Blind requirements for long periods of sitting

[Desert Eagle]

I normally find a decent spot to sit in the open and enjoy it all. This year I’m road tripping a bit and will have some long days sitting. Picked up a decent blind and have a buddy heater ready to go. For those of you that use this method to hunt, what are your must haves to make the day go better from light to dark? Normally I have trouble sitting for too long, as I get bored of sitting, but I’m going to try to push myself to sit and see.

Thanks!

[Dick284]

A good chair, comfy, with no dead leg issues, and a back rest.

[Moo Snukkle]

As Dick stated, chair comfort is the key here. A $40 lawn chair likely won’t cut it, unless you layer it up with thick foam padding. And a 5 gallon bucket or similar, to put your feet up.

[Smokinyotes]

An empty 1 gallon jug for old guys with small bladders.

[Barry D]

I used to have trouble sitting all day, but now that I have realized just how many more shot opportunities I get by staying put, I am much better at it. Still on real cold days heres my strategy.
I reward myself with a nice hot drink at two hours after first light. Then another one at noon. Yes, you need a good thermos for those super cold days for sure. Then the afternoon just flies by. My track record of success over the last ten years has been much better in the afternoon, so that keeps me in the chair till dark.

[calgarychef]

NO blind, no heater… a chair with a backrest and a heater suit or sleeping bag to keep me warm. A fur hat. Hand warmers galore.

[Hoopi]

Hello. I will add to the tips above. A heater body suit and foot/hand warmers are needed. Take a charger for your cell phone. A Bog Pod with a death grip has been a game-changer for us; the gun is ready and pointing out the window. Take extra cloth with safety pins to cover unnecessary parts of the window. Using deer scent spray, walk the area in front of you on the cutline to spray a stopper scent where the deer cross the trail out to 300 yards (this will get them to stop and sniff). Mark the yardage with a stick (100 to 300 yards). Get into the blind at least 30 minutes before the first shooting light and stay till dark. If there is no snow on the ground, be sure you have a bright flashlight for follow-ups.... AND shoot the deer in the shoulders to limit the death sprint after the deer is shot.

[Curtsyneil]

Don't rely on the small bottles of propane there a complete pain in the butt on cold days. They freeze up and your changing always on cold days. 20-30'pound in blind with line hook up a must.

[pikergolf]

Warm feet. Don't where your hunting footwear driving to your location, you will sweat, that's bad. Change just before you head for your blind, wiggle toes a lot if you cannot move around. Cold seems to start at your feet.

[A207X2]

Layers of clothing. And change into my hunting clothes AFTER I get out of the truck.

Good boots to keep my feet warm, and good gloves to keep my hands warm. Vigilance and persistence.

[aragor764]

I use a blind less and less nowadays, I like to hear what is going on around me and sometimes with the wind especially it flops around and I don't like it, but I see your point for long sits, it makes sense. For me right now, tripod is a must, handwarmer and small buddy heater, but i have never sat for an entire day yet, I have to walk at some point.

[Ballertrawler II]

A good chair is a must that you can move around in without noise.

The most important is making sure you can see out without scooching down (i have to dig my chair in a bit) or set it in a hole or raise the blind.

I anchor it as well on the windward side and make sure there is no noise I want to be the black hole that has no noise,

I also use scent blocker which is not 100% so setting it up properly according to wind is important and being able to get into a shooting position with no movement. A heater gives off scent so I don't use.

I also try to use attractant scent where I expect/want animal to come out. A good book also helps and every page turn/scroll triggers me to take a look around.

Patience is the part that's hard

Sit only for as long as you can sit still if you know you can only sit for an hour then sit at the primest times... but set your blind so you can get in and out quietly and sneakily

[Stinky Buffalo]

A small piece of old carpet makes a world of difference in keeping your feet warm. It also gives you something dry to stand on when swapping out your boots or socks, if necessary.

If you have a crummy old sleeping bag that still has decent insulation (which tends to bunch up at the feet) you can cut it down (and sew up where you cut) to cover just the lower half of your body, to keep your legs and feet warm. This makes it more portable and allows for better upper-body movement.

