GroundBlinds.com
Ground Attack
One October afternoon up in northern Saskatchewan, a 300-pound buck with a black, gnarly rack that took my breath away stepped out of the bush. As I was trembling and settling my muzzleloader on his shoulder, he threw up his head and looked 125 yards across the meadow. I froze. He didn’t see me, but he sure saw my blind. He stomped, wheezed and flagged away like he’d just see the boogeyman.

Three weeks later I returned to Canada for a rifle hunt. My mama didn’t raise a dummy. I pulled that pop-up off the ridge, moved 60 yards to the west, tucked it deeper into the spruce that rimmed the glade and brushed it up with boughs and grass.

Later that afternoon another monster stepped out of the willows and looked my way. “Uh, oh,” I cringed. But he dropped his head and kept coming, muscles rippling and 150-inch rack shining in the sun. My .270 cracked, and the big boy fell 70 yards from the blind’s door.

Those hunts pretty much sum it up. You can either spook a big deer from a ground blind, or sit there and shoot him dead. It depends on where you put your blind, and how well you set it up.


Hiding behind a deadfall in the shadows and resting your rifle over a limb is a dynamite setup.

Natural Hides
A round hay bale, a slash pile, a fallen treetop, a copse of switch grass…you get the picture. If you can find a natural structure near a food source, trail or funnel blazed with rubs and scrapes, it should be your first choice for a ground attack. That way you blend in with a natural part of a buck’s habitat. Hide in a nook or cranny that deer see and walk past most every day and you’ll do well.

But sometimes you’ve got to get more aggressive and take your game to the deer. One December, I patterned a herd of animals staging in a CRP field and nibbling tender green forbs that had sprouted after a rain. The pasture was dotted with cedars two to four feet high. I cut a few bushes, dragged them to a spot where the visibility and wind were good, arranged a hide in two minutes and climbed in. That afternoon 20 deer strolled within muzzleloader range and never blinked an eye. I smoked an 8-pointer.


It worked because I was able to blend my blind into the surroundings. If you can’t do that, forget about it. If you build a big, new blind out in an open field (or in open woods for that matter) and try to hunt it the same day, most every old deer that approaches from 200 yards away will spot it, slam on the brakes and wonder something like, “What’s that blob, I’ve never seen it before?” Old does will start head bobbing, blowing and running. You probably won’t get a shot at a buck with a slug gun or a muzzleloader, and you certainly won’t shoot an arrow.

This is perhaps the most important thing to remember--cover your back. Stack cedars, logs or brush behind you so that it fully covers your head and shoulders when you sit down to hunt. Background cover with no large holes of air is what breaks your outline and hides your moves. You need only minimal cover in front and on the sides. And don’t get carried away. The smaller a blind and the lower its overall profile, the less chance deer will pick it out.


I spotted a herd of deer feeding on forbs in an Iowa CRP field. I cut and build a makeshift blind near where the deer were feeding and smoked an 8-pointer.

Pop-Up Blinds
There are hundreds of portable blinds on the market. Any model can work well if you hunt smart and hide it. Tuck a tent into a brushy fencerow, amidst some dead-fall timber, in a weed ditch that rims a field…you get the picture. It can’t hurt to choose a camouflage pattern that matches your terrain. Green camo near a wheat field, desert camo near a plains waterhole, etc. Then go a step further and brush the blind with oak limbs, pine boughs, prairie grass or the like. Again, the better you hide it, the better off you’ll be.

Sunlight shining onto a canvas blind can light it up like neon. Whitetails might spot that sheen hundreds of yards away. So face a morning blind west and an evening blind east so you’ll be hidden in mottled shadows. Of course your blind needs to be downwind of where you expect to see and shoot a deer. Spray it down good with your favorite odor- killer. Be sure to close the rear door and window flaps so deer can’t look through your blind, see you move and bust you.


Iowa TV star Kandi Kisky moved in with a portable blind and shot this monster as he stepped out to feed. Notice how well the camo matches the terrain.

More Blind Tips
  • In the summer build a stick blind near a field or on a ridge where you hunt a lot. Or set up a portable and let it weather and blend in. Come season, it will be a natural part of the landscape, and deer will be accustomed to it.

  • I’ve found that deer are most apt to spot a new blind in October or later in December, when their senses are on red alert. Try a ground attack during the rut, when bucks drop their guard. A bruiser chasing a doe might run smack over your blind!

  • With a lot of setups, and especially late in the season, you have more cover on the ground than up in bald tree when the leaves are down. Keep your movements to a minimum and deer will rarely see you.

  • If a deer sees you one day, he or she will look hard in that direction from then on and get ultra-spooky. Move your blind 50 to 100 yards and renew your ground game.


  • Situate your blind where a buck will quarter past it rather than walk straight in. That way you can draw your bow unseen and get a good quartering-away shot.
  • IMPORTANT: Do not set up where deer will walk straight at you through the open woods. If an old doe catches you move or simply sees your blind as some strange blob that wasn’t there yesterday, she’ll either spook outright or back off and skirt you. Any buck behind her will probably do the same. Instead, set up where animals will walk past your blind at an angle, either quartering-on or, better, quartering away. This way, a doe or buck won’t see your blind’s outline from the get-go and get suspicious. If and when an 8-pointer walks into range, you’ll be out of his direct line of sight when you draw your bow or shift your gun. And finally, he’ll be in good position for a shot, either quartering or broadside.

