Ground Blinds
Ground blinds
Ground blinds are among popular hunting accessories today. Ground blinds come in many sizes, shapes and types. However, all good brands are manufactured keeping the ease of the hunter in mind. Among the salient features of a good ground blind is that it should have enough room, to allow the hunter to park himself comfortably and have access to sufficient maneuvering space, whether for an archery or firearm hunt. It should offer a secure place of concealment that is camouflaged to blend into its surroundings and does not stand out conspicuously, which may arouse the suspicion of wild animals. It should also provide adequate visibility of the quarry and have an arrangement that facilitates placing of accurate shots, without alarming the game animal.
The blind should also be weatherproof, to shield the hunter from adverse climatic conditions. Should it suddenly start raining or become stormy, the ground blind should be able to offer adequate protection to the hunter from the vagaries of the weather.
A ground blind should be light in weight, making it portable and easy to carry to different hunting locations during a hunt, to keep up the chase. At the same time it should be made of strong tough materials that can withstand rough handling. It must have a container, in which it can be carried with ease, while running after or tracking the prey.
The blind should be easy to set up/install. There must not be needless complications in the installing procedures or require special technical skills to set up. The procedures should be simple enough, to allow installation by any person having average technical skills. The time required to set up the blind is also important and it is therefore necessary that the ground blind incorporates a design that complements quick installation.
There are many types of ground blinds available, to suit the requirements of diverse hunters and hunting conditions. The following are some samples of different types of ground blinds. The first among them is the tent blind that is also called a pop up blind. It is usually made from tough polyester material with a water resistant coating, to let the interior remain dry, in adverse weather conditions. The tent type ground blind has a hub system, to let the whole blind be folded and stored in a carrying case. It has a strong spring steel retracting tent frame, that pops up to support a tough polyester fabric shell. The blind is tied down with ropes to stakes driven in the ground, for securing it to the location. Everything can be completed in less than a minute. Many such blinds come with a removable floor. Novel designs incorporate magnetic window curtains that cover 360 degrees shoot, through camo mesh windows, to eliminate blind spots, electronic game call window, sealed camera ports and a blind shelf to keep hunting gear within reach. Another type of ground blind is one with a hunting chair placed on the ground and surrounded on three sides with strong camouflage fabric framed on steel stakes driven into the ground on the four corners of a square area. This has the disadvantage of being roofless and open from the back. Then, there is the camo tent chair blind that can simply be placed anywhere on the ground and the blind flipped over the chair with the hunter sitting on the chair. There are magnetic windows, to allow the hunter to see through camo netting and shoot unhindered at the game bird/ animal. The chair blind has zippered pockets on the interior, to keep binoculars, gloves etc. The blind is designed with a system that helps to hold any scents within the blind. The entire blind along with the chair weighs about fifteen pounds only and can be just folded away by the hunter in one quick movement, to walk away with it and set it up at a different location.
Ground blinds, as the name suggests, are located on the ground in order to conceal the hunter. Ideally these blinds should be situated downwind depending on the wind pattern at any given time of the day like mornings or evenings etc., be placed away from the sun in locations that have the safest foreground and background. When hunting on private land leaving a pop up ground blind in an area frequented by game animals is a good way to let them become accustomed to the idea of its presence and overtime it will become another part of the landscape for them. Brush and trees can be used to breakup the outline of the blind making it blend even better with the surroundings. When hunting on public land locating a downed tree and placing the blind near to it to break up its outline can be a good way of camouflaging it. Piling dead branches around the fallen tree makes it look natural and can be placed around the blind to make it appear as a natural part of the scene around the spot.
Popular brands of ground blinds include names like Ground Max, Double Bull and Ameristep. Reasonably good ones can be found for around $100 with Ground Max. Double Bull has products of good quality in higher price ranges. Other manufacturers of good quality ground blinds are Yukon Tracks, Eastman Outfitters and Strong Built.