Have you ever found the perfect spot to hunt a whitetail on opening day, but there’s not a decent place for a tree stand anywhere? That’s when the ground blind shows its true value.
Ground hunting blinds have been used for as long as people have tried to hide from game. Today, blinds are much more advanced at concealment, and have become a staple when hunting. You can use one almost anywhere.
The Perfect Time to Set up Ground Blind
If the idea appeals to you, then the next question becomes, when is the perfect time to set up ground blind for deer hunting?
Well, before you can set up your ground blind, there are several steps of preparation that need to happen first. So be sure to leave room for them in your schedule. Don’t wait until the last minute!
You should start by practicing with your ground blind, setting it up and taking it down. You don’t want to be trying to figure out how to set up your blind once you’re in the woods and have to work quickly while being as quiet as possible.
Next, unless you have that perfect spot already picked out, you need to do some scouting for a place you’d like to hunt.
Setting Up Your Ground Blind
Once you’ve found the perfect spot, if you can, go ahead and set up your ground blind in your preferred location, so that it may air out and blend in with the surrounding smells before the season begins.
If you’re trying your hand at hunting whitetails from a pop-up hunting blind, after selecting the right hunting spot, avoid the biggest mistake you can make with a ground blind, by hunting from it too soon.
This may not be an option. For instance, putting a deer hunting blind on public land too early may not be a good idea, as the blind may be damaged or removed by other hunters. In addition, throughout the season you may be required to change locations. It’s unfeasible in these circumstances to move the blind and then wait several days to hunt. In cases such as these, do your best to conceal the new location of the blind, positioning in such a way that the surrounding habitat covers as much of it as possible while still offering clear lines of sight.
Unoccupied ground blinds spook some deer. Others aren’t bothered. But setting the blind up well before the season begins, and, if necessary, spraying it with scent elimination spray, will help offset some of those risks.
Deer stick to their home turf, where they feel comfortable feeding, bedding, and moving. They are acutely aware when things feel “out of place.” Putting up a ground blind only days (or hours) before a hunt is an almost sure-fire way to scare them away. But if you set up your ground blind quickly, quietly, and, most importantly, long before you plan to occupy it for hunting, the deer in that area will be accustomed to the ground blind’s presence, and will be less likely to notice it (and you) when it’s time to take your shot.