  • When gun hunting, I sit either on the ground on a small folding stool with my back against a tree as wide as my body. That back cover is most important. I craft a small fort of sticks, grass and the like around me. Great tip: Use your boots to clear the leaves around your feet down to the dirt, so you can sit and turn quietly. Take those piles of leaves and sprinkle them over and in the blind sticks to further break your outline.


  • A small, natural hide that blends you into the deer habitat works great.

  • For archery hunting, I often just simply stand behind a tree about 20 inches wide. I try to put another wide tree or, better, a copse of several trees three or four feet behind me. This gives me the required back cover, and I can crouch hidden behind the front tree until it’s time to draw and shoot. I usually build a small screen of sticks and brush to the sides, but again I keep it tight and small.

  • Accessories: My little stool gives me a couple feet of elevation to see and shoot a buck that comes mincing through the woods. You need that extra height, so packing a stool is worth the hassle. I always use a monopod or shooting sticks for a rock-solid gun rest.

  • One day not long ago in Montana, I froze as an 8-pointer quartered toward me from 80 yards out. The woods were flat as a pool table and wide-open, but I didn’t care. The buck stepped into the ditch in front of me and completely disappeared. I drew my bow and stepped two feet out from behind my hiding tree. When he popped back out of the ditch on my side, I ran an arrow through his lungs at 16 steps. He never knew I was anywhere in his world, and he never knew what hit him. Anytime you can use a ditch, river bank, creek crossing or similar wrinkle in the terrain to your ground advantage, do it.

  • The lower the profile of your natural blind, the less likely deer will see you. Go prone when gun hunting if you can.

  • I use the stool when bowhunting from a natural blind to take a load off until the deer start to move. Then I stand and remain standing. I screw a utility hook or a specialized arm-type bow holder in the front tree, and hang my compound on it at shoulder height. When I see a deer I lift it off the hook with little noise and movement, two big keys to success when you’re trying to whack a deer from ground zero.
  • Ground Blind Manufactures

    Ameristep – Bighouse
    Our BIGHOUSE TSC™ (Patent Pending) is large enough for standing bow shots, and is the LARGEST "Hub-Style" blind available.

    Bighouse Details:
  • Model #901
  • Hub-Style Technology
  • Shoot-Through TSC™ Mesh Kit Included
  • ShadowGuard™ Interior
  • Durashell™ with Edge ReLeaf™
  • Window tie-downs
  • Zip-In/Zip-Out Shoot-Through Mesh
  • Gear Pockets & Bow Holder
  • Floor-to-Floor Fiber Poles
  • Stakes & High wind tie-downs
  • Backpack: 8” dia. x 52" Long
  • Weighs approx. 22 lbs.

  • Ameristep – Frontier Blind
    Our NEW! frontier Blind features rugged HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) construction with tinted windows, carpeted floor platform and is extremely weatherproof and wear-resistant; holding up to any hunting environment.

    Frontier Blind Details:
  • Durable HDPE Construction (High Density Polyethylene)
  • Large Door
  • Tinted Windows to Mask Movement
  • Easy to Assemble
  • BLIND: 48” x 48” x 86” Tall
  • WEIGHT: 130 lbs.

  • Ameristep – Intimidator Blind
    The INTIMIDATOR BLIND offers the ultimate concealment and protection in a Hub-Style design adding new dimension to the hunting experience. ShadowGuard™ enhanced lining that eliminates shadows and silhouettes. The NS³ MICRO-TECH fabric eliminates shine and all excess noise. Also see the DOMINATOR and the NEW! Brushline System.

    Intimidator Blind Details:
  • Models: #3303 and #3304
  • 360° shoot through camo mesh eliminates blind spots
  • The ONLY hub-style ground blind w/removable floor
  • Noise free magnetic window curtain
  • Patented electronic game call speaker window
  • Reflective orange safety system
  • Ground skirt helps keep elements out and scent in
  • Three sealed camera ports
  • Blind shelf for keeping gear in close reach
  • 8 replaceable shoot-through mesh windows
  • Stubble pockets for ultimate concealment
  • Stakes and high-wind tie-down ropes
  • Pack dimensions: 8” square x 43” long
  • Weighs 24 lbs.

  • Bale Blind
    The Bale Blind™ incorporates natural cover (alfalfa, corn, straw, cattails). The Bale Blind™ has an easy entrance door and is made for BowHunting. This blind is wind-tight, water-tight, and scent-tight and can withstand mother nature.

