Deer Hunting From a Ground Blind – 6 Common Mistakes Bow Hunters Make

The use of ground blinds to bow hunt the deer is becoming increasingly popular. Among other benefits, the blinds are a safer and more comfortable way to carry out your hunting activities.

But the lack of blind experience is limiting most of the bowhunters from enjoying the real benefits and comfort of this new hunting style.





How do you use your blind correctly?

In our interactions with some of the most avid deer hunters out there, we were able to discover some of the common mistakes that almost any hunter makes while using the ground blind.

Let’s share these mistakes with you below. We hope that you’ll learn from them and be able to take down as many deer as possible right from your ground blind:

Mistake #1: Not Wearing Black While In The Ground Blind

When the time comes to fire that shot, you’ll need to draw your bow back, and that’s how you get caught!

Yes, the deer has an uncanny ability to pick out any slightest movements you try to make. Imagine the scenario where your heart is pounding when the right time comes.

It becomes almost impossible to pull back, and you’ll end up creating, even more, movements and struggles. Eventually, you’ll lose your hunt.

When hunting the deer out of a blind, always ensure you clad in black – black hoodie, black face mask, black gloves – black everything! In a perfectly built ground blind, the interior should not have limited light.

Combine this with your black dressing, and you’ll virtually eliminate all the movements you make inside the blind.

Mistake #2: Not Drawing Your Bow At The Right Moment

If you don’t pick out the opportune time to pull and force the hunt you way, all will be in vain.

You might be wearing black, be inside a well-designed ground blind, and with only minimal light entering through a single window. Nevertheless, the deer is likely to detect some movements if it’s looking your way.

Rather than forcing the issue, simply draw when the opportunistic moment arrives. Most deer offer you such moments. For example, when the buck gets fully committed to your decoy (and assuming you’ve placed your decoys the correct way), he’ll be in a strategic position.

Feeding, fighting and breeding can also be great opportunistic moments for you to make a draw.

Take Note: Be cautious of the observant deer that seem to figure out the decoys as well as your blind.

Keep this in mind, so that it becomes instinct to draw ONLY at an opportune instant (in the seconds leading to the shot).

Mistake #3: Not Adequately Practicing Shooting With Your Bow Out of The Ground Blind

While you might be practicing with your bow every summer before the deer season starts (or periodically throughout the deer season), there are high chances that you haven’t practiced shooting from a sitting position and inside a blind.

You probably did all your practice while standing up in the perfect archery position and this won’t help much if you’re planning to bow hunt the deer out of the ground blind.

To get yourself ready for the hunt in a blind, grab your blind seat, take it inside your blind, and practice shooting at a deer target – or any other similar sized target with the deer vitals.

This guarantees you a few things. One, you’ll get accustomed to shooting while sitting which significantly differs from shooting while standing.

Two, you’ll be able to see if you’ll be hitting your blind on the draw or if you’ll be hitting it with the arrow as you shoot.

Finally, shooting at a deer target out of your blind will make you know where to kill a deer with a bow and the location of the game vitals in different positions.

Mistake #4: Hunting From Your Ground Blind Right After You Set It

The deer have a pretty small home range. They tend to bed in the same region daily; they feed in the same area, and will always follow one path between the two. They know their home as much as you know yours.

So, the moment you set up your blind, the deer will be quick to notice it and run away at first. To fix this issue, you ought to take your blind to the woods a week (or more) before the actual hunting day. This makes the deer familiarize themselves with your blind.

And if that’s not possible, consider putting up your blind in an area where the deer can clearly see it from afar and approach it

Adding a deer decoy could help the deer overcome the problem.

Mistake #5: Not Brushing Your Blind In

When hunting from your ground blind, make a point of brushing it in as much as possible (unless you’re hunting in an open field).

Most bow hunters tend to place little bits of brush around their blinds and call it good. Make your blind part of the surrounding landscape. Setting up your blind against a backdrop (e.g. the roots of fallen tree) or in a depression in the ground helps break up its outline.

Go ahead and add as many dead tree branches as possible around your blind to make it disappear. Most of the blind are designed such that they feature limbs and twig holders for secure attachment of the branches and twigs.

The deer always tend to overlook an entirely blushed-in ground blind.

Mistake #6: Not Being Scent-Free

Because the construction of the blind requires the use of fabric, it’s more like the clothes you wear and will hold the environment you keep it in. If you store it in a musty basement for around ten months a year, the strong deer smell sense will detect your blind even before they set their eyes on it.

However, you can eliminate this problem by airing out your blind before taking it to the woods and saying it with an efficient spray killer spray.

On the same note, avoid storing your blind in your pickup truck, garage, or in the closest next to the scents you use to freshen up the smell in your house.

If you leave your blind outdoors long enough, all the odors tend to dissipate – one of the main advantages why you should leave your blind in the woods.

Final Thoughts

Hunting the deer from the ground blind can be an exciting and rewarding exercise. All the above mistakes most bow hunters make while hunting the deer out of a blind can be easily solved and give you an edge over your target while inside that blind.

Remember to select the best ground blind for bowhunting. It should be highly functional; with black interior and plenty of room to accommodate you and all your hunting gear while still offering space to make a draw.

 

jennifer-wallsJennifer is the founder of BuckWithBow, a great blog that focuses on helping you learn how to hunt deer with a bow. As an experienced bow hunter, she will guide you through the Do’s and Don’ts of the bowhunting world and transform you into a better hunter. Whether you are an experienced bow hunter or an absolute beginner, you will find BuckWithBow a gem!

Find Jennifer on Twitter @jenniferwalls86




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