Hey guys well i finally talked a landowner into letting me lease some land for deer season. i plan on using a empty fenced in field beside a bedding area as my foot plot. beside that field is a hay field where the land owner cuts and stores hay. my wife has been bugging me about building her a hay bail blind for yrs now so after no place really to put a stand in my plot i decided its my only option. i have found alot online about building my base and frame. but what's these guys covering it with? I was at southern states the other day getting feed and noticed some straw that was in a carpet like roll. i guess i could wrap it with that and put a bail wrap around it. any suggestions or ideas?

Well you could always just buy one already made..

http://www.midwesthaybaleblinds.com/pricing.html

But I like your DIY idea better.. I would get some black or clear plastic to wrap it with and then maybe paint some clear lacker or polyeurothane on the plastic and shake a few timonthy bales all over it and let it dry good before you wrap it..

I watch a lot of hunting shows on the web. One of them showed a round bail blind they made using standard framing with chicken wire for the shell then wrapping it with the straw mat you talked about. If you look on the standard hunting shows, Midwest Whitetail, Heartland, etc. I think you will find what you are looking for.

I have heard mixed reviews on the store bought ones. Another thing you can do is set up a few round bails to a hedge row so you can hide between a few of them. A friend of mine does this for goose hunting by using Christmas trees.

Just some thoughts.
Vic

Thanks for the replys guys. yeah Im about diy. i plan on taking some 2x6 and making a 4x6 base so that's plenty room for me and the wife.....plus a heater! Vic that's what i just by passed the bail idea. going to make a cross like shell. then take water plastic pipe i have laying out back and use as my roundness shape. then then chicken wire sounds like the way to go. then plastic and weather proof. then i guess the rolls of straw. seems better for the long run. Im going to start this in a couple weeks. the lowes card is paid off so looks like its gonna get used again. i will start a post and keep pictures updated. thanks guys

Just had another thought, If you have 2 round bails about 6' apart but parallel to each other you could biuld a frame between them and use the bails as the ends. Would also add insulation to the box. Only problem is the farmer might take one. If I find the one they built I will let you know. PVC sounds good but how are you going to attached the matting, bailing wire?

Vic

Just build a nice shooting house this summer wherever you want, make it portable/on skids if needed. You can paint it neon green and pink if you want, just give the deer time to get used to it and you'll have no trouble. Really no need to worry about hiding it unless you just don't want people to realize it's there. We have several of these on our farm and the deer (or turkeys) pay no attention to them at all.

Vic i actuall plan on wrapping it in wire and then a bailing mesh wrap to help keep straw on better. And freddy i do plan to make this round bail portable. of course a post on each corner to anchor it down since we do get some good wind here in Bedford county. plus this will make the wife happy which in return makes a happier hunter haha.

Take Freddy's advice. You'll have fun building it and when left in place, the game pays no attention to it. As a second thought, just find someone selling square bales of straw. Stack in shape of blind. Run 3 or 4 2X4 across the top and then top with a piece of plywood, followed by stacking more bales on top. Essentially a square bale straw house that keeps you out of the wind and rain and looks like stacked hay to a critter.

Dale has a good idea, and man would that thing be warm. Probably an R30 house.

Vic