How many of you use blinds?

[Gordie]

How many of you guys use blinds and what kind of blind if you do.

sorry just saw the blind advice thread a minuete ago

[WallyGator12000]

I use a Double Bull Matrix...it works so good it should be illegal

[Nate McVey]

For me it depends on the situation. I prefer the "run and gun" style more than sitting in a blind. When we do use a blind (rain, food plot, etc.) I use a doghouse blind and it works well. For me I feel like a blind gives me a false sense of security and I find myself being more lax in my movements and noise.

[Gordie]

I use a Double Bull Matrix...it works so good it should be illegal

WallyGator I've had more than one guy tell me that. and one of them has the same blind as you.

I typically run and gun but this year I'm thinking that the blind might be the way to go or at least try it.

[DonBo]

Most of my hunting areas are smaller, and for me being patient has been key to my success. A blind lets you sit comfortably all day if you like. I often take a small cooler with food and water enough to last all day, add a comfortable stool and you're good to go.

You can move around some, read, nap, whatever you want with a small chance of being busted. In fact, napping is the best way to make sure that big tom will show up.

Setting up in an area that turkeys use on a regular basis, in a blind, is a great way to be successful. It's not for everyone, but it works for me.

[WallyGator12000]

I totally agree about the being comfortable all day issue as well. My double bull conceals my movements, I can be comfortable in a chair, it sets up in seconds... I could go on and on about how much I love the blind. My favorite part is how turkeys just don't care about them, just last year I had a hen come right up to the side, I could have grabbed her from where I was sitting and she had no idea I was there... It also sets up and takes down fast. I love to "run and gun" hunt turkeys too, so my usual plan of attack is to set up in the morning in the blind for sun up. If I am out of position, I usually just leave the blind and move in on any active bird I can find nearby. Or I tear down the blind and bring it with me. I hunt near Wabasha, and the rounded crests on the hill tops make it tough to sit on the woods edge and see any birds coming, because the woods are part of the hill's down slope. Using a blind solves that, and it allows your decoys to be placed where they can be seen better by the birds, while still being in range.

I could sing the praises of using a blind for turkey hunting all day long (albeit not in every situation, but in many), but I don't want too many guys to start using them, or there won't be any turkeys left for me to shoot

[Gordie]

anybody try the blind that is also a folding chair?

[Scott M]

I hunt in a fixed blind. It allows for movement, keeps you warm and dry, allows me to set a bunch of things down and have them handy whenever they are needed, and provides room for me to bring a friend along to share the experience. If things are slow, I hit the fencelines or move to where I've seen or heard birds. The one bad thing about it is that it's hard to hear what birds are doing behind you, and this bit me in the rear last year when I couldn't hear one pair of toms coming until they were turning the corner on me.

Blind or no blind, if you are careful with your movement and noise you will be fine. The bigger thing is where you set up IMO. My permanent blind is the top of a rise that toms like to strut on, is near food and water, is on the edge of a huge roosting site, is part of a well-traveled edge, that consistently holds birds. If I ever find a better spot, I'll put a blind on it. I've never not seen birds use this area, and there are many nearby if I bust the spot and need to move on.

[DonBo]

The bigger thing is where you set up IMO. My permanent blind is the top of a rise that toms like to strut on, is near food and water, is on the edge of a huge roosting site, is part of a well-traveled edge, that consistently holds birds. If I ever find a better spot, I'll put a blind on it. I've never not seen birds use this area, and there are many nearby if I bust the spot and need to move on.

Isn't it amazing how good our calling seems when set up in an area the birds want to be?

[Borch]

Noblind for me other than the stake blind material and often I'll skip that when I'm really running and gunning.

[dukhnt]

I just sit next to a tree on a field edge. I also have gotten a turkey every year I have been hunting. (3 years - 3 turkeys) Was thinking about getting a blind this year though so I could use the bow and arrow.

[Deep]

I use a blind, but last year was my first year and the seanson only lasted 45 minutes and Tom was put to sleep.

[HNTNBUX]

I use a Double Bull Matrix and it just plain works. I really liked being able to take my kids with and not worrying about their movement. My nine year old daughter got her first turkey in the blind this year and my four year old daughter was with when I shot one too.

I also was able to sit with two friends and watch them shoot their turkeys on back to back sits. Three guys in the blind does get a little tight though. It might not be the true turkey hunt that some are looking for but it can be very effective.

[NWBuck]

If gun hunting, no blind...unless it's raining. When bowhunting, always in a blind. I use a double bull, older B5 model and still works great. One of the things I like most about it is it's roomy enough to bring kids along.

[glenn57]

i also use a doghouse blind but thinkin i might try sitting in a deer stand. anyone ever do this.

[DonBo]

i also use a doghouse blind but thinkin i might try sitting in a deer stand. anyone ever do this.

I archery hunt an area in SoDak for deer/turkeys. Fall turkey tags are virtually unlimited so I shoot (at) one from my treestand every chance I get. In 25 years of bowhunting this area I've shot only one turkey from a treestand.

Now with a shotgun it certainly would be easier, but turkeys have many enemies that come from above so they have no issues looking up as deer do. IMO you just can't hide yourself in a tree well enough to consistantly take turkeys. There is just too much movement involved in getting ready for a shot and the turkeys eyesight is too good to get away with it very often.

[glenn57]

thanks for that bit of info. will need to take that into consideration.

[Wallydog]

the genuine stand-up "turkey silo" for me......