For turkeys I don't shoot through the net. But for deer, I do. I've not been in a deer hunting situation yet, but I've tested in the yard and it works fine. No, the net's not very taught, but it works just fine. I sometimes use a couple of memo clips to hold the mesh tighter. The port holes are combo, the net will cover them, but I honestly never anticipate using them. I'm not really sure why they put them on it. They honestly seem useless to me, but hey......there's a reason I'm sure. The "curtain" as you referred to it, is actually the main shooting windows. The blind is actually 2 pieces, a top and bottom. The 2 slide together and meet in the middle, sealing off the blind. I just slide one corner open and shoot out of there. The netting can either be dropped in front of the slide window or folded up out of the way.