My heart issues necessitate me staying on the ground these days. No more tree stand hunting due to some balance issues. I bought one of those hub blinds for this fall and am looking forward to trying it for gun and ML season. What's been other's experience with these? This one's tall enough I can stand up in it to stretch, and has windows on all four sides. I won't be shooting through the mesh, I'll keep all four windows open. How loud is it inside one of these when the gun goes off? Thinking I might take my muffs and hopefully have time to get them on before the shot.

I usually only keep two of the windows open, with perhaps a crack in the other two for an emergency shot. If the deer see that shadow in the middle move, they're out of there. With your back shaded, they most likely won't see you. I wear dark colors and still cover my face.

I haven't experienced blast any more noticeable in a hut. I often do wear sound enhancing muffs, which cut once a certain decibel range is reached. My beef with huts is that it seems much darker than if you had just sat against a tree or in a tree stand toward dusk or dawn. Deer DO notice them if not placed early and brushed in. If it's been there a week or two, they ignore it. Is nice when it rains.

Raking the floor area really helps in keeping down noise too. They're pretty comfortable and I wish you success.

Yep, agree with the above.

No noticeable blast, if the muzzle is outside the tent walls !

Deb shot from completely inside once. She said VERY LOUD ! Blew out propane heater & it took 15 minutes for her hearing to return to normal.

Comfortable way to hunt in our extreme climate.

There may be exceptions for example, In farm country where round bales appear and disappear even some of the willest bucks do not know the difference between them and a ground blind. I have placed a ground blind out in an open field one day and shoot a bow or gun out of it the next day.

Jeff,

We use them every year at some point. When the kids were first hunting, we used them almost exclusively. We don't put them out until the day before the season since we're on public land. If you're in a woods environment, I'd not worry too much about the deer noticing them, especially if you have them backed up to a spruce or something like that.

If your barrel is out the window when you shoot, it won't be any louder than normal. If it's inside the blind when it goes off...she's loud!

I would also agree with the above and keep 1 or 2 windows closed or slightly open at most. They will notice you inside. With the blind backed up to the trees, you can't shoot from that window anyway, so you're usually OK to keep it shut. Just don't forget to peek out of it.

They will gather some moisture on the roof from your breathing and it will drip on you after about 3 hrs. Yes, that's your spit dripping back on your head.

Same as the others. We use them where we can't set them up in advance. I covered mine with camo netting and I thought it looked good. The deer didn't as the leafy die cut camo blew around differently than the adjacent grass and limbs. Now I just put some limbs around it each time I go to that pop up and the deer start to ignore the stand.

Get a good comfortable chair as I have had deer hanging around where I couldn't move much for a couple hours at a time.

The spit rain is less on ones that have pocket roof vents like an umbrella. These are good in our area as it can be hot and it may help scent to go upward.
These help enough I may get them added to the ones that don't have them.

Typical archery set up for us;





Watch out for heavy wet snow !!

Lots of good info guys. Thanks for everyone's input. Unfortunately, I'll be having to put it up the day before hunting season due to a combo of public access and a nearby trail. I walk in right past some pines I can harvest some branches off of to brush it in, so hopefully that will work. I'll open the two windows on the sides I usually see the deer from. and crack the others slightly just in case. Do you guys run heaters in these if it gets bitter cold?

Yep, Jeff, we run Mr Heater buddy heaters in both of ours.

Because they stay put till we're done, we run them off 20lbers & regulated hose.

If you're packing in & out, couple of 1lbers will last the day.

I'm gonna take my Mr. Heater up with me and depending on how cold it's gonna be, take it there to the blind. From talking to others, it sounds like you're right on at 2 one pounders per day.

We do use the Mr Buddy’s Jeff. I have also heard rumors you can cook a hotdog or a pop tart on them.

