In my opinion, either will work well if you set them and leave them, but neither will work well if you're going to move them around. Deer around here don't like blinds. They have to be left awhile before they are trusted as part of the environment.

 

If you are leaving them sit, then bale blind hands down. Also make your own. I haven't heard very many good things about the muddy bale blinds (tearing and not very leak proof), but I have heard great things about the red neck. You can build one in a day. no need to weld either. That is what i did.

 

Thanks for the info. I think I am going to go with a couple of pop up blinds that I can set and leave in place and looking into making a haybale blind when I have the time to do so.

 

If I had the right location, I would have made a haybale blind already and it would be out in the right spot already. The DIY versions are cheaper than a commercial design, plus they seem very durable from the reports of guys who have built them. I would have no issue leaving one out without the concern of someone coming along and taking it with them as you would a popup type. Plus they are heavier so you won't come back and find them 200 yards down the field in a broken mess. My ideal scenario would have at least one real haybale in proximity to add a significant touch of realism.

 

I've had a Red Neck hay bale. It's a real good blind. You can move it, I left mine up year round. I guess about every 3-4 seasons you're going to need to replace the outer hay/plastic stuff. The rest is well made aluminum. Regarding moving; when they're set-up to hunt, you have to stake them down, I used cement form steel steaks then tie-wraps. You can put it on a trailer but I'd put a tarp over it just to keep the hay from blowing off. Strap it down and go slow.

The blinds are deadly for deer and turkeys. I left mine with shooting windows down all year round so the look didn't change. Wear all black on the inside and don't forget mice traps/sticky/pellets. They love hay bale blinds. I would buy another and may do so.

 

Would it be possible to put two of your round bales close to one another and then rig up a blind between them? You could maybe get a large tarp for a roof and back drop and attach it to the top and back of the bales. Then get something that resembles real foliage for the front. Make sure the tarp is black on the inside. If you do things like this early enough the deer to get used to it. Just thinking you could get the blind for one farm and try this for the other. Just a thought if you can get two bales where you would want them.

 

I ended up buying a couple of Ameristep Under Armour Carnage blinds from Rogers on Ebay. Got the pair for $232 shipped so I think this will be a good short term solution where I can leave them up through the season in both places. When my son is not with me I will likely opt for the tree stand. Next season I will either buy one of the ******* Blinds or build me a couple of Bale Blinds. I can weld good enough and have access to a shop with everything I need so I think with time and planning I can probably build something pretty functional. Thanks for all of the input. I do plan on putting the blind in between two bales on our smaller place because we stack our hay in the field there. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

Regarding pop-ups, I've also kept one of those up for years too. One of the Rhino xp1's or something like that. You HAVE to use the long steel 3' long cement form spikes to secure the corners and sides, then use para cord. Don't use the thin cord that comes with the blinds to secure any part, side, top, etc. In addition, you HAVE to use a center stand/spike when you're not there during the winter. If the top un-pops or collapses from snow or wind, then it rains and freezes and you've got 100# of ice in a big pool up there. It will collapse and break one or more of the center-side hubs and you're screwed again. I use a telescoping center stand and put it in a semi-hollow cement block so it can't move around on the ground with the wind, then I use wire/tie wraps to wire the center pole to the center hub. If you do that, they stand up to high winds and a few inches of snow with no problem. If you don't, you'll have a mess every time you come back to them.

Deer get used to them there and don't give them a second look after time. Always leave the windows the way you're going to hunt the blind. Yea, bugs and crap will get in, but a doe can pick up an open window to blind from 100 yards if it's "new". Buy a good chair.