One of the big pluses of deer hunting with a crossbow is being able to hunt from a ground blind with ease. The horizontal limbs on a crossbow make shooting out of a small window or door opening much easier, and not having to worry about draw movement is crucial when your at eye level with a whitetail.
Most bow hunters associate ground blinds primarily with turkey hunting, with most bow deer hunts taking place while perched in a tree.
Pop-up ground blinds have opened up a whole new world of bowhunting opportunities. Ground blinds and certain game animals, such as turkeys and pronghorn antelope, go hand in hand. Why? Because those two species in particular seemingly pay little attention to blinds period. In most cases, all you have to do is set the blind up on a waterhole or fence crossing for antelope, or on a field edge for turkeys, stake it down, climb in and wait.
Ground blind hunting with a crossbow does require some attention to detail, however. Scent control is crucial, no surprise there. But one thing many hunters fail to do is set up the ground blind early enough in the season.
As I mentioned, hunting deer from a blind takes a little more forethought than it does for other game animals. The most important consideration is timing. You MUST set up your ground blind well in advance of the season, and you must brush it in. Deer are familiar with everything in their environment, and anything new or out of place will give them cause for suspicion until they get used to it. Sure, you might get lucky and fill your buck tag on a same-day set, but the odds of that happening aren’t very high. I set my blinds up a minimum of two weeks prior to hunting from them a month ahead is even better, in my opinion.
See full story on northamericanwhitetail.com