Hunter from the hay

An uncovered haybale blind and covered one.

It’s time for a quick question and answer session. What is the warmest blind for winter deer hunting?

The deadliest and most unconventional but warmest blind in the deer hunting woods seems to have escaped the attention of many hunters. At first guess, many late November and December hunters feel a heated on-the-ground or elevated stand is best.

Not to my way of thinking. For my money, a hay-bale blind beats whatever else comes in second-place. It has many advantages, and one disadvantage. Hunters afflicted with hay fever shouldn't hunt from a hay-bale blind.

Haybale blinds are great for coyoe, deer and fox hunting.

These blinds are like dipping snuff. It can leave you rather sneezy, but you won’t be sold.

The solid points in favor of these blinds are many and all are valid. Here are solid reasons to use such a blind.

1. Hay-bale blinds can be constructed from big round bales or the smaller and more manageable rectangular bales.

2. A round bale blind is made by putting two round bales together at an angle to form a capital "V". Put a sheet of one-inch marine plywood over the top, and stack six or eight rectangular bales on top to provide a warm and dry roof over your head.

3. Hatbake blinds can be made without a top although there is a slightly greater chance of deer or predators catching your scent when hunting from an uncovered blind.

• The trip here is to stay back in the shadows to remain hidden.
• I always wear a face mask and brown Jersey gloves.
• Avoid movement when hunting haybale blinds because often are close.

4. A rectangular blind requires quite a few rectangular bales.

• Pile as many bales up on the left and right sides, and behind you, and put a chair inside to sit on.
• Stack the bales at least two high in the front, and leave just enough room to crawl over and to shoot through.
• Cover the top with plywood and more bales, and you are set.
  
  • The disadvantage of this blind is if one or two bales get bumped, the blind can fall like a house of cards.

Hunters stay back from shooting window.

Of the two, my favorite is made of two round bales. Five minutes with a tractor to move the two round bales together, laying a sheet of plywood on top and several rectangular bales on top and in front to form a shooting window, and the blind is completed.

Any hay blind placed early in the fall in a key location where deer regularly travel will pay off when November and December rolls around. The deer get used to it, and by the time the winter archery season rolls around, it will entice deer to your area.

Key spots for a hay-bale blind is near the edge of a cornfield, in an open field where two or more trails converge, or back in the woods where a good trail carries a great deal of deer traffic. Wooded hay-bale blinds are much more difficult to construct. Most people place them in open fields or close to heavy cover.

Put haybale blinds in key locations and don’t near them until hunting season.

5. This blind is warm. Unless the shooting window faces directly into the wind, this is the warmest blind possible. Wet hay builds a certain amount of heat, and hunters can stay warm in the most brutal weather.

Human odor isn't a problem with hay blinds. The heavier odor of hay serves to cover human odor inside the blind.

6. Of major importance to me, and to others who use such blinds, is they offer straight-out, horizontal shots at whitetails. There is none of the problems of shooting downward while sitting or standing in a cold tree stand or elevated coop, and deer often walk within six feet of a hay-bale blind. The shots can be easy to make unless the hunter suffers from buck fever.

The hay absorbs almost any noise. I've coughed, sneezed, and done other noisy things in a hay-bale blind without having nearby deer hear it. Of course, any movement visible through the narrow shooting window can be seen.

Deer often take three or four days, and sometimes as much as a week, to become accustomed to the blind. Even though it’s best to put hay-bale blinds in place early, it can be done anytime.

If I were a hunter with a new hay blind, I would not sit in it for a week. The one exception to that would be if a major winter storm was due to hit that morning or evening. Every deer in the area will be on the prowl before the storm hit, and I'd suggest being in the new stand early before a storm hits.

If snow falls before the deer move, so much the better. It will help cover any human scent, and it can produce the occasional big buck.

Hay-bale blinds are not difficult to make, and they provide everything a December bow hunter could want:

• no scent
• being as warm as toast
• good visibility when properly placed

Winter deer hunting just doesn't get much better than that. An added bonus is that these blinds are great places to call coyotes and foxes.