Pop up ground blind user tips for high winds!

[Bowjob]

With the November deer gun hunt coming in just a week, got a question for some of you guys!

anyone using a popup ground blind, how long in advance do you guys put your blind out? (on private land (assuming you have permission to do so)
obviously the longer you have it out there the better in my opinion.

But it also REALLY matters where you're putting the blind, how much EXTRA support you bring and tiedowns you have to really feel confident in leaving it out there. ( not to mention neighbors)

take it from someone 4ish years ago who bought a brand new ground blind spent 200$ on it.

back then we were hunting only farmer fields. we would set our tents up in a row along a massive field facing the bush the deer would come out from and cross into the neighbors bush side. Well that year we set out tents up with the regular gear that cam with the tents about a week early. went home and the next day there were tornado warnings about an hour north of our hunting location. 90 -100km winds for 2 days. we knew those tents weren't going to be there come Sunday. ended up having to buy a crappier 100$ blind and put it up the week of. 2 of us found our blinds and they were salvageable still, but mine was gone. searched the whole day on Saturday looking for a tent that probably got blown to a neighbors field or probably into the middle of a massive forest or swamp.

after that year we learned from our mistakes and made sure our blinds will either withstand very high winds or not be left out there at all until the day of.

These are some things we use now to really tie our tents down.

• Bring a skid. put this under your blind, and with some extra string or rope tie the blind to the skid in at least 2 opposite spots. ( in the event your blind is not tied down efficiently or the pegs get ripped out from the ground, the skid will at least give it some more weight and may keep it from flying away. ) (also is nice when it colder because your feet aren't on the ground)
• Bring some long plant stakes. At least 2! opposing sides again, youll want to link the stakes behind the poles from your tent. un velcro the poles and velcro the stakes with the poles and push into the ground. again at least 2 sides will be great.
• Buy better pegs. this is a no brainer but still had to mention it. we use the thick plastic yellow or orange camping pegs.
• Aircraft cable this is by far the best thing I've done in my opinion. went to get some aircraft cable and made some small loops on both ends. made 3 of them. then added a clip to clip on the walls of my tent and a peg on the other end into the ground on all ends. the other string on the walls of the blind i usually tie to trees if there are any if not theyll also be pegged into the ground.

alot of these things are not really needed if you leave your popup in the middle of the bush because of less wind in my opinion. but just wanted to share!


if anyone has any other tips or stories please feel free to share! but the question still stands, how long do you leave your popup blind out!

[Gilroy]

I am using an old beat up one my son had and it gives me great coverage of my front field where I also have two tree stands both of which have a blind spot. Its real close to the road so could easily get stolen but I am not very worried. I put it out in late September this year and the deer pay it no real attention. Last year I found it pretty frosty in there in the morning and took until 10am to de frost. This year I put down some grain bags on the ground and a 4x4 piece of plywood, this seems to have helped the rising damp inside the blind.But I probably should put down better pegs as you say.

[genec]

I usually put my hub blind out in the bush by mid August to allow deer to fully acclimate to it.
I throw away the flimsy skinny pegs that come with the blind, and buy and use long steel tent pegs on the bottom corners, and tie all the hub rings to small trees, or to a steel tent peg if no trees on a side to tie to.
Another lesson learned if u leave it out for December hunting - cut a sapling about the height of the inside height, and each day u finish hunting prop up the top hub from inside with it. One year after a major snow I went to hunt, and found the top hub collapsed down from a big snowfall, and the seams partly torn from the weight of the snow on the top.

[Bowjob]

I usually put my hub blind out in the bush by mid August to allow deer to fully acclimate to it.
I throw away the flimsy skinny pegs that come with the blind, and buy and use long steel tent pegs on the bottom corners, and tie all the hub rings to small trees, or to a steel tent peg if no trees on a side to tie to.
Another lesson learned if u leave it out for December hunting - cut a sapling about the height of the inside height, and each day u finish hunting prop up the top hub from inside with it. One year after a major snow I went to hunt, and found the top hub collapsed down from a big snowfall, and the seams partly torn from the weight of the snow on the top.

yes this is another great tip ! thanks for contributing! all the aluminum/ steel pegs ive found snap or bend for me which is why ive stuck with plastic for now. will look into that sapling trick too, ive seen guys use other things to prop the top hub up as well, never thought of using a sapling though, great advice!

[sabmgb]

I use the long yellow stakes from CTS. Now I only use a tent for turkey in the spring, but it the same issues. My tent is just in the bush so don't worry about wind from behind. The idea of supporting the hub is a good one. there are a couple guys that hunt the one bush I hunt, they put up a tent, not before season and don't come back for it until like March. Last year it had collapsed from snow and I assume it was like that till March. I imagine it wasn't in very good shape when they went to get it. Haven't seen it yet this year.

[Sam Menard]

If you look hard enough (possibly at a pet store or Princess Auto) you can find chrome plated steel pegs in a cork-screw shape. I use them to hold down my RV awning… they won’t pull out.
https://www.princessauto.com/corkscr...t/PA0009094145

[Bowjob]

If you look hard enough (possibly at a pet store or Princess Auto) you can find chrome plated steel pegs in a cork-screw shape. I use them to hold down my RV awning… they won’t pull out.
https://www.princessauto.com/corkscr...t/PA0009094145

another GREAT idea ! thank you Sam! may end up adding this to the gear as well!