Pop-up deer blinds convenient
John Johnston

Is your deer stand in the wrong place, facing the wrong way for the sun or wind or not close enough to the action? Do you wish you could move the stand easily anywhere you want? Then a pop-up deer blind is what you need. They are light, portable, store in a small space and are relatively inexpensive.

The ones I use are made by a company called Ameri-Step. I have tried some others that literally shredded in the wind.

I own two pop-ups. One is called the Outhouse and is a single-person stand; the other is named the Dog House, and two grown men can sit comfortably in this model.

I have used the Dog House for several years, and it has faded somewhat. I leave it up for almost four months each year, and it has survived 40 mile-per-hour winds. It has two fiberglass poles that form the dome of the stand, and one of them broke, but I purchased a replacement.

A lot of these pop-ups are on the market, ranging from $40 to more than $300. The material they are made of is the big difference. Some have windows all the way around, which may be convenient, but you should never have a window open behind you. This will silhouette you, and make it easy to see movement in the stand.

Also, the inside of the stand should be black or very dark, and the hunter would be wise to wear dark clothing. If you do this, it is very difficult for deer or turkey to see the hunter.

Some drawbacks to these stands are that they are very hot in warm weather, usually are not completely waterproof, and they wear out after a few years of hard use. Their cost and portability, however, make up for any drawbacks.

When deciding on a model, check out the windows and openings. Make sure they are the right height for you, and open easily and quietly.

You will need to take a chair and a rifle rest when using such a stand, as the walls will not support a rifle. I used an old camera tripod for several years until I found the Bog-Pod. This is a collapsible tripod rest that is fully adjustable from 22 to 68 inches in height. It weighs only weighs 29 ounces.

The Bog-Pod has a padded "V" on top to place a rifle. You can use it for the front rest of your rifle in the pop-up stand or the rear rest in a permanent stand. It is also excellent to carry on a walk-andstalk hunt. In other words, it is a handy tool for the hunter. Find it on the Internet at www.boggear. com.

Note: At the end of this deer season I will write a column to answer some of the questions readers ask. So if you have a question, e-mail me or send the question to the Dispatch Record. If I do not know the answer, I bet I know where I can find out.

John Johnston is a retired sergeant detective who served with the Austin Police Department for 25 years. He also was a licensed gun dealer for 25 years who now lives in Lampasas County. He can be contacted via email at olsingleshot@gmail.com.