Recently I have been being driven crazy by the heat and bordom of a summer without hunting,what better a time though to stock up on gear! I noticed my local dealers had a sale on layout blinds(something that despite my love for waterfowl hunting I have never used)so I purchased 2 FA brand eliminator express blinds,all my goose deeks are bigfeet or final aproach last pass brand and I like them a fair bit so I went with a trusted brand.Unlike most of my purchases I read no reviews on the blinds,simply going on the fact they came from a good brand and were low profile,once I got home I assembled the blinds(a very simple task)though I have no former experience with layout blind I thought they fit pretty well,looked pretty good and were very light at around 11 pounds.I then started looking at reviews in which they recieved about a 3 star rating(not a good sign)and peple stated that they were "too small,stuck out like a sore thumb"and generally got a bad rap.SO my question is have you any experience with these blinds? good or bad,tell me what you think. Thanks, Hunter.
Did I just shoot myself in the foot?
- Thread starter thehunterman
- Start date
I have used FA bran blinds for several years and had great results, but I haven't used the express ones. Set up and good camo is vital. The comment of sticking out is BS. A good mudding is needed to get rid of the shine. If you can also dig them in, any bit helps, or try to find natural hallows in the ground if it works for your setup. I and many others have used burlap to hide under and it worked so this blind is a great leap from that. If it gets you off the wet ground and keeps the wind, snow, and rain off you then that’s all a bonus. I am not a fan of the way the doors are on the express but like I said I haven’t personally used that model. You said that they were on sale, so that’s a bonus. I might take the gun rest bar thing out, keeping low is important. But whatever works, customize it to fit you best. A couple guys I hunt with made their own. Pvc pipe can help frame it up. I keep my blind set up all the permanently, I got tired of trying to put them together with frozen hands in the dark. Good luck and happy hunting
Yeah we have 4 of them. They are definetly not as roomy as our sub or ground force, but personally I like them the best. Super low profile for those cut silage. The key is to stay still when birds are looking.
Not a fan of the FA honkers, found the base to be cumbersome.
Not a fan of the FA honkers, found the base to be cumbersome.
We use several of them and ended up with an issue with the material ripping. FA was contacted and they unequivocally replaced them as apparently it had been a bad batch of material that they were equally upset with. Small and low profile are great when matched with good "brushing" with local vegetation or stubble.
I have two of the expresses and two of the SUB's, hands down the SUB's win!! One of the zippers on the expresses ripped within a few hunts and not having a proper frame makes them more flimsy and all the stubble falls out of the loops after getting in and out a few times, PITA!!! Also without a proper frame when it is raining out they act like a funnel and all the water ends up inside the blind, so much for staying dry in a blind!!! I will NEVER buy another express blind that is for sure but I love the SUB's!!!!! The only thing they might be better for than the SUB's is they are a bit lower profile.
