Life is full of many mysteries, and one I think about every spring is why wild turkeys pay little to no attention to a pop-up ground blind that suddenly appears in their home range, while a whitetail deer is on high alert at the sight of one. In my experience, whitetails are most bothered by the black holes created with an opened window (one that doesn’t feature shoot-through mesh), but turkeys don’t seem to care.
While this mystery will likely never be solved, it’s true that turkeys can be alerted by hunters inside a pop-up ground blind. No, close-range turkeys aren’t spooking from human odor as often happens with whitetails, but birds will bust hunters if they make a noise or don’t hide properly within the blind.
In the YouTube video below, veteran turkey hunter Tim Herald provides tips on how to hide in a pop-up ground blind. As someone who has shared a few hunting camps with him, I can tell you from experience that few other hunters on the planet are as dialed in as Herald when it comes to killing wild turkeys.
As you watch the video, pay particular attention to how Herald disappears when he shifts his position to the rear of the blind. Even though he isn’t dressed head to toe in black (including face covering) to blend in the dark shadows, Herald is almost impossible to see. When Herald is sitting in the back of the blind, the only clothing I can see — just barely — is his light-colored shirt collar.
Black is the best color to wear inside a blind, but any dark-colored camo will work okay. Personally, when the weather is warm during a spring turkey hunt I’ll wear a Gamehide Ground Blind Reversible Tee (long-sleeve). It’s Mossy Oak Country on one side and black on the other. That way, I can wear black inside the blind, but if I decide to run-and-gun, I can switch to the camo side and be as hidden as possible when sneaking around the woods. For a facemask, I prefer the Under Armour HeatGear Tactical Balaclava. It fits tightly so it doesn’t affect my shooting but it’s comfortable, too.
One topic Tim doesn’t cover specifically is the benefit of wearing a dark-colored glove on your bow hand. After all, your bow hand will be the one part of your body you can’t keep to the rear of a blind. A turkey could easily see your bare skin as you draw and aim your bow; wear a black, brown or dark-camo glove to avoid detection. I like the soft feel of a deerskin leather glove, and it’s also thick enough to prevent mosquito bites. I bought a couple pairs of black deerskin gloves for about $15 a pair at my local Menards home improvement store.
