Ask The Biologist

Blind Ambition

Blind Ambition

By Bob Humphrey

There are several reasons deer might be spotting you when you’re in a ground blind.

QUESTION: I just started to hunt out of a ground blind, but every time I’m in there the deer seem to know I’m there. Do I have too many windows open? The inside of my tent is black, so I wear black. What could they be seeing? — Tony L.

ANSWER: First, I would ask how long your blind has been in place, since you say you “just started” to hunt out of it. Remember, deer spend every minute of every day in a relative small geographic area, and they know it intimately. They tend to be very suspicious of anything new or foreign, like a ground blind. I’d leave it in place for at least a week before hunting out of it with any expectation of success.

Where and how you set it up could also factor in. If it’s tucked into surrounding cover and camouflaged with brush, the deer will be less nervous than if it’s set out in the open. In any case, windows could certainly be an issue. If the blind sits for weeks at a time with the windows closed, and they’re only open when you hunt from it, that’s something different, and the deer will pick up on it.

You also need to consider things like wind and sun direction. If you are upwind of the deer, it won’t matter what other circumstances there are; they’ll smell you. And if the sun is shining on you, there’s a much better chance of being detected when the windows are open, regardless of what you’re wearing.

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