Natural Material Ground Blinds

[WapitiTalk1]

So campers, you've poked way, way back into a remote area and locate an active wallow (or wallows), a parky benched feeding area, or a seriously great looking choke point travel route that seems to be getting significant elk traffic. You think to yourself, "hmm, this may be a great place to sit every few days and see what shakes out". For the sake of this situational topic, you don't have an option to use a tree stand or manufactured ground blind at these remote spots you've located. Have you every constructed a natural material ground blind and perhaps, had hunting success doing so? Which materials work well and which should be avoided. Placement (beyond ensuring the thermals are in your favor when you plan on sitting there)?. Please, share some of your experiences using natural ground blinds to bushwack unsuspecting wapiti I have personally never constructed anything but interested in hearing about experiences of those who have.

[Lefty]

Ive used ground blinds from natural material for archery white-tails,turkey,ducks, rifle and archery elk and bear. More often than not it was to hide my kids movements or offer some sun or wind protection.

One location I piled tumble weeds with shooting openings.
Other times just sitting under a evergreen or juniper that has been trimmed is all that is needed, and in some cases I'll toss the limbs in front for more of a hide (killed my first bull that way)
Ive cut one or two small fir trees layed in front of us with shooting openings trimmed out
In logged areas for bears we often piled up trimmings and made a triangular shaped blind for two with the shooting area being lower sort of a stacked 3 sided log cabin
In the past Ive piled small bushes and grasses on each side of me to hide me from game on trails so I could draw.

some of those blinds are quite obvious and comfortable others only take a moment to rearrange and create a hide.

[Washington Wapiti]

. . . but interested in hearing about experiences of those who have.

Me too! I've only done anything remotely like this bowhunting for turkey, and it was done mostly for me by the outfitter I went through this last Spring. This was not a successful hunt. We didn't even see any birds (late, late in the season), but it is supposed to work well. Our makeshift blinds were essentially stacking and intertwining varying sizes of windthrow together in-front of the tree I was sitting against.

[Mikeha33]

Here in Kansas, we have a lot of low to the ground cedars and evergreens. I use that to my advantage whenever I can. Often times, when hunting whitetails, especially during the pre-rut and rut, deer will do absolutely crazy things, and not follow any "traditional" trails. When I am in my stand, and I see deer moving a distance away, a lot of times, I will get down and sneak to the area, whether it be the edge of a meadow, bean field, or whatever, and I cut, with small hand pruners I always carry (quieter than a saw or breaking limbs), as many of those cedar branches as possible, and build a small ground blind out of those. I use the cedar for several reasons; it is usually readily available; when you roll the cedar branches, needles, leaves, whatever, between your hands, they emit a strong aroma, which is a great cover scent; and they are the quietest of all the natural materials you will find in our part of the country. I have shot several deer, including my biggest buck to date (166")off of the ground, being mobile, and hiding in natural cover.

[JGH]

First elk hunt we made one at a wallow ... an hour later, 9 cows and calves were in front of us with a 6x6. Buddy shot at the bull and hit a small, previously invisible branch instead. We also saw a lion that night (my first).

That time we just cut pine boughs and made a blind just big enough to hide us sitting on the ground, downhill of the wallow where the thermals would carry our scent on down.

I plan on carrying zip-ties this year to make a makeshift blind if I need to.

[easeup]

I plan on carrying zip-ties this year to make a makeshift blind if I need to.

woohoo....something new on my list!
thanks

[fm]

I have had good luck using ground blinds I have made myself. One I made out on a sage brush hill side overlooking a small wallow out in the wide open. In a area that had pines I made a blind between two trees by cutting a couple of branchs about 6 feet long that have a y at the top,lean the y on the tree to hold it in place on each tree and it makes a x in between the trees to prop cut branchs and grass or whatever is in the area for cover. I have taken 5 elk using blinds I have made myself.