Hunting From Stands
Why Use Blinds and Stands
Hunting from blinds or stands is an effective means of hunting many game animals. This process shifts the odds in the hunter’s favor, allowing him or her to take advantage of game animals that are not aware of their presence. Moving objects are far easier to see than are stationary ones. Since game moving through a stand site is moving while the hunter remains still and often screened from view, shots at undisturbed game animals are possible. The hunter remains in a prime location in an excellent position for a shot, waiting for game animals to come within range. Hunting from a stand also takes advantage of other hunters moving game. As the game animals move away from still hunters or drives, they may pass within shooting distance of a hunter who is unseen and undetected.
Although reaching a stand site may require considerable effort, the process of hunting from the stand itself requires much less energy than do more active forms of hunting. Thus, the use of stands or blinds is suitable for hunters almost without regard for their physical conditioning or any physical impairment. In most cases, shots fired from stands are at modest to short ranges or at known distances. This permits better shot placement and selection of stands for hunters allows the hunter who is so inclined to use bait, lures, or decoys as part of their hunting technique.
Stand hunting, however, is by no means a sure thing. Although some stand or blind hunters are successful because they wind up in the right place at the right time accidentally, consistent success using this technique requires patience, understanding of the area, and the game being hunted, and attention to detail. The best-placed stand is of little use if the hunter has given up on it and moved to another location. A stand that was extremely successful in a previous season may be completely useless if the conditions that made the site attractive have changed. Pre-season scouting and preparation are the key elements in consistently good stand hunting success. Sites must be scouted and located. Blind sites must be located to take advantage of the prevailing conditions.
Stand hunting requires that the hunter remain attentive and alert for long periods of time. Many hunters simply do not have the patience required for effective stand hunting except for very limited periods. Stand hunters also must remain still for extended periods of time. Under warm conditions that may require contending with mosquitoes, biting flies, fire ants, or merely the heat. Under cold conditions, it may require dressing much more heavily than would a moving hunter just to keep warm. Cold penetrates quickly when the body is not using a lot of muscle contraction to produce heat, so the standing hunter needs to have additional layers of clothing that can be added after reaching the blind. Finally, the hunter who uses stand or blind hunting must be willing to forego the pleasure of seeing new country during each hunt, restricting themselves to a limited amount of country that seems more likely than others to offer the potential for bagging the game of interest. This, too, requires a special kind of patience that is relatively rare among hunters.
Types of Stands or Blinds
Many types of stands or blinds are used in hunting. Ground blinds are among the most common types. These blinds are simply structures that allow the hunter to move slightly without being detected.
Box Blinds – Box blinds are very popular in some parts of the country, for some types of game. Made of framed plywood or other building materials, these blinds tend to hold warmth, break the force of wind, and allow considerable amounts of movement without detection. Some box blinds have padded seats, shooting rests, sliding windows, and heaters for cold conditions. Box blinds generally require early placement on the stand site to permit game animals to become acclimated to them. Even when painted in camouflage colors, they tend to be rather obvious with straight lines and hard edges that are readily noticed by game animals. Since most game animals are somewhat neophobic, or fearful of new things in their environment, acclimation times may range from a few weeks to several months. In addition, the bulky and heavy materials involved in building box blinds usually require vehicular access to the site since carrying them a significant distance is too demanding for their increase in utility. Most box blinds are installed for the duration of the season or left in place permanently with pre-season servicing to eliminate the wasps and other problems critters that may have taken up residence. Most box blinds are used only on private lands either because access cannot be controlled on public lands or because regulations prohibit their use on public lands.
