why do experts suggest to set up a turkey blind in the open as opposed to blending in and hiding it?

[hunter mom]

why do experts suggest to set up a turkey blind in the open as opposed to blending in and hiding it?

[blondy]

my opion is that they have so much money to buy gear so they get somthing custom made for that

[MLH]

Turkeys don't seem to be bothered by blinds so leaving them in the open as-is is just fine.

Many deer, on the other hand, spook when they see blinds, so it is usually better to set them up to look like part of the surroundings.

[mooner]

I've noticed no difference to how turkeys respond to blinds in the open vs. with some cover. But if you have the option to blend your blind into some cover, why not?

[huntcamp]

Probably so that other hunters can recognize them easier if they happen to be near hearing a call. Turkeys do not seem to mind, lukily.

[HuntingEditor]

It's a good question, hunter mom. I recommend setting up a blind in relatively open country because if there was cover then I wouldn't need it. I use a blind to give me cover in a place where I'd be in the wide open without one. Like Mike and huntcamp both note, turkeys don't seem to be too rattled by a blind, but have noticed them get a little shy around a blind that all of a sudden appears in a wide-open place. I try to set it up around some existing cover, and I always make sure to use decoys - seems to take the attention off the blind. I just got back from a weekend turkey hunt and we had no choice but to set a blind up near the middle of an alfalfa field. It was where the gobblers were strutting and they didn't want to come to the cover where we were the first day. So we set the blind up near a skinny old dead tree and the turkeys didn't seem to mind. We killed a gobbler this morning.

Andrew McKean
Hunting Editor