They have their place. There isn't really a one-size-fits-all method for hunting, that I've found. Ground blinds need to be setup at least a week in advance, in my opinion, which makes them impractical for using on public lands.

 

Im 6'5" 250lbs and have to hike/pack 3/4-1mile in thick forest to areas that hold mature deer. A ground blind is out of the question

 

It just sucks sitting there, you can shoot big set using them in the right spots but man you can go insane doing it.

 

They are a great tool for some instances. I don’t think about it as how much I like it or not. They can flat out work which in the end is what I want. I will say this about the popup blind market. Innovation is dead. Entire see through mesh blinds are not the least bit of interest to me, nor is the camo pattern. The layout, window sizes, shapes, height etc all what makes a blind into a great blind imo. The market has been cold for a long time. Maybe things will change.

 

Not much of a fan of ground blinds, the few times I have been in them, I find myself looking around at the best trees to be in for that location...

 

What’s to like about it? It can be useful but I sure hate sitting in them. Finally bought one to hunt with my kids but quickly decided I didn’t like it and I wanted to teach my kids to hunt and stay still and be out in the woods not closed up in a blind.

 

They do a ok job holding scent in. I hunt with my daughter who showers in scent killer but smells like bath and body works. But over all I hate it.

 

We keep a few set up for rainy days with an east wind. I am liking them more and more and love when an animal is close on ground level. Still prefer a stand but I like the freedom of movement and staying dry.

 

I’ll get one set up on a hilltop where you can see down into a creek bottom about 25 feet below.
Several big deer have been killed out of the ground blind over the past few years.

just another tool in the arsenal. Not the right set up for every location but it’s absolutely perfect in this spot.

 

Me........lol. I just got back from TX and all but one stand was a blind. Not a fan at all. They work I just feel boxed in..........lol

 

As mentioned several times, I have a Red Neck bale blind on the NW corner of our home property that overlooks two adjacent crop fields on an inside corner. Right now the field to the north is standing corn, while the field to the west was wheat this year. It was harvested in July, then replanted in winter wheat that is green as an emerald at present. Like most, I MUCH prefer being in a tree with my saddle, but on a rainy or very windy day, it offers options to be hunting.

I also hunt turkeys from a popup blind, but being 'inside' doesn't feel as much like 'real' hunting. It's a trade-off for hiding movement and somewhat containing scent, but looking out a few windows vs actually being in the outdoors is a no-contest for me. I use one when necessary, but don't lug it around the woods for a mobile hunt as I would my saddle pack and gear. Plus deer will pick it right out unless brushed in and given some time to become part of their scenery.

 

I definitely hunt more from a tree stand or stalk hunt, but they definitely have their place and are a great tool for some hunts.

 

I can't stand blinds. I feel like they severely limit my engagement with the woods. The only time I will use one is if i REALLY want to hunt and it's pouring rain. Otherwise I skip them.

 

They are a tool in the tool belt. Like a hang on, ladder, climber or saddle setup. Just a tool to be used for your advantage. I do not like the limited visibility from them, but they have a place and use.
I use Big Mikes blinds I bought off Ebay. They are tall enough that I used them back home with a 42” Hoyt standing up to tag a deer at 15 yards without the limbs hitting the blind issues.

 

I'd hunt in one all day every day...if it fit my hunting style. super cozy, out of the elements, good coverage, but you need to be in a set-up that allows for them like perfect shooting lanes on known deer routes. If blindly going to an area or deer come from any which direction, they are not fun to be in.

 

Sounds like you just need to quit using small blinds.

 

Is that a Bible your reading?

 

They are great for naps.

 

I have an old Ameristep Dog House (if I remember correctly the model) it looks like a teepee sorta. It allowed me to shoot my recurve standing. It has worked over the years but isn't waterproof anymore but still has it's uses.

A little tweaking and size adjustment it could be a great blind. Put I like being out in the open.

 

Definitely NOT my preference, but they have their purpose. The best two buck in PA I've ever been able to actually release an arrow on have come from a ground blind, both in the 150" class and I missed both times? That is just plain crazy for me...but we have this cooridor on propety that funnels and seems to hold the highest caliber buck on our property every year and there is no good way to hunt if from a stand...so....insert a blind.

I don't have nearly as much experience in one and chalk up those misses to that inexperience...worrying more about window clearance, movement in the blind with a mature buck 25 yards away, etc...than focusing at the details of the shot.

In my humble opinion the two most significant disadvantages of a blind are uniquely intertwined, the hunter's inability to detect game at what I often refer to as 'safe distances' and battling the deer's senses inside the kill zone on their level. It obviously depends on your particular set, but in my experience far to often when in a blind deer end up on top of you before you realize it, forcing the hunter to get into appropriate position typically involving, movement, sound, etc...all with a target animal in extremely close range....this happens FAR less while in a stand simply because you can spot them at a greater distance and choose most appropriate opportunities to position yourself.

I did invest in a TideWe VisMax 3-4 person in 300D material and I can say it is an entirely different blind hunting experience. Not saying its remotely close to being in a stand, but at least you can see all around and depending on the particular set, that can make an extraordinary difference.

A few pics from my Pop at 7AM EST on 10/6 in Potter Co. PA.....

