For you blind hunters.

[buckbustn]

99.9% of my hunting gear comes from Cabelas, BPS, or Gander Mountain but Walmart currently has a 2 man pop-up dog house blind for only $68. I'm a stand man myself but after my recent spine surgery I don't think I'll climb into my stands but a couple times this year (depending on how my back feels come season), so I bought one last night. Opened it up and gave it a good solid inspection this morning and it's a good blind. Seems to be made of good matterial, its pretty quiet, and comes with a strapped carry bag. It's endorsed by Michael Waddell and has the bone collector logo so it supprised me to find it at wallmart.
Anyways, just thought I'd give you all a heads up on a great find.

[RangerRick]

Blind hunters!!!

How do they aim? Sound? Smell?

This was a subject line no one could pass up. LOL!

[RStewart]

Blind hunters!!!

How do they aim? Sound? Smell?

This was a subject line no one could pass up. LOL!

Yeah, I thought this was gonna be one of those National Geographic specials. :)

Sorry, OP, we couldn't resist!

On a serious note that is a good price for a quick blind to put up while hunting areas where permanent blinds can't be erected or while scouting an area.

[Mutt]

I guess hunter orange wouldn't be worth a damn around blind hunters ...... LOL



Unfortunately, our local walmart doesn't carry crap for hunters. They don't carry weapons of any kind (left wing owner) and don't even carry archery stuff. So, I really doubt i'd find the blind at my local wally world. But, I also have a bad back, bad knees etc and would really appreciate having a blind to sit in and hunt from. I'm wondering if I were to put it out in the woods a month or so before the hunt if the deer would get used to it's presence and smell.

[stanc]

I probably shouldn't say this, but I've long wondered why people refer to using a blind or tree stand as "hunting" :confused:

When I went hunting, I got out in the woods and hunted (i.e., hiked and searched) for the critters.

Seems to me that sitting and waiting for animals to come to you isn't hunting, it's just shooting.

[buckbustn]

I probably shouldn't say this but I've long wondered what business people who think deer just come right to you have in the woods in the first place.
I can't imagine a person daft enough to think that they will see deer just because they put up a stand or pop a blind up. Well maybe I can.
Successful stand or blind hunting takes proper placement. This includes a lot of before season scouting. Finding travel patterns from bedding to food source to water source (these are called trails, in case you were wondering). Finding territorial markings (rubs and scrapes, in case you were wondering). How you are going to face the stand in accordance with sunrise and set. Finding where does like to congregate ( if you want a buck during rut, find the does). Where bachelor bucks like to congregate pre rut. Observing how they behave with one another pre season. Finding the "off the trail" trails followed by mature bucks, because mature bucks rarely follow trails, hence being mature. Finding pre rut sparring grounds. Contrary to popular belief most pre rut bucks don't just randomly start sparring in any 'old spot. By sparring I mean just that, not fighting for dominance. Utilizing calls pre season to determine how a herd or individuals react to unfamiliar calls. Also contrary to popular belief, deer are not typically very vocal animals. When they do become vocal, discerning how vocal they become in the area you are hunting, ie if they snort, and how the shorter and others react if they don't get a return snort from the unknown that spooked them. And how you should react to snorts in that particular area. Once that and a great deal more has been accomplished, then you have the task of finding the best entry and exit routes to and from the stand location. How you are going to accomplish getting in and out unseen and what your reaction should be if yo are seen. Leaving as little terrain disturbed as possible and leaving as little of your own scent as possible. After that comes determining if you should be vocal once in your stand. Using calls, ie simple grunts pre rut, aggressive grunts and tending grunts during rut, rattling, buck growls (yes buck growl, or roar if you prefer).
Anybody can clumsily blunder through the woods with a rifle hoping that they can jump deer up or glass them and hope they can sneak up on them ("spot and stalk").
So you see, varying people have varying degrees of what they define as hunting.
Furthermore, physical limitations might just be a variable in ones choice as to using a stand or blind to hunt.

[buckbustn]

And yea fellas I realized I would get jokes after I realized what I titled my thread :-)

Mutt I'm sure you could find it online for the same price. It's an Ameristep blind. They're a very well known manufacturer of stands and accessories, if you didn't know that already, which also surprised me that I found it at good old Wally world.

[PumpActionJackson]

I probably shouldn't say this, but I've long wondered why people refer to using a blind or tree stand as "hunting" :confused:

When I went hunting, I got out in the woods and hunted (i.e., hiked and searched) for the critters.

Seems to me that sitting and waiting for animals to come to you isn't hunting, it's just shooting.

same here, i like to stalk my deer and coyotes

[WillD]

This thread should have been titled "For all you Zen Harvesters" LOL.

[hm2 clark]

I find ground blinds useful during turkey season. I also find them useful during deer season when taking children out for the first few times. Spot & stalk is more macho sure, but sometimes the geography is better suited for a blind. Its always fun to be way up in a tree and watch ground hunters who think they are being sneaky move game animals around.

[buckbustn]

What I find amusing is how I made this thread to give a helpful heads up to others who use blinds, and it turns into a message board for petty people to show their ignorance by demeaning others for the simple reason they don't like stands or blinds.

[stanc]

I never said I don't like them. All I said is I just don't understand how sitting and waiting in ambush can be called hunting.

Didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings.

[buckbustn]

Stanc, you've said your peace I've said mine. Others might enjoy your rants, but I posted this thread to be helpful, so as far as I'm concerned you have nothing else useful to say to me.

[Whelenon]

Different strokes for different folks. I'm not a fan of using dogs for bear but it's a legal and some hunters enjoy it. There are also a lot of people out there that would love to ban hunting all together. So, no matter how one want to hunt we best support each other.

[DangerClose]

^ +1

Hunting in a blind is hunting. You make it easy to harvest game for yourself. It is also a hell of a lot easier for me to scout game I manage if I bait them into a blind. Or for those who have surgery, it is much easier (been there, repaired knee). So, look at the needs of the hunter, and cater to them. We do the same with our tools and weapons. I dont take a cross bow hunting for dove......

But, I will say this. Nothing hunting wise beats the experience of stalking a deer for hours. Running the trails, looking for rubs, listening to calls. Then, in the freezing wind, taking an off hand shot at an unknown distance. Getting that kind of kill.....there is few things like it.

[txgunslinger]

I agree I think geography is the main determining factor. Here in tx we use blinds and feeders almost exclusively. It may seem like "cheating" to many people but those people just do not understand. In most tx brush country you could walk around all day and never see a deer, simply because no matter how stealthy you may think you are, the deer are detecting you and getting out of dodge way before you ever see them. Also, the corn feeder is no garuntee of a big buck, most of the time mature bucks avoid the feeder during daylight hours.

[bwaites]

Well, this thread has served its purpose. I appreciate the original posters letting people know about this deal.

Those who would like to debate the various different aspects of individual hunting styles are welcome to start their own thread. I find it interesting that there are so many different approaches to hunting, and hope someone does start one.