Homemade Duck Hunting Blinds - How to Construct a Duck Blind

There's just something about making a duck blind, I don't care what age you are

The art of using a ground blind to conceal oneself has dated back to the early 1500’s. Native Americans used these simple creations in the vast grasslands of the Midwest and the open Artic Tundra. Even though this tool was used 500 years ago, it's still as relevant to hunting now as it ever was.

What is a ground blind? A ground blind is a simple primitive tool, (now used with modern materials), to conceal a person(s) from being sighted by the animal that is being hunted.

There are two main types of blind structures, two dimensional (2D) and three dimensional (3D.) The 3D blind is a completely enclosed blind. The 3D blind is good for setting up anywhere the game will be, and is usually more portable. The 3D blind excels for hunting large game such as deer, elk, bear, etc. They also can be used for some small game such as turkey. In the waterfowl world, the 3D blind is used mostly for field hunters pursuing geese and puddler ducks. I am going to focus on the 2D style to be used as a water duck hunting blind.

The 2D blinds will usually be one sided, with no top. It is required that the duck blind be put in between the hunter and the prey. The 2D duck hunting blinds are ideal for hunting tree lines and levees for all game types. The duck blind is excellent as a duck blind for hunting ducks from islands, sloping banks and tree lines.

Making a duck blind is fairly simple and a limited amount of tools are needed. If you're serious about building a duck blind, I've drawn up a step by step guide on how to construct a duck blind.

Duck Hunting Blind Materials:

1.Tape Measure

2.Saw

3.Straight Edge/Level/or chalk line

4.Pliers

5.Box of nails 25ct.

6.Hammer

7.Pocket knife, or any tool for cutting rope

8.Hand shears, scissor style

9.Pencil

Limited materials are needed also, please note that these materials can be substituted due to availability or others maybe better suited for different applications.

1.2’ x 4” Board

2.Mesh wire/chicken wire

3.Concealing Material

4.Small camouflage rope 30-50ft

For this tutorial, Cattails where used in the duck blind design.

First get the saw and the 2” x 4” board. The board needs to be ripped in half. A store bought 2” x 4” is actually not truly 2” x 4”, the board used here was 1½” x 3½”. Laying the board flat measure 1 ¾” across the width of the board and both ends and mark it. 3 ½ divided by 2 = 1 ¾”, this is the center point of the board. Now get the straight edge/level/or chalk line and mark the centerline of the board.

After marking the centerline, grab the saw and rip the board in half, guided by the centerline.

After ripping the board in half, measure the wire material width or height. The wire used was 4’9”, therefore each half of the 2” x 4” was cut to 4’9”. The top will be folded over; so no excess length on the 2 x 4 is needed for hammering into the ground.

Using the saw, make a stake like end on the board for easy driving into the ground.

Measure the wire from the outside to the inside length wise, to 6 ½” and mark it.

Now, place the board at the 6 ½” mark, and fold the wire over it so all four sides are covered by wire. Now get the hammer and nails and start to make the wire permanent by nailing in half of the nail and bending it over the wire to fasten it, doing the same to both sides.

Now, bend the wire on the top of the stakes over, to making a semi right angle. This halfhearted attempt at making a top, will disrupt the outline of the blind from the air, also it makes a good coffee cup holder.

After the dog’s approval, continue on building the duck blind.

This is what the basics of the frame should now look like.

Gather your blind materials, which is cattails for this blind. Start “weaving” the cattails through the bottom few wires. The cattails or material being used should be slightly taller than the main structure.

Keep doing this until the blind is completely finished. All gaping holes should be filled with material. After the front is done, do the portion that is bent over, or the top. Simply repeat the same as the front.

Using the rope, make some loops around the front of the blind and top to secure the material in place. This will ensure it won't shift during transport.

At this point, if there’s any spare spray paint lying around, it's a good idea to paint the wire and stakes before adding the material. Once the stakes get painted brown, add some lines sprayed over the brush to make it blend better.

In the end, this should be what the finished product looks like.