Newbie question here...

Just got my portable blind in today and set it up on the back deck. Seems like it will (hopefully) work great for both my antelope hunt and deer.

Does anyone actually shoot through the mesh? At what range will it affect flight? It seems like having it up gives me better cover from sharp eyes but maybe it's not really needed? With three windows open it seems pretty easy to see inside, but if it will play hell with my arrows clearly the point is moot.

I can only get about 15 yds in my backyard so not a really definitive test for antelope and I don't want to slice up my mesh if I don't have to. Just wondering if anyone has done some tests shooting through this stuff.

Thanks.

They work fine if you keep them tight. I've even shot through the nylon side walls a couple times by accident and hit where I was aiming out to 40 yards. Damn upside down triangular windows...

I find it difficult to place the pin on the target when shooting through the mesh. I have the windows so that I can quietly and quickly create a small opening. Just make sure that is no back light and you will be good.

Shooting through the mesh is pretty common around here, especially in the Spring turkey season. I've tried it, and it worked out to 20-25 yards for a softball sized target. A hunting associate has killed two turkeys, one was in the past season, by shooting through the wall of his blind under the window. His pins and line of sight were clear, the arrow was not.

I'm with Fair Chase, my eyes do better without anything between me and the target. If you wear dark colors, and wear a face mask or a dark hat to shadow you face, you'll probably be fine with a small window open.

I'd rather get a window hole open without shooting through the mesh, but a few things I have observed:

Broadheads need to be razor/laser sharp, a blade will drag if it's not as sharp as the others. This can cause you arrow to wobble as it passes through. I tried Montec G-5s and SlickTricks, and stayed with the Slick Tricks. I'm not good enough to put the same edge on all of the Montec blades.

Paper tune your arrows, and your broadhead setup.

If you have any tuning issues, the mesh will magnify the problem quite a bit. An arrow that is not launching pretty much 100% deadcenter will be pretty wobbly early in the flight.

Align your vanes and broadhead vanes if you can. Good idea for all broadhead tuning, but seems to help if the vanes are following pretty much the same path through as the blades are cutting.

Not me - I've tried it and some shots will go where they are supposed to and others really flip - So I took the mesh out of my blind. I just keep the windows on the back closed so it is a dark hole and the game can not see you inside.

I have the mesh and replacement mesh for my original Double Bull blind (pre-Primos), but never did shoot thru the mesh.

Not tried it personally, but Cookie does a lot of photo stuff with pronghorn, blinds, and fence post length lenses. With open windows she gets by with a ton of activity as long as there's no straight through path for light. I.e. keep the back or the opposing sides closed. If not have the open ports offset.

With my limited archery experience, I'd think a stabilized arrow should do fine. Close in, if there's any wiggle, might be crap shoot.

I have shot half dozen deer through mesh. I used FIXED broadheads. It worked great. They all were 20 yards or less.