Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Portable Ground blinds - who uses them?

I'm going to purchase a portable ground blind for use during the Iowa late muzzleloader season so that I can set for long periods without freezing my butt off. I'll be setting it up over a food plot next to some timber and would like to put it up and not have to take it down until season is over. The trouble I'm concerned about is wind. Last year I used a very cheap one with what I describe as hoop construction for the walls and two tent poles for the roof. It stayed in place through the wind, but one tent pole broke and the walls tended to want to push in and invert. Though it did stay in place. I'm looking at the 5-hub design that I can put a staked tie-out on each of the wall hubs to keep the wind from collapsing the walls and stake that sucker to the ground to stay in place. I don't expect it to hold up to 50 mph gusts, but 20-30 sustained is a likely scenario. I'm looking at the Ameristep Bone Collector Man Cave blind right now. It's on sale through Mills Fleet Farm for $150 and is a BIG blind.And experience with this or recommendation of a model that will hold up and not be a throw-away purchase? I need it to be large enough for me to hunt with my daughter in it with me as well. I prefer the ground blind to a treestand because it's warmer and I hunt the late season with a TC Encore pistol in .357 Maximum and I can use a bipod or monopod as a rest in a ground blind.
Thanks!
Selmer

I use them quite a bit. They won't keep you warm though without a Mr. Buddy or something.

Sorry - I should have mentioned that. Mr. Buddy is a given.

And do all of them have windows that will completely open for gun shooting? I'm not interested in any that have strictly shoot-through screens.

as far as I know, all the shoot through ones are velcro netting so you can replace it as often as needed, IE pull it out if you want full open windows...

I've used them a little bit. Most of them have zip-open windows; I don't know if any that don't but that isn't saying much.

I really don't use them as "portable" anymore because they stick out like a sore thumb. I do, however, brush them in early in the season and leave them out for its entirety so the kids and I can hunt out of them. Deer notice them RIGHT AWAY and stare at them as you'd expect. Turkey don't care.

They also greatly restrict your lines of sight & your ability to hear, making it easy for animals to sneak in unnoticed.

I don't brush them in. Never had an issue seeing deer when I didn't.

All of the ones ive used have Velcro screens that come out. You WILL have moisture issues in the cold if u don't run that heater and you may in the morning's as well. The heater will clear it up tho.

Heaters are nice, but the more windows you open, and the more wind, the less a blind will hold heat. Throw in a couple of wool or fleece blankets that you can cover whatever part is getting cold.

I've come to think of all ground blinds as disposable, some are just nicer and more expensive. The fabric parts hold up pretty well (except for that bear one time...), but poles break from wind, snow, careless setup, hurried tear down, looking at them wrong, and oh yeah - bears. But they are comfortable. Be sure to brace the top hub somehow for snow, either tie up to a tree or cut a pole to fit inside. And carry duct tape for repairs!!

Important- take a chair with back support! Padded swivel chairs are luxurious, I've seen people use old office chairs, just about any kind of folding camp chairs, lawn chairs, whatever. I've found a practical minimum to be a three legged folding chair with backrest like the primos double bull tri-stool. Surprisingly comfortable and easy to pack.

All the ones that I've seen with netting on the windows have it velcroed on and is easy to remove. Some have a slit or port in the net to poke a barrel thru.

I leave mine up year round.When I am not using them I take a 2" dia.PVC pipe and run it taut from the center hub to the ground.That way snow or heavy rain does not collapse them.I also throw a plastic tarp over them at the end of the season.It keeps the material from fading and deteriorating.They have been up for 5 years now.

Cookie uses them for photo purposes, mostly for pronghorn. They work well with the only potential problem being the noise made by the materials when winds get pretty stiff. These are setups on rather barren/exposed ground. Then there seems to a hesitancy for close approaches. A setup in any sort of a sheltered area would likely lessen that issue and one can likely shoot to much greater distances than those applying to photography.

This guy was probably less than 20 ft away from Cookie's lawn chair.


Not spent much time in them myself, but it is nice to be able sit in a comfortable chair and move around when one has animals in close.

Thanks for all of the input, guys! I'll be swinging through Fleet Farm tonight and taking a look in person. I like the little tips - like a pole for the center hub for snow.

T-post driven at the corners will hold them in place for some pretty obnoxious wind if you're not putting it out last minute and trying to be discrete.

I tried mine years ago bowhunting, briefly. Decided I didn't like it for the bow.

I used it this year's opening day for the first time with a gun. The comfortable folding chair I put in it, combined with temps in the 50's meant I spent half the day asleep.

A sleeping bag works wonders in the ground blind. Pull it up to just under the armpits and you're golden. Throw a few chemical heat packs in if you're really cold!

I also use sleeping bags to stay warm then I use suspenders over my shoulders to hold them up, like chest waders.

I have several of the hoop type and one old original Double Bull. The DB is by far the best blind I've ever used, but I'd be afraid someone would walk off with it if I left it out. The cheap hoop ones work great and i set a couple up for rainy/snowy days or when my 80 year old friend come over to hunt.

I set one up last year on the edge of a cornfield to watch a coyote bait pile. It stayed up December through March without a major problem.

BTW you can get replacement poles for almost all of them.

Sleeping bags -- they're not just for camp any more! I use 'em too in my Doghouse blinds or treestands.

A ground blind is another arrow in my quiver when hunting big game. In addition to a semi-permanent application I have bivouaced in them overnight. I have used Ameristep and Primos brand blinds in the past, however have used a Herter blind recently, in fact two. It is good option to have a second blind when the wind is not right in one or the other location.

The Herter blind has a 360 deg view and only one noisy zipper...the door. No noisy velcro, the windows slide silently on plastic tubes.

Decent weight - 11 lbs.

A blind is invaluable when hunting with our youth. Fidget factor.

Nodding off can be an issue. Some like the naps, some worry about missing the deer! Taking a paperback or kindle reader with you can help.

I'm getting tired of replacing poles and hubs. Have replaced poles/hubs in both of the blinds I currently have.

Few years ago the best blind I had caught the attention of a black bear. 11 of the 20 poles were broken and an arm chewed off my chair by the time he(?) was finished with it. Never did find the carry bag. Been using the unbroken parts to repair other blinds since then.