National Hunting Blind Set-Up Day

Posted On September 29, 2022

If that’s not an official holiday, it oughta’ be!

Well! This is it! Saturday is October 1st. The time of year every hunter has been waiting for. In New York State, October ushers in the opening of bow season, fall turkey and duck hunting, as well as most small game seasons.

As every seasoned hunter well knows, proper hunting blind set-up is not really accomplished in a day. It’s a year-round commitment of planning, preparation, dedication, attention to detail, hard work and passion.

I spend my entire summer planning and preparing for my fall hunt.

Hand sculpting new ponds

Planting clover

Strategically planting wildlife friendly trees

Putting in wildlife food plots.

From clover (everybody loves clover too!)

to crabapples,

I try to provide a variety of wildlife food sources.

Hickory & black walnuts, I’m even trying to grow chestnuts & hazelnuts!

Wild Grapes, black currants, bush cranberries

This year I added soybeans to the mix!

All to provide varied wildlife friendly food sources for the years, like this year, when the acorn crop won’t be quite so abundant.

Doing some planning with my son RJ, then strategically deploying our array of game cameras.

All done to support and enhance our carefully chosen ground blind hunting locations

All of my ground blinds are in carefully pre- selected & prepared spots.

For Tri-Ponds I hauled in 20 wheelbarrow loads of crushed stone for elevation & drainage,

topped with ten bags of mulch for camouflage & stealth.

All to support a properly oriented hunting blind set up on pre-prepared shooting lanes overlooking my array of ponds, clover & food plots.

“Tri Ponds”

What they see:

What I see:

“Outpost”

What they see:

What I see:

In addition to my two all-weather ground blinds,

I also set up two “old school” ground blinds using brush.

“Middle” Ground Blind

What they see:

What I see:

“Oak 2”

Old School Ground Blind

What they see:

What I see:

In addition to my two all-weather ground blind and two old school ground blind options, I have 8 tree stands and an elevated all-weather hut. All carefully hand crafted and installed. I built the tree stands with inclined ladders, so that I can safely climb in and out of them as my legs get older.

“Oak 2”

Tree Stand

What they see:

What I see:

“Oak 1 Tree Stand/Hut”

What they see:

What I see:

So, there you have it. Four Ground blinds, eight hand crafted tree stands, and one elevated hut. Thirteen hunting blind options, all supported by carefully planned and created trails, ponds & food plots. A lifetime of effort!

Each blind offers its own unique hunt. I choose each hunt’s spot based on a variety of factors; wind, weather, sun, time of day, what the game cameras have showed us, my moods & hunches, and the prey I am after.

All in the hopes that at some point during the season’s legal shooting hours, someone like this guy shows up!

I think all that time, planning and effort deserves its own holiday! Don’t you?

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Until Our trails Cross Again:

Good Luck this Hunting Season!

Be safe out there!

ADKO