Ground Blinds – Most ground blinds are simple natural blinds using materials that are native to the area around the blind. These blinds have many advantages. They blend into the surrounding area making the blind relatively inconspicuous. The size of the blind can be tailored to fit the needs of the hunter or hunters. For a single hunter, it can be small, relatively simple, and inconspicuous. If a party of hunters is to be using the blind, as in hunting waterfowl over decoys, the blind can be made as spacious as necessary to provide for their needs. The height of the blind can be varied to meet the needs of the hunter(s) as well. It may be low enough that the hunter can sit on the ground with his/her feet in a shallow pit, creating a low-threat profile. It may be made just high enough to allow the hunter to sit comfortably on a bench, stool, chair, or bucket. Alternatively, it can be high enough to allow several hunters to stand with an overhanging roof to protect them from being detected by overhead birds. Ground blinds may be as minimal as a few small seedling trees or branches near a stump or downed log to aid in breaking up the hunter’s outline. They may include camouflage netting, natural materials, and other structures to completely screen the hunter from game animals. The size and complexity depend upon the hunter’s needs and objectives.
“Stump Sittin’” – The most frequently used and simple type of stand hunting is frequently known as “stump sitting.” This technique involves locating a likely spot and sitting on a convenient stump, log, or rock. Some hunter may enhance the site with some additional materials, but most simply sit quietly and wait for passing game. Since no concealment is offered, this type of ground blind requires the hunter to remain perfectly still. Like other types of stand hunting, stump sitting involves locating a likely spot and sitting down. It requires no building, but it also offers no concealment and requires the hunter to remain perfectly still. Stump sitters are usually exposed to the elements, so they get hot, cold, or wet, and they must contend with the wind. They do not have the advantage of moving their “blind” to another spot if the situation or their inclination dictates. Like other types of stand hunting, stump sitting is demanding on the hunter’s patience and mental toughness because of the demand for stillness while facing the elements and long bouts between game sightings.
Elevated Stands – Elevated hunting stands are quite popular in some parts of the country and certain types of game animals. These stands often permit greater visibility, particularly when they are high enough to permit the hunter to see into openings in dense brush. Many types of elevated stands are portable, so they can be moved easily from one location to another as the hunter desires. These types are generally somewhat small and seldom comfortable. They require the hunter to climb into the tree or tower, a potentially dangerous process. While they tend to keep the scent of the hunter above the game, a strong advantage when hunting big game mammals, the elevated position is subject to higher wind speeds and greater wind chill than are ground blinds.
Tower Stands – Tower stands are very popular with big game hunters in some parts of the country and for certain types of game animals. These stands are generally freestanding, requiring no trees for attachment, and they are usually equipped with an easily climbed ladder. Many of them have an enclosed box blind attached at the top to allow the hunter some protection from the elements and concealment from game, but they are extremely obvious and must be placed well before the season to allow game to acclimate to them. These stands are expensive and bulky, and their use is restricted almost entirely to private lands.
Portable Tree Stands – Where they are legal, tree stands are among the most popular types of elevated stands. A wide variety of tree stands are available, including both climbing stands and lock-on or hang-on stands. Some of them include built-in seats or climbing aids. Many hunters even make their own portable tree stands. These stands have the great advantage of easy movement from one location to another as conditions dictate. They are useful on both public and private lands, although some public lands require that the stand not penetrate the bark of the trees on which it is used. Because these stands are generally placed above the normal line of vision of big game animals, they do not require early placement to be effective. As with all elevated stands, the hunter must be careful to observe all safety precautions when using tree stands. Carelessness in these stands can result in a quick trip to the bottom of the tree or much worse.
Fixed Tree Stands – Many hunters continue to use either simple platforms or tree house-like stands, particularly for big game hunting. Platforms can be as inexpensive and simple as a notched board nailed between a couple of upright stems on a tree, while platforms may be large and enclosed among the major boughs forming a tree’s crown. Because of their invasion on trees, these stands are normally limited to use on private lands. These stands cause damage to the trees, pose a potentially life-threatening risk to sawyers and loggers, and can become dangerous because of rot, corrosion, or tree growth. They are generally not recommended as a viable alternative to portable tree stands or ladder stands.