    Bale Blind Details:
  • Center Height: Approx. 67 inches
  • Shooting Diameter: 6 feet 6 inches
  • Floor Space: 4 Feet 4 Inches by 6 Feet 6 Inches
  • Weight: 180 lbs
  • Shooting Ports: Customizable
  • Viewing Ports: Customizable
  • Tie-Downs: None
  • Colors: Up to Mother Nature
  • Option: Center Height (5 Feet 7 Inches)
  • Double Bull – T2 – Swat Camo:
    The T2™ is lightweight/Portable(12 lbs) and has a low-profile roofline. This ground blind has 6 total shooting ports and one huge 21” x 52” netted shooting port. The T2™ is great for hunting in heavy cover and features the Ground Swat Camo pattern which is designed and scaled specifically for use on blinds. The T2’s™ custom cotton / poly fabric is weather-resistant, silent and won’t shine this blind also has a black interior lining.

    T2™ Details:
  • Center Height: 64 Inches
  • Shooting Diameter: 69 Inches
  • Floor Space: 7 Feet by 5 Feet (35 square feet)
  • Weight: 12 lbs
  • Shooting Ports: 5 (7inches wide by 15 inches high)
  • Shoot-Through Net System: 1 (52 Inches Wide by 21 Inches High)
  • Tie-Downs: 2 Wall; 6 Stake Rings (4 Corner, 2 Center-Wall)
  • Colors: Ground Swat ™ camouflage

  • Double Bull – T5 Prostaff Ground Blind
    Roomy Comfort, Great Views, Strong Framework - The next link in the evolutionary chain that became the Matrix 360™. The T5Pro-Staffer features wide netted viewing windows on each wall between the eight (8) shooting ports, allowing the hunter or hunters to track their quarry and position the shot in advance. The T5 gets its name from the five (5) - hub framework system providing unmatched integrity, strength and adjustability. The 25 - square feet of floor space allows plenty of room to take along a hunting partner or two!

    Black interior absorbs light, eliminates see-through and results in an indoor / outdoor contrast too extreme for game to overcome, especially on sunny days! The 5 - inch scent / light flap at the base of each wall forms an even tighter seal to the ground to ensure no light leaking in or scent escaping at ground level. Features our unmatched silent window systems, custom fabrics, patented adjustable framework. Available in Predator Deception All-Purpose camo.


    T2 - Deception All Purpose
    The Lightweight Blind with the Subtle Outline. When that big buck is sneaking along a wooded trail heading for his bedding area, working a scrape line or rubline in heavy cover, the T2Low-Profile is the ultimate hide. The T2gets its name from the two (2) hub framework system offering lighter weight, lower profile and more portability. The T2’s tapered roof-line is designed with the knowledge that sometimes less is more, especially when you need to set up in tight quarters. Horizontal roof-lines can sometimes tip off a deer, especially a hunt-wise buck. The T2Low Profile casts a more subtle outline, in a lighter package that still offers substantial roomy comfort.

    The lighter weight (only 12 pounds) and lower profile is achieved by our use of a framework featuring only two hubs and eight support poles. Position the front side with the huge 21 x 52 - inch netted shooting port at the trail where you expect the deer to walk, and get ready! Five additional window openings offer the hunter a myriad of shot opportunities and the ability to track moving game.


    Trophyhouse blind
    Our TROPHYHOUSE™ Blind is ideal for hunters who do not need an enclosed, tent-style blind, but still appreciate concealment and freedom of movement. It's tall enough to hide while sitting upright in one of our CAMO CHAIRS OR STOOLS. Works great with our DIRECTOR'S CHAIR (as shown)

    Trophyhouse Blind Details:
  • Model #864
  • Spring-Steel Construction
  • Die-Cut 3-D Leaf Pattern
  • NS³ Micro-Tech Fabric
  • Stakes & Tie-Downs
  • Pouch Pack: 15” dia. x 2" Thick
  • Weighs approx. 4 lbs
  • Archery & Bowhunting Products & Gear Reviews
    Bowhunting's Top Magazines
    Learn How to Hunt Rub Lines
    Choke Tube Usage Guide
    Cougar Hunting
    Deer Hunting
    Get Shots of Monster Bucks on Your Property
    Deer Decoys
    Deer Hunting Books
    The Best Deer Hunting Videos & DVDs
    Hunting Scrapes — Is it Worth Your Time?
    The Best Venison Recipes
    Create a Secret Food Plot on Your Property
    Ground blind Hunting — It's Time
    Choose the Right Guide & Outfitter
    Hunting Video Games & Entertainment
    Top Hunting Magazines
    Public Land Hunting Tips
    Sweepstakes Gear & Giveaways
    Wild Boar Hunting
    Turkey Hunting Information & Turkey Gear Guide
    Paper & Bow Tuning Tips
    Top Of The Line Trail Cameras
    Shot Placement — Choose the Right Shot
    SHOT Show Information & Hunting Gear Guide
    Trail Camera Photos & Reviews
    Federal Duck Stamp Programming Information
    Illinois Monster Bucks
    Buy Hunting Land
    The Keys to Bear Hunting Success
    How and Where to Hunt Elk
    Deer Mineral Licks - Do They Work?
    Why You Should Hunt With an ATV
    Upland Hunting Preserves

    BowHunting.Com

    HuntingNet.Com

    Coon Creek Hunt Club

    Computer Consulting

    Web Development