Duck blinds have come a long way since ancient Egyptians first started hunting over clay decoys along the Nile River in 2,500 B.C. But even back then hunters knew a key rule of waterfowling: The better your concealment is, the better your chances are of luring ducks in close.
Today’s ducks are highly pressured and ultra-wary (mallards and pintails in particular). So as soon as duck seasons begin, waterfowlers must continuously adapt to find success. That’s why we duck hunters are so gear-intensive, and why we can sometimes go a little overboard when it comes to setting spreads and yes, building blinds. We innovate because we’re looking for any edge to fool smart ducks. We also like a hot breakfast now and then. Over the years, hunters have crafted (and stumbled upon) some truly ingenious duck blinds. The problem solving and creativity behind these modern blinds are what sets them apart from standard goose pits and box blinds. Here’s a look at some of the best duck blinds in North America.
1. Fred Zink’s Mobile Boat Blind
Private-land hunters often build permanent blinds on their impoundment, which can be a disadvantage, especially on larger wetlands. If the ducks start landing out of shooting range from the blind, you can’t exactly relocate the pit or box blind.
That’s why Avian-X founder Fred Zink built his blind on top of two 23-foot pontoons, so the floating structure could be moved or towed to wherever ducks land on his wetland in northwest Ohio. He also framed the aluminum deck of the blind with treated lumber to ensure it lasted longer. Seats are arranged on the deck and two steel tubs are affixed to the underside of the frame so that hunters’ feet remain level with the water. This keeps the blind low-profile and makes it easier to hide seven hunters and a dog.
2. Ira McCauley’s Heaven Blind
MoMarsh founder Ira McCauley and his brother, Aaron, are two of the most inventive and creative hunters in the sport. Their north-central Missouri blind, named “Heaven” for the duck hole it now sits in, has become a famous waterfowl destination that’s been featured in plenty of hunting publications, on Ducks Unlimited TV, and social media. The exterior of the wooden box blind looks traditional: square shooting ports and brush piled high for concealment. Inside, however, there is a mallard mural on the ceiling, which was painted by Aaron. The current mural is actually the second painting installed for Heaven, since the original was destroyed by critters like bees and squirrels.
An electronic board controls all the hard-wired spinning-wing decoys and mallard machines, so you can activate the motion decoys with the flip of a switch. There’s also an oven and stovetop for cooking breakfast on slower mornings or after your hunt. The hole is set back in the timber under a flightline where ducks trade between refuges. Heaven is not a roost or day loaf, so birds don’t typically drop in unless hunters are working birds there. It takes aggressive calling to draw high-flying mallards into those trees. But once ducks drop in under that canopy, it’s rare for them to leave.
3. Jackie Van Cleave’s Double-Sided Blind
Long-time guide Jackie Van Cleave has one of the most luxurious blinds on West Tennessee’s Reelfoot Lake. The boat hide, which is located on the backside of the blind, can accommodate at least three boats. Once you enter the blind by stepping up a small ladder, you’ll find a stovetop for cooking breakfast and propane-fueled heaters to keep warm. Somehow the noise of the generator that powers all the lights and other luxuries doesn’t flare ducks.
Before shooting time, hunters relax on couches and recliners, sip coffee, and watch satellite TV in the kitchen while eggs and bacon simmer in the skillet. As legal light approaches, hunters move to the shooting platform at the front of the blind. There are multiple points of entry and each is covered by a dark curtain so that no one is backlit by the light from the kitchen. The bench seats along the shooting platform are thoughtfully constructed: They’re high enough to allow hunters to watch ducks work low enough so circling birds can’t see their faces. When Jackie calls the shot, ducks are typically right out in front of the blind. All you have to do is stand up and shoot straight.
4. The Powers’ West Tennessee Blind
Another West Tennessee blind, the Powers blind is essentially a floating steel box with round ports cut into the top of the frame so that hunters can stand to shoot when ducks are in range. John Ed, Tripp, and Kelley Powers — brothers and the founders of Final Flight Outfitters — own the blind. It’s a unique design because the boat hide is in the center of the blind, and hunters can shoot out either site.
