What's better: a tree stand or a blind?

Understanding the Benefits of Using a Hunting Blind

Every hunter has an endless discussion on what is the latest investment they should make for next year’s hunting season. The question of what is better: a tree stand or hunting blind is a commonly asked question. It takes a little understanding of what the individual situation is to make that decision.

Benefits of Using a Tree Stand

To begin the thought process on this, it’s fairly obvious that tree stands are more portable than most blinds. This is a huge benefit of a tree stand.

Hunters use a tree stand in situations where their stand might not be permanent. Many hunters may hunt on public land or hunting grounds and not on private property.

A tree stand is easy to set up and tear down after the season is over. Also, a tree stand places you well above the eye level of a deer, potentially helping you secure a chance at that trophy buck.

Advantages of Using a Hunting Blind:

• While tree stands might be more portable, a well-built blind, once in place, has many tremendous advantages.A well-built blind, once in place, becomes part of the game animal’s normal surroundings as compared to a portable tree stand that might be moved into place on the day of the hunt. Even if the tree stand has been in place for an extended period of time, putting a 200-pound hunter in the stand makes for something that will often draw the attention of a mature doe or buck.
• On a beautiful comfortable day in the woods, a tree stand can be a refreshing experience, but throw in some rain or frigid temperatures (or even cool temperatures), and remaining comfortable in a tree stand is very difficult. Not only will a good blind break the wind, which is the main cause of losing body heat, but it will also allow for the use of a small heater that will turn a miserable hunt into a memorable hunt.
• Many hunters have limited time to hunt each fall. If you happen to have a day when you aren’t feeling your best, a blind allows for a far easier place to continue to hunt. Hunting from a tree stand while feeling “under the weather” can be a miserable experience and can bring a hunt to an end far too quickly.
• Hunting over a food source can be frustrating for many tree stand hunters. All too often, the travel patterns once in a field or foot plot will bring the quarry out of range of a tree stand. Rarely are there trees in the middle of the food source to locate a tree stand. By placing a blind near the best food in the field or food plot the hunter can take advantage of the travel pattern of the deer.
• Often, when hunting from a tree stand the wind direction can limit the areas that can be successfully hunted. Swirling winds can make it impossible to hunt in many areas. A quality hunting blind can effectively integrate an ozone scent elimination system, significantly reducing scent within the blind. This can lead to virtually no human scent being released through the windows, enhancing your hunting concealment and success
• Often, a hunt turns from a sure harvest to a missed opportunity because of being caught moving in a tree stand. Attempting to draw a bow or lift a firearm when a targeted animal is close is often very difficult without being detected. Hunting from a blind will more often than not eliminate that problem by allowing you to prepare for the shot while being concealed by the structure of the blind.
• One of the biggest challenges in hunting today is bringing new hunters to the sport, especially young children. Our hunting heritage in North America has been on the decline for a long time. If we don’t get our younger generations involved on a much larger scale, we stand to one day lose our rights to do what we love in the outdoors.

Hunting from a well-made blind makes it far more likely to keep new hunters and young people moving towards a long-term relationship with the outdoors. Comfort for all ages is an important factor in spending time in the woods. Blinds make this possible.

There are places for tree stands and blinds in the woods. Some hunters enjoy the experience of the open-air feel of a tree stand. But when we look at the advantages and disadvantages of both we can easily see that a well-built and well-placed blind can help the hunter to have a better day in the field and oftentimes make them far more successful.

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