Camouflage this. Camouflage that. It’s everywhere and sometimes it simply makes no sense. Who needs or wants camouflage pruning shears? At an outdoor show earlier this year, I found the perfect ratcheting pruners. The issue was, however, the color of the tool, which came in two varieties: camouflage and shocking pink. I told the salesman I didn’t want the camouflage cutters, because I’d be sure to lose them in the matching foliage of the outdoors. On the other hand, those pink ones stick out like a liberal at a Trump rally.
When it comes to firearms deer hunting, we hunters tend to go a bit overboard right down to our camouflage boots; but, there we are with our mandated orange hats. Heck, a few years ago, one of our Michigan politicians thought it would be a good idea if our portable blinds were required to display a certain amount of orange, so they could be readily seen by all. That proposal was shot down – never to be mentioned again.
The fact is that camouflage sells. And, with one month until firearms deer season begins, I wanted to “brush in” a large hub blind, which although camouflaged, did not blend in at all with its surroundings.
Some blinds are manufactured with various loops on the exterior so that branches and available foliage can be attached to the blind itself for better cover. This model had no such attachment points, so any material used would have to be self-supporting. A plan evolved to build an environmentally suitable wall of recycled conifer branches.
Fortunately, I had been removing some spruce trees that had outlived their usefulness and were actually over-shading some more desirable apple trees. Before felling the trees, I had removed the lower limbs so that I could saw the main trunks easier. Those limbs were the perfect answer to my desire to brush in the blind.
I got to work by setting two 10-foot posts into the ground at either side of the blind’s front wall. Next, lengths of sisal rope were strung high and low horizontal to the ground. The large spruce limbs were hung over the ropes and woven together and tied where necessary. A few snips with my pink pruners and I was proud as a peacock with my invention after a couple of hours of enjoyable work.
These hub blinds have become quite popular but they have one drawback when snow and ice begin falling and forming: the roof sections collapse from the weight. A simple solution is to craft a custom center pole with a small hole at the top end to fit around a protruding piece of the blind’s top hub and wedged into the ground. Simply remove the support pole when it’s time to hunt and replace it when leaving.
Not all blinds would require as much work as this one did with the installation of the posts, because in most cases the blinds can be set near trees that could serve as the support posts. Additionally, a wooden platform was installed and set onto concrete blocks in an effort to level the structure and to keep it off the wet ground.
The local deer population now has a month to get used to the blind that is now hidden in plain sight.
The large spruce limbs were hung over the ropes and woven together and tied where necessary. A few snips with my pink pruners and I was proud as a peacock with my invention after a couple of hours of enjoyable work.