My only suggestion is block or close windows such that light or ones vision does not have a straight through route. Otherwise, movement therein is readily visible. If one stays in the dark and back from the windows he is nearly invisible. Yes. Clear the container with the muzzle and life will be fine. Our biggest struggle is wind that might rattle the material. Wish they were made with something like soft burlap, but then rain would become an issue. Good luck out there,

I have several pop up blinds. I use the ameristep doghouse blinds. (They're a dome). I seldom ever get a chance to set up and leave it for long. (If on public lands, I add a cable and lock through a window to the nearest tree.)
I have both floored, and no floor models. Floored are much nicer. My floored version is double sided camo, so can be turned inside out for a different location, and zipped back together. DO NOT shoot through the windows, they can catch fire. The mesh windows do stop the wind, but fog up fast. I put the door to the side I will not be hunting(such as backed up to a tree or brush pile) and leave just a small bit of the adjacent window open to see movement.
By sitting in the corner with the 2 far windows fully open, I sit in the dark corner and have about a 180° view with just the small gap between the windows blocked.
I have a small tailgate sized propane bulk tank. 3gal 12lbs instead of 20lbs bulk tank. It will last a full 3-4 day hunt no problem with a buddy heater. I also made a few modifications to a 1000btu single burner heater, to have it as low as possible to the floor. With an open sleeping bag over my lap, I am pretty comfortable with the burner under my chair. A small folding table for drinks, noise makers. Binos, snacks, within easy reach is a useful thing as well. Visible range markers would be useful as well. I use orange painted gutter spikes as range markers.

I've used them a few times and what annoys me the most (besides not being able to see all around) is once you take them out of the carry bag, it takes an act of congress to get them back in.


They are nice for cold, wet and miserable weather though. Just know that when you click that igniter on the Buddy Heater, it's going to sound like a ships horn in the quiet woods.

Agree with the others about having too much window cross section open so that the inside of the blind is well lit. If your blind does not have a black coating on the inside, be careful about setting up where you will be backlit by the sun when deer are out and about. Use an opaque tarp or lots of brush on the back side where the sun strikes the blind. I spooked a doe at 80 yards because the late afternoon sun backlit me perfectly and she could see my outline when I moved.

I too like sitting in a dark corner looking out windows open diagonally across the blind. If your spot has the potential for deer at 5 yards, consider taking a handgun for close in side shots with minimal shuffling around.

Stake it down around the bottom and use the guy lines too. I use large plastic tent stakes rather than the metal rod stakes that come with the blind. If you set up under a larger tree, tie the top of the hub blind to an overhanging branch. Or use an adjustable tent pole in the center when you leave the blind in snowy weather. Popping up a collapsed top knocks all that camo snow off the blind!

If you think you might have a shot with the muzzle inside the blind, take some muffs or other ear protection. I would rather stick the muzzle out the window. I always have a tripod with a yoke in the blind and sometimes a bipod at the alternate window. The tripod eats up floor space but I rest the rifle on it even when not about to shoot. With the forend on the yoke and the butt on a leg or in my lap, I can glass, eat a snack, grab a drink, read a book and still not have to move much for a shot.

Oh, and don't forget a relief bottle with a tight screw cap!

Gonna try those MRE"s with the included heater this year. Unfortunately, I don't think Domino's delivers out there.......

Lots of good info here. Thanks guys. Looking forward to hunting out of this. I've been hunting off the side of an intersection of two trails, but have been busted twice by deer coming out of the brush behind me. I'm going to turn about 45 degrees towards the woods from the way I've been sitting so I can better cover the approach out of the woods where the deer seem to be coming from, and still have the best "other" crossing covered.

I use a blind for turkey and deer hunting with great success. I can not sit still and being inside the blind my moving is not an issue!

They are good for setting up on a trail. We’ve killed some nice deer hunting out of them

Omg it does! Lol

Mine's got an igniter too. Can those be lit with just a match? I haven't used the thing in a couple years.

If you use cover scent and there are black bears around, don't use vanilla. A relative did that years ago, when his youngster was starting out with a cross bow. Had it ready to go two days ahead of the opener, rolled in there on opening morning and a bear had torn the pop up to shreds. .

Probably. But the chili and brats you had the night before would be a bigger concern than that “click.” I really doubt it makes a difference unless it’s right by you when you touch it off.

If you put up a blind that your own land or your spot in a lease the material that is sold at Lowes/Depot makes a great long lasting blind . It's the screen material that's used on the tall 8' fence - hurricane fence is what folks here call it .
Comes in Beige and Green and last for many years baking in the florduh sun .

