*Well, compatible with a thermal monocular… a scope would be a bit more challenging.
I prefer to hunt on the move, but needed two ground blinds on my primary hunting grounds: A pasture that becomes a marsh is a popular crossing and rooting area, and a feeder near a water tank with a phone game camera.
The latter is especially challenging because it is mostly surrounded by a berm; topping it for a shot creates motion and skylining that easily spooks hogs.
My multiple attempts with manufactured and homegrown materials for a ground blind meeting the above checklist of seemingly reasonable requirements ended in failure.
I like natural brush blinds, but they tend to attract snakes and those bigass black and yellow spiders with legs the size of a whip antenna that would make CW McCall proud.
Cloth material quickly ended up in a third stomach. (A cow’s curiosity is matched only by their stupidity).
Plywood required too much structure to support and was vulnerable to wind damage.
My solution in each location was a 4‘ x 8‘ section of wood lattice.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-202518776-_-202297456-_-N
About $25 each and lightweight enough to carry to site. Easily spray-painted if you’re into that.
It is easily secured with cable, rope, large zip ties or bungee cords, and can be trimmed as needed with a handsaw or loppers. (You do need to have a way to support it vertically; a couple of t-posts should do the trick if lacking in natural resources).
The lattice allow handheld thermal scanning through the holes. They provides enough cover for concealment, but still allow a breed to pass through.
Bonus: If it is well secured and the correct height, the top of the lattice can be used as a rifle support.
Marsh setup:
Berm setup:
Each of these has been up for three years with no need for additional work.
I prefer to hunt on the move, but needed two ground blinds on my primary hunting grounds: A pasture that becomes a marsh is a popular crossing and rooting area, and a feeder near a water tank with a phone game camera.
The latter is especially challenging because it is mostly surrounded by a berm; topping it for a shot creates motion and skylining that easily spooks hogs.
My multiple attempts with manufactured and homegrown materials for a ground blind meeting the above checklist of seemingly reasonable requirements ended in failure.
I like natural brush blinds, but they tend to attract snakes and those bigass black and yellow spiders with legs the size of a whip antenna that would make CW McCall proud.
Cloth material quickly ended up in a third stomach. (A cow’s curiosity is matched only by their stupidity).
Plywood required too much structure to support and was vulnerable to wind damage.
My solution in each location was a 4‘ x 8‘ section of wood lattice.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/3-4-in-...PIPHorizontal2_rr-_-202518776-_-202297456-_-N
About $25 each and lightweight enough to carry to site. Easily spray-painted if you’re into that.
It is easily secured with cable, rope, large zip ties or bungee cords, and can be trimmed as needed with a handsaw or loppers. (You do need to have a way to support it vertically; a couple of t-posts should do the trick if lacking in natural resources).
The lattice allow handheld thermal scanning through the holes. They provides enough cover for concealment, but still allow a breed to pass through.
Bonus: If it is well secured and the correct height, the top of the lattice can be used as a rifle support.
Marsh setup:
Berm setup:
Each of these has been up for three years with no need for additional work.
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