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Duck layout blind8/6/2023 ![]() ![]() Constructed of heavy hog wire, the 33 x 31-inch panels are cut to fit each shooting hole. We concealed the shooting holes with camouflage drop-down panels. These dividers serve three purposes: they break up the open space between the roof and the front wall, provide a framework for attaching camouflage to cover the shooting holes, and connect the front wall to the roof for greater structural integrity. We left a 2-inch gap between the 2 x 4s, making each divider 6 inches wide. Each divider is constructed of two sections of 2 x 4s. The blind features six shooting holes, separated by dividers running from the top of the wall to the front of the roof. The front wall of the blind slopes inward 12 inches toward the roof line and is 56 inches high from its top edge to the floor. Additional support is provided by two 4 x 4-inch posts set beneath the roof beam. Thus, the roof slopes downward 6 inches from front to back. The front of the roof is supported by a 2 x 4 running the length of the blind (from one side to the other) at a height of 62 inches. The blind's roof extends forward 4 feet from the back wall. The back wall of the blind stands 56 inches high, providing plenty of headroom for hunters sitting in chairs in the back of the blind. For added weather protection, we covered the plywood on the roof and the exterior of the back wall and sides of the blind with a rubberized, waterproof fabric. We covered all the walls and the roof with 1/2-inch-thick treated plywood. ![]() We nailed down the boards flush to each other, but as they seasoned, the boards drew apart slightly, providing drainage for rainfall and water dripping off boots and wet dogs. The floor itself is made of rough-cut 1-inch-thick oak boards that we purchased at a local sawmill. ![]() All the framing (for the floor, walls, and roof) is built on 16-inch centers. The blind stands on pressure-treated 4 x 4-inch posts (set in concrete), which are cross-braced with 2 x 8-inch floor joists. The floor of our blind is 8 feet from front to back and 20 feet across. We also keep the pond free of vegetation to ensure that our decoys can be seen by waterfowl trading over the river channel or adjacent bottoms. We try to maintain the water level about knee deep throughout the hunting season. The pond is a seasonally flooded four-acre slough in an agricultural field. The sun rises to the right front of the blind and crawls to the southwest as the day progresses, so we don't have to look directly into the sun on blue-sky days. During the waterfowl season, the wind typically blows from a westerly direction, so this orientation puts the breeze at our backs-and the ducks in our face-most hunting days. The blind faces northeast, only 75 yards from the Mississippi River's eastern bank. Our blind stands in a shallow open pond on our Middle Bar Farm in far western Kentucky. The prevailing wind and the position in relation to the sun are also important factors. First and foremost, a blind must be located where ducks want to go. Download a PDF of the blind illustrations.Īs in real estate, location is among the most important considerations in building a duck blind.View illustrations of the duck blind plans.No two blinds are alike, but all hunters share the same sense of accomplishment when the ducks commit to the decoys with wings cupped and feet down, as if the blind isn't even there. The second purpose was to celebrate the ingenuity and exuberance of duck blind architects everywhere. Perhaps some of our ideas can be used in their blind designs. The first was to stir the imagination of other duck hunters. I wrote this article with two purposes in mind. But in the past two seasons this blind has proven itself in terms of concealment, comfort, and shooting.įollowing is an overview of our blind, including where we built it, its design and dimensions, the materials we used, our camouflage scheme, and the special features we added for comfort and safety. It's not the biggest or grandest blind ever built. Two summers ago my hunting partners and I built a new blind, applying much of what we've learned over several decades of duck hunting. There's hard work, ingenuity, and the hopes and dreams of the hunter or hunters who built it. But there's a lot more in a duck blind than meets the eye. What's in a duck blind? There's lumber and nails, maybe a coat of paint, and some camouflage netting or burlap, topped off with cut brush or marsh grass. ![]()
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