Cedar Tree Ground Blind

[lvandev]

Attached are a few pictures of a ground blind made within a cedar tree. I do not have a picture before the front was put on but cedar limbs are cut out to the trunk to create a cedar cave. A wood frame (6' wide by 5' tall)with a small door (3' wide by 4' tall) is put in front and then brushed in with cedar branches. The size of the front depends on the size of the cedar tree used. It needs more brush, a chair, and some deer and it will be ready to hunt in.
Materials:
(1) large cedar tree
(3) 1x4x6'
(4) 1x4x5'
(3) 1x4x3'
(2) 1x4x4'
Drywall screws, (2) t-posts, tie wire, and cedar branches

[maglite]

Looks Good Man!! Only Bad Part Is It Will Be Brown In A Couple Weeks And The Needles Will Start To Fall Off But It Looks Good!

[philafal]

hey... whatever works ..

[Swat791]

Get some felt paper from home improvement store and staple it to the 2x4s for concealment when the cedar limbs start turning brown.

[woodsman1031]

Thats a great blind!

I have always wanted to build a natural blind like that. It seems like every time I hunt off of the ground I get winded though However I have been winded in my 16' ladder stands as well.

I know ground blind hunters know when the wind is right for hunting a particular blind. How do yall decide which is right for a particular day? It seems like the wind blows in differing directions all of the time at my place.

BTW: is it ever too late in the season to build a blind like that? What I am asking is does the smell of the fresh cut wood and things looking a little different spook the deer? I ask because seeing you blind has me in the mood to build one myself.



Tommy

[Heath]

Some loppers and a dove stool make my favorite hunting blind. Get in the middle of the cedar and cut as little as you have to.

[lvandev]

Good points on the cedar turning brown. I probably should have put some felt paper, landscape fabric, camo type netting or other material on before I put the cedar on and probably will eventually. I was a little concerned about the cows tearing it up. They seem to eat everything. I may put something on the inside and keep adding cedar branches to hide the material from the cows.

I don't think the fresh cut cedar is a problem spooking the deer. I acutally hope the fresh cut cedar smell will prevent me from getting busted. I would prefer to be up high as well but there are no tall trees around to build a tree stand in or to put a tripod against or behind for concealment. I will find out if the fresh cut cedar is a problem in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for the input.

[Dr. D]

Looks great Louis and as to the limbs turning brown.....more cedar limbs are very cheap and easy to come by.....I expect LDP's son. How are the door prizes working out?
Darrell

[lvandev]

Darrel you are right there is plenty of cedar 10 ft away.
The door prizes are working out great. I am scared to let my son have the fire starter, all the cedars might end up gone.

[DavidH]

I built one similar, but used the cedar limbs for the frame. Just used tie wire to connect them. It's been up for 3 years. The first year I built it ~ first of september --- the cedar was mostly brown by first of Nov. Tie wired the cedar cover onto the cedar frame. Most of the needles were gone by spring. The second year I "brushed" it in by just weaving the cedar branches amongst the old ones. This year less "brushing" in was required due to the branches left from the last 2 years. It now is a combination of new green and old brown. I have a sheet of plywood painted brown for a roof. I'm like Louis never have to look far for some more cedar to add from time to time.

[clay01]

try fake christmas tree limbs

[UTex Rocketman]

Looks great! I hope it pays off for you. I inherited a simple ground blind made of 2 shipping pallets standing on edge and camo burlap. It was used for rifle hunting but could work for bowhunting as well. One could leave a gap between the pallets to form a window for sneaking an arrow through.

[AgHntr10]

Looks good

try fake christmas tree limbs

try this and had some black fabric of some kind to the inside to darken it up

[Keith]

A good pointer to use, instead of cutting limbs out of the way, use some green or black string and tie them back. This way they stay alive and won't turn brown and loose their leaves or needles. It will actually make your cover thicker to hide you better in some areas.

[sledge437]

In my neck of the woods, about the first week of January, many folks put their old fake trees in the garbage. Im not proud, but I have dumpster dove for them to make blinds and fish structure. They work great.