Elevated Stand Safety – Safe use of elevated stands of all kinds requires safety consciousness. The stand must be checked thoroughly to be sure that it is in safe and sound condition. Climbing into the stand is potentially dangerous, particularly in wet or frosty weather. Wise hunters NEVER climb into a tree stand with their full set of gear. Empty rifles, shotguns, or muzzleloaders, bows, and arrows are left on the ground, attached to a hauling line, until the hunter is safely settled in the stand. Climbing blocks or tree steps, where they are legal and the tree damage is not a factor, are used to help the hunter get to the stand. While pole-climbing gaffs could be used, their level of damage to trees is excessive for most landowners. Once the hunter is safely in the stand, the first step is to attach the safety line or harness and to make it secure. This restricts the fall, should the hunter slip or inadvertently step off the stand. Than, and only then, may the rest of the equipment be hauled into the tree using the hauling line.
Stand placement is important for both success and safety. The stand must be positioned so that it is securely fixed in place before placing the full weight of the hunter on it. Naturally, selecting a sound tree that is well rooted and live is important to stand security. A wise hunter also understands how the stand locks in place and is careful to work with the stand to avoid having it twist or break loose from its grip on the tree. Often the hunter can place the stand so his or her silhouette will be merged with a cluster of major limbs or trunks. This injects another vertical element among the cluster and tends to conceal the hunter among the structure of the tree. This arrangement also can make it possible to have spots for hanging extra gear that might get in the way on the stand. Free movement of the bow limbs or recoiling firearm barrel is essential, and the flight path of the arrow or bullet should be completely clear of obstructions. The safety harness can be adjusted to allow free movement, but to restrict the hunter as the edge of the stand is reached.
Sub-surface Stands – Moving in the opposite direction from the elevated stands, numerous stands are situated so the hunter is concealed at or below the surface of the ground or the water. Pit blinds can range from simple slit trenches with minimal cover to semi-permanent or permanent pits equipped with cooking and heating gear. Temporary pit blinds are useful for many types of big game animals, reducing the silhouette of the hunter to a less threatening stature. All sorts of pit blinds are useful in waterfowl hunting, both on the water and in field shooting. Although sink boxes, low floating devices that permit the hunter to hide below the surface of the water, have been illegal for waterfowl for many years, waterfowlers in some regions use permanent pits with waterproof curtains as aquatic pit blinds. They also use low floating of low silhouette boas as gunning platforms. Layout boats, scull boats, and gunning coffins are commonly used by waterfowlers throughout the country.
Considerations for Blind Builders
Numerous considerations enter into building a blind. Familiarity with the laws and regulations in the area is an essential first step. Some states prohibit construction of any permanent stand. Others prohibit tree stands or regulate their height to some maximum above the ground. Many states in timber producing regions prohibit driving nails or screws into trees or even the use of and stand or climbing device that penetrates the bark of the trees. Even where those laws do not exist, hunters must be ethically responsible for their actions, making sure they do not create a situation which could be dangerous to future loggers or behaving irresponsibly toward the well-being of the trees.
Location
Location is critical to the utility of any stand. Numerous elements enter into selecting a prime stand location. The first of those factors is the use of the area by game animals at the time of year when the stand will be used. Several things influence that use. Hunting pressure can move animals into denser cover or through passes or saddles toward escape cover. Wind direction, ease of finding the location in the dark, access to the location for construction, availability of materials to build a blind, and numerous other things can influence the utility of the location for the hunter.
Locations can be selected using many sources of information. Experience with the area, the game animals, and their behavior in the area being hunted is tremendously valuable in picking a blind or stand site. Scouting large areas to look for well used trails, escape routes, foraging areas, concentrations of seasonal foods, bedding sites, or escape cover is vitally important. Topographic features and knowledge of the way the game being sought works those features is also important. Game animals often select the easiest routes to and from various cover or habitat types. When pressured, they use similar routes to seek relief from human disturbance. These features may include major saddles, low notches between areas of steep terrain, relatively gentle terrain in areas deeply dissected structures, or preferred types of escape cover, like swamps or dense “black timber” areas. Planning for using these features or using other hunters to move game to your position can often be accomplished with the aid of topographic maps. This will identify good possible locations for scouting efforts as well as areas from which hunting pressure might come and potential travel routes for game being moved by that pressure. These maps are tremendously valuable to hunters who know how to read them and use them as scouting and hunting aids.
