Well on Friday night I went out and bought a rhino rut and strut blind, and it has been great to hunt out of all weekend, except for the fact that almost every turkey I have seen has acted really spooky whenever it was within 200 yards or so. They have just walked real quickly and not acted normal till they get 400 or so yards away. I even had a pair of fired up gobblers stop at 85-90 yards and wouldn't come any closer to a decoy setup that had a stutter with 4 hens in it. And maybe I am just dumping alot of bad lucks blame on my new blind, but it does seem like just about ever bird has kept their distance from me and this blind all weekend. Has anyone else ever experienced this? Is it something other than the blind? I have been wearing all black to match the interior all weekend and haven't ever made enough movement to spook a bird so I don't know whats going on.
I too use a blind. I have noticed a few times birds being spooked by it. But 90% of the time it doesn't effect them at all. I've had strutters 5 yards from it, looking at the blind and gobbling right at me. Just yesterday I had a hen almost trip over one of my tie down strings, but also had a longbeard 100 yrds away that wouldn't come in. I will say its good to have the sun at your back so its in the eyes of approaching birds. Seems to help in my set up.
Does it have large windows? Even wearing black the bird won't see you move, it just sees large dark areas. Have you stood back a 100yds and looked at your blind? Normally that is how we see blinds from a distance, we can pick out the dark windows from a mile away driving down the road. We close the windows and just leave enough open to see and get a shot out.
wouldn't come any closer to a decoy setup that had a stutter with 4 hens in it.
It could be this. :-\
Quote from: OLE RASPY on April 29, 2012, 09:22:55 PM
wouldn't come any closer to a decoy setup that had a stutter with 4 hens in it.
It could be this. :-\
I agree. While my turkey hunting is only 4 yrs, I have hunted from a blind all 4 and never had a turkey spook from the blind itself. They either don't like the decoys, or see you inside moving, or just not feeling it.
Don't think it is the blind. Keep using it.
Quote from: siyakadog on April 29, 2012, 09:18:09 PM
Does it have large windows? Even wearing black the bird won't see you move, it just sees large dark areas. Have you stood back a 100yds and looked at your blind? Normally that is how we see blinds from a distance, we can pick out the dark windows from a mile away driving down the road. We close the windows and just leave enough open to see and get a shot out.
that seems pretty logical, i will have to try that out. cause yes, it had the 180 degree view so it probably was showing alot of black. But from what I have seen before just in videos and stuff, that big black opening doesnt seem to bother them. Either way, I will definalty try that.
Quote from: OLE RASPY on April 29, 2012, 09:22:55 PM
wouldn't come any closer to a decoy setup that had a stutter with 4 hens in it.
It could be this. :-\
Well, I actually did think about this probably being a big part of those two particular birds hanging up, but they had just run 300+ yards across a field and I have never seen birds that acted so pissed at that strutter decoy 30 seconds beofre just lock up and stop coming in. So that is why i thought that maybe it had more to do with the bind than the decoy set. But since you commented on that, do you think that is too many hen dekes to have with a strutter? i dont really know what is too much so i was wondering.
I don't know. I had a Jake-Mobile out with 2 hens, one on the ground, jake fan and had 2 different birds come in gobbling and then stay 70 yds away. One ran off and the other I coaxed in after an hour with purrs and clucks to 38 yds and smoked him. I had 2 birds last year not come to the decoys. One strutted at 50 yds and then spooked and ran from a passing truck. He was in a fenced in field and my son smoked him. The second came out of the woods 5 yds to my left, straight to the decoys in a half strut (2 hens) and passed them by. Shot him at 30-40 yds, 10-20 yds past the decoys.
My thoughts are just no movement from the decoys. Turkeys rarely are still like deer. Turkeys have a keen sense of staying alive. So, anything that they are not happy with will make them run.
I have felt that way a few times. Honestly, I don't believe it to be a blind although that is just my gut feeling. I don't think dark windows do a thing either. With deer, yes, turkeys, no.
Most the time, I think decoys are the culprit and it is simply easy to blame it on the blind. I've just seen too many turkeys not have a care in the world.
Quote from: habitatmd on April 29, 2012, 10:03:58 PM
I have felt that way a few times. Honestly, I don't believe it to be a blind although that is just my gut feeling. I don't think dark windows do a thing either. With deer, yes, turkeys, no.
Most the time, I think decoys are the culprit and it is simply easy to blame it on the blind. I've just seen too many turkeys not have a care in the world.
