Deer Blind Ideas

I had the idea of making a 4x6 deer blind at a set up where the blind is on a hill overlooking the feeder.

The idea is a soft sided blind made out of Cattle panel and camo mesh or heavy duty tarp lifted about a foot and half of the ground.

Has any one ever made one like this??

Lots have and im sure they will chime in. Ive been creative with lots of portable light weight stuff but cant elaborate now. I will say that that stuff they use for landscaping, i think, may be better than other options like canvas or burlap etc. STx will chime in and line you out.

Yes, lot of guys have made those type of blinds. txhntr on here has built them for years and uses them to bowhunt from. I built several in a haybale shape to bowhunt out of. They are easy to build, generally lightweight, easy to move and the round haybale shape seems to not effect the deer as much as a square shape. Downsides are they do not hold in scent very well, do not block out the cold very well, they are not was water proof as you would like in wet weather and the material will rot.

Do a search on Google for "homemade diy 4x6 bale blind" Lots of ideas, Another search is "homemade diy tunnel shelter". Using concrete 5x5 wire mesh is another option over cattle panels. Also look at some of the hoop style greenhouse construction plans and ideas.

One guy I knew used 1/2" PVC pipe to form his hoops. Covered it with chicken wire, then covered it with old bed sheets, Sealed with a 50/50 mix of Titebond glue water mix and finally coats of oops paint. He used 1x2s for framing in windows and door. Looked like one big green igloo.

It didn't turn out great. This is my first attempt. I just built it last month.
1. I laid the cattle panel out flat.
2. Laid the black outdoor material on the panel and used zip ties to attach.
3. Laid the camo tarp on the opposite side and used zip ties to attach.
4. Bent the 1st cattle panel into a half moon shape.
5. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for the 2d cattle panel.
6. Cut the panel to fit each end . Wire it together with wire.
7. I did only attach one end completely. The other end I attached to one side only so I can open it for my door.
8. Used loppers to cut out the windows.

Not great. It will keep out wasps or other creatures but I am hoping to get a couple of years out of it.

I've made and hunted out of several over the years, and although they aren't as cozy as a box blind, they will break that cold north wind if you have a way to block the windows. I would use cheesecloth and clothes pins over the windows, and have shot through a couple during bow season with no ill effect.
The dirt floor also killed any noise shuffling your feet.
Just always check for crawly critters before you enter them.

Thanks for all the feed back!

LanceH - Appreciate the inspiration you are giving me! Looks good.

Thanks. I know it looks crazy but it will work. I hope yours turns out better.

Looks great. Nothing wrong with it. It’ll hunt.

Cattle panel & T posts work. I personally prefer carpet blinds. You can build a PVC frame pretty easy too.

I've built a bunch of collapsible carpet blinds, these are my favorite. They are portable and come in real handy, especially when you're running day hunters around and changing locations.
I built mine out of 1" EMT conduit. All you need is a foot bender, a drill & some bits, a hammer & file, some 1/4" & 3/8" nuts & bolts. Bend/cut your conduit into the size that you want. Smash the ends down good with a hammer and file any sharp edges. Drill two 3/8" (or 7/16") holes on each smashed end. These will be your joints, where you bolt the pieces of conduit together. Basically you are building 3 big rectangles, the center piece needs to be taller for water run off. Once you have all three pieces fabricated, put them together and drill a 1/4" hole through all 3 pieces on each side. This will be your axis/hinge. Make sure it folds up and unfolds easily, open it up, and then cover it with black/gray/dark brown indoor outdoor carpet. I use a hot soldering iron or a torch and old screwdriver to burn all the tie down holes in the carpet so they don't fray. I use paracord to tie the carpet to the bottom of the frame. The door is just a simple overlap, I cut small windows in 3 sides but only have 1 open while bow hunting. To transport just untie the bottom cords and push the thing over. It folds right up and is easily transported by 2 people (1 could do it). To set it up just open it up, tie the carpet to the bottom of frame, stake it down good with homemade rebar stakes, brush it in good (also burn holes and install chords to tie tree limbs & brush onto blind), and you're all set. Not very expensive to make/folds up easy/light weight/quiet/keeps you dry/keeps your scent in/durable if you don't have cows/will last a long time. Many a critter has been killed out of the ones I made.