Bow Hunting in a Box Blind [What You Need to Know]

Most bow hunters are known for being out in the field a lot from early fall and even into the later months of the season in cold, frigid weather if they still have a tag to fill. If there was a designation for the tough guy of the hunting world, bow hunters would surely be neck and neck as the front runner. That being said, many bow hunters shy away from the use of box blinds to hunt because they tend to have a reputation for making life easy.

We are here to tell you that bow hunters shouldn’t be so quick to judge hunting box blinds. They have a lot of upsides that bow hunters can take advantage of. Now, we are not saying that you should completely abandon your traditional style of hunting from tree stands and the like. Instead, let us show you the upside and what you need to know about bow hunting from a box blind.

Getting Started

If you are an avid bow hunter and have not yet hunted from a box blind, we highly suggest that you do your research before you purchase or build one. There are a lot of things to consider when hunting from a box blind, which we will cover a lot here in this article, but it is paramount for bow hunters to ensure they have a box blind that will fit their needs.

Knowing a buddy or a fellow hunter that uses a box blind would be really beneficial as well. Being able to inspect and check out how it feels might give you the right feeling to move ahead with your decision to purchase and use a box blind for bow hunting. Even if it is out of season, see if a buddy will allow you to see their set up and even practice shooting your bow out of their box blind. Nothing beats a hands-on test run.

If that’s not an option, try to find a store that has display models available for you to get inside of and get a feel of the space and features it has to offer. You want to be in a positive mindset right from the get-go if you ever had any reservations about bow hunting from a box blind.

Blind Designs & Options

When it comes to choosing a box blind, there are a ton of different shapes, designs, and options that are available on the market. Finding the right one to fit you and give you the ability to comfortably draw your bow is especially important. There are some designs and options that you should pay really close attention to when looking at box blinds.

The first is the all-around size of the box blind. You want to make sure it is spacious enough to move around comfortably and quietly with your bow. You also want to make sure that you get a comfortable height inside the blind. If you are taller and prefer to stand when shooting your bow instead of shooting from a seated position, you might have to look a little harder to find a box blind that is taller than you.

Secondly, to help with the spaciousness of your box blind and ease movement while using a bow, I highly suggest that you stick to blinds that are polygonal, like a hexagon or pentagon shape. There are also round blinds that give you tons of easy space to move around in. These shapes and designs will give you a ton of room to move around and help limit large blind spots while you are hunting. This is especially important when bow hunting because your range is short, and you need to see as much as possible.

Finally, make sure that you get a blind that has vertical windows. These are taller and narrower but are perfect for bow hunting. Some bow hunting blinds are designed with both bow hunting and rifle hunting in mind, so if you do both, there are options out there for you. Most horizontal windows in box blinds are specifically designed for firearms hunting and shooting from a seated position. Unless you are really short, those windows won’t work for most bow hunters.

The Setup

No, I’m setting you up for failure! I’m just referring to how you should set up your box blind for bow hunting. Most hunters set up box blinds over an agriculture field or a food plot where deer like to congregate, and the choice of deer can be taken from a longer range with a firearm. That simply isn’t going to work when it comes to bow hunting.

That doesn’t mean that you can’t effectively bow hunt from a box blind. It just means that you need to get a little more creative, which should be no problem for most bow hunters.

Do your normal scouting and find those areas that the deer are going to be using as entry points to a feeding area or where the deer in your area are going to frequent. Yes, you will need to be close to travel corridors, just like you would need to be with a traditional stand.

Finding these areas should be no different than searching for great places to put tree stands, but in the case of box blinds, they have added advantages that will allow you to set up in the places that you wouldn’t normally be able to.

Better Hunting Opportunities

Bow hunting from a box blind will give you more opportunities than you might have hunting from a traditional stand because it is free standing and enclosed. Due to these features, hunters will be able to set up in areas that they probably wouldn’t think are a good idea or areas that just don’t have the cover to set up a tree stand to begin with.

If you have an area where deer congregate frequently but there just isn’t enough cover to set up a tree stand, a box blind is a great option. It might be a wide-open field with a water source but does not have suitable trees for a stand. Or perhaps it is a thick, overgrown thicket that holds a ton of deer, but getting into a tree is dang near impossible. Box blinds are your solution to these problems, increasing your chance to harvest.

Box blinds can also help negate bow hunters’ arch nemesis: the wind. Being fully enclosed in a box blind helps to cut down or eliminate your scent from blowing around an area. That means you don’t have to be as picky about the wind in the area you set up, which again allows you more options when setting up.

These are great advantages that come with box blinds that most tree stands just can’t give you.

Comfort

That might seem like an unneeded luxury to some bow hunters who like the rough and tumble life of crawling up and down trees, but if it improves your hunts and keeps you in the woods longer it’s only a benefit to you.

Weather no longer becomes a factor. If it’s raining or snowing, you can still head out to hunt without getting soaked to bone. As the fall starts to turn into winter and those cold northern winds start to hit, the box blind will block that wind, helping to keep you warm. You could even bring a small portable heater for those really frigid mornings!

The spacious and comfortable seating inside of the box blind also allows you to move around a bit more freely without giving away your position to your prey. You can shift and move around to keep the blood flowing instead of having to sit perfectly still, which is a hard task to accomplish even for the best bow hunters.

Both of these comforts will allow you to stay in the field longer and keep you spending more hours hunting than you would being exposed to the elements. There is no shame in that. You shouldn’t be out to prove how tough you are by showing that you can stick it out in adverse conditions. Measure success by how long you are in the field and when you harvest an animal.

Box It Up!

Box blinds can be just as effective as tree stands, if not more so. They give you a ton of options as a hunter and can give you the ability to stay in the field much longer. Picking the right one and where to set it up are probably the most difficult decisions when jumping into bow hunting blinds.

By all means, don’t give up on your tree stands. They can be very effective. But if you are looking to upgrade for comfort, warmth, and more opportunities, box blinds are definitely the way to bow hunt!