With early archery season just a few week away I thought I would talk a bit about how you can enjoy harvesting deer from the ground. Most hunter use some type of tree stand system and while that may be the preferred way to hunt deer, its not the only way to hunt deer. I hunt out of a tree stand a good 80% of the time but I have harvested many deer over the years using ground blinds.
- Ground Blind on Edge of Hunt Zone
Ground blinds, while not offering you a height advantage do offer other nice benefits. Some areas are just not conducive to using a tree stand. Overlooking a bean field, a young new growth woodlot; or an urban area where the neighbors will freak if they saw you sitting in a tree with a gun or bow.
I have been working on a ground blind for about three years and it is now getting to the point that I’m happy with it. I hunt an area that was a hay field 20 years ago and is being turned back into a wooded area. Its a small field about an acre that butts up against a large wooded area. When I started hunting this field it had no trees and I would sit in the wood line but as the years went by the saplings appeared and nature started taking over. I would hit this area once or twice a season and it was a pretty good producer for me.
- Part of this field was left to overgrow.
- Path back to the blind
About 4 years ago I was sitting on a milk crate under a cedar tree thinking to myself. “This sucks, I need a blind”. I didn’t want to spend money on a ground blind and leave it to the elements year round or have it stolen. I mean, this is an area that is my fall back. I may or may not hunt there. So the next year, I started construction. I rounded up some old woven wire fence and old fence posts and started with a big circle. I added some structure and it worked pretty well. Over the next few years as the saplings turned into small trees and the field got thicker and harder to have a clear shooting lane, I started mowing paths and adding more structure. The paths give the deer an easy path to follow and me clear field of fire.
- Mowed Paths for Deer
- Deer Highways
- Ground Blind on Edge of Hunt Zone
I want to add this ground blind has cost me exactly zero dollars. Its built totally from scrap. I have added old pallets, a few old broken wooden lawn chairs. Scrap of cammo material and when I clean up small branches from my yard; I haul it over and toss it around. In the past 3 years it has become a pretty natural looking blind and blends in very well. Most would walk right by it and not recognize it for what it is. It’s not my main hunting area but for something that takes a couple hours of my time a year to maintain and improve, it is worth the energy. I don’t have to worry about it being stolen, I don’t have to set it up before season starts. It’s just there in case I decide to use it.
- Backside of Blind.
- View from blind.
- Room to Park and hide 4-wheeler.
- Hidden enough for archery.
- In many cases deer walk within feet of blind.
- Blind slide looking in.
My advice to any hunter out there, don’t overlook that urban area just because you have a nosy neighbor or there is not a tree thats just right for your Tree Lounger. Take to the ground and get some quality hunting time in.
Freeze
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“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
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