What have been your experiences using ground blinds for whitetail? I know BernieB posted a video shooting a deer out of one a few days back. Wondering how long you leave them sit before hunting in them to let the deer get used to them and how well you brush them in? I have a spot that I think one would fit in nicely but don't want to do more harm then good by spooking deer out of the area. If it helps it will be in a tree row between two fields, one is grass/alfalfa and the other is fallow with weeds and grass 3-4 feet tall.

more important than your blind is getting there without the deer knowing. my blind most of the time is a steel folding chair and some trot line string to tie branchs where i want them. keep the wind in your face. sit motionless. location is important too

Put the blind out, brush it in well to blend it in and break up the outline, and give it a few days for the deer to get used to it.

Most deer are used to people around a little, I’m not sure how pressured they are so can’t really weigh in on how much you’ll spook them.

I would say you’ll be fine, as long as you go in mid day to place the blind and don’t disturb too much or bump them too bad.

Good luck.

I like pit blinds dug on a slope.

Dig about 18" so you make a natural chair in the ground. If you're bow hunting make the circumference enough to draw and release.

One year experience....worked good for us last year. Put it out on Tuesday, saw deer on Saturday. Good luck, God Bless!

In an area with lots people and ag land, set it and hunt it.

My son has a little pop up blind and a dove chair, he takes them in to new areas sets it up and has killed deer and hogs on first hunts .
Wind
Wind
Wind

X2!

I have set mine and killed deer a few hours later. Don't happen that way often but it has.

I usually try to set them 3-5 days early. Brush them enough to break up the outline, and clear any debris from inside. This is for my pop up blinds and blinds I build out of whatever material is close to where I want to hunt.

Use It It's all about hunting the wind and that blind will give you an advantage.

We have been using hub style ground blinds for several years with success. My son has killed multiple deer with his Crossbow from them. His first one when he was 10.
We have set them, placed a camera and had pictures within a few hours. We used to spend a lot of time brushing them in but we don’t anymore. From our experience letting in to much light is the main reason for our failures. So we only open the windows on one side. Wear dark clothes, including gloves and face covering. I have had deer within feet look right at me and not see me. It was hard to get used to not being able to see like I can from a treestand.

i like to put em up at least a week before i want to hunt. I dont brush them in at all, just stake em down so they dont blow away. I have set them up and hunted and killed deer in the same day.

red head lamp walk quietly and carefully in the dark an hour before first light be in the stand.

i had a location with a stand that a buck was bedding down near by , when the bolt on my gun slammed shut it had hung up on the round int he mag (good idea to down load by one ) I was made , but he got up walked around about 50 yards west and at first light he was trying to seek away 25 yards behind me shot him the first minutes of season.

30 minutes later 7 doe that had been bedded down about 100 yards in front of me spooked and trotted by just before I got down from my stand I was only up about 8 feet

shot a bunch of deer that way opening morning , hour early red head lamp be in my stand an 40-60 minutes before first light as they just started to stir

hard those years you don't have a do tag and you have 15 doe under your stand just milling around. but it is good to see how they wander in and interact

be easier to take a nap on the ground in a chair

I often wondered about if I built an elevated blind just up 8 feet or so big enough to sleep in wake up and shoot deer might not even have to roll out of my sleeping bag

I have had a nice one for over 8 years now and its past due to be replaced. All of my kids have shot deer out of it and that's where it shines for me. It keeps off rain and reduces wind and keeps in a little heat from a propane heater. It also hides movement that is inevitable when hunting with kids.

They have shot deer within a short time of setting it up and often we hunt public land and I dont like leaving blinds or stands up long so they dont ofter get set up much in advance. That said I have had several deer pick out the blind and show caution and I do believe it's better if they are up a week or more in advance.

Hunting from the ground reduces visibility and a ground blind reduces it much further. They are a good tool and like anything have both advantages and disadvantages.

We have been hunting from ground blinds made with artificial Christmas trees for decades. The brush will grow around them with time making them even better. The best one is a place for early morning hunts where if a deer looks toward the blind it has the sun directly in its face.

I have shot deer from 10' in that blind.

Brian

First Ground Blinds here were made by Ford Chevy Dodge etc.

I used to put one up out in a field about 60 yds from an old grown up fence line. No brush in but put up several weeks before the season opened. Shot a good number of deer from that blind, does and bucks. I see no reason to brush in a blind if you put it out a few weeks early.
Leave it out with the windows open just like it will look when you are hunting from it. Be careful about your movement and blend your hat/clothes color to match the inside of the blind.

With the pop up ground blinds you have to give them a while for whitetails. Even when you brush them in well, it freaks the deer out for a few days if they are close. It takes them about a week to settle down. With mule deer and antelope not so much. I've found if you put the blind out a month before you plan to hunt, as I did in that video (I left it there all summer) they totally ignore it. But they get sun faded. I clear a trail around the back of the blind so I can sneak in and out. If there are deer in the field at dark that I do not want to shoot, I text my wife and she jumps on the 4 wheeler and moves the deer off the field with the headlights by driving out there. They are a lot less spooked than if you just get out of the blind and then they would associate the blind with danger.

I've built ground blinds that morning and had deer lickng my boots a few hours later.
(Stomped on an apple when within a hundred yards of my blind.)
Deer can be very curious.

Thanks for all the advice. Sounds like I better get out and put up the blind.