Now that the season is over, it's time to begin spending an inordinate amount of time convincing myself what I need to change and why I need to change it... not that it will actually make any difference or that it really needs changing.

Here's how my blind is currently situated, I'm on a slight hill above my deer/hog feeding pens.


Is my blind being out in the open on the ledge vs being nestled back in cover a bad thing? My rational side says they get used to anything and it's just another "something" out there.

Charlie

I've shot deer the two past years at a buddies place out of a high rack in an area that is wide open. The only time deer see it is when someone hunts that area which is infrequently. We also hunt out of a vehicle near one draw and the deer don't give a damn. Guess their deer aren't skiddish as others describe theirs are.

From my findings, it doesn’t matter if it’s tucked away or out in the open. This stand is 100 yards from the closest tree. Only reason it’s out in the middle of the field is due to the contour of the ground.

My very limited experience says doesn't matter. They seem to get used to most anything. Heck, the other night I was in blind at night looking for hogs, 3 doe came in was eating all my hog corn. Took my headlight, was flashing it at them, they just stood there eating corn. Thought that was weird?

BTW, that blind looks more like a Hilton on wheels, very nice.

Leave it, the deer don't even know it's there anymore.

I put one up in October and three weeks later had several deer within mere feet of it. You're fine.

I don't think the cover or lack thereof makes much difference when it comes to a box blind. My theory is...you aren't going to hide something that big from a deer so why try?

I pay more attention to accessibility. Deer seem to care more about what activity is around an object than the object itself. Can I get to it without being seen? Is there a location that I can use cover to conceal my approach and retreat? Am I pushing deer as I walk into the blind or out of it? Can deer smell me...not only when I am in the blind but as I walk into it? Etc..

Very nice blind by the way. And I spend my off season trying to come up with new plans and see if I can convice myself that I need to make some changes that may not make a difference and very well might screw up an area. I am convinced I messed up one of my stands last year by moving things around...but the theory sounded good at the time

... and so you see where I am now. Maybe I'll just plant some nice annuals in front and call it done.

Charlie

I think it becomes a feature of the landscape to the animals. IMP the one risk of an open spot is you have to put more thought into not being silhouetted/skylit. Curtains behind help. Tucked into cover not as big a concern.

leave it alone, they get used to changes pretty quickly ... my concerns are more about getting to/from the stand without spooking and dominate wind directions that can carry scent ... but I have thrown some of those ideas out the window as of late with driving my Kubota RTV into where I hunt, parking within 10 feet of the stand and have deer walk right by it and the stand without giving it a second look. Similar with scent, in several locations where they could care less.

Looks like there’s a couple of extra holes in your stand. Where did they come from?

Dang poachers, all up in my stuff.

Charlie

You can put the blind in the middle of the field, then put a feeder and feed pen around it, and deer will still come to it.

I try to use locations that look like funnels, pinch points and travel routes regardless of a feeder being there or not......then set up at least 200 yards away with no sky profile so I can approach without being seen and for these reasons the deer pay no attention to my blind.....

I always consider the position of the sun, shade, and prevailing winds when I pick a location for a stand. I look at where I expect to see deer moving and then pick a location where I won't be looking into a rising or setting sun. I also want the spot to be shaded during the later morning and early afternoon hours so it doesn't get too hot. Given our light fall and winter weather, you can easily get hot sitting in an open stand, much less an enclosed one with direct sunlight hitting it. Finally, I like to have separate stands that are good for hunting when the wind is out of the southeast or northwest since these are the directions of our strongest prevailing winds. The most diehard hunters swear by never hunting a stand if the wind isn't right because they've learned a mature buck only has to bust you once to recognize it's time to change his travel pattern. I never put a stand in the open and don't mind shooting between trees if it will reduce the overall profile of the stand. Still, no matter how hard you try and how long you leave a stand in place, the more mature bucks always seem to recognize it as something that was put there by a human. Maybe that's why my biggest bucks were always taken from a stand that I had put up just a week or two prior.

I make sure my blind is well insulated and is in the highest point possible.

Charlie, the only thing I would do different is to drop it off at my place.

Thanks for the input and comments on the blind, all were helpful except the one guy just looking to

I do like the blind, it's a Boss Game Systems 8Wx6D I got from TxAg above, I wish I had gone ahead and got the 8x8...

I'll try to find something else more unproductive to do to get ready for next year..

Charlie

On final note if I might.

With your stand being large and yet still mobile, don't overlook the ability to relocate it should you notice that deer have a specific travel pattern that's beyond your normal shooting range. Should you decide to do this, you'll want to hunt it very soon thereafter before the deer notice the change and alter their travel pattern/routes.

Relocating a stand during the season can often make all the difference in getting a chance at that one shot that might otherwise never happen.

I once knew a guy who believed in moving stands so much that he never left a stand in the same spot more than three hunts at the most. It was like he always wanted his stand sites to be new to deer in the area.

Your not in etex, therefore your blind and location don’t really matter. Just poking fun, pay attention to trails and playing the dominant wind throughout the season would be the best recommendation.

Your setup looks fine.

Very nice blind !

Getting in and out unseen is the most important...

There's no doubt the acorn drop this year was very different than the past several, even my dang hogs who had visited pretty much twice daily have largely disappeared. Since just before T-giving, they now show up about once every 7-10 days, might be a sounder, might be a solo boar.

As the season was getting closer, my other lease-mates and I were all giddy Aug - Oct with all of the camera activity we were seeing. I posed a pic here of 3+ bucks in my feed pen and 2 in mid-air on their way in. Then things started slowing the closer November came.

I do not believe all of the animals we were seeing just suddenly left the property. They have to be still there, just not coming to my dining area/cameras. Getting in out unnoticed is no problem as my door/stairs are on the backside. I already sleep in my blind (have a bed) so i'm not bothering anything coming in/out, so rather than burning an entire day watching grass move next season, I'm putting out a couple of tree stands/climbing sticks I have out on some trails and just use the blind as base camp. While I'm in the stands, I'll still be able to see all the deer that will come into my arena while I'm not there. I started off tree stand hunting, we'll see if it's still enjoyable. Lefty has me convinced I need to smell like a Graham hooker with the Nosejammer spray, so we'll see how that goes.

Charlie

Based on the studies I have seen reported in various sources that made use of remote tracking, hunters would be very surprised at how close by deer will often bed once they begin feeling hunter pressure. A season never passes that hunters report getting plenty of photos of nice bucks at their feeders but only at night.

blind doesn't matter. Play the wind, that is all that matters