I bore a hole with my dirthole trapping auger - 2''x2'' treated cut to 6' - 1' in the ground half sheet of 1/2'' treated plywood roof , staple fabric to underside of plywood , cut out openings as needed - buy ''shoot through'' camo netting walmart . Use office stapler to connect the two fabrics - spray paint the staples and they'll hold for years - don't and they rust out in a few months .
I used contruction wire that can be bought lowes/depot in the masonry area - treated 2x2'' left over stakes for guy-out .
For entry/exit I just lift up the bottom front and crawl under on hands/knees .
Lean the bottom of the legs in a bit and rain won't run down blind .
Two of these have been up for 5-6 years and withstood hurricane michael - where MANY pine trees were knocked down or laid over for keeps .
Hard to get more than a year out of a pop-up blind - for less than the cost of one pop-up . No doubt they'll last several more years .

Look at the 4x8' pop-up shade doodads for picnics and such - walmart - set legs to desired height - cover with beige/green privacy fabric - zip ties - staples -camo paint camo cloth for top and maybe some duct tape .
Dark out inside -> use landscape weed blocker - cheap and lasts a long time when not in the sun - attach with stapler .
Yeah i use lowes/depot for a hunting store often .

Fabric sold in landscaping dept. down here .

How'd you know we were planning on a big ol' pot of atomic chilli?

WE HAVE LIFTOFF!

I'm not using mine in the big woods this year because those deer are way more suspicious of anything out of the ordinary than farm deer seem to be. We need to put a 12x12" florescent orange piece on each side of our tents in gun season and last year I spooked an 8 point and a fox with my tent. I suppose I could have shot the deer, but it wouldn't have been a good shot at an unalarmed deer like I've had from a tree stand. They do break the wind and hide movement, but watching how that deer and fox reacted will have me using a waist high turkey blind that fits in my pack instead. I had a 6 point walk within about 15 yards of that one a few years back. If you use a tent, make sure that you dry it out thoroughly or it will mildew.

Build one. When I hunt the "big woods" in MN or WI we always built them from what Ma Nature gave us. We still have 2 like that where we hunt now in county forest land in WI. Dead trees, pine boughs, whatever is laying there. I have set up a trail cam on the blind before and deer are walking within a few feet of it and not paying attention. You don't have a roof, but you'll have as big as a structure that you make. Enough that you can get a chair, a wool blanket to keep you warm. Done all day sits MANY times in them.

Yes, I'm not sure about MN., but our game laws give a guy a pass for making a blind out of natural available vegetation. Probably better to use stuff lying around like blow downs or you would run afoul of the harming trees rules. I've built a few natural ones, but I move around some depending on where I'm finding sign.

Duh...it's deer season.

I made a batch last night. And as of this morning...it's living up to it's name. Thankfully, for everyone else in this field office, I have more for lunch.

When I mentioned breaking the wind earlier, I was referring to the weather. You mean you guys don't use those charcoal filter drawers with the fart mufflers?

That's what I'm talking about. I don't cut down trees for them. There are plenty laying around. They blend right in.

Rooster, yeah for sure !

We each have a BBQ lighter in our back packs for this very reason.

Because we are on private land, we make "floors" for our blinds.

Big pallet, attach plywood/OSB to top, for luxury add old carpet !

I picked up a bunch of stuff the other day to build a permanent 4' x 6' x 6' box blind. I want to keep it as light as possible so I can move it easily. I'm going to frame it with 2 x 2's and I have a bunch of .040 aluminum sheets that I bought for scrap price at work a few years ago. Those will be the outer skins.

Every other year, there is corn bordering a good spot on my Uncle's land but there are no tree's nearby worthy of a stand so I hunt it with a pop up ground blind. I'm not a huge fan of them so decided to make something more to my liking.

Being warm and comfortable isn't all that overrated anymore either! lol

Deb's set up for rifle;





My set up for archery;





& same blind, same location, different window & trail for rifle;

Good idea Rooster. Start small. Work your way up. this year it's aluminum skins. next year it's a satellite dish. The following years are a deck with a gas grill, a urinal, and soon...a stipper pole. Ya gotta ease into these things though Jim. You can't do this all in one year. Slow and steady.

