curtain.

1. Blend with sufficient opacity

An important key to setting up your floor blind that is often overlooked is making sure you cover it well all around. You should have enough background coverage to break up the silhouette and outline of your blind, making it more unobtrusive. In addition to background coverage, you should find a spot to set up with overhanging branches and branches – these will further help break up your blind’s profile and blend it better into the landscape.

BONUS PRO TIP – Remember that as the seasons change, so does the foliage on the trees. What looks like decent coverage in July or August may look very different (and bare!) a few months later. Find a spot to set up your blind, where you can hide even when the leaves start to fall.

2. Set up in advance

Putting up a floor blind can startle the surrounding animals. Between the smell, the sounds, and a new structure in the middle of the forest, deer need some recovery time and a chance to get used to your hunting lodge. A blind is likely an unfamiliar object for a deer, which is reason enough to avoid traveling in this area. Deer and other animals need time to get used to it, so set it up well in advance of the season starting – three to six weeks should be plenty of time.

BONUS PRO TIP – Before you can line up early, do some research and lookup. You probably won’t find a trophy buck in an open field or meadow. You need to pinpoint their travel routes and habits. If you take a little time, you’ll learn about their eating and sleeping habits, which will help you decide where to place your shade.

3. Give yourself options

Make sure you place your blind in an area that gives you plenty of options. Don’t get stuck in poor visibility and a shooting range. Deer and other big game animals are hard to predict, so have as many shooting lanes and sightlines as possible. Also, deer move fast. You should make sure you have enough time to position your weapon before it’s too late.

BONUS PRO TIP – A great spot to set up your blind is near a feeding station as it attracts females and thus attracts bucks. Or set it up along a travel trail near the valley floor. By lining up in one of these locations, you should get a good idea of ​​where the animals will be walking or hanging out. This should lengthen when you need to get your gun or bow in place, aim accurately, and pull the trigger.

Contact R&K Hunting Company

A well-hidden blind can mean the difference between coming home with that trophy buck or not. These helpful tips, along with an expert guide from R&K Hunting Company, will increase the likelihood of a successful trip. Season after season, hunters return to R&K Hunting Company because they are Utah and Wyoming’s trusted guide experts for large North American big game hunting. Contact our experienced and knowledgeable team to plan your next Rocky Mountain hunting adventure.

I pulled my first buck back while seated in a floor blind of tattered camo fabric, pinned to ski poles wedged in the floor.

It was sheer luck that he didn’t wrap my arms around me or see me as he approached. That happiness vanished when I hit my arrow against a ski pole and it rattled off the rest. I didn’t kill that buck.

About 20 years later I had the chance to hunt my biggest buck of all time when I hunted from a ground again – but this one was tucked into thick grass, built to mimic a haystack and positioned to mimic my Smell straight down a bed blown away from approaching deer. I killed that buck.

The lessons I’ve learned in the intervening two decades have changed the way I look at floor blinds and how to use them. The biggest difference was the focus on setting them up so they wouldn’t startle deer.

Timed coordination

The biggest disadvantage of floor blinds is that they are at eye level with a deer. A tree stand, if hung high enough, can now be thrown up and will never be noticed by passing deer. This is simply not possible with floor blinds.

The simplest and easiest way to get around this problem is to install a roller blind well in advance of the hunting season for the deer to become accustomed to its presence. Assuming you can get your blinds up by the summer, any local deer will have seen and smelled it so many times by October or November that they’ll stop paying attention.

placement

In a perfect world, you would always get your blinds out early, but that’s not always possible. Because of this, blind hunting on the ground is about more than just timing.

The next factor to consider is where to place the blind itself. The trick is to be within range of the trail or food source you’re hunting while staying as far out of a deer’s field of view as possible. If you know where deer are most likely to approach from, try to place your shade to the side of that area rather than directly in front. Instead of placing a blind right on the edge of an opening, tuck it 5 to 10 feet back into adjacent cover.

You also need to consider wind direction, since your scent flow near the ground is more likely to get you into trouble than 20 feet up in a tree. To accommodate this, Whitetail Edge presenter Ben Rising recommends placing floor blinds in locations with built-in barriers that will prevent deer from wrapping you around.

“Try to put up ground blinds in areas where you can get at least one wind that the deer can’t get into the wind as easily,” Rising said. “It could be a field edge near a steep cliff, a really dense area, or a body of water.”

A final consideration when installing your blind is to ensure the ground underneath is properly cleared and prepared. Noise is a bigger deal on the ground, so make sure you’ve removed any dead leaves, vines, or branches that might startle a deer at the moment of truth.

cover

The final step in protecting your floor from frightened deer is to properly blend it into the environment.

