The benefits of hunting turkeys from a ground blind
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Time to read 4 min
The use of quick set ground blinds, otherwise known as pop-up blinds, among turkey hunters is nothing new; however, it’s always been somewhat surprising to me that their use isn’t more popular globally than it is. Why? Because the benefits of hunting turkeys from a ground blind are many, while the downsides are practically non-existent.
Some might say hunting from a ground blind limits mobility, or the ability to practice the ‘run and gun’ style of turkey hunting. Others might point at the weight of a ground blind. Both, I believe, can be debunked using TideWe’s VIS Series Blind as an example. With practice, the VIS Series blind can be set up in under 60 seconds; I know, as I had my wife time me from start to finish. Set up was quiet, too, a definite plus when you’re planning to hunt near the roost first thing in the morning. As for weight, the VIS Series weighs but 13 pounds, or perhaps half again what that turkey shotgun weighs.
Ground blinds are quick, easy, portable, lightweight, and offer a long list of advantages over the alternative, which is sitting out in the open. What are these benefits? Read on.
Blinds make you ‘invisible’
I don’t understand it, and I don’t believe anyone else who hunts turkeys understands it either, but the fact remains. You can dress head to toe in the latest camouflage pattern and conceal yourself in the shadows, yet that old gobbler will still see you, sound the PUTT alarm, and double time away from your position. However, set a ground blind with a 34 square foot footprint out in the middle of an empty short-grass pasture, and you’re seemingly invisible to every and all turkeys. Completely invisible. And when it comes to hiding yourself from some of the sharpest eyes on the planet, invisibility is a good thing.
Blinds allow you to hunt in otherwise ‘unhuntable’ places
Let’s go back, shall we, to the treeless short-grass pasture field above. Turkeys, hens and gobblers both, love to spend time there. They can soak up the sun. There’s fresh grass and a host of grasshoppers and other bugs to nibble on, the gobblers can strut their stuff, and, because it’s so incredibly open, the risk of a predator sneak attack is low. The bad news is that sitting here is out of the question because there’s no cover. Enter, then, the ground blind. Set it up before daylight or, better yet, a couple days before the hunt, slide a chair inside, and you’re golden.
Blinds keep you out of the weather
Rain. Snow. Wind. It doesn’t matter, as long as you’re huddled inside a comfortable, i.e. warm and dry, ground blind. True, the turkeys may also huddle down during a downpour, but once the rain ends and Mister Sun returns, they’ll be out in the fields drying themselves off. Which is precisely where you’re going to be, having remained dry throughout the storm. NOTE – Rain is one thing; electrical storms, i.e. lightning and thunder, are something totally different, not to mention potentially dangerous. Pay close attention to the weather, including keeping tabs via radar on your cell phone, and get back to your vehicle, if the situation calls for a retreat AND you can do it safely.
Blinds are great for kids or physically challenged folks
Turkey hunting kids fidget. Many adult turkey hunters fidget or otherwise find it impossible to stay still, especially in the excitement that is an on-coming gobbler. Ground blinds, then, help hide, per se, this unintentional – or, at times, intentional – movement; that is, you can get away with some fidgeting inside a blind that you couldn’t otherwise. Hosting a physically challenged hunter, e.g. an individual in a wheelchair or otherwise beset with mobility issues, can be easily done, thanks to the concealment and roomy accommodations provided by a ground blind. Guiding, for instance, as part of the National Wild Turkey Federation’s (NWTF) Wheelin’ Sportsman ( https://www.nwtf.org/programs/wheelin-sportsmen ) program? TideWe’s new OptiVue 360 Blind, with its full access door, makes getting into and out of the blind simple, quick, and easy.
Blinds provide excellent filming and/or photography platforms
If you’re a videographer or, like me, a still photographer, the use of a quality ground blind makes getting ‘up close and personal’ to wild turkeys, not to mention many other springtime species including whitetail deer, coyotes, pheasants, fox, songbirds, and other critters a relatively simple matter. Just set up your camera or cameras on the inside of the blind, two or three decoys a few steps away, and wait for the turkey action to begin. Some videographers will even post a Go-Pro camera armed with remote ON/OFF capability alongside the decoys in hopes of capturing that coveted point-of-view footage.
Blinds let you stay in the field indefinitely
It’s said you can’t harvest a gobbler from the couch, and I believe that to be true. Rather, to be successful during the spring, it’s vital to be in the field, and that means when the weather’s nice and the weather’s…well, not so nice. It’s tough, I know, to sit in the open, stay comfortable, and stay still for an hour…two hours…three hours while ‘Ole Tom makes up his walnut-sized mind as to what he is or isn’t going to do. A ground blind makes the wait easier, if nothing else by making it more comfortable. Add one of TideWe’s Adjustable Swivel Hunting Chairs or, better still, the company’s Adjustable Heated Hunting Chairs, and the challenge isn’t going to be out-waiting that old longbeard, it’s going to be staying awake!
Author
M.D. Johnson
M.D. Johnson’s full-time outdoor writing career began in 1992. Prior to that, he worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife in their Outdoor Skills Unit, helping to coordinate hunter education courses and resources across the state.
