What are you waterfowl hunters using for blinds ?

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Sebaz

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Last time a was at one of the hunting supply stores not far from were I live ,I saw a blind that was basically a fabric tarp that you layed under till you were ready to shoot...anyone ever see or use one?
Then there is the other ones your laying down in a sleigh like thing that's all camo and has flip open doors but they are $300+.
What's working for everyone(what are the conditions your hunting in?) swamps , fields etc.
 
Layout boats, boat blinds, natural vegetation, canoes or kayaks and even layout blinds and don't forget those old goose chairs.
I hunt anywhere the birds want to be, I use layout boats when gunning open water for divers, although the occasional goose and puddler has fallen victim. Kayaks and canoes plus some burlap or netting and a little bit of tube grass and you seem to disappear, Boat blinds for running the rivers and channels trying to find the birds so I can set up in a hurry. Natural vegetation because it doesn't get much better, the layouts and goose chairs are for fields although layout blinds and boats both work exceptionally well in shallow water.

As for what you described it should work fine especially after being muddied and stubbled up to better blend into your surroundings. I have one and when hunting at a friends property that amounts to almost a manicured golf course it is the best way to blend in and get geese in particular and late season birds to commit.
 
When hunting in the marsh I would hide behind logs or on the low side of ditches.
No need to spend $300 on a blind.
But, if I where to head to the land of stubble I think a layout blind with a pop top would be in order.
Rob
 
Ive used layouts, bed sheets, raffia grass mats, etc all with the same results... Hell, Ive had my best results when I forgot my blind and just layed in the feild in my camo or just dug a hole and sat in it...
Go with the most budget friendly or easiest option. Layouts are great, nice and cozy and all, but they're just another thing to carry, setup, clean and store. plus they are some what heavy and akaward to carry. When you combine that with a decoy bag, a blind bag, a shotgun and some mud or snow makes for a good recipe for the dreaded "turtle" situation....
If your just starting out I feel your money is better spent else where first. If I had to do it again Id buy a good set of chest waders ( which I still dont own because I trained my lab to retrieve my birds) before my layout blind anyday, although I am getting quite accustomed to being pulled around in the canoe by the guy wearing the waders.
 
For many situations we just sit in natural vegetation, grass, cattails, brush etc... we also have a number of light burlap blinds we have made... just buy the 48" strip burlap used in landscaping, cut it to 20' and sew a pocket hem on the top and bottom... thread a dock-line rope through the top and sew in some old decoy strap weights into the bottom hem, every couple feet to keep it from flapping in the wind... now get two cans of spray paint in flat black and olive green (and a third in light tan if you want to get fancy)... spray lines like "bending reeds" alternate colors and overlap them as the reeds crisscross... in the field you drive four sharpened poles into the ground (usually mud) and then wrap the the burlap around and tie the ends off... might sound like alot of work, but it is cheap, easy and effective.... we use the same panels, but backed with canvas for our boatblind... we have built a folding and collapsing aluminum frame for the boat and the panels wrap completely around the boat and motor... so we just steer into a weedbed and raise the blind.

For hunting field geese, we'll hide in a ditch when possible, and use layout blinds when we must...
 
If you dont want to buy the blind itself you can a) buy a ghillie suit if you are able to hunt field edges etc. where that works and or buy a "blanket" which is again based on the ghillie design and depending on colour, these can be very effective. Remember that the lowest tot he ground and least obtrusive as far as height and width will be your best bet.
 
I just use whatever natural looking cover is around, hide in there and dont move, you just need to be where the birds want to land, scout your area, ive sat under a tree, in the reeds, out in open water behind a washed up tree, even turkey hunting, no cover just under a tree. Ducks sometimes like 2-6 decoys, other times they sit in huge groups on the nicest of days, depends where you hunt. River hunting is all about location in slow moving sections of water just after the river gets narrow, i just stand on the banks and they fly right in, no decoys.
 
I use about 8 to 10 thin bamboo poles and a stretch of burlap. I've made little all round blinds out in the mud flats of Boundary Bay and at the edges of potato fields to good effect. Placing it next to some natural ground cover is more effective, even if it is a strip of brown grass only a foot high. That way the blind seem more like part of the natural landscape.
 
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