Hunting Tip: Brush out ground blinds for greater concealment (VIDEO)

The better hidden the hunter, the greater odds of a successful harvest. With more hunters opting to get up-close-and-personal on the ground level using any of the myriad pop-up blinds on the market, they’re only doing half the job if not further camouflaging the unit with brush after initial setup.

While this seems like a simple tip, it’s not always followed. More often than not I have seen ground blinds popped up along fence lines and woodlots with little concern for concealment. Sure, these hunting tents come in camouflage fabric, but wood-wise hunters know that’s just a start. Breaking up the outline of a foreign, square-ish object in a natural environment only serves to better increase the odds of fooling wily quarry.

After just five minutes of work of adding brush to the blind, shooting lanes remain clear, but the outline of the blind is broken up, allowing it to blend more naturally into the terrain. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Close-up of using natural vegetation around the location of the ground blind to break up the squarish outline and help hunters remain concealed. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Here’s how you can be more successful with your setup. Before you even pop up that new blind, choose your spot wisely. Look for natural shooting lanes and animal sign. Also, consider a backdrop for your blind that will allow it to blend in. Sometimes that can be a tangle of brush, leaves, or some naturally hinged trees in the background. Even when that’s not an option, savvy hunters will wander out in search of some matching vegetation to break up the outline of the boxy ground blind. While you may remain concealed inside, and animals are often naturally curious, a square outline is easily noticeable to both critters and other hunters alike.

Most ground blinds, like our Primos SurroundView, have sewn-on lashing strips for the purpose of attaching brush to the blind. If yours does not, you can still use paracord or zip ties to attach clumps of vegetation. (Photo: Kristin Alberts/Guns.com)

Use the “brush loops” provided on many ground blinds to attach the vegetation you’ve picked. Make sure to use a mix of natural material. Dead branches can break up the overall outline, while leafy or pine boughs kept away from shooting openings do the most for giving the blind’s flat surface a natural, three-dimensional appearance. Even without brush loops, hunters can still create a framework of forest detritus using paracord or zip ties, with the end goal of breaking up the squarish outline of that ground blind and helping the hunter disappear in the woods. Taking a few extra minutes to better camouflage that tent can only serve to increase the odds of a successful hunt.