Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Anyone tried a Ghost Blind?

I've seen the ghost blind on TV hunting shows in the past and recently laid eyes on one at a Scheele's store in ND. They look like a prime solution for hunting open country bucks when you need to set up in a spot with no real cover.

For those that haven't seen one it is a portable blind made of reflective material that angles forward so as to reflect an image of whatever is directly in front of it so if you set up in wheat stubble that's what it looks like - if you set up in brush that's what it reflects etc. It is made up of a few panels that fold out to provide roughly 180 degrees of coverage and you sit on the ground behind it or on a low stool.

Has anyone here tried one yet? What are the pros and cons? Even when hunting in TX I avoid sitting in fixed blinds and it appears as though this would work great for the open country I hunt in ND and MT as well. I'd like to hear from someone who's hunted one before plunking down my cash.

Regards,

Strosfann

I'm hearing good reports from caribou bow hunters on North Slope tundra

http://forums.bowsite.com/TF/bgforums/thread.cfm?threadid=392736&forum=4

For $300 you can buy a LOT of camo material that will work just as well, and probably weigh a lot less

But the caribou won't see their reflection in the camo...:)

They are popular in marketing on the East Coast as a turkey blind. A hunting buddy has one, we've played with it a bit outdoors. He has yet to kill anything out of it.

It's a big flat plank to carry. The construction material is pretty flimsy for the price point, IMHO. We set it up at a local nature park (unmowed and bushes) and did some "walk-ins" on it to see how it looked. The panels angle forward and down, so you'd be unlikely to reflect the sun unless it was at low angles on the horizon, or you were on a hill. You could make a pretty big flash setting it up if you weren't paying attention.

It does hide you well, but you still have to look in between the upper petals, this seemed to create a "balloon" appearance over the blind. If you look on their website, you can see how the hunter appears over the blind, and against the background. We decided this was less of an issue with rifle, moderate with shotgun and bows, but the bow signature is higher because of the upper limb.

Things we decided: good idea, but need to camoflauge your head and shoulders to match the terrian behind the blind, to reduce the "balloon" appearance in the shooting ports. If you notice the corn field pictures on their website, less of an issue with a broken surface behind the blind.

Wind can make the blind "wave", you'll get a large movement signature to the front of the blind if the panels move, same if you "bump" the blind from behind. The whole reflection shifts if the panels move. We couldn't really tell if this would spook game, as the reflection doesn't really change, but it looks like a large "something" moving, like a large bush in a breeze.

I think it a decent solution for a flat ground hunter in open spaces, prairies, tundra, open fields, but I'm not sure that it is a great choice for bowhunting. YMMV.

ND and MT wind will eat that thing alive. The butt out tool of hunting blinds. Any blind that isn't pretty solid is more of a liability than just sitting behind some grass or digging a hole in the ground. Just buy a good quality bale blind like a redneck and be done with it.

Mylar. Make your own.

I've thought of it, mounted on a small sled to creep winter caribou.

But a to-500 yard capable gun/shooter off an ATV or snow machine is easier.....

Before snow, camo works just fine.

I got one on sale, but took it back, as its cheaply made for the price, and NOT recomonded to be left out in wet weather or over night! most of fall hunting here in Mi. is wet or snow.