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By Luke Clayton Special to the Star Courier
Created: Thursday, September 28, 2006
I will never forget the first time I hunted from
a portable ground blind. I was with my long time friend,
outfitter Randy Oldfield on a big ranch in northwest Texas. Randy
had purchased a new portable pop up blind. The plan was for me to
break it in on a bow hunt and see how game reacted to the new bush
that suddenly appeared on their range.
After the morning hunt from conventional blinds, Randy and I set
up the blind near a feeder and brushed it in with natural cover.
It really looked like part of the natural landscape.
That afternoon, around three, I climbed in with my bow and portable
camp stool. We were in an area with lots of deer and I soon had
a doe standing broadside at twelve yards, looking the new bush over
closely.
The blind had only been in position for a few hours and the deer
knew instantly something was up, but they did not spook. Later that
afternoon, a big 10-pointer came within 40 yards but would get no
closer.
Through the years, I have taken many deer, wild hogs and a few
exotics from ground blinds. I have come to believe that the new
additions to the animal’s habitat are quickly accepted as
part of the landscape.
If you think about it, in the natural world, trees are always falling,
tumbleweeds blowing around and leaves coming and going. Change is
a natural thing in the outdoors; it’s that sudden change,
such as the appearance of a new object in their backyard that deer
have to get used to.
I have killed wild hogs from ground blinds that I set an hour before
the hog showed up. Some of the earlier portable blinds I hunted
from had one big problem; they were too small for a bow hunter to
draw his bow without scraping the sides of the blind.
There are currently some excellent, roomy portable blinds on the
market. I hunt from a big magnum blind by Eastman Outdoors that
could easily accommodate two hunters. I have shared the blinds with
a cameraman on several occasions and had plenty of room to comfortably
draw and shoot my bow.
These blinds are so durable and roomy that my outfitter buddies
with Coteau Prairie up in Streeter, N.D. recently purchased ten
for their bow hunters to use this fall. I plan to be nestled down
in one about the time you are reading this.
Conditions are very good, early season bow hunters have already
harvested a couple of 155-165 BC class bucks from the ground blinds.
When the weather gets cold up in North Dakota, and it does get cold
late in the deer season, the blinds will be equipped with heaters
and hunters will be able to stay out in the field for long periods
of time.
Take it from me; a tree stand gets mighty cold in North Dakota
and Texas as well, at times in December. Regardless of how well
you are dressed, a comfortable, roomy and heated portable ground
blind such as the Magnum model by Eastman Outdoors is worth its
weight in gold!
When I first began hunting from ground blinds, I was worried about
scent control, especially since I am a bow hunter and have to get
really close to game. I was amazed at how little scent escapes from
the confines of a portable blind.
I have had deer standing downwind at 20 yards and never spook while
hunting from the Eastman blinds. My outfitter buddies from Coteau
Prairie up in North Dakota called recently and when I asked how
the deer were responding to the new blinds that were appearing around
the shelter belts and corn fields; I was amazed at how little they
disturbed the deer.
It seems a bachelor herd of seven bucks were eating corn within
twenty yards of one of the blinds. My buddy was glassing the area
from a half-mile away. He said one of the bucks actually walked
over and sniffed the blind, even though it had been set up only
two days earlier.
I won’t forsake hunting from tree stands entirely. There
are situations when I will still readily take to a high position
in a tree to hunt deer, but not if I have time to set up one of
my portable blinds a day or two before the hunt.
For more information on Danny King’s Catfish Punch Bait,
call: 877-219-BAIT or go online to: www.dannykings.com. Remember
to listen to Luke on the radio at: www.catfishradio.com.
http://www.courier-gazette.com/articles/2006/09/28/plano_star-courier/sports/sports_20.txt
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