Setting up Multiple Box Blinds on a Large Property

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say it’s a dream to have a large property to hunt. But where in the world do I put my blinds when I have multiple good places to choose from? That’s where a multiple blind strategy can be the best way to go.

When setting up multiple box blinds on a large property, focus on priorities first. Set up your stands in high probability areas with lots of activity, where you want the ability to spend lots of time without being directly in the elements or being easily noticed.

Multiple box blinds add versatility to hunting strategy. Based on deer movements and weather, you can rotate where your stand sits for better access and wind. Generally, a blind strategically placed near or on a food plot is a great bet to start with, but setting up a few on pinch points or funnels can be a game changer.

Areas to Consider

How you set up multiple box blinds can vary slightly if you’re adding to a property with box blinds already or setting it up with multiples from scratch. If there’s already a blind on the property, you can use that as an anchor to, in a way, form a strategic web.

Approach every setup location the same, as if it was a standalone blind. Identify a few good places to set it up in that location, then think on a large scale and determine what conditions would allow access and use of that location. Then consider the other setups.

You want to fill the gaps. If you have one stand that is good for an east wind, one good on a south wind, and you don’t have a good north or west wind stand, this new location should be set up for the lacking wind conditions, so regardless of the conditions, you can hunt effectively.

Food Plots

Active food plots are going to be the first area you probably want to be covered by at least one blind, depending on the size of the plot. On a large property, there may be a few different preferred food sources other than a food plot, so start by doing some boots on the ground recon and setting up some cameras if they are in the budget.

Don’t set up your blind based on feelings with no data. The investment of a blind is too much to be set up in a bad place. It’s also not a bad idea to have a few different food plots with different crops. Try picking crops that peak at different times, and if you have a blind on each of them, you can have a good spot to hunt for the majority of the season.

Here’s A Scenario

For discussion’s sake, we will talk about one theoretical food plot setup. It has lush alfalfa bordered by oak trees on the west end. You’ve established a small crop of brassicas and even have some clover patches. The plot is 75 yards wide by 300 yards long, oriented lengthwise east to west. There is a slight rise in the center of the plot that prevents you from seeing from end to end. A bordering property is butted right up against the plot on the south.

On this property, the wind usually blows from southwest to northeast, and the deer like to come into the plot from the southeast corner in the evening from a bedding area on the neighbors property and wait in the east end of the plot until it starts to get dark. The alfalfa provides good feed until well into the rut.

If I am hunting with a rifle, I would want to set my blind up on the west side of the rise, so my access could be hidden from sight, on an elevated stand, on the north side of the plot enabling me to access the plot without having my wind blowing directly to the deer.

If I am planning to use my bow primarily I would move the blind east to the top of the hill and make sure that I have a visual block that will keep the deer from seeing my access from the northwest.

Funnels

Funnels can be a little trickier to set up blinds for, especially on a large property that may have multiple well used funnels. I usually set up on the best funnels first; it makes sense, right? It might be easier said than done. Let’s say we already have mapped out our bedding spots, food plots, water sources, and maybe some larger hills. Now, take into account where fences, gates, creeks, streams, or changes in wood density are.

Deer like taking the path of least resistance. I like to set up a blind in these areas in a way that deer won’t get around me to catch my scent. I also want the best view of the funnel as possible. If using a ground blind, I also take into account how the sun might catch the blind or my face; it is harder to see what you’re shooting with the sun in your eyes. If the sun can shine into the front of your blind, it lights you up enough that deer will notice.

Again plan the access and for the prevailing wind. Box blinds can help contain scent but don’t completely eliminate it.

Pinches, Saddles, and Low Fences

If you have your major funnels covered, start considering the smaller pinch points, saddles (areas between two hills that dip), or weak spots in a fence that offer the least resistive path for deer to travel.

Pinches can look like shallow areas of a creek to cross, a line through the underbrush that isn’t quite as thick as others, or an opening from a bedding area or food plot from a thicker wooded area that’s been well-worn.

I would scout these on foot and do some trail camera recon work before setting up a stand in these areas just to check the traffic. On a larger property, there might be a lot of these points that would look great for deer to use for travel, but they may lie dormant for hunting season and not be worth a box blind.

Safety First

Something important to consider with multiple blinds on a property is how many people plan to use them at any point in time. If this is just your area and you don’t plan on leasing it out or taking family or friends with you, then I wouldn’t worry much.

If you’re taking a few buddies, family members, etc., you need to take into consideration where they would be firing from their blinds while you’re in yours (if everyone takes a different blind).

For example, setting up a ground blind in the treeline on a food plot and an elevated blind on the same food plot feels like all the bases are covered, but if a buddy is in the elevated blind and someone else is in the ground blind there is opportunity for an accident. You have got to have each other out of your line of sight, with plenty of space in between.

I personally like to put hills or a lot of thick woods between me and another hunter, but however you set up your box blinds, make sure you can’t shoot each other. The same can be said for roads or houses, don’t set your blind with something like that in the background. Either put it behind you, or don’t set up there in the first place.

Closing Thoughts

Whether you’re using two or a dozen blinds on a large property, it’s important to know the landscape and deer patterns before you pick a spot to place them. Be strategic, and it will pay off. One of the worst things you can do is set up your stands and then constantly change them around because you didn’t “measure twice and cut once,” in a sense.

Placing a box blind is planning for the long term. It may be worth waiting a year and doing some significant scouting before attempting a permanent install. Think of what deer graze on and when, and start with a stand in the place with the broadest seasonality of forage first. Then, start looking at other pinch points, funnels, and well used transition areas.

Remember to keep safety in mind first if you’re planning to take a group of buddies out and stick one in each stand. You might like the option of switching between a ground and elevated blind at the same food plot when hunting alone, but having a hunter in each might put both hunters in the line of fire.

And if you ever have questions about hunting blinds or food plot set up, we would love to connect. Reach out to the 12 Point Team today.