Natural Ground Blinds

[Blake Dandurand]

I have made blinds out of cedar limbs and brush. I make them a little taller in the fall for deer than I would in the spring for turkeys b/c I like to sit on a little pack stool instead of on the ground like turkey hunting. I would have to say one of the best natural blinds I have used was a stand of cat tails growing in a moist spot in the middle of a field. I just walked a narrow path into the middle and walked some down for a place to set my stool and broke reeds in 2 directions to shoot out. The ground was a little wet but I wear rubber boots and the stool didnt sink much after I got it in place. It was a great spot, just no deer in bow range that night. I think blow downs are also good spots esp if they are fresh and havent lost their leaves yet.. >>------>

My grandpa still to this day preaches to me the effectiveness of using deadfalls for natural blinds. He claims to have killed many deer out of them. He doesn't like heights and to this day he still can be found cowering around these piles of brush. I will say I will be giving up the tree stand dependence this fall for some in your face ground action with my ghillie suit.

[turkeyman]

I have alot of mountain property and I make ground blinds when clearing dead fall and top of fallen trees. I find it is the best for me in my area as it is all natural and scented naturally. I form the blind in the shape of a horse shoe and close the open side in with ground camo burlap. I just use plastic green lawn chairs to sit and shoot from. This works well for me and is not costly when setting 30 or so blinds in the mountain. Keep human scent down by using a good spray. Pee bottles and spit bottles are a must and should be sprayed after use. I think the whole secret in the use of ground blinds of this type is "Sit as Still as you can and any movement should only be performed after you check the area for eyes that maybe watching you. The one thing above all else I like about natural blinds is when the leaves fall from the trees this really makes for a great blind setting. Hope this will help you. Have a great hunt.

[RichardRoyster]

I would love to see pictures of natural blinds. I've made a few, but was never really satisfied.

[axforbes]

During turkey spring turkey season I will pick a spot on the edge of the field I'm hunting that is relatively dark, such as underneath an apple tree with low hanging limbs, a cedar tree, fallen trees, or thick brush and I will pile up some brush in front of me so that when I sit up straight I can easily make a shot on an approaching gobbler while still being camouflaged. I also bought a 4'x 12' piece of camo burlap at walmart for 20 bucks that I just hang from a couple trees with zip ties or parachute cord. This technique works for deer and coyotes as well. Using a natural blind has its ups and downs, the plus side is that the a natural blind has no definite outline like a ground blind would therefore the deer won't think twice about walking by it. The down side is that they can smell you easier but I use limbs like cedar that smell and that is a good cover scent, always set up down wind as well.