Safety Considerations
Hunters who hunt from blinds or stands must be conscious of all the normal hunting safety principles as well as some that are specific to the types of stands they might e using. Safe shooting directions must be determined, with the entire path of an arrow or bullet being determined before any shot is fired. Safe zones of fire must be defined either for the lone shooter or for individuals sharing a blind. Hunters must also determine that the firearm can be safely fired from the blind or stand without damaging the firearm or its sights and without hitting any obstructions that cannot be seen through the sights or that the limbs of the bow will not strike anything as the string is released.
The blind or stand must be placed in a safe location. It should be isolated by distance, obstacles, or by facing in different directions from other blinds. Safe backstops for all projectiles should prevent any shot from endangering any other hunter. The blind or stand site should be shared with at least one other person in case of an accident or injury that requires someone to locate the hunter. Hunters using elevated stands must remember to use a hauling line to bring their unloaded firearms or archery tackle into the stand after climbing into it and securing themselves with a safety harness. They must try to stay awake in the stand.
Stand Hunting Comfort
Many factors enter into comfort when preparing a blind for stand hunting. For best comfort, the blind should be adequately large to permit the hunter to stretch his or her legs with adequate room for all necessary equipment, including clearance for rifles, shotguns, or bow limbs. Comfort is increased if the blind is large enough and well enough screened to permit the hunter to shift positions, even stand without becoming obvious to game animals. If more than one hunter will share the blind, there must be adequate room so they are not crowded and interfering with each other. Providing the means to stay either warm or cool as the conditions dictate can greatly increase the ability of the hunter to wait patiently and successfully use a blind or stand. Careful observation of wind direction is essential for success when hunting mammals that rely on scent to detect danger. Wind barriers are important for keeping warm, while adequate ventilation and shade are important for comfort in hot weather. Situating the blind in the shade, looking into sunny areas is important for best vision. Using hay, grass, or leaves as an insulating layer around the feet and legs can increase apparent warmth as can being prepared with additional layers of clothing to be worn after the blind is reached.
Providing for a comfortable seat greatly increases the hunter’s ability to stay on the stand, holding still and remaining attentive while hunting. Waterfowl blinds frequently have benches built into them, but a log, rock, stool, chair, or bucket can provide excellent seating in a blind. Having some back support greatly increases comfort, as does some padding or insulation between the hunter and the ground or hard seat.
If the blind has adequate screening, the hunter can move around or shift positions without spooking game. The hunter may eat a snack or drink without worrying about the motion. He or she may relax, take a nap, or even read a paperback while passing the time.
Where blinds or stands are used for an extended period, the challenge of handling the call of nature is sure to arise. Where mammals are being hunted, spreading scent near the blind can have a pronounced impact on hunting success. Of course, the hunter can leave the blind, move a considerable distance downwind of the area being watched, and handle their needs there. This leaves the area unwatched and risks spooking game animals while outside the blind. Many tree stand hunters carry a urine bottle so they can urinate without leaving the stand and without spreading scent around the blind site. Most take care to select a bottle of entirely different shape than the one used for a drinking bottle for obvious reasons. Where the urine bottle is inadequate for the situation, the hunter must leave the stand area and move well downwind of the blind to defecate. Staying away from water sources, dig a shallow hole and bury both the feces and the paper you remembered to bring before returning to the blind.
Summary
Blinds and stands are outstanding hunting techniques under appropriate conditions. Blind location is extremely important, and it is best determined by using a variety of information from experience, scouting, and knowledge of the game being hunted. Patience is the key for successful stand hunting, and careful planning with a generous portion of faith in your selection process will greatly enhance patience.
