How long do you leave a ground blind out for?

[ts_hunter]

I left a ground blind out in the turkey woods for about 2 months once and the fabric where it attaches to the hubs got rotten/weak and let go of the hubs. This caused the fiberglass poles to come out of their holes and basically made it a nightmare to put up and keep upright in the wind.

I have since thrown it away and bought a new blind. I realize that 2 months out in the elements was a BAD BAD idea. However, I have a place in the weeds on a fence line that I want to set the blind up for a deer ambush this fall, and would like to get it out there ahead of time and brush it in. How long would you think I could leave it out there and not have it get ruined? Does the blind need to be in place for a while to let the deer get used to it, or don't they care?

[hockeybc69]

First and foremost.... what brand? You get what you pay for in a blind in my opinion.

I have 2 double bull blinds and have left them out for a month at a time.

No fabric rot. I will say that they did fade a tad though. But I dont care as long as its brushed in.

[ts_hunter]

It is a Barronett Grounder

[Boar]

I Have one of thoe ameristeps doghouse blinds an have left it up from Muzzy season to spring an am quite surprised i can still use it. No fabric root that I can see, just sun fade.

[bigbucks]

Left my Ameristep, Tomtaker I believe it is, out for a month or close to it a couple of times. A bit of sun fade, otherwise just fine. Mice do like to build a nest in the bag however, so it smelled like mouse pee for a LONG time.

[jerkbait]

I have the Ameristep doghouse also and have had it out in the woods for almost the whole bear season 2 years in a row. Still looks good.

[Finlander]

Bigbucks, put some fabric softener sheets in there and all the animals will leave it alone!LOL

[harvey lee]

I have a couple Double Bull blinds and one year I left it up all fall with no signs of any damage. I do not know if I would do that with some of the less expensive models out on the market today. Typically my ground blinds will set out for 2 weeks before I hunt in it, private property and will stay there till the end of my hunting season.

As far as brushing it in, I will do it if I am going to put it up and hunt it the same day. Just be careful with everything you touch and use a pair of laetx or rubber gloves so you do not scent everything up touching all the branches you will use to brush it in.

My preference is to put it up long in advance, brush it in and then wait for rain to wash away the scent or spray it down with some cover scent or scent remover.

A buddy I was hunting with had a doe walk up to his blind and stick her muzzle into a shooting port to see what was in there. They will get darn close but my expierence is that the first few times a deer sees the blind, they will be very careful. Kinda like moving a recliner or adding one in your living room, you would notice it just like a deer will notice a blind.

This is what I have done over the years and it seems to have worked well for me.

[BobT]

We make ours using material found in the area so they are left out permanently or until nature uses them up.