Has Anybody Made Haybale Blinds?
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: diesel
11-Aug-10
I've been toying with making a haybale blind and cant really find a ton of info on them. Our property has the large bales on them almost all year round. I have watched deer walk right up to them and eat off them and it always seems they are grazing very close to them, almost like they are hiding between them. I was lucky enough to play hide and seek with them last year and move up behind one each time they were behind another and get a shot at a plump doe after climing down form a tree stand. It seems they run right into the field and move from one to another. Looking to see if anyone has plans or pictures of theirs. I have a few ideas but they need some tweaking. I saw a few comercial ones but the fabric does not really look all that great. I would love to see your pics and hear some success stories. Thanks- Be Safe
From: mnbob
11-Aug-10
Someone told me to google them
From: C.Beck
11-Aug-10
I was also thinking about making one too!!! I will make it so that I can drag it around with an ATV. I will google it and see what pops up.
From: Hoytboy
11-Aug-10
http://www.midwesthaybaleblinds.com/index.html
From: diesel
11-Aug-10
Hoyt that looks like a nice start, but still a bit pricey once you add shipping. Was hoping to see some homebrew plans and pics. I think the roll of matting would be the way to top off a homemade one but they sure want top dollar for shipping. I like the idea for the side door. Was thinking of 1/4 inch plywood on the side to make a hinged door.
From: Mike Sohm/Magnus
12-Aug-10
i use the hay bale blinds double bull come out with before they sold and they work GREATTTTT. have had deer close enough to slap them on the rear. it works great, the only issue i have with them is they are heavy and not very portable, but i love em.
From: Meat Grinder
12-Aug-10
A hay bale blind has been the summer project for a buddy and myself. This is the 99% completed blind, minus paint. We disassembled it to paint it, so I'll post more photos in a couple of weeks, after we've reassembled in on the edge of a soybean field. BTW, we used 7/16" OSB for the ends--less likely to warp and usually cheaper than 1/4" plywood.
From: Africanbowhunter
12-Aug-10
They work great but its near impossible to market them to size bult and non portabiity Primos tried & failed with Hay bales
Red Dot Shot a Pope & Young WT from on in Illl with Buck medley a few years ago I had a spike buck stick his nose inside the shooting hole
They work TINK
From: DeathBringer
12-Aug-10
DeathBringer's Link
The link is to a thread in the DIY section of Archerytalk. Guy built his own for ~50-75 bucks and it really turned out awesome. Thing I picked from it is he used the heavy duty wire cattle panels for the frame...just bent them over to form the blind, then covered with a tarp, then covered with hay. It looks great. That frame is the best idea I've seen for one.
From: Africanbowhunter
12-Aug-10
that what Primos Did But impossible to retail and carry in a pro shop no one said they didnt work but there are many hours of assembly required
TINK
From: diesel
12-Aug-10
DB that was a great link thank you. Tink thanks I saw that in the past I hope your feeling better. I was thinking something just like DBs link but having the bottom open with out a floor and some kind of rigid support inside along the top. That way we could actually shoulder mount it like an oxen yolk on our shoulders and move it easier as long as we kept the weight down. Would probably need some internal stakes for the ground. I read one story where they said they were actuall able to move the bale blind slowly across the field to the feeding deer. He said they were so relaxed feeding between the real bales they did not notice their bllind creeping up towards them and he was able to take one with his bow. May be all BS but still would be fun to try moving toward them in the field!! Like I said I was able to play hide and seak with them before.
Meat what did you use for your internal frame and did you do a solid floor platform? Just wondering weight if you didnt do a floor?
Thanks guys this is going to be a fun project!!
From: TJS
13-Aug-10
Harrisburg show had vendor that was selling a kit to weave your own hay into. Admired it, though I don't have a use for it, so I don't have any other info for you.
Sorry, but good luck. Sounds like a great way to go.
TJS
From: bowcrazy
13-Aug-10
they do make a popup blind that looks like a round bell they might be little more than 50 to 70 dollers
From: Meat Grinder
14-Aug-10
diesel--we used PVC pipe for the internal frame, and 2x4's for the base. No solid floor platform. The 2x4's were laid on edge and screwed together to make a 4'x7' simple box frame. The PVC pipe is a natural for holding a consistent, curved shape. We covered it first with wire mesh, then black plastic sheeting to make it dark inside and waterproof, and covered the plastic with burlap with our custom paint job. The paint job (just some simple brown vertical stripes) is just to make it look more like a normal bale to folks passing by on the road, which is approximately 200 yards away. We thought about using straw landscaping mats for the cover, but most that we found is woven together with a monofilament netting that is made to be broken down by sunlight. Hunter's Specialties has a wheat stubble camo burlap, but we decided to just use natural burlap from a fabric store.
We didn't make it to be moved while assembled. We built it to be easy to set up, tear down and store in the off-season. I'd guess the weight at 90-100 lbs. We wanted it to have a little weight to it so that wind isn't as hard on it. We'll stake it down, too.
We'll probably have a couple of decoys out in front of it when we're hunting. It's big enough for two people to bowhunt out of, and after we get it set up at the edge of the field, we'll use it to glass the deer using the field until the season opens Oct. 1st. Good Hunting. Gregg J.
From: Earl E. Nove....mber
14-Aug-10
I saw one the other day at a rummage sale the other day.. More set up for duck hunting, but had some ideas for deer hunters to. His was just a half bail, but it was on a flat bed trailer.. Just drive it out and park it.. Worth thinking about.
From: Ben Farmer
14-Aug-10
Go to the Pa site. A guy on there just made one. It looks good!
From: diesel
15-Aug-10
gregg what size PVC did you use I was thinking 1/2 inch but was worried about it getting too brittle the dec jan feb with the freezing and cracking or shattering. Now I'm thinking about the hog pen fencing again but I don't now how heavy they are.
From: Meat Grinder
20-Aug-10
Chris--we used 1/2" pipe. Sent you a PM.
From: Mark Watkins
20-Aug-10
Take a DB or other quality blind, put one side up to a hay bale, brush in the blind.....and hunt! quick, camoed and portable!
From: Meat Grinder
25-Aug-10
Scoot--our blind is 4'x7'x 79" high and will accomodate two hunters with plenty of room to draw bows. Here's a photo with my buddy inside (and the neighbor's dog).
From: Meat Grinder
25-Aug-10
Another.
