Hay Bale Blind- making your own?
General Topic
I would like to make my own bale blind.
Are there any 'How to' out there anywhere?
I think it would be simpler to dress like a scare crow. would love to see the deer's face when you move
I've never seen a tutorial....but i bet you could do it with a roll of 2x4 fence wire [6' width] and then stretch that straw erosion netting over it pretty cheap
We use conduit and bend it into to shape then cover it with Duck grass.
Go to Google, and type in, "make a hay bale blind on Youtube". A few examples there.
I have buddies who have done it by making a frame of wood, then bending a cattle panel in an inverted U shape. From another panel they cut the end pieces, including one with a door.
Plastic covers the frame after it's been coated with straw, with a fine mesh, like they put on the bales when they're baled.
Haven't made one yet but I'm going to use a couple of hog/cattle panels for the frame. Should make it pretty rigid, if not, the conduit may come into play.
WTNUT aka Chad Kouis via facebook posted photos of them making one.
It looked very good but then again he is a taxidermist so his attention to detail is high on the charts
Midwesthaybale blinds makes a wrap to go around and over a pop hub style blind. I bought one and that is the only way to go. It was under 100 bucks shipped and if time is money to you than this will save you a lot of time. Also buy the time you buy the materials alone to make one you will have 50 bucks or so into making one plus your time. Do a search. You will see how nice they are. I have had mine two years and expect to get at least 2 more years out of it. I put it out late in season so less chance of rain getting it soaked and snow i brush off before it melts. Shawn
Here's the one a buddy built from this plan
I've got the livestock panels already. you can get the straw matting on amazon for about $40. I plan to make one in the next few months.
Check out Youtube. There are some there.
hey No Mercy, What did your buddy use for his outer layer? Is it the erosion blanket also? It looks different to me.
definitely a fun project to consider. I think that I would lighten the frame a little bit. It has some overkill in a few places. For example the 4x4's on the base. I would think you could use 2x2's around the outside instead of the 2x4's but then you would have to use some small angle attachments to secure the 2x2's a little better. Also 36 inch welded wire would probably be a little lighter to wrap around the outside. I think you could shave off 20 pounds if you wanted to. Any thoughts?
I like the erosion blankets... where are you guys getting those? The ones from Home Depot/Lowes don't seem thick enough to me. Although it looks like for $50, you'd get enough to wrap it at least 3 times.
Seems to be much more cost effective than ordering the wraps from Midwest Haybale Blinds. I've never gotten more than 2 years out of the bale wraps they sell.
I pretty much did what writer stated earlier but I welded a base frame for the cattle panels to fasten to pin of rebar. It is pretty sturdy. My first attempt I spread hay out over black plastic that was fastened to the cattle panels then fastened 2x4 wire over that. It lasted about a yr then started falling out. I need to recover it this summer and win try the erosion control stuff. Good luck they work great.
Yes-that's erosion blanket. I'll post a few more pics
Here is where the erosion blanket came from
