Blind in the middle of the field
Whitetail Deer
One of My food plots is about 70 yards wide and 250 long. Looking to build a blind about 8 ft off ground. Leaning towards putting it in the edge of the woods and hoping the deer works within range. I could also place in the middle and have a better opportunity to get them in range. Any suggestions?
Mike
A lot of variables involved. Wind direction, where they predominantly enter the plot, bedding areas, etc.
Could you put it on the predominantly downwind edge of the field halfway from one end to the other? Then you could plant some type of cover screen or trees/shrubs partway out into the field directly across from your blind as a pinch point to try and funnel them past you within range. Not a quick fix for sure. Like you asked, just a suggestion. You probably would be better served to hunt it from some different tree stand spots for a year or two to get a better feel for the optimum place to put a permanent blind in. You might put it in and then decide that you need to be 40 yds one direction or the other than where you’re at.
Mike, I used to set my blinds close to a woodline, that is until a buddy of mine showed me a totally different way to hunt. Blinds work fantastic in the middle of a field. Here is a great example of one I put in the middle of a cornfield. A 152 inch buck was killed out of this blind with a bow during the late season this year. I wouldn't build a blind, purchase a quality portable by Rhino or Double Bull.
For placement, use a high spot in the field, keep wind in your favor, and make sure you blend the blind in to the fields color. If in corn use stalks, if grass get evergreen branches and green trees. If beans go cut stalks and weave them into the blind. You can also buy fake grass at Michaels stores. Also, go buy the heavy long metal tent stakes. The blind will not move with heavy winds when you use these. I know guys who put the pop ups on a 6 foot tall wooden platform and be just as successful. This flat out works, brush in the blind well, wear black, cover you face, and sit in the dark 1/4 of the blind and you will be blown away. I know I was and it has totally changed how I hunt ag fields.
2X Hay Bale Blind. no need to brush them in, nothing else compares to them.
I would second what XMan posted, although I haven’t killed a buck out of a ground blind as of yet. I even went so far as to plant some additional sorghum in my corn plot in a circle in a spot that I planned to set a ground blind in the fall. It worked very well, IMO. I fertilized it a couple of times during the summer.
These really help to hold whatever material you are using to brush your blind in with.
That`s not a food plot, that`s a farm field. LOL
Whatever you do, put it on a stand that has wheels so that it is easily moveable!
Patterns change drastically in one of my five acre bean fields over the course of the season.
Mark
X2- keep it mobile. Either wheels or skids.
Mick, Its a food plot when you own the land and plant corn :)
Exactly the info I needed. Thanks!
Mike
Mike- If you place it soon, it doesn't matter where you put it or what you put. Deer very quickly be accustomed to almost anything. One of the best blinds I ever hunted from was a simple three-side curtain on top a tractor parked in the middle of a 200-acre bean field. Deer totally ignored it. I have also had deer and even bobcats, feed right under the shooting houses on an AL plantation.
That said, consider this. If you know where they like to enter a field, put that in the equation. Also, notice where they go in the field to start feeding. If you can, I would also put a mock-rub by the blind to try and stimulate communication-congregation. In other words, do some thinking and play a little.
