Camping in your blind?
Turkey
I'm thinking of a bivy style of hunting trip. I was planning on bringing a hammock/tarp for sleeping. But I was also planning on bringing a hub-style blind for hunting.
Has anyone camped in their blind? I would save some hassle in the morning to just wake up near the birds, make coffee in the blind, and wait for the birds to wake up..
Every year! I backpack in s few miles and find my db to be a fine camp
I have done this before! It was pretty cool to crawl out of a sleeping bag in the ole double bull, hear morning gobbles and then hunt without having to even go anywhere!
We fished for cat fish all night and then set up the blind in our morning spot at about 1am... Slept til we were woken up by gobbles and had a blast!
It works......just stake the bottom real good to keep out snakes and hope it don't rain a bunch. You will also probably sleep better knowing you don't have to worry about an alarm clock, etc and getting to the blind on time. A little crowded but so what!
I have never done that with a pop up, but I have spent several nights in my blinds while hunting antelope.
Here's a photo from one of those nights. My son and I spent the night in the blind and early the next morning we could hear the call of a buck antelope. It was still pitch black outside, and although I could not see the buck standing on the bank, his silhouette shown plainly in the water and I took his photo.
I hope to do it again this very year. I like sleeping in the blinds.
Have a great bow hunt. BB
Backpacking hunting with a blind sounds brutal! I have done some backpack hunts for turkeys but never brought a blind. Too much weight. But if you can carry it, sounds like a good idea to use it as a tent
I spent 4 nights in a double bull blind while hunting Bison here in Alaska at about 40 degrees below zero. Didn't kill a Bison, but spent some enjoyable hours trying to keep warm.
I spent 4 nights in a double bull blind while hunting Bison here in Alaska at about 40 degrees below zero. Didn't kill a Bison, but spent some enjoyable hours trying to keep warm.
Think of the bright side, it should save you the weight of having to carry an alarm clock.
I thought of this, but I snore. I'd be afraid of alerting the gobblers of my location and avoiding my setup entirely.
New definition to "shock gobbling!"
i set up in a clear cut and slept in a blind a few times, trying to catch elk at first light (or a little before :))
i slept in tree stands too. that is interesting, and on second thought i am not sure if sleep properly describes it.
Snoring could be a good locator call :).
BB -that 'lope buck looks like a wicked spiderupside down! Awesome pic (as usual)
So, I went to Kansas for turkey. I was hunting public land. I figured that it would be a waste of time and money to get a hotel room.
So, I went out about 10:30pm with my usual hunting gear (bow, blind, decoys, vest). I also grabbed a camping mat and sleeping bag. I set up the blind in the dark so that I didn't disturb the turkeys. I set out my decoys and went to sleep. I woke up about every hour. Around 5am, I couldn't take it any more and got up. I rolled up my mat and stufffed my sleeping bag.
Around 7:45, I killed TWO toms with my bow. It was agreat experience and I will definitely do it again.
Yep... great stuff. Highly recommend sleeping in your blind during deer season. Especially near food plots when it's hard to get to them in the morning.
Have done it for antelop a few times. Sure is nice when you get to the spot at midnight after a day of work to just sleep in the blind, saves an hour of sleep in the morning!
I have thought of doing it for deer but decided i couldn't sleep in a tree stand. maybe this year for elk. Would be the way to go for areas you can't get to without spooking the animal on the way in.
I've napped in it that's for sure...So's Nate!
:-)
Backpacking hunting with a blind sounds brutal!
^^^^ x2
I'm normally in a full sweat just hauling my blind, bow and gear 1/2 miles or whatever using it for turkey or deer... I can't imagine backpacking in the mountains with one... Mainly because of the weight and bulkiness of it... If you end up bringing it along, sure it would make a decent shelter.
I crawled into a pop up blind that was elevated about 10 feet off the ground, along a salmon stream in Alaska. I stayed in the blind five days except stepping out the back for porta potty break. There was a cot in the blind and a one burner Coleman for heating coffee etc. And I didn’t get a shot at a grizzly, but I did arrow a wolf. Also, I spent the night in an Alaskan tree stand and arrowed a brown bear at 345 am. If sleeping in a blind or tree stand gives you an improved potential for a shot, go for it.
I put a wood burning stove in mine and have elk hunted out of it down in the -16 range for several days. There may be some it bothered as I can't say for sure but some come right by and be straight down wind and never act like they knew it was there with smoke blowing over their backs.
Dang dale. Congrats on the wolf. Post a picture. That would be cool to see.
Dale was that hunt with Stan Parkerson
Yes, it was with Stan Parkerson. FWIW, I did not get a shot at a mature grizz. I could have arrowed some small, young ones. I saw two shooters for a brief time at about 70 yards. The guy that hunted a nearby stand with Parkerson also got no shots as did the guy that hunted immediately after me.
Being a 68 year old DIY solo big game rifle hunter, the only way I've found to compete with the younger 4-wheeling hunter, on public land, is to spend the night in my weatherproof hunting hide for an early morning shot. I dress in layers and have a wrap around blanket to stay warm at night while I stay awake listening to the night game movement. When the temps get real cold, I use additional hand and foot warmers to help keep me warm. I hunt the early October rifle cow hunts for the best chance to bag an elk. Granted, this is a harder way to hunt, but it works for the older hunter.
I think as my DB blinds have gotten older, they seem to emit a gas that makes me go to sleep constantly while hunting! Does that count?
Back in the day, if I wasn't scaring away game animals in the dark trying to get to my spot, or hunting pressure beating me to my spot, hunting was driving me nuts. However, now I pick a promising place for my popup ground blind and keep an all night vigil for a early morning, or next day shot. Don't get me wrong, I DO NOT CAMP OUT in my hide. I stay awake and ever vigilant. I dress for the occasion and use a Buddy heater for warmth if necessary. I use the same technic for hunting elk and deer. I've waited all year for this hunt so I can stand one sleepless night!
Hey Bill, if you'll pack a thermal scope you can probably tag out before morning!!! ;)
When hunting whitetails, in big woods, blinds work only when set up for awhile, and we'll brushed in, and even then, deer are cautious..... So to hunt the morning we'll, I have gone in and stayed overbite. I keep a blanket on floor for quietness. Wearing my HBS, stay warm. I have found with elk, you can pretty much pop up a blind and hunt. , .....
Wild Bill, I'm still trying to understand the purpose of a pop-up blind for rifle hunting. I asked you that question before and you replied that I'm "obviously young and inexperienced". Neither of which is true.
So enlighten us. Why pack in a pop-up and blankets and allegedly sit there awake all freaking night staring out into the darkness, when you can sit with your back to a tree and shoot off a bipod or sticks?
Wild Bill should get some sleep.
Ah, Jaq, to be young and inexperienced again!
When I was a young buck, I too would simply sit with my back to a tree and shoot from a stick. However, when your old and handicapped, and can't move that much anymore, rifle hunting from a ground blind is the only way to go. Spending the night in the blind provides handicapped hunters with a good chance at a morning shot. And let's face it, your not going to get much sleep anyway so why not stay awake and listen to the night sounds of the forest. Its not the first time a old person has spent a sleepless night in a chair. If its cold, bring a Buddy heater. I realize this idea doesn't set well with young ATVer's, but that's public hunting!
From: Blacktail Bob 22-Mar-12
I spent 4 nights in a double bull blind while hunting Bison here in Alaska at about 40 degrees below zero. Didn't kill a Bison, but spent some enjoyable hours trying to keep warm.
Did you have your wife/girlfriend in there with you Bob? That’s the only way I can think of that trying to keep warm at -40* would be considered……………….. ”enjoyable!” ;-)