There are several types of ground blinds to choose from, each requiring a different level of camouflage to make them unnoticeable to deer. Natural floor blinds made from nearby sticks, brushes, and grass are a great last-second decor option and are about as stealthy as they come. However, if you’re looking for something that offers more protection from the elements, a pre-made roller blind is a better choice.

For those who hunt in farming, the best made blinds I’ve seen are hay bale blinds. These blinds break many of the rules above – hunters regularly put them in the middle of fields in the middle of the season and deer still ignore them. But that’s the exception, not the rule.

The most popular blinds option for mid-season placement are hub-style pop-up blinds. In contrast to a hay bale blind, they are absolutely noticed by deer. In addition to tucking these blinds into the cover, it’s important to add extra natural camouflage around them.

“Make sure you use the natural environment to camouflage your choice of blinds,” Rising said. “You wouldn’t use branches in a CRP field or tall grass in a forest because it would just stand out.”

Rising also recommends that when you use tree branches to brush in your blinds, you choose ones that will hold their foliage longer. These varieties include white and scarlet oak, as well as all evergreen species.

Finally, it is important to prevent your silhouette from standing out. This is exactly what happens when you sit in a blind with the windows open and have a field or skyline behind you. To prevent this, keep as many windows in your blind closed as possible, especially the rear ones. This prevents silhouettes and keeps your movements hidden in the shadows. If you’re chasing a natural blind without a window, just make sure you’re in front of a thick backdrop.

Before all of these tips and tactics, it’s important to remember that ground blinds are a useful tool to have in your bag of tricks, but they can also be a huge liability. Be smart about the timing, placement and camouflage of your floor blinds. Hopefully this ensures it doesn’t take you 20 years to scare deer and tag them.

Potroast sat next to me, rubbing his hands back and forth in the glow of the small propane heater at his feet. We had been on this hunt for about an hour in December and it was cold when we got there. As the evening wore on, the temperature dropped into a skin-numbing range.

But it was late muzzleloader season and my son was looking for a deer with the flintlock rifle – dubbed Flint Eastwood – that he had built from a Traditions kit. We knew the deer were also feeling the cold and would likely hit the feeder well before the legal shooting hours ended. The plan worked. A lone deer soon came onto the shooting range and Potroast touched the powder. The smoke cleared just in time for a flash of the deer’s belly white as it went down just inside the tree line.

Wind chill hovered near zero. Had we been anywhere but a closed hunting lodge, potroast probably wouldn’t have killed a deer with flint that night. That’s one of the great things about a closed box blind. Even young hunters stay warm and dry in almost any weather.

Over the years we have installed a number of rifle houses on our family farm. We place them next to crop fields, forage plantations and along natural funnels where deer roam year after year. The deer have got used to it over time and don’t care as long as the wind is in our favour.

Commercially built rifle houses, while nice, can be expensive. Putting more than one or two on a farm can be prohibitive for many deer hunters. Luckily, with a little searching for used or cheap building materials, you can build your own shooting house on a budget. Here’s how.

Plan the size

How big should your hunting lodge be? That largely depends on the number of hunters using it at the same time. While a 4ft by 4ft size is comfortable for one person, it will be far too cramped for a pair of hunters. If you plan to hunt with a partner, even a young hunter, aim for 5ft by 5ft, 4ft by 6ft, or even larger.

A hunting lodge only has to be high enough to provide a good overview of your hunting area. The higher you build it, the more it costs and the harder it gets to build. In most areas, a platform 4 to 6 feet off the ground will put the hunter high enough to provide a good view of the area.

Regardless of size, shooting windows should be approximately 34 inches off the ground to provide comfortable gun rest for an average sized adult from a seated position. Young hunters might be more comfortable with a lower window height. You can always use a small sandbag under the forend of your rifle if your window height is a bit low.

Get the materials

The Frame: This is one place you won’t want to skimp on. Go ahead and buy new, good quality wood for the base of your blind. For blinds with a platform less than 6 feet off the ground, you can use treated 4-by-4 posts for the legs. Depending on your location, an 8-foot letter should cost around $10. If you plan to go higher, consider scaling up to 4 by 6 or 6 by 6 posts to minimize swaying in strong winds.

For the base frame, treated 2 by 8 boards provide a solid platform for years of service. Again, a treated 2 by 8 by 10 format should be in the $10-$15 range depending on the store and location. Treated 2 by 4 sheets are the best choice for framing walls in your blind. They last for years, even when rain blows into the blind.

Choose flooring that will withstand moisture over time. Treated 5/4 decking provides a solid floor and is much more water resistant over time than plywood or untreated pine.

