I think if you wait until just before dark the night before season to set up the blind then your blind will be "safe" from those who "borrow" another's property and then don't bring it back. UNLESS you place the blind close enough to be seen from a road or major travel corridor like a closed road.

I also hunt public land in East Texas and have faced the same issue as you. I have placed pop up blinds out the afternoon before and sat by trees, bushes, or in blown down tree tops.

I hate making noise the day of my hunt. To help the deer settle down from me entering their area I usually am seated at my chosen spot by 5:00 to 5:15 am. By being there that early I am usually the first hunter in the area in case someone else has stumbled upon the same secluded area as me.

My experience has taught me that if I sit still in the shadows with a tree, bushes, or other items to break up my outline even when wearing blaze orange vest and hat that a hunter can get really close to deer if the deer don't smell you.

you make your own ground blind ahead of time the old fashioned way


I will make a few of these ahead of time for different wind directions.