Hey all, new member here, been huntin whitetail for about 4 yrs. I can't put up a treestand where I hunt, so I've been hunting the area by sittin in the cover of fallen trees or resting against trees. Now I'm considering some better cover with a blind. So my question is what portable ground blinds does everyone recommend? Most the stores seem to have a ton of selection. Obviously I want something that will blend well with the surroundings, is dark inside to hide me better, has good viewing range out all sides, easy/quick to setup & take down, preferably $100 or less. Thx for any input you have :)

I've never used one but I bought one at walmart for 50 bucks and when I set it up in the back yard to se how it worked I could believe how big it was. This thing was 72 inches tall. I took it back. The only reason I could think of someone using one this tall is maybe they were a bow hunter.
 
I hunt from a lot of ground blinds but I construct them before the season out of vegitation from the area. I have a comfy camo lawn chair which I sit in. This seems to work pretty good.

if I could construct a ground blind I would, unfortunately there's a bowhunter that hunts and photographs the same area, he's been there a lot longer than I have, so the only time I can get in there without pissin him off is during rifle season. Its frustrating cause every year I hear about the huge 16 pointers he pulls out of there, then I can only manage an average 8 pointer. Oh well, I'm after anything I can do to improve my hunt, so my first idea was a portable blind...

I've used them with good sucess Just be sure and set it up so it won't show on the skyline and descent it I have one that has large openinings that have a small insert and a large door I open the small parts close the door and sit to the back I still wear a face net and camo glovesand if possible I set it up in a fall somewhere that you have some natural cover also get a comfy seat and clean the ground off so you can move quietly good luck

Kansashunter I didn't mean to knock portable ground blinds. I have a lot of customers that use them pretty succesfully. I do use a three wall blind when I turkey hunt. It seems to work pretty well.

I generally just cut some surronding branches, & stack & weave them to make the blind...You can see through the branches in any direction for a shot, & a 5 gal bucket turned upside down makes a great stool.
'Course ya'll might not have a lot of trees there to play with.
Just a suggestion....
Rockinbbar

thanks for the info everyone. Anyone have any suggestion on what make/model/size to get? (keep in mind I'd like to keep it under $100, $150 MAX)

kansashunter, I don't have any experience with them, but I have seen one advertised that folds up flat and will "pop" open to set it up. I don't remember it's name, but I think I have seen it in Cabellas and Bass Pro. I don't know about the cost either but it seemed pretty reasanable I believe. Sorry I can't be more specific, but try checking the online catalogs of those two places.

Walmart has them they range from 50$ to about a 100$ they have one now for 48 that works well IMO it's small but tall enough to sit in and make you're shots

Here are 3 that I'm looking at. Any opinions?

 
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=26625&hvarTarget=search&hvarAID=&cmCat=3333814
 
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=19616&hvarTarget=search&hvarAID=&cmCat=3333814
 
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTextId=56177&hvarTarget=search&hvarAID=&cmCat=3333814

My 2 cents....I had an Ameristep Doghouse blind. I sold it on ebay for a couple of reasons. I decided to sell mine after an incident last year where I was hunting public land (cedar swamp/river bottom area) with my dad, cousin and my cousins friend. We scouted in winter/spring and I found a spot. A couple of months later a bowhunter put a stand about 10 yards from where I decided to sit. I moved about 60 yards up to avoid any conflict if he rifle hunted there. My cousin and his friend came up the day before the season and without realizing he was in the area I was hunting, sat his friend in my original spot after throwing together a rough brush pile to sit in. I set up my doghouse in the new spot I moved to the night before opening day. Opening morning I heard a doe snorting even though I never saw her (wind in my face) and then later my cousin's friend shot a nice 9-pt (later aged at 4 1/2) in my original spot. It was the biggest buck I'd seen in years from that area. He said when he shot it, it was looking in his direction and KNEW something wasn't right and was VERY cautious and hesitant and probably would have went in a different direction. Luckily, my cousins friend shouldered his gun as soon as he saw movement or I don't think he would've gotten a shot.
 
My point is this, I'm no pro and there are far more hunters who know more than I but I do know that a big buck gets that way for a reason: he's smart. Older does get wise too and I'm sure that the doe snorting at me and that buck knew something was different in their home/backyard: I put a pop up blind up and my cousin's friend built a brush blind the day before the season. They knew something was different. If someone put something in your yard, you'd notice. This made sense based on what I knew and read about bigger bucks. On public land in MI you can't put up permanant blinds or leave out pop-ups. So I sold mine based on that experience and decided to build a brush blind of natural material long before the season. I know there are some great trophys in Kansas and I don't know it you have the hunting pressure that we have here but if you're after the big ones, I just wanted to give you a different perspective on the pop-ups.

Interesting info M1. Fortunately I am hunting private land. The area gets bowhunted by a guy and his son, I usually hunt it during the first week of rifle, some other people hit it the following weekend (if I'm gone). So there isn't much pressure before I get there. I wondered if something this big would be very noticeable to deer. As long as there isn't any movement, and scent control is used, I wouldn't think deer would be very cautious of a blind (at least from a distance, might be different when they walk up to it and start checking it out). Maybe I'll consider the Ameristep Outhouse blind, its not a big boxy shape, maybe less noticeable...??

I got a buddy uses one, primarily for bow.  The biggest advantage he gets from it is the ability to come to full draw at his leisure, as he has the shoot through mesh that almost completely conceals him, and does when he puts his camo on.  But I cant say that he ever had a mature deer come within range of it.

Mine was the Ameristep Doghouse and it was plenty of room for me, I think the Outhouses run a bit more.  You can also get them in TSC (total scent containment) but it'll cost a little more.  If you're set on one, I'd probably go with the Ameristep, mine was of good quality.  You definately have an advantage with the private land, my dad owns a farm and I have a permanant blind there and it's been there for years so the deer ignore it and I've had them within a few feet of me.  If you get a pop up, I'd get one as soon as possible and put it out and give the deer some time to get used to it because they will notice something different in their home range.  They'll be cautious of it at first and as they get used to it, they'll start to become a little more comfortable around it.  I think if you can get it into some natural material like a fallen tree or something like that, it'll benefit you.

M1,
 
unfortunately I can't step foot in the area until opening morning of rifle season 'cause someone bowhunts it. Guess I'll take a blind in there opening day, try to conceal it as best I can and see how the deer react, if its negative then I'll stop using it. Man I can't wait for the season, there are some huge deer in the area and I figure its my turn for one!