After experimenting with several different fasteners, we settled on 3 1/2 inch stainless deck screws for mounting our cabins. Even with fixed posts, blinds tend to sway a bit in the wind, which can cause nails to come loose. Screws that are not stainless will rust over time, potentially weakening them. Stainless bolts hold up well and remain rust free even after years in the field.

The Skin: Once you have your blind frame ready, you need to cover it with something. Here you can really save money. Look for recycled building materials like old barn siding or metal, recycled vinyl or aluminum siding, and even roof shingles.

Check with metal roofing or building supply companies for damaged or discolored sheet metal. These “seconds” may have a scratch or dent in the sheet metal, a discolored paint, or a faded spot that will not affect their weatherability or make a difference to deer. They can often be bought for much less than prototyping metal.

While metal or vinyl will provide a weatherproof outer shell, even wood will work if you weatherproof it well. A good coat of exterior paint in a somber color will help protect exposed wood. Choosing paint in a drab color will also help your blinds blend in a bit better. Check with local paint shops for mismatched or gallons that have not been tinted properly. You can often find them for pennies on the dollar if you’re not set on a single color for your blind.

The roof: For maximum durability you should cover your blind with a material that has been developed for this purpose. Sheet metal or roofing shingles both work, but you can also think outside the box when it comes to roofing options. One of our favorite blinds is topped with an old truck RV roof that we picked up for free.

The Windows: Blind windows can be left uncovered at all times, or they can be fitted with windows that open and close to better retain heat and control odor. Sliding plexiglass panels are an inexpensive option for a working window, as are used wood or vinyl frame windows left over from remodeling. Find a window and door replacement company and see if you can get a deal on some of the older windows they replaced. Sometimes they are provided to you free of charge to avoid the expense and hassle of disposal.

By picking up used, leftover, or defective building materials for your false roofs, windows, and siding, you can often build a complete blind for $150 or less.

take it there

A disadvantage of homemade blinds is that they are large and heavy. Because of this, it’s easier to pre-measure and cut your lumber in the house and haul it to the field in pieces than to build the blind in the driveway and try to haul it to the field.

Once you get to the field, a front shovel tractor can be invaluable for lifting and setting up blinds. If you don’t have a tractor or can’t bring one to your hunting spot, set up the platform first and build the blind wall by wall on it instead of trying to hoist entire sections into place.

take place

Once your blind is built, you’ll need something comfortable to sit on. Check out Academy’s Game Winner Realtree Xtra Swivel Blind Chair; It’s the perfect height for a shooting house. We are also constantly on the lookout for good deals on carefully used office swivel chairs at yard sellers and in used furniture shops. They’re quiet, comfortable enough for all-day sitting, and rotate easily when a deer slides in from an unexpected direction.

Don’t Miss: 15 Tips for Hunting Deer from a Treestand

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The excellent eyesight of wild animals – especially deer and turkey – requires successful hunters to be well hidden in order to get their prey within range. This is where a good hunting blind comes into play. By hunting from the right hiding place in the right place, hunters can greatly increase their success in deer and turkey hunting, which brings both more fun and more meat in the freezer. However, the wide range of hunting blinds on the market, along with all the different features they offer, can make choosing the perfect blind quite a chore. When purchasing your first hunting blind, consider 10 important factors that will make a good choice.

Hunting blinds are generally available in two basic types – permanent hard-sided blinds or portable soft-sided floor blinds. Permanent blinds are generally quite heavy and need to be put up and left in one place throughout the season. They are very hardy, provide warmth in cold weather, and are often placed on towers for elevated hunting. Soft-sided ground blinds are made to be quickly set up where you want to hunt, and then removed to move to another location when you’re done. There are two main types of floor blinds – pop-up blinds and lift-up blinds. Hub style blinds are usually a bit heavier and more difficult to transport, but are very easy to set up and take down. Pop up blinds are lightweight and many have backpack straps on their storage bins for easy portability, but they can be very difficult to repack without a bit of practice and patience.

The size of roller blind that you need largely depends on several factors. If you are hunting alone, a fairly small blind will serve you well. That is, unless you’re hunting with a compound bow or recurve. In this case, you’ll need a higher bezel if you want to stand while shooting, and a lower/wide bezel so your elbows don’t hit the walls when you draw back your bow. If you plan to hunt with another person – or maybe even two – a shade with extra space inside will allow everyone to sit in it more comfortably. For most purposes, the smallest bezel that you can comfortably hunt from without feeling constrained and with enough room to get your gun ready for a shot is best, as smaller bezels are easier to conceal and for wildlife are harder to see.

