Ground Blinds

A ground blind puts you at eye level with the game, hides your movement, and keeps the wind and rain off while you wait out the sit. For bowhunters it does even more, since the walls cover the draw that would otherwise get you busted. Tucked into a timber edge for whitetails or brushed into a field for spring gobblers, a good blind melts into the cover and still leaves you room to work.

Choosing your ground blind

• Capacity: solo or two hunters plus gear. A two-man or wide-bottom blind like the Muddy 250 leaves room to draw a bow and stow a pack.
• Style: hub blinds like the Ameristep Doghouse set up in seconds and pack flat, while A-frame blinds like our Mossy Oak Shadow Grass A-frame brush in low along field edges for waterfowl.
• Concealment: a shadow-killing black interior hides your silhouette once you are inside, and brush loops let you add natural cover. The Frontline Wide Bottom Extreme pairs 180-degree windows with a ShadowGuard interior.
• Season: an insulated blind like the Hot Box holds heat for late-season sits, while a lighter hub covers the early season.
• Pattern: match the camo to your ground, whether that is timber, field, or marsh.

Set your blind up a few weeks early so the deer accept it, and brush it in tight. Not sure a blind is worth the trouble? See whether ground blinds are actually effective, read whether deer can smell you through the walls, and time your setup with our Missouri deer season guide.