Building Deer and Turkey Hunting Blinds

One of my favorite ways to hunt during the whitetail muzzleloader season here in Iowa is from a natural blind that I've set up during the spring and summer months.  Hunting from a natural blind gives you a little better sense of nature and to me allows a better view.  Maybe it doesn't keep the snow and rain off of you like a Double Bull does so the trade off in view is there.

When building a blind we always use dead fallen timbers and sticks that are already worn and weathered but we don't stop at just timber.  We always throw in anything laying around that may help stabilize the structure including old rolls of wire, sisal rope, old farm metal and dirt.  Whatever we can find to stack up and build walls will work for us. 

As you near the top of your blind you'll want to make sure you have a shooting window you can shoot out of without standing up and revealing yourself.  I always use sisal rope to tie timbers together and ensure my window stays in place.  Continue to build above your shooting window to a height that will be above your head while seated.  Your shooting window will double as a viewing window to spot game while hunting.  Test it to make sure it fits you well.  If you plan to use binoculars make sure you can easily stay seated or kneeling while using your binoculars to view your surroundings.

We always start at a standing tree and build our blind at the base of the standing tree.  Doing this gives you some cover overhead and the tree makes a nice backrest to lean against when sitting for long periods.  If a tree is not available you can always place one of those comfortable nylon lawn chairs inside for a backrest. 

Since sent will be more of an issue when you are on the ground we try to build our blinds close to cedar trees that we can cut when we hunt and place them in the blind.  They provide additional cover from movement as well as a natural cover scent.  Freshly cut cedar has a strong aroma and when mixed with great scent control on your part you can be every bit as effective from the ground.  One of my favorite cover scents is fresh dirt and by hunting in a blind you always have access to the dirt.  While hunting in the blind I will scoop dirt from the ground and scoop handfuls of it around the logs to release its fresh earthy scent.  I also keep a mesh bag with me that I will scoop decomposing leaves and material from the forest floor, place it in the bag and then hang it in the blind with me.  This decomposing material always gives off a very natural odor that game is used to smelling.

Placement of your blind will have to be close to game activity.  While blinds are better suited for gun hunting you can also bow hunt from them and many have successfully hunted from them.  Place your blind in close proximity to a food plot, entrance or exit to pinch points, funnels or bottlenecks.  Consider prevailing winds in the area and try to set your blind up so that the sun will not be in your eyes.  Remember, this is not a portable blind and you can't move it quickly, if at all. 

Where we hunt on our farm in the Loess Hills of Western Iowa we prefer blinds in higher areas where thermals are more likely to work in your favor.  Building them in low cool spots is possible but you are at a disadvantage.  We always try to be south and east of game activity when possible to avoid northerly and westerly winds giving us away.  Each place will be different, and even in the Loess Hills we often deal with swirling winds that enter a hollow and swirl when they hit the hill faces. 

I'll leave you with a few photos of one of our blinds that Nicole and I put together.  Managing your own farm for whitetails and hunting experiences is easier than you think.  Acquiring your own affordable hunting property in Iowa and managing it yourself can provide many great rewards.

 This is what we call our upper blind that sits on an open 10 acre piece in the upper timber.  The blind easily fits two people and has a large elm log inside that was sawn in half the long way to make a nice bench to sit on. As you can see from this photo at 15 yards from the blind Nicole is seated and below the top of the blind.

Here Nicole continues to stack old logs and sticks on the blind after having given it a try once she knows where it needs more cover.

Viewing inside the blind before before the seat was placed, look cozy enough to sit for a few hours in the winter?