Hunting For The Best Deer Season Ever?
By Nikki Alvin-Smith

Fall will soon be here and with it the opportunity for many avid hunters, to take aim at filling their freezers with deer meat. If you plan to take a walk in the woods to capture your next feast then don’t be blind to the sincere advantages of utilizing a hunting blind.

As with anything else in hunting safety is key, and the decision as to whether to use an elevated blind or one on the ground is a decision to ponder carefully.

Also the decision as to whether to go a home made route and ‘macgyver’ something together or to purchase something custom built for the purpose is another factor to consider. The right hunting blind will make the difference to the success of your hunting season and naturally, whatever hunting blind you decide on it needs to be in place well in advance of hunting season so that the deer become used to its presence.

There are many advantages to purchasing a properly crafted hunting blind that you may not have considered.

Obviously a professional built blind will be a safer option than a piece of plywood stuck up a tree, with a badly fashioned ladder to reach it that creaks and may even become dangerous to use as weather rots the wood. A professional blind will also be much warmer and cozier to use than hinged pieces of wood with the disadvantage that it is less portable.

We spoke with Jonathan Zook, who operates the company, 12 Point Hunting Blinds, to find out what makes a great hunting blind. The 12 Point Hunting Blinds series is fast becoming one of the bestsellers on the market so we figured you might like to find out what their product offers that others don’t, and what Zook had to share about his hunting experiences.

“As an avid deerhunter myself, I know the woes of standing out in rain, sleet and snow hour after hour, and going home empty handed from a hunting expedition. I’ve used hunting blinds of course, but with varied success. With my extensive experience in construction it was a natural fit to address all those issues that I’d suffered with other blinds, and to make the perfect hunting blind for fellow deerhunters,” explained Zook.

12 Point Hunting Blinds are well-built Amish structures that offer a myriad of exceptional features. Here are the key points Zook outlined, that make them so popular.

“Obviously whether you are above ground level or on the ground, your movements inside need to be kept quiet. You want to have great 360 degree visibility for observation and to make an accurate shot, but you also need to keep your scent to yourself. So while thermals make the elevated stand popular and your scent starts out up in the air, and you can choose the height you need to be, you still need to have windows that are kept shut. When you need to open those windows to make your shot, they better be silent. Our 12 Point Hunting Blind offer the quietest windows on the hunting blind market. Plus our windows are tinted so there is no light reflection and wrap around the door for a full view.”

When asked what other features make these hunting blinds superior to others in keeping noise at a minimum Zook was happy to list an array of special features:

“The floor is obviously very important. We use a heavy duty 5/8 tongue and groove Smartfloor that will give years of use. The trouble with a homebuilt building is eventually the floor will rot out and you can find yourself on the ground with an injury. That’s not a good time to be out alone in the woods. Our 12 Point Hunting Blinds also include a sound dampening carpet to keep your inside movements quiet. This is especially important if the blind is elevated where deer can easily hear movements above them.

A lot of folks don’t think about the sound rain, hail and ice can make on a hunting blind roof. We do! Our 12 Point Hunting Blinds have a rubber roof, which also provides peace and quiet inside as well as outside.

The advantages of being inside out of the weather makes your day out hunting much easier on you and enables you to be out there longer giving you a better opportunity to bag that deer. You don’t want to come back next season and find your blind has taken on a leak, and you do want it to last for many years. So we added heavy-duty Smartside walls to withstand wind, and a two inch overhang all around the roof edge, to provide a waterproof and snowproof finish to the structure. We are so proud of that and stand behind it with a 50-year warranty on those walls.

Naturally you want the blind to be as ‘blind’ and out of sight as possible for deer so our blinds all come in a well-camouflaged green color.

Of course when you are ready to target your deer, it is much easier to make a successful shot if you can stand to your full height. So all our blinds offer a 7 foot wall height.”

We also asked Zook what he considered the pros and cons between an elevated or ground blind, as 12 Point Hunting Blinds offer both options.

“If you are a little older or less mobile then consider a ground blind. There is less risk of injury and ‘stealth’ climbing into an elevated blind can be harder for those less physically able. You are shooting on a flat plane, which isn’t as safe for others who may be in the woods hunting too so be careful. But at least you may have a good blood trail with an exit wound when shooting from ground level, as the bullet won’t be in the ground.

On ground level you are naturally in the deer’s line of sight and your viewing area is more limited than if you are higher up plus thermals are more likely to carry your scent to nearby deer. Many blinds you’ll see on the market have windows on three sides that necessarily need to kept shut, because they’d be noisy to open, with an open window on one side. This makes for the blind much colder blind for the occupant in bad weather, and limits visibility to just 90 degrees. With 12 Point Hunting Blinds we’ve fixed that problem. You have full 360 degree views from all our hunting blinds and you can shoot from any direction as our ‘shush glide’ felt window system eliminates any noise being caused by opening the window. Having said that hides are harder to disguise on the ground. An advantage is you can easily add some furniture inside to sit comfortably while you survey the view.

An elevated blind on the other hand means a steeper angled shot so you better be good at taking aim and keeping it on point. You have much better visibility especially into thicker forest growth and with all our ‘shush’ features deer nearby are not going to see you or smell you or hear you!”

Another factor to consider when building or purchasing a hunting blind is the shape and the size.

“Sometimes I hunt alone, sometimes with friends or family. So we created a line of blinds that could be used either elevated or on the ground safely, with room to draw back a bow and room to bring along others for a hunting experience. A hunting blind needs to add to your success rate when hunting, not detract from it. There really is nothing quite as satisfying as spending time watching, waiting and then spying that prey. That ‘Aha’ moment when the deer wanders into range and you can take your shot. While all that waiting is going on, it’s also great to be dry, warm and alert. Not wondering if now is the time to pack it in for the day because you are tired and hungry. Using a quality hunting blind makes all the difference. Last year when my hunting buddies had given up for the day when snow fell and the weather turned really ugly, I was able to stay out hunting. And wouldn’t you know it, an eight pointer wandered into my view and I went home with a successful shoot on the Opening Day of the New York open season. Yes, you could say my buddies were as green as my hunting blind with envy.”

For more information on anything hunting blind, please reach out to Jonathan Zook and the folks at 12 Point Hunting Blinds. Their blinds are ready to ship and delivery is quick and easy.