Ground blind hunting and the wind

[TexOk]

So the only weekend I had available to hunt this month is coming up this weekend, and the forecast is showing the wrong wind the whole time. I bought a new pop ground blind last week, and was wondering how effective they are at containing your scent? I have a pretty extensive scent reduction routine, including ozone. But I just don't know if that would be enough for archery hunting over a small food plot. Am I better off not hunting at all this month or should I give it a try?

 

[Vector]

The more windows you keep closed, the more contained your scent will be. If your blind is not in place yet though, it needs to get out there so it can get aired out and the deer can visually get used to it.

I personally won't pass up completely hunting a place, but I know a lot of guys....that kill a lot more mature bucks than me.....that don't/won't hunt if the wind is not right.

I am sure you have an answer for this per your specific setup, but just to be sure..... is there a way you can move the blind in your hunting location as to minimize your scent cone to the approaching deer? That is usually the beauty of a blind; to allow you to play the wind.

I love blind hunting. I minimize my open windows to make the inside of the blind pretty dark (and I wear black from the waste up most times) and to keep those wind whipping issues to a minimum.

Having cross-windows open is the worst. I see setups like this quite often, and they hurt the hunter badly.

 

[Cap'n]

So the only weekend I had available to hunt this month is coming up this weekend, and the forecast is showing the wrong wind the whole time. I bought a new pop ground blind last week, and was wondering how effective they are at containing your scent? I have a pretty extensive scent reduction routine, including ozone. But I just don't know if that would be enough for archery hunting over a small food plot. Am I better off not hunting at all this month or should I give it a try?

I would imagine it will be very difficult right now to set up a blind and get a deer within bow range. I hunt out of blinds more than any other stand now. I agree that you should wear black and I only open the front window. I never open the back, and the side windows I open only a crack to peek through. i sit as far back in the blind as I can. The problem your going to have is the deer are very nervous right now from all the pressure of gun season. You should set it up and give them a couple of weeks to get used to it. Thats why i make permanent blinds out of used stockade fence panels. They are there year round, some have been there 3 years, they are a part of the land. We have deer come within 3-4 ft of our blinds in Oct. but you have to be able to skip each blind and let it rest for 2 weeks ,other wise they will always assume you are in the blind and only show up after dark. Usually 2 weeks after gun season ends ( mid Dec) they will relax and get back on their normal trails and food plots during shooting hours.

 

[tlh2865]

I am in agreement with the other two posters here. You can do it, if you know where the deer are going to come from and you only open that one window and only open it a sliver, you can do well enough with scent. But you have to get your blinds out earlier than a week. Putting it in now to hunt this weekend would just be more harm than good if you ask me. You're gonna stir stuff up if you go out and put up a blind and brush it in now. In my opinion blinds have to go in before season, so my advice would be to not put out a blind, and stick with whatever setups you already have. If that means no hunting this weekend then thats the rout I would go. And remember this for next year and get you a blind out and brushed in before the season. But I will grant you that I am usually a very conservative hunter, so if you're feeling aggressive, thats up to you

 

[TexOk]

Thanks guys, I was kind of leaning towards not hunting and now I'm definitely going to skip it. This particular spot has the deer coming in from the northeast, the east and the southeast, so any kind of westerly wind blows that spot. I was hoping the blind would help but I was worried about it spooking the deer. I'll definitely work on getting it out there before the season starts next year.

 

[Sampson]

Killed this guy out of blind that was placed three days before I killed him. If you zoom in you can see the blind in the background. Wind was right for the set. It can be done but I would only hunt when the wind is right for your set.


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[Vector]

I still have a hard time with the idea of "don't go hunt". The worst day of hunting is still better than a lot of other days. If you are not going to be back til next year, what do you have to lose by trying and learning?

 

[Elkaddict]

In addition to having a blind in place for a while, you also need to think about the scent new manufacturing has. I’d get that thing set up in your yard to start airing it out ASAP, and in place quick. If my choice was to hunt or not hunt, I’d get in the woods. Winds are fickle as are forecast. In addition to personal scent control, I’d wipe a bunch of ever calm all around you on surrounding trees. I’ve never had deer adversely alert to it like they do with many scents. Not a fix all....but I find it helps.

 

[Jeff H]

I have put up a blind and killed deer out of it the same morning. I may do it again this year. Probably not the biggest and smartest deer but they taste the same.
I like to put them in spots where they cant see the blind until it's too late. They usually react by stopping and starring at it for a few seconds and by that time it's too late. I wonder now if putting it up the same day I'm hunting out of it is actually better since the element of surprise is on my side.
I suppose it may also educate them to a degree (if I don't kill them) but as a late season tactic I don't worry so much when I want to put a doe in the freezer. Plus it beats getting wind whipped in a tree stand when it's cold outside.

 

[Sampson]

I'm all for hunting and rolling the dice, especially if not gonna hunt again until next year. Who knows you might get lucky and kill the deer you've been after. I would recommend the airing out first advice and I second the deer calm scent place around your set. Good luck and keep us posted.


