As the sun slowly started to peak over the horizon on opening morning of turkey season, the anticipation started to build. After a long winter it was nice to get back in the woods chasing the kings of spring. I sat comfortably in my Tidewe 270 ground blind tucked in a corner of the woods overlooking a freshly disced field my decoys set up 20 yards out in front of me. I knew there were toms in the area from my scouting, but I’ve only heard a few short gobbles in the distance. After about 15 minutes passed, I started to hear some birds fly down from the roost behind me. I let out a few light yelps hoping that one is a gobbler looking for a hen. Just then I catch movement out of the corner of my eye, It’s a tom and a good one at that. He approaches my decoys cautiously, paying no mind to me. I credit this to the fact I’m tucked away in my blind. The closer he gets the more cautious he is becoming. As soon as he breaks the 25-yard mark I send my Remington Premier TSS 7 shot in his direction making a perfect shot.
Why use ground blinds
There are several reasons it makes sense to hunt turkey from a ground blind. The main reason, I think ground blinds give you an advantage over turkey is the fact that it conceals a lot of your movement. Next, they allow you to use pot calls or box calls which are easier to use than a mouth call, and you still have time to get your weapon up for a shot. They also can conceal the action of drawing back a compound bow, which is extremely hard to do from the ground without getting busted by a turkey. They also allow you to draw back a crossbow if a second shot is needed, if the turkeys stick around.
Next up is the fact they protect you from the elements. Spring turkey hunting can deal you all different types of weather from rain to snow depending on when your season opens. Ground blinds allow you to remain dry and comfortable during your entire hunt. The last reason I believe ground blinds make sense is that they allow you to take kids or first-time hunters and introduce them to the outdoors.
When I first started to teach my daughter to hunt, we primarily sat in ground blinds. This allowed her to entertain herself with drawing while the hunting was slow but as soon as the action picked up, she is there to enjoy it with me. I also used a ground blind to introduce a good friend of mine to the fun of turkey hunting. It allowed me to teach him where to shoot and what to do, as well as give him time to adjust his gun and relax without spooking a turkey. He was able to place a perfect shot and has been hooked since.
Types of ground blinds
There are several companies that create ground blinds, and they are not all created equal. There are haybale style blinds, see through blinds, hub style blinds, and even panel blinds. After using each style of blind over the years I have settled on 3 different blinds that I can use for hunting everything from whitetail to turkey. Let’s start with the panel blind or Ghostblind. They are lightweight, allow you to be mobile, and make you disappear when behind them. The next two styles are stationary type blinds meaning you set them up brush them in and they stay in that location all the time, you could move them around but that can be a lot of work. The reason you leave them stationary is to allow the game you are pursuing to get used to it being there. That means you want them to be set up well in advance of when you plan to hunt from them. I have set one up the morning of a hunt and have still seen birds, but if at all possible, set them up in advance. I like to use the TideWe 270 See though blinds when hunting in the timber or on field edges. I prefer this style as it allows me to see 270 degrees with all the windows up. This keeps me concealed while not missing any movement around me. I like to use the Redneck Haybale blinds when facing the timber. The reason being is that a haybale is a natural thing to find in a field. These blinds take about 20 minutes to assemble and are built to withstand anything. If it is extremely windy or the weather is terrible you will find me in my Haybale blind.
Run and gun with a GhostBlind
One of my favorite ways to hunt gobblers in the spring and fall is a run and gun style with my Ghostblind. Lightweight, easy to move, and the ability to blend in with any type of cover its placed in, the GhostBlind works perfectly for this style of hunting. They make 2 different blinds: the Predator and the Phantom. I prefer the Predator style, mainly because I am a bigger guy and it is taller. This enables me to disappear behind it. We all know how well a turkey’s vision is especially when they are in close. With GhostBlinds mirrored front panels it reflects whatever is Infront of it. Don’t worry about of the angle of the panels, they will not reflect the sun.