When it gets to the point you have to move the jacuzzi to put in the heliport, you know you've overbuilt........

Picked up a little camping side table today. It will give me some place to set down my coffee and whatnot. Whole thing weighs just 2 lbs.

I have 3. Never used them until I started taking my kids. I use a bog pod so I can get shooting rest perfect height. Ladder stands and shooting house windows can be awkward for young ones depending on height.My oldest has killed 5 of his 8 deer out of them. We sometimes carry a heater.

I used to hunt outta one before I got a wood blind. They were surprising comfy.

One element on noise I haven't seen mention is the damn zipper.. Give yourself a little extra time to get in earlier than you think you need and you will probably feel better about it. Velcro windows aren't exactly silent either but that zipper.....

I have made it a habit to carry ear plugs and try to never shoot without them. Keep em handy.

I use them occasionally and have good results.

I cut inverted V's in the mesh and let the cut strip hang inside the blind. This keeps the mesh in place to mask movement, and allows you to stick a rifle barrel out to shoot. I usually do 4-5 cuts per window.

I also offset how I open my windows, and sit in a darkened corner of the blind with no light behind me. Common sense stuff and you'll figure it out quickly.

I also put an area rug in it to keep chair legs from sinking into soft soil, and the deaden the sound of grass or twigs under my boots.

We have been using those pop up hub style blinds for years with success. You have to be more cautious in my opinion since you’re more in the deer’s line of sight. For example, we never open up all the windows .

Dirt dabblers plugged up the lighters on mine. So i light em with a match.

Don’t let the flame over scare you.

I been using the primos club and xxl club blinds for some time. They work good so long as you Secure them down. I pick them up on sale. Mine are not the $300 plus ones. I position it so I am shooting out the front and have the from open and the side windows only partially open. I never open the back. I should probably wear a black top but I never got idea that the deer could see me in there so long as I wasnt moving around. One thing I dont like is it can get a bit tedious sitting in there just looking out some small windows. I would prefer to be up in a quadpod or stand but im getting old.

Rhino blinds (r600) sold at Walmart are great blinds. Big enough, good windows and a much heavier fabric than most blinds. They also don’t have a zipper...

I like the idea of the inverted V gun ports. Think I'll be trying that. A question-everyone says to wear dark colored clothing inside the blind. Does this cause issues with the hunter organge requirements? Here in Minnesota we have to wear at least an orange vest and an orange hat.

The comments on getting them up early and brushed in well are definitely important. One thing it took me a few years to learn was its best to sit snugged into a corner so the opposite corner is facing into the wind. This way you’re looking out all 4 windows and have cover to move if need be without being backlit by a window.

I'm not going to be able to get it up early, Eric. We're on public land, and there's no way it'd be there if I put it out a couple weeks early. Wish I could, but it's just not possible.

I use them more on field hunting, but have popped them up in the woods as well. Especially when I have one of my kids with me. I’ve killed a lot of deer over the years with blinds(with a rifle). You may end up really enjoying ground hunting....

Same clothing requirements where I live. I make sure that I'm not backlit and try to minimize movement. I wanna say that this is easily the most comfortable way to hunt deer, and it's been productive for me on small properties where I wait for others to run deer past me.

Think carefully about your seating arrangement. I set mine up on private land and leave it for weeks at a time. I drive to where I set it up and use a steel lawn chair that is roomy, comfortable, and rock solid. It's quiet enough as long as I'm careful to not scrape or knock stuff against it.

We have some memorable moments from time in our ground blind pop-ups.Have been surrounded by both turkeys and deer. Had squirrels fighting on the roof.

On a few occasions I've called coyotes from one after the deer season ends. It's eye opening what all will come to some predator calls. Edit; Sometimes even a predator!

Be wary of crows in the vicinity as they will spot movement even behind the mesh from a fair ways off.

FWIW I use low dollar Barron blinds from Farm and Fleet. They seem as easy as any to set up and are durable. Mu original wore out after 6 or 7 years and I've replaced it with 2 more. Both of them are several years old now.

