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Product SpotlightTips & Tricks

Winter Blind Hunting

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Winter blind hunting is a great way to deal with the dropping temperatures, limited cover and changing animal behaviour.

During the fall hunt temperatures are dropping but for the most part your tactics aren’t going to change that much. However when winter begins it is going to mean shorter days, plummeting temperatures and significant changes in deer movement.

So what does this mean for your crossbow hunt. Well, for starters your hunts will be shortened due to exposure to the cold environment. Even the most well suited hunter won’t be able to handle a full day sit in freezing temps. There is however an excellent solution, the winter blind. These units have a lot of upside late in the season and here are a couple of the key reasons to consider them:

Comfort

If it was just the cold it would be one thing, but one of winters biggest threats is the wind chill. Blinds block the wind and offer space to move around, store extra clothing, and even a small portable heater.

Ease

Setting up a blind is far easier, quitter, and quicker than hanging a stand.

Proximity

Sometimes the only way to get a shot at a deer is to set up in a feed field itself, which you can do with a snow blind.

Blending in

A white blind has no visible outline against a white background. So as long as you don’t setup on top of a fields hill, there is little chance anything will be able to detect your presence.

Mobility

Winter deer congregate around prime late-season food sources, which they typically enter from multiple directions. A snow blind gives you the mobility to keep up with the hottest trails or instantly react to other sign or sightings. And that’s how you can best zero in on late season bucks.

Tips & Tricks

Pit Blind Hunting

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Pit blinds are great way to sneak up on big game if you know how to set them up properly.

Pit blind hunting is new to a lot of big game hunters because most of us have gotten used to crossbow hunting out of treestands, pop-up blinds, or simply in cover. However, pit blinds are another great option which are rarely used or advertised (probably because they’re free).

So what is a pit blind? A pit blind is basically a fancy term for a shallow hole (fox hole in army terms) in the ground that a gives the hunter low lying, out of sight hunting position. Making one is simple, cheap and relatively quick to setup. Here are how you can get started..

  1. Your going to need tools, for a pit blind that means a digging gear (shovel, pick axe, ect)
  2. Find a hunting spot with good background cover to help hide your silhouette.
  3. Keep the wind and sun in mind. Obviously you want the wind in your favor but it’s also important to keep the sun behind you as shadows cast by any background cover will help keep you hidden.
  4. Once you’ve chosen that perfect spot, get digging. For a single crossbow hunter you will want to make a hole comparable to the width, length, and depth of a bath tube.
  5. While digging be sure to pile the dirt up around the outside of the pit. This will add depth to give you cover. Just remember to leave few opening in your piles of dirt for shooting lanes.
  6. Finally, throw some brush, leaves, grass, or branches on top of the surrounding dirt pile to make it blend it to the surrounding area and hide that fresh dirt. If your want to spend the time you can build a roof for it as well.

Once your done the pit you can set a stool or lawn chair for added comfort. Now your ready to hunt.

Just keep in mind that for most hunters, shooting a crossbow from this angle will be completely new. Remember that your bolts will be flying up into the animal and therefore you should aim a little lower depending on how close your target is. Also, keep your crossbow bolts trajectory in mind and take a couple practice shots from this setup, before you hunt it.

Tips & Tricks

7 Blind Hunting Tips You Need To Know

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What do you do if your hunt doesn't allow for you to use elevation as an advantage?

Your next best bet will be hunting from a ground blind.Ground blinds are easier to access which makes them quieter and quicker to get into than an elevated position. They also better protect the hunter from the elements and can be easily heated, buying extra time during those winter hunts. On top of that,  blind hunting keeps you on level with your quarry, eliminating the risk associated when taking a sharp angled shot. Even with these advantages many hunters are hesitant about using a blind as a go to hunting tool.

However, the truth is that ground blind hunting can be extremely effective, when done right. Take these ground blind tips into consideration when your setting up and you’ll be on track to bringing home that trophy.

50 Yard Rule – If your game won’t have a visual line on your blind until within 50 yards away then you should camouflage the blind into the natural surroundings to ensure they aren’t suddenly spooked by an unnatural object.

100 Yard Rule – If your game won’t have a visual line on your blind until 100 yards or more don’t worry so much a natural camouflage but ensure sure they are familiar with the blind. Try to have it set up a least two days before you hunt it. Setting up early also helps eliminate that new blind smell.

Unnatural Roof – The hard edge of a roof line is unnatural and easily detected. To combat this try covering it with branches or other brush.

Close the Windows – You want it as dark as possible inside to ensure the nothing can’t detect your movement.

Wear Black – Camo is fine when your trying to break up your dark silhouette amongst tree limbs, leafs and brush. None of that exists in a blind. Your new camo is black as your trying to blend into the darkness.

Go Nets – Using a blind with shoot-through netting on the windows will make dark blind openings and you less noticeable. Not recommended when using mechanical broadheads as the netting can cause premature blade deployment.

Decoy Days – Another way to try to go unnoticed in a blind is to try to draw the game animals attention to something else. By using a decoy nearby you will be able to take the focus of your blind and on to the decoy. Keep in mind that a dominate decoy could also scare of smaller game.

Product SpotlightTechnology

PRIMOS Double Bull Blind Delivers

Versatile and fully featured, Primos Double Bull Deluxe has everything on a bow hunters wish list.

  • Zipperless door allows you to enter and exit in silence.
  • Silent-slide window adjustments let you customize the openings for any bowhunting scenario.
  • Hub system makes setup and takedown a quick and painless.
  • Truth camouflage helps you blend with your surroundings and durable, weatherproof fabric.
  • Deluxe size measures 60 inches square at the base, 77 inches square at the hubs, 70 inches tall
  • Weights only 27 pounds for easy transportation.

Tips & Tricks

Fruit Stand Hunting

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Hunting near fruit can be action packed if you know to setup.

Fruit is nature’s candy and wild animals can’t resist it. This is why abundant fall fruit like apples are key early season hunting spots. Whether it’s a full blown orchard or lone crab apple tree, you can’t go wrong setting up nearby if you consider these 4 tips:

Find the Fruit: If your not hunting an orchard this maybe easier said than done especially since some fruit may drop earlier than others. Also, sometimes you may find the big game will prefer different types of apples over others for no apparent reason. To figure out their favorites you need to scout the different varieties, looking for lots of tracks, chewed apple bits, and rubs on nearby trees.

Trails: Several trails may lead to the fruit trees you choose to hunt over. Trying following these trails until you find one with largest tracks, rubs, or scrapes. Pick a spot in to setup that will put that you in perfect position to intercept anything moving on the trail toward or away from that fruit tree.

Stay Low:  Most fruit tree aren’t suitable for treestands and often the areas they thrive in lack other nearby timber for a treestand. As an alternative you can setup a ground blind or pit blind within shooting range. Try to hide the blind the best you can by utilizing local brush and cover. Set it up at least a couple days in advance.

Timing: When you go into hunt near fruit try to arrive early afternoon. Big game aren’t heavily pressured during early season and will often stop by fruit tree as a appetizer before they make their way to an agricultural field.Crossbow Hunting Apples

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