I am relatively new to Archery and I am looking for opinions both good and bad on ground blinds for hunting deer. I would like to give bow hunting a try next fall. thanks in advance .
Good: easy to move and set up lightweight conceal movement keep elements off you Bad: at ground level it is usually harder to see deer before they see you some deer lock on to them real quick - you really need to brush them in once a deer (especially a smart old doe) sees it, they will look for it every time they are in the area. Granted, some do that for treestands as well but a deer can tell if a treestand is occupied- not so for groundblind absorbs human scent and concentrates it on the ground rather than starting 15' in the air where thermals can take it up and away deer have innate ability to approach your blind spots and in a blind there are a lot of...blind spots can complicate shooting lanes In my experience, blinds work best at field edges. Not a fan of them in deep woods unless I can put them on elevated ground looking down. Exception to that is in a good cedar swamp; ground level can be more open with a better FOV than 15' up.
The pros are you can bring it mostly anywhere, you can even put them on platforms if you wish. easy to get in at out, safer since you are on the ground. the cons like above said some deer lock on to them quick. some deer are skittish around them. I highly suggest getting the Blackout ground blind. I have hunted out of that one and a few others and that was my favorite. Lots of room good set up. I actually placed it right in a field, you should take time and take stuff from around it and brush it in a little bit at least. even just the corners to break up the shape. And wear all black inside the blind.
Ground blinds are an effective way hunt. Just like tree stands you’re better off not to sit in the same one over and over. If you can leave a blind in place all season and get it set up early, it can be awesome. I killed four deer this year out of a blind and two last year. One was a five year old buck. See above for pros and cons. I would definitely practice shooting out of the blind and make sure the chair you choose to use is suited for that purpose. The Redneck blind portable hunting chair is by far my favorite. It is adjustable in several ways and swivels which is a real plus. Hope this helps and good luck.