I use carpet scraps cut to fit the shape of blind to keep feet sound to minimum. Also sit back in blind and use shooting sticks.

We checked out one of our blinds that we built out of deadfalls and brush this weekend. We put up a camera near 2 trails that cross in front of it about a month ago. The first 3 pics on the cam are a momma black bear and 3 cubs!

If you sit back away from the window in the shadows, do you get the muzzle outside the blind, or are you shooting from inside it? I'm thinking I might need to take my muffs and hopefully be able to get them on if I have to take a shot.

I don't sit away from the window where I expect deer to cross in front of. I just keep the window to one side of me and the one behind me mostly closed.

And yeah, occasionally I'll spot deer coming from a distance that pass by on the side of closed windows. But that's not the only deer we miss.
I was approaching a blind that my son was in and noticed a dandy buck walking quickly past the front of his blind within about 20 paces. Son had gotten comfortable and was sound asleep.

I fell asleep in the Jeep one day. I'd come back to it to warm up a bit. A whole herd of does walked right in front of me. A truck came down the logging road behind me and woke me up,and when I lifted my head I was face to face with a big doe about 10 feet off the front bumper. Next thing I knew I had deer running every which way. My dad was watching the whole thing from a ways out. He was laughing so hard at the "OH SCHIDT" look I had on my face he about pizzed himself!

Several years ago I was driving back to camp from a spot I'd been hunting at and two farmers were punching out a patch of woods, half mile up the road from camp..They put out about a half dozen does, that kept right on running. I stopped way on down the road, figured to get up in the woods they were heading towards and ahead of 'em, maybe get one when they got down there?

Deer topped a high knoll in one hay field, ran down on either side of another neighbor's truck parked below the knoll, so I couldn't shoot. The old boy was in the truck, sound sleep. Still kid him about that when I see him. "You hunting today, or just out for a nap?"

DO use real tent pegs to hold the thing down. I put one up one night before deer season opener, when it was windy and blowing a light rain. The ground was pretty soft, and the wires provided by Ameristep were not enough.
Opening morning, I got to my blind location, and it was gone. The wind had blown it over the hill and into my uncle's yard fence (I was up the hill and in a large pasture from my uncle's house). I did recover the blind, unharmed, but it was a lesson learned, stake it down solidly.

I DID kill a nice big buck out of the pasture that morning, sitting in the chair that didn't get blown over the hill, but I was wide open, and the deer was preoccupied with the does he was traveling with. One shot, about three leaps downhill, and the buck was piled up.

Good suggestion on the tent stakes. I'll round up all the "real" tent stakes I have and supplement from there.

The long aluminum nails used to hold on gutters work well. If in soft ground add either some rebar or big tent stakes. T-Posts are good for longer term set ups.

Had a rhino 300 delivered Friday and went to set it up today,no instructions. Went by utube video on the 200 and first thing I did was snap a support rod,actually it shattered. I went to order a new one and they are $20 each or 4 for $50,now I'll have 3 extra for backup. No tax or shipping charge which is good. I also noticed the stitching along the top shows daylight so they aren't totally waterproof. Plenty of room and even has a skylight. Have to do something for stakes cause the ones sent with it are only about 10" long.

I just got another from Tractor supply and it is nice because it has what they call clear view window screens. These block the view better than standard mesh it looked effective enough that you could have all the windows open which could be nice in hot weather. I will still try to not get silhouetted but these windows seem to be a worthwhile improvement. Other than the size the blind is pretty standard about like the entry level Primos or Ameristep.

On the cheap pop ups it is worthwhile to re-enforce the stake loops especially if you leave them up for extended times. I had one blow away because all the peg loops ripped out. I grommet-ted on pieces of leather and made loops out of para cord. These have not failed yet in spite of some pretty good storms.

Almost done:

That's sweet! What do you think it weighs? The base is probably the heaviest part.

I just need to tweak the windows, pop in some insulation and put in the 1/8" rubber floor mat and I should be set. Oh and should probably put a couple shelves in too. I ran "spindles" through the bottom to put 13" flatless tires on it. That will help me move it into position once I get it to the spot she's gonna sit.