On the day I hunted there with John Ed and a group of young hunters, the wind switched mid-hunt. We started the morning facing one direction and then hopped across to the other side of the blind to finish our hunt. Most large floating blinds require hunters to get out and physically move the blind and the decoy spreads in such a scenario. If you’re hunting the Powers blind, you don’t have to bother with either so long as you have enough decoys to throw all around.
5. Rollover Boat Blind
Sneak boat or scull boat hunting was a popular method of shooting ducks during the market-hunting days. Watermen laid on their bellies and paddled a low-profile skiff toward rafting ducks before unleashing hellfire from mounted punt guns. A rollover boat is a similar concept that is still used today (within the constrains of fair chase) by select groups of hunters along stretches of the Ohio and Susquehanna rivers.
Aluminum boats are often too loud, but a quieter wooden rollover boat allows one or two hunters to float a river for jump shooting. They lean to one side when they spot ducks, tipping the boat so its gunwale rides just above the surface. The other side of the boat correspondingly rises into the air, concealing the hunters behind it. If the boat has the proper paint scheme to match its surroundings, ducks might think it’s just a log floating by. A solo hunter can paddle until he’s in range then drop the paddle (most hunters tie it to the boat with a rope), grab his gun, and shift his weight. The boat rolls back into position, dropping the blind as the hunter pulls up on the flock of very surprised ducks (keep in mind that this tactic isn’t always legal on all waters in all states).
6. Abandoned Farmhouse Blind
Sometimes the wildest blinds are simply found structures. That was the case for my buddy Drew Palmer several years ago when he came upon a goose feed right next to a dilapidated stone house in Kansas. After getting permission to hunt, he and a few friends set a spread and hid behind the walls of the old home. As the Canada geese cupped in, the hunters shot from the window frames and what was once the front door to kill their limits.
“The night before we hunted was one of the biggest single-day migrations I have ever seen,” Palmer says. “It was a pretty incredible experience to kill geese using a centuries-old home as our blind.”
7. Foxhole Blind
The first time I hunted Saskatchewan I was with a group of Canadian farmers who were still hunting over hand-made wooden duck and goose silhouettes, and using a fifth-wheel horse trailer to haul decoys. On the morning of the hunt, one of them handed me a shovel and told me to dig. So I started shoveling dirt. I was about thigh deep — and soaked in sweat — before another farmer asked me if we were all going to hunt from the one hole I was digging.
He went on to explain that every hunter just needed their own hole to sit in. When I looked around at the giant white goose shell decoys and the pile of white jackets, it finally clicked. We would each zip into a jacket and tuck into a hole to blend in with the shells. This old style of hunting isn’t specific to the Canadian prairie, either. There are some goose hunters in the States who use a similar method on field hunts, but those holes are typically much deeper and reinforced corrugated steel. Some fox-hole blinds use a brushed-in mesh cover for added concealment.
8. The Trojan Goose Blind
Only a Minnesota goose hunter could have devised the blueprint for a blind like this. In the 1980s Stan Carlson, of Anoka, designed the Trojan Goose: a giant fiberglass Canada goose decoy that a single hunter could fit inside using a small, reclining chair. Much like a conventional layout blind, the goose sported double doors on the back that you could flip open to shoot when birds were in range.
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Carlson believed that his decoy worked because the blind’s size could attract geese from as far as four miles away. Once they got close, he theorized, they’d be reminded of how large their mother seemed when they were goslings. To complement the Trojan Goose blind, Carlson also built a smaller version to hide their dogs (I’m not kidding). It’s not clear how effective the giant blind was, but I’m sure he killed at least a few geese out of it. Other hunters have created similar blinds over the years. In fact, when I was a kid I hid with my dad among oil drums he’d painted to look like oversized goose decoys.
Even if you think the Trojan Goose is a stellar idea, the price is a sticking point. In 1985, the full-size Trojan Goose retailed for $275. Adjusting for inflation, it would cost about $820 today. Vintage items cost double that: a similar model recently sold at online auction for $1,650.