One of the challenges I've always had is keeping heat in the blind. If there's wind, the heat gets sucked out quickly. So ensure you only have the windows open that you need. That being said, I'm trending more towards what Aragor764 does lately.

Candles can help with heat if you don't have too much air movement in the blind. But then there's the scent... But that may or may not be a bad thing either. Depending on the scent you use etc. This YouTube video shows one idea of how to build a candle stove. Perfect if you have a bunch of old candles that you don't know what to do with - melt them down into a mega-candle for this heater. Mix in the attractant of your choice...

[Sitkaspruce]

I hunt out of blind every year and here is a few tips I have learned

- only open up the windows you need. You don't want to silhouette yourself between two windows and you don't want too much light in the blind or they will see your movement.
- wear dark clothes as the background in your blind is black. You don't need to wear camo in the blind. Also get a black balaclava to help with heat retention and cover up most of your face.
- as others have said, get a comfy chair. I use a plastic deck chair as they don't squeak or make noise when you move like lawn or camping chairs, they have a high back for support and the handy drink cup holder for your thermos cup. They are a bit of a PITA to bring in, but my blinds are up from mid October until after the season, I don't move my blinds.
- For the November hunt, I wear 250+ weight long underwear, top is a hoodie, heavyweight hunting pants (Kryptek or Cabelas), an insulated vest/shirt with 250g merino wool arms, my grey wool standfields and a dark brown heavy wool sweater. I also wear the finger/fingerless gloves, a black wool toque, the balaclava and one of those hand warmer muffs like tree stand hunters wear. A couple small heater packs if it really gets cold. Boots are -100 rig boots with a light pair of polypropylene socks and heavy weight wool socks. Don't tie up your boots too tight!!!
- I have a medium weight fleece blanket that I lay over my lap and tuck around my butt and legs to protect the dead, cold air under the chair/legs.
- I bought a heated vest instead of packing in a heater and since last year was so damn warm, I didn't get a chance to use it. Hoping to try it this year. There is also heated leggings, gloves and socks.
- I wear light weight pants, shirt and vest with rubber boots when I walk in, then I change to my hunting clothes, from top to bottom, then settle in for the waiting game. Don't wear the same clothes you walked in with, you will get cold.
- I use the BOG Fieldpod for a shooting rest. I hunt with a crossbow and have a tremor that will not let me shoot ethically unless I use a rest.
- I have an orange juice container for peeing in. I keep that and use it to freshen up my scrapes on my walk out, if it don't freeze!!
- And, this might not be the answer for some, but I bring my iPad mini and Kindle to kill time with, otherwise I am not sure I could sit for that long just staring out of the window.....

I thought I would never enjoy the blind hunt, as I have always been a blacktail/mule deer hunter and a "what's around the next hill or rise" type of hunter. Then I moved up here and started hunting whitetails and learned that sitting was more productive that still hunting, especially in the thick bush. Then throw in my tremors and not being able to bow hunt, the blind became my way of hunting.

Cheers

SS

[58thecat]

You got a blind and a heater as mentioned a super comfy quite chair for moving in and a floor mat to keep your feet on.
As mentioned open windows just a bit to see out of.
A good shooting rest that fits your needs inside the blind. Hopefully the blind is big enough to move around in. Two man blind is a one man blind with some gear so I like the larger blinds and if someone tags along ya got the room but heating it may be an issue depending on temps.
Prior too setting up use google earth, check things from above for possible travel routes, pinch points etc and even better get boots on the ground and walk the area as this will give you better intel, old sign from previous years etc etc, scrapes are opening up too over the last week or so.
Maybe another blind might be the answer to ensure the wind is in your favour come go time giving you another place to set up.
Good luck out there.


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[Dark Wing]

I like using chemical foot warmers even with a heater. Costco usually sells them by the box.

[Hunter Trav]

If you're using a larger tank than the 1lbers with the buddy heater make sure you use a filter on it or it will eventually clog the lines in the heater and ruin it...

[Smokinyotes]

I’m not sure what brand it is but bought a couple swivel chairs on sale at Cabelas on sale last year. They work great for looking out the different windows of the blind.