Not sure. The base is the heaviest part. I made that out of 2 x 4's and 3/4 treated plywood. The frame is 2 x 2's and the skin is .040 aluminum. I can easily slide it around the garage.

I bought some black landscape fabric that I will staple to the frame inside once it's insulated so I can black it out good. I will cut the top sections long so it can hang over the windows I'm not using at the time.

What are you insulating it with, fiberglass batts?

What are the details on the windows? How do they operate?

For this year, I'm just going with what they call a "double bubble foil insulation" I got for free. The dense foam stuff I wanted to use is spendy as heck!

The windows are made out of .100 acrylic (plexi-glass) and attached with piano hinge. They will drop down and out of the way inside the blind.

Don’t forget a cut-out in the floor for the beer cooler.

Actually, I think there will be cut outs in the floor........after deer season.......for angling holes.

If you can find any the E type foam it is about twice as efficient. But I would look around construction sites for scrap foam of any kind first. Even glass batting would work with the landscape fabric over it. Spray foam would be really nice but expensive unless you could haul it to somewhere where they were doing a job and had leftover foam they needed to get rid of.

Spray foam would definitely be the ticket

Built both of these in sections[walls/floor/roof] at the house and put together where they sit.
This getting old[er] deal has me climbing or using ladder stands less & less.

Rodents love spray foam. Just FYI.

Those fughers

Best figure out a way to keep the coons out of it, too. They'll use it for crapping in. Damned coons. I can remember when my brother built a treehouse-type stand (ala Treehouse Masters) and the coons crapped all over the thing. He hadn't put in real windows, though.

They like foam, fiberglass, and just about anything else they can get into. A metal blind could be made pretty rodent proof, wood just about impossible.
The problem we have is once the little B-Tards set up shop then they are a magnet for Rattle snakes.

He won't have a rattle snake issue. lol

Rooter, if rodents become a problem, line the bottom joint with steel wool.

Good idea

Heading up today do clear a spot to set it up and check for shooting lanes.

Glad I read that. Have been toying with the idea of buying a replacement for the old Doghouse blind that's been leaking for a couple years. I bought a Barronett Grounder 250 a couple years ago and really like the extra room. Hadn't heard of the Rhino until a week or so ago and was toying with saving a few dollars over another Barronett. Won't bother with a Rhino now.

Well it looks like I'm on to Plan B. The trail into my hunting spot is under water to the point it's not passable. I can't get my deer car back in there, which means I've got on way to haul the blind, chair, heater, etc. back to my stand location. I can sidestep the actual trail, and not get wet, but I'd have to hack out a trail wide enough through the brush to get the cart through. I'll be sitting on a folding chair again this season. No big deal-I've done it for years, but it would have been nice to use the blind. I scouted it yesterday. Several scrapes back in my core area, so I'm optimistic for next weekend.

I've found that just taking along a thick chair cushion in my pack is almost as good as a camp chair and a whole bunch lighter, quieter and more portable while keeping your hands free walking. Much as I like an enclosure to hunt from, they are a lot to pack in and out where I go.

We opened Saturday morning, so spent mucho blind time.

No meat hanging, from 3 of us.











Damned bears better go to sleep soon !

Does shooting through the shoot though screen on a blind effect the accuracy at all? I was sitting in mine today with the plan to do so if the time came but the longer I sat there that question kept popping up in my head. Ended up lowering a couple. Shots would be 100yds or less.

They say it doesn't but I could just never get used to the idea of shooting through something on the way to a deer. Especially with a bow.

On my pop up tent blinds, I lowered one corner a few inches of the windows that I might get a shot out of. It actually serves as a gun rest if you are standing up.

Looks good.

I don't know about the effect the screen would have on the bullets path but I do know the muzzle blast inside the blind would deafen you if you did not have ear protection on!

I bought a 2 person Wildgame innovations "pop up" blind. Instructions were vague and one of the sides wold not pop out and stay that way so I tied the loop on that panel to a tree and finally got the blind set up last weekend. Hope it's still there because I am going to do some night hog hunting from it Sunday night. When the sun was out it was very warm inside but as the temps dropped I started putting sweat shirts and a coat on.