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[TexOk]

Thanks again for all the feedback guys. Awesome buck Sampson!

So to update, this past weekend my dad was up at our property and I'd talked to him about the possibility of setting up the new blind for this coming weekend. However he got really sick while he was there and cut the trip short and came home. He never mentioned anything about the blind so I assumed that he hadn't put it up. Then I was talking to him today and he mentioned that he had actually put the blind up. I was surprised because he didn't mention it and he didn't talk to me about where or how I wanted it set up. So he texted me these pics of where he put it.

As you can see from the pics, it's set up out in the open right next to my tree stand. Not really where I wanted to put it but I definitely won't complain because he went out there and put it up even though he was really sick. So now I'm not going to be able to hunt this weekend but in Oklahoma the archery season is open until January 15th, and I know for sure I'll be able to hunt up there at least one more time either the first or second weekend of January. But now I'm worried that the blind is going to spook deer since it's so out in the open. Any deer that walks out into that plot is immediately going to see it.

So my new question is, do I leave it there? The only reason I was considering using it was if the wind was bad, otherwise I'd just hunt from the tree stand. The property is about 2.5 hours away so that would be quite a trip just to run up there and take it down, but I would do it if it's going to mess up my last chance for the season. So, thoughts?

 

[Sampson]

I am planning to hunt until Jan 15 th myself. My other farm is 2 1/2 hours away as well, so I understand there no such thing a quick trip. I think your good as the deer hunting pressure drops off a bunch after rifle season. The deer should go back to more of a normal feeding pattern and should be more then use to your blind being there by the time you get back to hunt. It will certainly be aired out by then as well. January weather can be cold and windy in Oklahoma. I think you will find the blind to be your preferred spot to hunt then.
Your place must be in SE Oklahoma as the western part I hunt looks more like the panhandle of Texas. I will be looking forward to the pictures you post after your hunt in January.


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[Berserker]

Not going to shoot a deer on the couch. I understand the idea of compromising a blind. But not hunting for a month?

Has it gotten cold?

 

[TexOk]

I am planning to hunt until Jan 15 th myself. My other farm is 2 1/2 hours away as well, so I understand there no such thing a quick trip. I think your good as the deer hunting pressure drops off a bunch after rifle season. The deer should go back to more of a normal feeding pattern and should be more then use to your blind being there by the time you get back to hunt. It will certainly be aired out by then as well. January weather can be cold and windy in Oklahoma. I think you will find the blind to be your preferred spot to hunt then.
Your place must be in SE Oklahoma as the western part I hunt looks more like the panhandle of Texas. I will be looking forward to the pictures you post after your hunt in January.


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Yep, SE Oklahoma, up in the hills. I love Texas but it's some really beautiful country up there. With the cold and wind in January I think that blind will be mighty tempting. Hopefully we'll both have some late season success!

Berserker, it's nice and cold right now, but I'm sure nowhere near Wisconsin/U. P. type cold! I here you on the couch thing, believe me I'm dying to get out there, had too much stuff crop with my family and it's made it really hard to hunt this season. Fortunately I've talked a buddy of mine into going with me to hunt a small property he owns nearby in East Texas here in the next week, so maybe I'll be able to get some meat in the freezer here soon.

 

[Drycreek]

So..... did you hunt, and if so, what happened ?

 

[PineSapJunky]

This is what not to do. Ground blind, wrong wind, 80°F in December, broken blind, busted bow (but will still sling and arrow) all while trying to get it on film.

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[Sampson]

Ha, well at least your still smiling about it And your still out in the woods. Even the rough hunts a good because it will all be over soon enough and the long wait will begin.


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[PineSapJunky]

Ha, well at least your still smiling about it And your still out in the woods. Even the rough hunts a good because it will all be over soon enough and the long wait will begin.


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Have a lot to be smiling about. Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife, three smart and beautiful children, good job and plenty or land to chase his creatures. Even though my wife doesn't understand it she still let's me do it. Better than sitting at a desk right now. Plus it's Christmas. Doesn't get any better


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[Sampson]

Well said, agreed. We all have much to be thankful for..


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[TexOk]

Well Pinesap, I hope you had better luck than I did. I managed to hunt last weekend out of the ground blind. It was my first time to ever use a ground blind, and I have mixed feelings. It was more comfortable than my tree stand, both in sitting (had a comfy seat) and being sheilded from the wind. But it did feel a bit claustrophobic, you just don't have the view you have up in a tree. But it was nice to have the option to at least attempt hunting since the wind was all wrong for hunting from my tree stand almost the entire weekend. The other bonus was that we had a good rain on Sunday morning, but the ground under the blind was bone dry. I had coated it pretty heavily with silicone waterproofing spray a week before setting it up and it seemed to do the trick. However, I never saw a single deer the entire time, and when I checked the camera on that plot there hadn't been a deer there day or night since the blind was set up. So I think it's a safe bet that the deer were a bit spooked by the new addition. I'm hoping to hunt there again the weekend of New Years so maybe by then they will be acclimated to it. If not it looks like I'll be eating some tag soup this year.