The species you wish to hunt – deer, turkey, or both – can also make a difference in blind selection. Some deer can be very spooky around floor blinds, especially when the blind is first installed or if it is not “brushed in” well. Turkeys are just the opposite – they often walk just a few feet from a blind without even bothering. If you plan on just hunting turkey, choose a small blind that’s easy to set up, take down, and transport since you’ll have a lot more walking around. For deer, choose a hideout that is better camouflaged and is easy to tuck away and brush in. If you hunt both, choose the hiding place you would use for hunting deer, as it’s not like it’s too well hidden from a turkey, although they rarely notice ground blinds.

Whether you will be hunting primarily with a firearm or a bow also plays a role in deciding which blind is best for you. For bowhunting, it’s best to have a scope that you can stand in. Sure, you can shoot from a seated position, but unless you practice it a lot, you probably won’t shoot as well as you do while standing. For gun or crossbow hunting, a smaller blind will work well, but you need to be sure the windows are low enough that you can comfortably shoot through them while sitting in a chair and resting with shooting sticks. If you hunt with a firearm and bow at different times of the year, go for the blind you would go for bowhunting only. This lets you shoot your bow out easily, and the extra room certainly doesn’t hurt for gun hunting.

Hunting blinds are available with a variety of window configurations. Some have many large windows, some only a few small ones. Remember, if you have many large windows open at the same time, you are much more likely to be seen by the animal you are hunting than if you only have a few open. However, some windows can be left closed all the time or only partially open, so many windows are not a disadvantage. When hunting with a bow, vertical windows come in handy in places where you sit or stand to shoot. Again, gun hunters need to be sure they have windows that they can comfortably shoot through while sitting in the chair they are using and resting their gun on shooting batons or some other sturdy rest. If you do bowhunting or crossbow hunting, look for a blind with interspersed material to cover the windows.

Since your hunting hide will be set up in the forest or in a field, camouflage is very important. Otherwise it just looks like a big, misplaced speck in the field or forest. Luckily, blinds come in a variety of camouflage patterns. When buying a blind, choose one with a camouflage pattern that will blend in well with the area where you will be hunting the most. However, fooling a deer probably won’t be enough to ensure success. Always stow your blind in an inconspicuous place that still allows you to be close enough to where you expect game to get a good shot. Then use branches, sticks and other materials around the outside of your blind and at the top to break up the outline of the blind. This usually leads to more success.

There are few things more irritating than sitting in a prime-time hunting hideout with water dripping down your neck while you wait for a big buck or a scavenger. Because of this, you should make sure that any blind you buy has a waterproof outer surface that will keep you dry when hunting in wet weather. If you buy a blind that isn’t waterproof or doesn’t keep you as dry as you’d like, you can treat the outside with a waterproofing spray to ensure it keeps moisture out. Even if you buy a waterproof roller blind, there is no harm in spraying it well with waterproofing material before using it for the first time. When it’s cold and wet, you can never be too dry. However, make sure you air your blind after waterproofing to ensure the smell doesn’t drive deer out of your area.

Stability is important as you never know what the weather or other conditions will bring. No portable floor blind will withstand a falling tree or similar disaster, but it should withstand a very strong wind without much swaying or flapping. Hub-style blinds are usually sturdier than pop-ups, especially when they get a lot of snow. Both usually have stakes for staking and a cord for staking firmly from the outside. Don’t skip blindly staking your ground just because the weather is good and you don’t think you have to. Weather conditions can change quickly in the fall and winter, and sitting in a blind that wobbles and flaps is a futile effort, as the movement and noise will scare away any wildlife in the area.

For hunters on the move – especially run-and-gun turkey hunters – a large piece of camouflage blind might be more practical than a hunting blind. Whether it’s made from nylon fabric, burlap, or mesh, any hunter with a little ingenuity and a few limbs can quickly build a pretty good blind in just a few minutes. This is especially handy when running and shooting at eaters. If you hit your box and get a thunderous gobble just a few hundred yards away, you can find a good place to sit, quickly craft a makeshift blind, and hunt down much faster than if you had to unwrap a floor blind and set it up high. When you’re ready to go, quickly roll up your camouflage material, slip it into your backpack, and head to your next hunting ground.

Additional features can make some blinds more useful. Blinds with black interiors are better than those without, as they allow hunters to avoid silhouettes while hiding and thereby startle wildlife. As mentioned earlier, blinds with removable mesh for the windows can hide you better than those with windows that need to be fully open or fully closed. Windows with silent zippers are also preferable. Velcro is handy for keeping window materials in place, but can be very noisy when attaching and removing, so make sure you can shoot without much velcro tearing noise. Some blinds have loops on the outside to hold the brush and links in place, making it easier to brush in the blind. Blinds with internal pockets for stakes and your storage bag also come in handy as you don’t have to search for them in the dark after the hunt.

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