I hunted elk in southern Utah with a muzzleloader last year, early November. Weather was warm and dry, and most of my hunting consisted of sitting near a good waterhole. Public land, but surrounded by private, hard to access. The elk in that canyon are not plentiful but a few good bulls do hang out there. The setup would have lent itself to using a ground blind, but I don't think it would have helped that much. Just sitting still, and being mindful of the wind worked for me. I got a shot at a nice mature bull at 24 yards. That bull never saw me until I pulled the trigger. Unfortunately my bullet hit an unseen branch and deflected badly, and I missed that bull completely. I had deer and even a mountain lion come in every day, often within just a few feet of me. I brought a small camp chair to be more comfortable. Animals never were spooked by anything they saw, even though I had does look right at me a time or two. Catching my scent would spook them though, of course. The only way I see a ground blind being helpful is if it could contain your scent. I don't know if any really do that and I doubt it.
