Ground Blinds

Kubota and his best friend, Willy-Pete, built a ground blind today.  I will collect pictures tomorrow.

I did a little "pre-work" while they were at school.

"Deer's eye" view.  Forty yards out from the blind.  The blind will be nestled on the right side of the middle Norway Spruce near the center of the frame.  A round of firewood is in lower right side to to delineate the kill-zone.  Camera is looking north.

This is a close-up of where the ground blind will go.  Surveyor's tape wind-sock.  A second chair was added and additional spruce boughs woven into the fence and upwind of the chairs.

View from the stand looking south.  Rounds of firewood on extreme left and right defining kill-zone.  My township has a population density of approximately 110 people per square mile.  One must be ever mindful of what is down-range.

The close round of firewood at 25 yards, the far round at 70 yards.  Some magnification was used when taking this photo.

I figure the sweet-spot for shooting White-tailed deer is 40-to-70 yards.  That is far enough out that they are unlikely to hear your heart thumping but close enough to make an ethical shot a piece of cake.

I am following my own advice regarding baiting.  Small amounts of corn will be sprinkled out at 40 yards most afternoons.

One fact that is seldom considered is that deer and other ruminates only have teeth on their lower jaw.  It is very difficult for them to eat ear corn as the ear just spins when they try to peel the kernels off the cob.  Shelled corn, on the other hand, they can suck up like Snickers bars.  Deer will walk through 40 acres of standing corn to inhale a pint of shelled corn.