Hunting spring gobblers from a blind is fun and extremely successful. If you have never tried it, here’s a quick primer and the gear you will need. The first step is to select an ambush site which requires scouting either on foot, from a distance through binoculars or via trail camera. Just like deer hunting, you don’t want to hang a stand in any ole tree. If you find feathers, scratching, or droppings, turkeys are feeding or traveling through that area. Pick a spot so that your blind faces north or south and you are ready for the next step.
What Makes a Good Blind
Primal sells tree stands and ground blinds and after a good look at the ATA Show, I ordered one. This model allows for shooting in 270 degrees providing great versatility for cautiously approaching gobblers. Numerous vendors sell these hub blinds which are easily transported and go up quickly. Larger is better and turkey blinds need not be brushed in because wild turkeys, for all their savvy acuity, are downright stupid about blinds. You can pop one up in the middle of a field and a turkey will walk right past it. Make sure it’s anchored so as not to make noise or flap in the wind and put it up at least two weeks prior to the season so that deer become used to it.
Use a Comfortable Chair
The Alps Stealth Hunter Deluxe chair is specifically designed for blind hunting. It folds and come with a handy carrying strap, has four sturdy legs that adjust for height and uneven ground, swivels like and office chair, and is totally silent. Just as you saw Editorial Assistant Zachary “chilling out” in the lead photo, this baby is comfortable. You probably have one or more camp chairs, yet they are TERRIBLE for hunting. First, they often creak and leave you in an unbalanced position. They may be comfortable, but after you scare a gobbler or two, you will understand the need for a quality chair.
Clasping Shooting Rest
Here’s the combo of Alps chair and Final Rest clasping shooting rest. Placing the crossbow on the rest frees up both hands to use turkey calls, especially friction callers that can create subtle turkey calls that are very seductive. Because your movements are screened by the blind, you are free to drink coffee, eat a sandwich or other snacks during the hunt. You can take pictures of creatures with your cell phone and know that your crossbow is loaded and ready at a moment’s notice. Note: We set this gear up outside the blind to aid phototherapy and illustrate gear use.
One or More Decoys
Placing one or more decoys in line with your shooting windows allows you to make a lethal shot with very little movement. Since the adjustable height of your chair has you aligned with the scope or red dot, you can watch a big tom strut into your sights for a dead-rest shot. Once you have called one or more turkeys into sight of your decoy(s), stop calling and let the visual attraction do its work. We are experimenting this spring with the Barnett Hyper Raptor Crossbow and SKRE camouflage and so far, both are performing well.
Easy In and Out
If lady luck doesn’t visit on opening morning, coyotes mess things up, or you only see jakes, you can easily store your decoys in the blind. Leave the chair and shooting rest in place to make the next day’s hunt extra easy. Shotgun hunters love to run-and-gun which means they may alter a turkey’s usual feeding patterns. If you can finagle a morning from your work schedule on a weekday, this later event is less likely to occur.
As you sit comfortably in your enclosed blind, munching on a snack and enjoying a beautiful spring morning, you may think that this blind hunting is OK. Your next though may be, “Will it also work for deer?” You’d be exactly right.
