I am tired of getting busted in South Texas so I just bought a nice pop up blind from Cabelas. I have a buddy that has built a 6’ base and erected his pop up on top. He has left it in place since April. I am going to do the same thing but am hesitant to leave it up permanently. This is in Dimmit County. Anybody else do this? Tips for erecting and hunting, do you brush them in heavily?

you will be buying a new one yearly if you leave it up year round. A few weeks before bow season should be long enough and take it down after the season.

Summer heat and sun with eat them up.

Good call first off, I get busted bow hunting in my pop up far less than I do any other way. I would agree with the above and take it down after the season. I brush mine in very heavily. If you have any sort of heavy scented trees like ash junipers, use those to brush it in. They work as a cover scent and stay green longer.

I set mine under a low tree and put fallen brush around it. Try to break up the top of your pop up from the skyline.

They work. I would prefer mine slightly elevated as well but I build platforms that work well for that purpose.

I saw this last week and thought I could help with my experience out of a pop up blind for I have hunted out of them for both bow and rifle. They can be very effective.

1. Run a green or black cord around the perimeter about halfway up. You can then cut limbs and feed it through to give a vertical "bush" and break up the outline. Mine also had a cover with 3D leaf material to attach and drape on top.

2. Cut some indoor/outdoor carpet as the floor big enough to allow you to fold it up against the inside wall and duct tape it. This will seal off the bottom from critters and will keep your scent in.

3. Hang you a thread with a feather attached inside the blind so you can monitor air movement. Keep the windward side windows mostly closed to help control where your scent is going but I always open a little bit to be able to see out the back side. The feather on a string will tell you which windows you can open up and which ones you should keep closed.

4. If bow hunting you have to be mindful of ceiling clearance for you top bow limb. And given that the bottom edge of the window may not be low enough if you elevate a pop up it might cause you a problem at the wrong time. My Dad found this out on a very nice Buck at the wrong time and missed his shot. Test this out in your back yard. If rifle hunting cut a slit in the net to poke the barrel through or shoot through it. If you shoot through it get ready for some fire control for you will end up with a 6 inch diameter hole of melted net. But thats okay for the netting is cheap....

5. A pedestal type chair is better than a fold out with arms for you can rotate without making too much noise.

6. Yes take it down at the end of the season to clean the bugs out and to prevent UV sun damage.

Pop up blinds can be very effective. Used to take my thermos with me and sit there and have coffee or eat breakfast before daylight waiting for whatever was going to happen. Then the deer would come into the feeder 15 yards away.

Good luck!

JT

They work great once the deer get used to them. I put mine under tree to keep it in the shadows. You will want to keep most windows closed and wear dark clothes inside to help conceal you. I put a small folding table to keep things close and easy to get. I also use shooting sticks to help steady shots. I have one of the triangle blind chairs and they are pretty comfortable and allow you to turn and shoot better than a regular chair or one with arms.

I have a family member who hunts in south Texas, and he uses T posts to form a U shaped frame large enough to fit a popup inside of, and then attaches some wire fencing to the T post. He then hangs brush onto the fencing to form a wall of brush with shoot through holes.
This is usually placed into a brushline so it all matches the brush around it.
You approach from the back, and with the cleared out space you just popup the blind, and when you leave you can take the blind down if you want to, or just leave it up as long as you like.
The deer only see the brush side of the blind which always stays the same.
He puts up other similar set ups at several different blind sites.
It's a little labor intensive, but if you want to be out of the weather, and save wear and tear on your popup, it's worth the effort.

Brilliance!!!!!

I like that Jimbo!

Yup that's what I've done in the past. That way there is always a huge clump of brush there and deer get used to it. North TX wind will destroy one in no time so like this I could take it down and pop it back. Had clips on the panel so I could set it up and the windows and door were right were my holes in the brush on the panels were. I could set it up in the dark and get it right the first time. It wasn't quite setting it up though.

If you want something portable but need to leave it year around try Maverick blinds. They are light weight and break down to two pieces.I started using them 3 years ago instead of pop ups and never regretted it. No wind flap noise and better scent control.Very roomy.

I have been using pop up blinds for more than a decade, they really have their place and can get you close to your game, they block your scent a lot also. Here in south Texas the problem with leaving them up is the morning humidity/fog, they get so wet inside that it can be obnoxious!

I have hunted out of them prefer not to I'd rather be 18 ft up in a tree with a open hang on or ladder stand. But I think I hunt where there are more trees then in South Texas.