hunter177

I'm thinking about getting either a dome or hub style ground blind. Just wondering if anyone uses these and which ones are good/bad and why? Also, how far ahead of hunting from it do you set it up? Will it affect hunting to set up and hunt from it right away? Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Sheridan

Set it up in advance so the animals get use to seeing it there !!!

MZS

I have an old "Doghouse" dome? type that untwists from its coiled up state. My issues with it are first of all I can not get the dang thing coiled back up so I leave it in a large flattened state. Another issue is that it is noisy when it brushes up against limbs as you are setting up (and hauling in a large flattened state). Lastly, it requires a big space so it sticks out. But if you brush it in good it can be nearly invisible. All of that points to setup in advance, brushing in very well so it is not noticed - used that way it is effective and gives you a rain-proof spot to hunt. And if you can get to your blind before a big heavy rain and wait it out, the deer will be all over the place as soon as it lets up - I got a deer that way once. I think if you get out at noon the same day you hunt to set up and there is some wind to cover your noise, you will be OK.

To be honest, I have gone to more portable, smaller profile, quiet burlap blinds that I can set up in a quieter manner - I like to set up these a few hours early too if I can. But even if I can not set up hours early, I can generally set up and brush in within 20 minutes without too much noise if I am careful.

Topgun 3006

For a turkey hunt it doesn't really matter when you put up a blind. For whitetails the longer it's up the better it is for them to get used to it since they don't like things they haven't seen before.

VT Outfitter

I like hub style blinds. They pop up in about 30 seconds and you don't have to mess with poles in the dark. I have 12 blinds, some are single man with tent poles, some are hub style. Any blind is a good blind as long as you brush it in. I prefer hub style as the fabric doesn't flap in the wind. Set up your deer blind as soon as you can,but be sure to stake and tie it down so the wind doesn't blow it away. Ameristep makes a great blind for a good price.

VTBoneCollector

I have the exact same blind as yours and once you learn how to fold the blind back up, it's really easy.

1.) Stand the blind upright while it's flat.
2.) Place the tips of your feet slightly on the bottom of the blind.
3.) Place your hands on each side of the top of the blind and fold the blind in half and away from your body so the top of the blind is now at your feet with the bottom.
4.) Once you have it in half, then grab each round part and twist them towards one another and you should have the blind back in it's carrying case in no time.

If you still can't get it then PM me and I could talk you through it on the phone. Good luck.

VTBoneCollector

Hey MZS, if you go to youtube and type in, "folding a blind", it has a video on the Doghouse blind and how to fold it. Good luck.

MZS

Thanks! I should give it another try. When I first got this, there were not youtube videos on how to do just about everything like there are now. I am sure once I got the hang of it, it would not be too hard.

alleyyooper

Ameristep blinds have set up and folding instructions in the bag on a sewn in red panel.

I have the Ameristep dog house blind and will never ever buy another one. I live in Michigan and other than the Oct. archery season it can rain during the day and freeze at night it can snow during the night and thaw during the day and freeze in the evening.
I have used a moisture displacing spray on the zippers, cooking vegetable sprays, bees wax and nothing will keep accumulated water from freezing the zippers so you can't use that froze window zipper or the door zipper. Just a simple little flap will protect the zippers but Ameristep refuses to add that improvement to their blinds.
They sent me an response to my E mail to carry the blind back to camp every night and set it up every day.

This blind is a little heavier to carry out and takes a bit longer to set up but you can set it up mid Oct and leave it till after the end of the late Dec. hunt the zipper will never freeze up so they won't open or close from snow ice or freezing rain. they put a flap over the zipper to protect them from moisture also us the larger courser style of zipper. the windows use ties to keep closed and roll up out of the way.

Strong enough to hold 20 inches of snow for at least 8 hours in my use.









Al

MZS

You are right about the snow Alleyyooper - the Ameristep Doghouse won't hold up to heavy snow - when I got some on mine it partially collapsed. With regard to the instructions on the bag I tried to follow them, leading to some good comedy LOL. But I am going to watch the video and try this again today.