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Design of the Blind 

The Pro’s and Con’s on All Deer Blinds

I am eighty years old, and hunt in 3-5 states each year for whitetail deer, I hunt approx. 100 days a year. Over the years I hunted in a lot of different types of blinds that are on the market and saw a lot of things I didn’t like. This is why I decided to design my own blinds.

Windows – When a deer is on the move, and the more windows you have in your blind, you have to move your weapon from window to window. A wide window is beneficial. Ask the vendor if they offer different heights of windows. The higher the window, the more light it will leave in your blind which you don’t want. Consider the blind spots between windows. Consider the thickness of the glass, plexiglass is offered in 1/8 and 1/4″ thickness. A 1/8″ thickness the glass will warp. Consider if you can take the windows out of the blind during the warm season, that will give you a wider area to move your weapon. Most blind archery windows are 9-10″ wide. Plexiglass cost is what drives up the price of the blinds. Consider the thickness of the Plexiglass and the size. The 2 in 1 archery blind takes 8 pieces of tinted glass ¼” x 24” x 36”, your local hardware stores the prices average $700 to $800 for the glass alone. The widest windows on the market are 60″ wide. All blinds are built tight enough that you shouldn’t have to insulate your walls. A buddy heater will keep you warm. Do not wear camouflage clothing, wear all black clothing. It is harder for the deer to pick up your movement.

Walls – Consider the thickness of the walls, and the thickness of the sheeting that is used on the outside of the walls. If the sheeting has grooves in it, it is only half the thickness of the plywood, and this is where it usually goes bad first.

Doors – Consider the width of the window in the door, and if the door swings in or out. If a door swings out and you are in a windy area, the wind can blow the door out of your hands and break the door.

Tower Stands – Metal stands are noisier than wooden stands. If you have a wooden stand and there are porcupines in the area, wrap your legs with metal 2 ft. high, and put a wire fence around your stairs of ladder 2 ft. high. The heavier the stand and blind is, there is less of a chance it will blow over.

There is more square footage in a square blind, opposed to a round blind, or a rectangular blind, which is of the same size.

Disassembled and Unassembled Blinds – If you purchase an unassembled blind, you can move it into a remote area. It takes approx. 2 hours to assemble it. If you purchase an assembled blind, you have to have a forklift to install it.

Image of Ken Gringrich, founder of Gingrich Hunting Blinds and author of "The Ultimate Choice"
We have 15 models of blinds. Our blinds are custom built, sizes are 4’ x 4’, 5’ x 5’, 6’ x 6’ and 7’ x 7’. One of the reasons we are building a square box blind is that you have approx. 15% more sq. footage of floor space, compared to a round blind or hexagon blind. You can choose 4 different door styles. we offer a 2’ x 6’ high door, or 48” wide door with a wide window in the door, or a half door, or a trap door in the floor. These three models will give you the widest window on the market from corner to corner. You can also choose four heights of windows, 12”, 16”, archery window 24”, or 32” high. The 1/4” Plexiglass windows slide sideways and are easy to remove during the warm part of the hunting season. You can order curtains that draw shut, to keep your blind dark. When the windows are closed most of your human scent is locked
in. I recommend to wear black clothes instead of camouflage. You can order your blind assembled or disassembled.

I would like to explain the design of this blind. Out of all the North American big game the white tail deer is one of the most challenging species to hunt. I was fortunate to harvest all of the North American big game, and almost all of the African species including the big five. I have been a guide for over 40 years, now I am retired and hunting for my own pleasure, I spend 4 months of a year in the wilderness.

I started to hunt the whitetail deer at the age of sixteen and have hunted for over sixty years. When I retired I concentrated on hunting the whitetail deer exclusively. I keep a log on the amount of days, and the number of deer that I see each day. On a normal year I will hunt the whitetail over 100 days, in five states. On a average year, I will pass approx. 75 buck a year, and usually only harvest one trophy buck in a season. In my lifetime I spent nearly two years in a tree stand. As I got older I didn’t feel comfortable being 20 feet in the air on a small platform. I knew if I was going to continue hunting the whitetail deer, I had to make a change in my method of hunting.

If I had to hunt from the ground, I knew it was to my advantage to hunt in a blind, if I was going to hunt like this. It was hard to adapt to this method of hunting. After a couple hours in the ground blind looking through holes, I had to get out before I got claustrophobia. Over the next several years, I designed several blinds, making changes to my advantage.

Then I designed a blind, elevated 16 ft. in the air on a tower. Several years later I learned it wasn’t necessary to be 16 ft. in the air. I lowered most of my towers to 8-10 ft. This gave me a advantage of seeing further in the early season when the leaves are still on the trees. I was still building my blinds with lots of small windows. My experience was I was missing a lot of deer movement due to the blind spots between the window areas. Then I designed a blind with 60” wide window opening on all four sides. This gave me an advantage of seeing the movement of the deer. It also gave me an advantage swinging my weapon when a deer is moving at a fast pace.

During the early season these blinds get very warm, I made a window that was removable for air flow. I don’t like a window in my blind except when it’s cold. I put a heater in my blind. Also, tinted glass is harder to see through during the daylight hours, than it is with the windows removed. With the open window area, I installed venetian blinds or curtains that you can regulate to your satisfaction. You can raise and lower them to your advantage, depending what weapon you are using, rifle, compound bow or cross bow. With a couple of turns on your curtain rod you can shut the blind and it will be dark.

When wearing black clothes it is nearly impossible for the deer to pick up your movement. With an office chair you can turn 360 degrees. You can lower and raise the seat if you are hunting with a small child.

I wrote an autobiography of my life, if you are interested in reading it online or purchasing, it is titled “The Ultimate Choice”, by Ken Gingrich.