 

My son bought bought the same setup two weeks ago. It's a hotel...lol. But it's a game changer. The see thru system is amazing.
I bought two pursuit hub style pop-ups from Bass/Cabela's a month ago. Not the see thru system but these are very nice Pop-ups for $80 a piece.
I'm getting more away from tree stands and staying on the ground more and having the ease and versatility of being mobile quickly.

 

 

Compare to a couple of Mavericks....this is on 4' elevated platform...trying to neutralize a bit of the disadvantage.

 

Little tip I have done from time to time is take some black electrical tape to the fabric on the poles to clean up the visual and depending on how much fabric sticks out pick up and extra half inch on each side. It's probably more in my head though .

 

I've killed probably 90% of my deer (mostly bucks and mostly 135-175 gross) with rifle from a blind over the last 20-23yrs and I think 100% of my bow deer. I have messed with Rhino, Muddy, various Barronett, Bog, Ameristep and I think some other brand, I keep coming back to Barronett's. I talked extensively to a Barronett rep at the Deer and Turkey Expo last year and when we got to camo patterns I can tell you that it really doesn't matter in the end, I'm pretty sure you can make them hot pink and if they are set there for 1 week the deer will get used to them, it is just in the hunter's mind. I have had disabled people get 15-25yd shot opportunities, kids take their deer after a couple sits, friends borrow my spots for bow, rifle and muzzy usually with shot opportunities, daughter #1 and I doubled on fall turkeys 30sec apart using the same single shot .410 with 15-20yd shots.
That being said blinds are not for every person and every situation but to start a thread to bash a technique is a little silly. It is a different mentality and takes a little different planning, if you are making contact with a bow or crossbow I hate to tell you it is not the blinds fault.
For those new to blinds or want a little advise on size and setup here is what I found works for 1 adult, 2 adults, 2 adults with one wheelchair, 1 adult with 1 kid, 1 adult with 2 kids (this will sound like a Barronett advertisement but it's just what works best for me). Outside of vertical bow hunting everything else had a Bog Pod Tripod in the blind too. Keep in mind I'm 6'1" 225lbs
Grounder 250 - Fair Price, good space hub to hub and floor space, decent window setup with a little experimenting. Not good for 1 adult 2 kids, anything more than one person is doable
Grounder 350 - just a little bigger than the 250
Big Mike - Kind of expensive for what you get. I'm not a fan myself but it does work for a couple people, for the floor space and hub to hub it's a little tight and the tall height (designed for standing to shoot a bow which I'm too tall) makes it catch too much wind, center windows are hard or impossible to use sitting in a low chair so have to use corner windows which is fine if you understand that.
Radar - more price minded usually and just a little to small for my liking for almost everything
Big Cat - Been seeing them on sale for under $200. Tons of room from hub to hub, floor and tall to where I can stand straight up int he middle. Downside center windows are hard to impossible to use sitting in a low chair so have to use corner windows usually, tall so stake it in really tight for wind.
Feather 5 - 5 sided blind, can unzip one full side to flip it up if need be (good for wheelchairs), not overly tall but good enough height, plenty of room for me and my 2 daughters so much so this spring I had to move the .410 and tripod around to get on a turkey from the front to the back with all of us in there and daughter got a shot. For the size it's not that heavy. I like the window layout as of now but I haven't spent as much time in these vs others
Muddy Infinity - Decent blind for the money especially on sale. Fabric quality is not as good as the Barronett's I've had but I patch them just the same. Ok window setup and can fit 2 people with 1 wheelchair and Bog Pod decent but it gets tight. Spare backup blind for me
Rhino - Similar to the Muddy for the money it's ok and is a spare backup for me
Bog Grave Digger Blind - Got on sale for half price, heavy 600 denier fabric, seems big at first but its a 3 sided blind so it gets tight quick with 1 daughter, tripod and me in there. Noiseless plastic zipper works good, noiseless sliding window mesh and solid fabric work good for the most part. For a solo lanky bow hunter it might be the best but I have only rifle hunted out of it so far.

 

I've killed probably 90% of my deer (mostly bucks and mostly 135-175 gross) with rifle from a blind over the last 20-23yrs and I think 100% of my bow deer.

That's where you hunt or pay to hunt........not what you hunt from. Unless it's S TX and then you don't have many options unless you use a tripod.

 

I don't like being I n a pop up blind but i do love hunting from a natural ground blind. I usually can find a large fallen oak or some other natural feature that can be used as a blind. I've had some pretty good luck hunting this way.

 

Another nice thing is I am yet to fall more than 24 inches if I fall asleep in a blind

 

Can't glass or see 100-200 yards away. Grunt in a buck. Make a decision way before he gets to me. No thx.

 

If you open the window it helps.
Some of my spots I range a tree or wood edge anywhere from 100-400yds away heck when the kids and I are turkey hunting in the spring in Western ND we were glassing 800+ yards into areas from the comfort of the blind. If a buck wants to respond I have grunted or rattled a few different bucks from 200-300yds that were on the other side of the swamp or through the trees where I didn't see him before then came on a string. Some of the woods I hunt are so thick you aren't seeing 100yds if you get more than 10-15ft up anyways so it becomes a horse a piece.