[WindWalker]

"Necessity is the mother inventions."

Last season as I had set up for an evening hunt I observed a bowhunter come in across a valley and stop at a treeline on a ridge. Within a few minutes he took something out of a bag and all of a sudden a teepee-like tent appeared. I watched him set the tent just inside the treeline and then he threw a camo-type net over the tent. He sat a bucket in the tent, stepped in and disappeared. I put the bino's on him and could see he was sitting inside the tent but was well camoed and obscured. The next morning as I set up, the tent was no longer in the treeline. Another time I saw the tent along a brushline by a pond.

Both times I never got to see what the "thing" was, up close. However, a couple of weeks ago while scouting I met another hunter that was pre-scouting and during a conversation I discovered that he was the guy with the "tent."

He had the tent in his truck and showed what it was. It was a "pop-up" camping dressing tent that he had modified to use as a hunting blind. He told me that he had previously owned an expensive portable blind but that it had been stolen. He said although he was PO'd at the theft of the blind, and that it cost a bunch, he never really liked it. He said it was cumbersome, took to long to setup and teardown, was cramped, and leaving it in the woods was risky (theft)...which, for him, turned out to be true.

He said he bought the portable pop-up dressing tent for about $40 and the camo net for about $20 and made some modifications to the tent.

1- Cut the entrance flap higher... which disabled the ability to zip the flap shut but he can still drop it if it begins to rain.
2. Cut a 4" wide by 24" long widow on the sides and the back and glued on cloth mesh that he can see thru. He said the windows allow him to see out when sitting or standing.
3. He uses round metal tent pegs and secures the corners to the ground having made holes at the bottom corners.
4. Once set up he throws the camo over the tent and then arranges the net so there is no defined outline.

He hunts with a short wheel bow, so he can easily shoot from a sitting and standing position. I stepped in and determined that I could easily shoot a recurve while sitting our kneeling from inside. I also determined that I could make a standing shot by having my bow just outside the entrance.

You would have to see this thing set up in the boonies to appreciate how well it blends.

Here is what it looks like before he modified it. The dimension are 4'x4'x 6'-8"

Pop-Up Tent

Here is a crude altered pic as it now looks and as I saw it from a distance in the boonies.

 

[pilotmill]

I like it

 

[WindWalker]

I want this one.

 

[Night Wing]

That "pink one" does look more roomy and comfortable. :wink:

 

[rattus58]

http://www.califpalms.com/_e/loc/pr...Dressing_Room_Lightweight_and_Collapsible.htm

 

[thirdypointer]

I wouldn't use a tent like that personally with a recurve but i would use something like the ghost blind with a recurve. I know Ghost Blinds don't cost under $100 but there are DIY threads here on how to make your own if your handy and on a budget. IMO a good ghillie suit would be a better choice than those teepie type tents, good thing he covered it with some camo netting as those cheap spring wire tents are made with cheap shiny vinyl that screams here i am, deer pick them out instantly. Using a shower deal like your describing and tossing a good camo net over it is much better however than using the camo ones some of those links are showing.

 

[bsites9]

about 6 years ago I bought the cheapest hunting pop up blind on the market. I think it was $29 at the time. It's the teepee style, and it's probably still on the market. For a blind that you carry in and out everytime, it's worked just fine for me. Killed a deer from 5 yards max once from it, and the deer had actually brushed up against the blind while feeding before giving me the shot. I could have reached out and touched the deer, and he never knew I was there. Wasn't brushed in really at all, but it had been in the woods for a few weeks.

 

[WindWalker]

Actually, the "tent" he is using is made of a polyester fabric and the sheen was not bright, probably dulled even more by being exposed to sunlight and harsh weather. I did not have a recurve with me but I could tell that I would be able easily shoot a recurve from it.

It has sparked my interest because though i have several ladder stands set up I also hunt from ground level more than I use the stands. I often move to put the wind in my favor and to work the routes in accordance with the time of day and weather (not still hunting). Quite often I have to set up where coverage is not great, e.g., back lit, open area to my rear, thin coverage, etc. If I had something I could set up quickly to blend into it would be advantageous.

For the price I might give one a try.....when I have finished all of the other irons in the fire I have going.

 

[WindWalker]

Update:

When time permitted doing so I was going to purchase and modify a dressing/shower tent as the hunter did and try it out. However, just a few days before the season started I walked into a Rural King store to purchase some new camo wear and lo and behold, there on the floor were 2 pop-open tepee-type blinds of different camo shades (brown and fall).

The brand name is "Hunter's Lair." The blind is designed for hunting so no mods were needed.

Specs:

-68" x 68" square floor area; 78" tall.
-Weight 8#.
-All-black interior.
-Blind has vertical and horizontal zipped 3-sectional entrance that allows how much you want the front open.
-Sides and back have 3-way zippered windows that are covered with see-through camo velcroed to inside.
-All openings have easily adjustable ties to tie back the panels.
-the bottom edges have skirts, and peg loops if you wish to peg it down, and loops for lash-cord for windy conditions. Pegs are provided.
-Blind quickly folds into a 27" diameter circle and comes with a carrying bag with shoulder straps.

I determined that if when I set it up I did not pull tight for max floor space, I can stand inside and make a shot with my bow just outside the tent. If I stretch the blind for max floor space, I can take a partial standing shot while still in the blind. Fully stretched or not, I can easily take a shot while kneeling or sitting and can do so with bow inside the blind. (I was using my 58" 'curve.)

There were only 2 aspects I didn't like: 1) The bottom portion of the front flap only zips open 3/4 of the opening, and 2) when sitting to the rear of blind, my draw elbow contacts the blind wall. No problem: I will install a dual zipper on the bottom flap. I will install a cord loop on the outside center of the back wall and stretch the wall back. I experimented and determined I can easily stretch the back wall and not make contact.

I am 6'1" and weigh 232 lbs. My grandson is a big boy. We both sat inside the blind, on stools, while hunting and I had ample room to draw and shoot. Also had all my gear inside the blind.

Already the blind has been beneficial. The area in the pic is off a heavily used trail that I have had to pass on for several seasons. The nearest tree makes for a long shot (25-30 yards) and would require too much cutting of large branches. A ground position without cover was out because of a heavily used trail directly behind my position that has too much trash to allow a shot, but I could be seen. In fact, last night as we sat in the blind a buck came through on the rear trail about 10 yards away, thrashing brush as he went by and never spooked.

Obviously, not all may like this blind but I have several locations that I can now set up in that I have had to pass on.