THIS ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yep. For sure.

We are expecting a foot of snow today and tomorrow so I cut the neck off of a plastic pepsi bottle and put it over the end of a stick I picked up in the woods to use as a support pole in the center of the blind. Should help with caving in. I used the bottle cause I figured the stick would end up going through the roof with the weight of the snow.

*********TAG*************

Built a couple of new stands this year









anonymous image hosting

If my kid wants to hunt it's ground blind only, X bow and tripod (health issues).

I bought an Ameristep Doghouse on a whim 15 years or so ago, put it away and forgot I even had it. One year it was supposed to rain opening day. I more or less ran across it in storage and decided to give it a try. Man, what a difference it made in my hunting life! No more being 15'+ up a tree exposed to the elements and afraid to scratch an itch, get a drink or snack, or work out a kink in the leg for fear of being spotted. I sat there dry as could be, so comfortable I could fall asleep, free to move, get a drink, or take a leak while being nearly invisible to any unseen eyes. I've used one every year since.

I try to only unzip the windows the minimum necessary to get an unrestricted view- I'm set up near the bottom of a drainage in the woods looking across, up, or down depending on the direction. Inside of it, I'm wearing a blaze orange jacket over whatever else I've got on, and I've usually got on thin brown gloves with the grippy rubber, and a ski mask on to minimize my human features- depending on temperatures.

About the second or third year that I used it, I had an entire flock of turkeys come meandering by, rooting around in the leaves and causing quite a commotion- some less than 20' away from me! I got video of it with my phone. Between that and the number of times I've been walking in the woods, heard some rustling leaves and froze only to have an oblivious deer walk by, I sort of stopped overthinking the whole obsession with making my blind invisible. I hunt private land and prefer to get it out there a few days or weeks early if possible, if not, it is what it is.

I put down a cheap ($8 or $9) Harbor Freight moving blanket on the floor to keep my stuff clean and not lose anything I drop in the dirt/leaves. I discovered the Doghouse blind was just a little too cramped for my taste, barely had room for my chair, legs, backpack, and gun, and I'm only 5' 8". Also began to notice after a couple years that it leaks, so I bought a Barronett Grounder 250. It's much more roomy and is a hub blind, so it's wider in the middle than the base. I put it up over a month early a few years ago and secured it using tent pegs for the base and wall tie downs. Had some pretty stiff winds in between set up and actual use and had zero issues.

I guess I must have had the muzzle of my shotgun and .44 magnum rifle outside the window when I shot, because I didn't notice any difference in noise when I shot them inside than outside. Let me tell you though, three years ago I shot my ported 16" barrel .450 Bushmaster from inside the blind and my ears rang for a day afterwards. Little black specks were floating thru the air afterwards- remnants of the black coating on the ceiling and walls. The next year, using the same gun, I had my ear muffs with me fully intending to use them. My opportunity came with seconds to either shoot or it would be too late with no chance to grab the muffs, so I shot without them. Ended up shooting three times. Brought him down, but my ears didn't stop ringing for a week. I sold the gun after that and now have the 22" unported version.

Brakes or porting make loud guns. I jumped a pig years ago, got lucky and hit him on the run with a Kleinguenther 300 Win mag with a brake. Mine rang for a week too. That rifle resides at Hasbeen1945’s residence. I won’t own another.

I'm loving this box blind and it's portability to move according to the crop rotation. It's exactly what I wanted and with a Little Buddy heater, that double bubble insulation is plenty for even the most extreme conditions. Most of the time, I had to shut the heater off, it got so warm in there.

Nothing like being warm

I pulled mine to the hunting spot just a few days ago. Got it all leveled up and took the tires/wheels off it. I've been using this for about 10 years and it's been a great stand to hunt out of.

Ran out of time for the permanent blinds -

Ok, getting serious here - set up for archery season !

Deb's;



Mine;









Sunday morning;

Doe @ 15yrds;





Got busted by this little guy;









Looking back, towards the house;

Decided to sit a different stand, this weekend, a little further back on our property !



Needed a different view !

Nice, Rooster!

🦫

Tanks Beav!

Just like yours!

Only mine is not a minority deer.