I agree with you there, I feel like alot more blame is being put on the blind than it deserves, but I will probably close up more of the windowing in it the next time i hunt just to make myself feel better abou it more than anything. Haha
Probably you biggest thing is to make sure you have a good backdrop to conceal movements. If turkeys can see light all the way through the blind, they can really pick out movement. Close up the backside of the blind for sure.
The only way to figure out the problem is to try corrective action till u get it right. Try brushing in the blind a little make it blend in better. Try losing the strutter deke. Make sure the rear flap is closed all the way so u aren't silhouetted against a bright window behind you. When i have used blinds, i usually only open the front and sides and only as little as possible to allow the shot. Try a couple things like that. Good luck!
I use a blind, when Im sitting in the blind I sit in a corner away from the windows,I pull the screen mesh 1/2 down but up enough to shoot out of. I still wear full camo with mask and gloves(I do hunt mobil also) Stay away from in front of the windows.
I hunt out of blinds in two situations...one with grandsons 11 and 12. One when I don't have any natural cover in the field I'm hunting.
I would almost say its the decoy setup rather than the blind but others have given sound advice on how to make the most concealment from the blind set up.
I've not had birds acted spooked from it other than this weekend and we had a big tom hang up at about 80 yards...he had seen another tom get shot from the same setup about two weeks earlier...not sure if they have this much reasoning power but he didn't like the setup...blind tucked in tight to a large evergreen tree for background cover. Had one hen motion decoy in play in some grass in the fencerow...maybe he didn't like the decoy. No strutter was used.
If your hunting an area where hunting pressure is high, don't set out the decoys.
This is my first year hunting from a blind so I don't have a ton of experience on this subject but so far the turkeys where I hunt have not been spooked by it. Opening day we had it set up in some sparse brush along a treeline. We brushed it up just a little. Had a hen literally walk within 10 feet of it with no issues whatsoever. Around 8:00 called a tom in to 30 yards and dropped him in his tracks. He never knew we were there. This morning we set up in a different spot right out in the open, didn't even bother brushing it up. This time we called 2 toms in to 35 yards and my buddy filled his tag at 7:55. Like others have said, just because you are in a blind don't think that you can move around without being busted. Wear full camo (including face mask) or dark clothes, be careful about opening the windows on the back side of the blind so you don't get silhouetted, stay back in the shadows as much as you can and move slowly.
We've had a hen stick her head in the blind looking for the other hen doing all the fussing. This was a first time setup and in the middle of a field with no cover around anywhere and NO decoys!!
I use blinds regularly if I don't have any turkeys roosted, and when I am hunting in the late morning and afternoon. Do some scouting and find a travel corridor or any spot where the turkeys like to hang out, and set up your blind accordingly.
Some of the cheap blinds tend to be very shiny in the full sun. Some of the turkeys get spooked by the shininess of these cheap blinds, so you have a few options: (1) buy a more expensive blind; (2) rub some dirt or mud on the blind to make it less shiny; and (3) only use the blind in low light conditions (i.e., early morning, overcast days, or in the woods).
Here are a few more suggestions:
Wear dark clothes under your camo. If your blind gets hot, and you feel the need to remove your camo, a black undershirt is much better than a white one.
Close the windows as much as possible. Your visibility will be impaired, but the turkeys are less likely to see you.
Have the sun at your back if possible.
Put the blind near thick vegetation, if possible. (not necessary, but sometimes helpful)
Always pay attention to the sun - if you wear eyeglasses or use binoculars, don't stick them out of the blind and into the sun - oftentimes they will reflect sunlight, and turkeys don't like that.
Hope that helps.
Quote from: sugarray on April 29, 2012, 09:39:10 PM
Quote from: OLE RASPY on April 29, 2012, 09:22:55 PM
wouldn't come any closer to a decoy setup that had a stutter with 4 hens in it.
It could be this. :-\
I agree. While my turkey hunting is only 4 yrs, I have hunted from a blind all 4 and never had a turkey spook from the blind itself. They either don't like the decoys, or see you inside moving, or just not feeling it.
Don't think it is the blind. Keep using it.
Agreed. Dekes scare away birds sometimes, because of lack of movement. I've had Toms stop out of gun range and stare at my Hen Dekes for as much as 10 minutes, then leave, and I wasn't in a blind. That's why a lot of guys don't use Dekes in the first place. However, depending on the land you hunt in some cases it's a must.
If you shotgun hunt from blinds or jump out after the shot the entire flock will 'learn' to avoid ground blinds. They act incredibly stupid but they do have a will to survive. I have seen it in multiple spots in the country where outfitters pressure the birds from blinds and teach them what they are. We had a banded hen aged at 17 years old in Mn so mess her up, and the flock gets awfully tough to hunt.