The way I like to hunt with my GhostBlind is to head in right at first light. I will take my gun, bow, or crossbow depending on how I am hunting, an owl call, a few mouth calls, and a lightweight chair. That’s it. If I have no gobblers located from the evening before, I will hit the owl call a few times to try to get a shock gobble from a nearby tom. If I’m unable to locate one, I will move around till I either spot some birds I want to target or I can get a tom to gobble back at my call. Once I have some birds to hunt, I will set up with my GhostBlind in the best cover I can find, and I’m ready to hunt.
Credit – ASIO
Additional items to include with a Ground blind
Once you get your ground blind picked out and all brushed in, you’re ready to hunt. Before you head out for your first time there are a few products that I would recommend to not only make your hunt easier, but also more comfortable, enjoyable, and even draw birds to your location. Let’s start with a good chair. There are many chairs on the market geared toward ground blinds. There is everything from basic camping style folding chairs to adjustable tripod chairs. I have tried several different types of chairs over the years and what I learned is that if your hunting style is to be mobile, I would recommend a lightweight folding chair like the BOG hunt triple play chair or the GhostBlind predator chair. But if hunting from a ground blind, I would spend the extra money on a tripod style chair like the BOG Nucleus 360 from BOG hunting products. This chair is as comfortable as it gets and has got me through many all-day sits in November deer blinds as well. And they even make one with a shooting rest built into it.
Next up is a good tripod. Whether you’re shooting a gun or crossbow, I believe a tripod makes a big difference when hunting from a ground blind. Not only does it help level the weapon with a rock-solid rest, but you can also hang calls or your binoculars from them as well. That way everything you need is right where you need it. A tripod also helps to minimize movement. When your gun is locked in all you have to do is rotate it toward your target, line up sights, and pull the trigger. You can also use your tripod for scouting as it will allow you to lock in your binoculars or spotting scope giving your arms a rest. My go to tripod is the BOG Deathgrip. It is lightweight fully adjustable and well built.
When it comes to hunting, whether it is for deer or turkey, blending into your natural environment is a must.
When hunting from a ground blind in the past I would always use dark colored or black camouflage clothing. This helped me to disappear in the blind when I had the windows open. This worked great, but then when I wanted to hunt whitetail, I had to have a whole different set of camouflage if hunting from a tree or on the ground. That was until I was at a trade show and come across ASIO camouflage. The Raptor pattern is inspired from the great horned owl feather pattern. This dark pattern allows you to not only blend in when hunting from inside a blind or behind a GhostBlind, it also allows you to disappear on the ground or in a tree. This means I only need one set of camouflage for hunting several different animals. It also means that if I am on my way into my ground blind and happen to spot turkey 200 yards away, I can sneak into that location, set up against a tree and make a move on those turkey. All their products are built with the bowhunter in mind meaning that they offer early, mid, and late season gear that bends and stretches in the areas you need them to, without ripping or tearing. If that’s not enough to convince you to check them out they also offer a lifetime guarantee on all products, I was happy I made the switch.
Lastly, I need to touch on the topic of decoys. I believe when turkey hunting, decoys can make or break a hunt especially when you are set up in a ground blind. I say this because you are stationary from a ground blind, so you need to get the birds to come within shooting distance of your location.
With the proper scouting you can easily set up your blind to put you where the birds want to be, but what if they pitch down and head the opposite direction? What if they come into some of your calls and are unable to locate a hen and get spooked? What if they are 100 yards out searching for a hen? All three of these examples are when a decoy will benefit you the most. When heading into the blind well before sunrise I like to place my decoys out about 20 yards in from of me. Then right before daybreak I will start to call softly. This lets toms that are roosted nearby know that hens are in the area. Once they pitch down, they will seek out the hens. The decoys are a visual confirmation of your calling, this will help seal the deal drawing them into your location. The same works for a tom out searching for a hen across open land like an agricultural field. If they spot your decoys and hear your calling, it will seal the deal to draw them in. There are many different decoy types and companies on the market. I use Avian-X decoys because I believe they are the most realistic on the market.
