Natural ground blinds for bowhunting

[Doc]

Ok, we do a lot of talking about treestand locations and set-ups, but seldom have anything to say about natural ground stand construction, site selection, and what we consider good features and bad features.

 

So I thought I would start a thread that gets into that a bit. So what all goes through your mind in stand location, stand construction and features and considerations? Any pictures?

[Merlot]

The extent of my construction is finding suitable cover, such as fallen trees, treetops, brush, etc. then I cut some lanes and then deploy my foldup chair and wait. Of course, I need to be in an area that deer are moving through( between their bedroom and dining room).

[growalot]

You've seen pics of mine ...they are rather large and I continuously add to them yearly as they rot...making the sides rather dense and compact.....The back "wall is always taller than the front eye level or higher in case I need to stand....Thus the front and sides are my only shooting area .....I use those plastic outdoor arm chairs painted green in them...The smell of rotting wood I feels acts as a scent cover...I know I have had doe walk up and stick their heads over the front wall and sniff at me with out spooking...even thou I swear my knee was bouncing  ..lol.....I have 7 of the very big bow ones in between bow stands areas ...I can slip into in case deer got to the area before me...most play the wind well...because of the size and the fact I have hundreds of yards of brush pile fencing on the property...deer rarely give them a second glace....thou they have used them during winter when the weather has been especially bad...

[Doc]

I have not taken pictures of a whole lot of my stands but I will enclose a few of those that I maintain. They are basically a wall of logs built around some multi-trunked red oak trees.

 

The pole-line stand #1: On top of the hill is an old pole line from the days when electricity was first put into rural NYS. The old road that they used to set up and maintain this line is 20 yards in front of the stand and used every year by deer. It looks more like a deer trail than a road now. It is lined with scrapes and rubs, and the normal prevailing west winds blow from the trail to the stand. This stand is heading for 30 years old and is seldom touched other than to replace an occasional log that has rotted and fallen away. It is a part of the woods.

 

Farther along the road is another stand of similar construction. Basically they are a light-tight wall of logs and brush. I can stand behind all of that at full draw and when the deer walks out the other side .... release. That same basic construction is used on all my stands. This stand is 11 years old now. 

 

Down in the valley, I have stands of similar construction, hacked into the thickets years ago.

This is a view looking out the right side of the stand (apple tree to the right side of picture).

 

This is a view standing behind the stand and looking out the left side of the stand.

 

This is a view of the stand as the deer would see it at 20 yards. The stand is in the center.

 

These three stands are generally the same construction and they rely on age and seasoning to become part of the landscape. They all used existing trees for foundation and local woods debris to seal the movement and view. Basically, I could be doing jumping jacks behind them and the deer would never see it.....lol. They are arranged so that one sight opening detects them coming in, and the next sight opening is to shoot them as the come out the other side.

 

Other stands can be simply some oversized tree or other natural feature. Once these stands have been in for a year or so, the deer accept them as simply a landscape feature. Generally they are built at some location where deer normally pass, or in the case of the last one pictured that is combined with a traditional food draw like the apple tree. Last count I had 110 different stand locations (some still in use, some not) so wind direction can always be accommodated.

 

So, as crude as they all may look, the deer don't pay a bit of attention to them and I have had some incredibly close encounters with deer of all sizes and ages.

[Merlot]

I have not taken pictures of a whole lot of my stands but I will enclose a few of those that I maintain. They are basically a wall of logs built around some multi-trunked red oak trees.

 

The pole-line stand #1: On top of the hill is an old pole line from the days when electricity was first put into rural NYS. The old road that they used to set up and maintain this line is 20 yards in front of the stand and used every year by deer. It looks more like a deer trail than a road now. It is lined with scrapes and rubs, and the normal prevailing west winds blow from the trail to the stand. This stand is heading for 30 years old and is seldom touched other than to replace an occasional log that has rotted and fallen away. It is a part of the woods.

polelin5.JPGstnd110B.JPG

 

Farther along the road is another stand of similar construction. Basically they are a light-tight wall of logs and brush. I can stand behind all of that at full draw and when the deer walks out the other side .... release. That same basic construction is used on all my stands. This stand is 11 years old now. 

poleline1.JPGpoleline2.JPG

 

Down in the valley, I have stands of similar construction, hacked into the thickets years ago.

stand24A.JPG

This is a view looking out the right side of the stand (apple tree to the right side of picture).

 

stand24B.JPG

This is a view standing behind the stand and looking out the left side of the stand.

 

stand24C.JPG

This is a view of the stand as the deer would see it at 20 yards. The stand is in the center.

 

These three stands are generally the same construction and they rely on age and seasoning to become part of the landscape. They all used existing trees for foundation and local woods debris to seal the movement and view. Basically, I could be doing jumping jacks behind them and the deer would never see it.....lol. They are arranged so that one sight opening detects them coming in, and the next sight opening is to shoot them as the come out the other side.

 

Other stands can be simply some oversized tree or other natural feature. Once these stands have been in for a year or so, the deer accept them as simply a landscape feature. Generally they are built at some location where deer normally pass, or in the case of the last one pictured that is combined with a traditional food draw like the apple tree. Last count I had 110 different stand locations (some still in use, some not) so wind direction can always be accommodated.

 

So, as crude as they all may look, the deer don't pay a bit of attention to them and I have had some incredibly close encounters with deer of all sizes and ages.

Looks like heaven to me

[dbHunterNY]

No pictures but I've used them before. Down tree that worked as a pinch point and I tucked up into it. Rock ledge that made a funnel and used some pine limbs. Shot the buck in my avatar pic from behind a cedar limb and rebar blind on the side of a canyon. Closest I've had a deer to me was tucked into the edge of a brushy wooded island out in an alfalfa field. It was a stiff wind and the deer got six feet from me. I knew it was there and just about jumped as much as she finally did! lol Bottom line is they work better than anything else. Downside is you can blow up or burn out a spot quickly and easily. Next the deer start having you pinned as they come into view.

[ncountry]

I do not have too many ground blinds. but I probably have shot more deer with my butt on a 5 gallon pail , sitting in the tall grass or cattails, and peeking out into an opening or field.

[Doc]

I do not have too many ground blinds. but I probably have shot more deer with my butt on a 5 gallon pail , sitting in the tall grass or cattails, and peeking out into an opening or field.

That is another stand type that I forgot to mention. I have a section adjacent to my lower yard that is huge goldenrod. There is a trail that come out of the thicket in front of our place and runs through the goldenrod and out into the mowed area. I have had some pretty good luck cutting a couple of shooting lanes that I can shoot over that are  perpendicular to that trail. Instead of the 5 gallon pail, I have a folding camp stool .... lol. I use one of the shooting lanes as a spotting lane and the next one as a shooting lane. When the wind is right, that stand can be deadly.

[thphm]

Been using my piled up logs for a few years it worked just fine.But just getting too old looking for a little more comfort to spend the whole day out there in the rain and snow..springing for a  big ground blind to put up in my 15' x 15' log blind this year.

If it is comfey enough I might just spend the night there.