Pop-up Hides - advice please?

[pressld2]

Well after the best part of a month umming and aahing and generally prevaricating I finally decided that I was being silly and the mossy oak pattern would be fine. So I ordered one. It arrived today. It's the tangle pattern that I wanted all along!

Good job I didn't have my heart set on mossy oak.

I haven't put it up yet as I want to allow myself plenty of time for learning how to wrestle it back down again. If I'm not on WAB for the next few days you know what I'm doing...

Dave P.

[PMG]

Shall I give you some advice on how to extricate yourself from it - as in now - before you and it become inextricably linked ..........

Pauline

[paulgul]

I know this is an old thread so I hope you don't mind me bringing it back to life.
How suitable are these hides for errecting and leaving in one place for several weeks. I am thinking about getting the "Ameristep OutHouse Blind Popup Hide" and want to errect it near a bird feeding station and leave it in place for sometime. Its not in a harsh enviroment, just normal Wiltshire weather.
Paul

[pressld2]

Hi Paul and welcome to WAB!

If you're sure it'll be safe from thieves and vandals then it shouldn't be a problem. The one thing to watch out for would be high winds. They come with metal pegs for staking to the ground but if the wind whips up strong I wouldn't trust them to hold it.

So far I've only left mine out, in a secure area, overnight acouple of times but I wouldn't worry about a few weeks.

Dave P.

[JeffH]

Hi Paul and welcome to WAB

Personally I wouldn't leave any professionally manufactured hide unattended for fear of theft. I speak from bitter experience , having had a £200+ dome hide stolen from what I believed to be an isolated and fairly secure location - on an island in the middle of a lake on private land and with the only access being by wading through 3-4 feet of water!

Although I've since replaced my dome hide and use it regularly, I also have several temporary, makeshift on-site hides at various locations that I use and which I often leave in place for several weeks/months. I make these on-site with 4 thin round fencing stakes set at approx 1 metre square and then wrapped in the dark green mesh windbreak material you can buy at garden centres.
Viewing/photography slits can then easily be cut in any/all sides and at any height.
I then put a 1 metre square of black polythene on top to keep the rain off me and sometimes I line the inside with black/brown landscaping fabric. Alternatively, I carry a small sheet of camo netting which I throw over the hide each time I visit.
I also leave a small and very cheap (typically £3.99) camping stool in each of my hides.
The resulting structure isn't pretty but is comparatively cheap, unattractive to thieves and is very effective, and of course all of the materials mentioned can be used many times.
Thus far, none of my makeshift hides has suffered theft or vandalism and I'd suggest this type of structure would be ideal for the location/purpose you mention, but don't forget to get the landowner's consent

Hope that helps

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

[paulgul]

Ok, thanks to both of you for the replies, of course I should have said the location in question is my own property but not close to where I live. Its fairly secluded and I doubt if anyone would see it but of course you can never tell. I had a go at making a hide last year with some camo scrim and it worked to a point but I was never very happy with it. Anyway I'll have to have a think about it.
Paul

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by paulgul

..... I had a go at making a hide last year with some camo scrim and it worked to a point but I was never very happy with it.....Paul

Paul, in my experience most types of camo netting/scrim simply aren't sufficiently dense to be used on their own for hide construction, especially if the hide is in an open location with light entering from all sides. Certainly the camo materials available from army surplus type stores tend to be much too open for effective use on their own for wildlife hides. Even the denser/better quality (and more expensive )camo materials available from gun shops/country stores do, in my opinion, usually need some sort of black out lining

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

[barnbear]

I've been looking at a 2 man chair hide for a while now, principally for badger watching nearby - I'm fed up of leaning on barbed wire waiting for the critters to emerge! By the looks of it there's plenty of room for me and the better half, plus camera and flask/beer. Will let you know how I get on when it arrives

BB

[JeffH]

Originally Posted by barnbear

I've been looking at a 2 man chair hide for a while now, principally for badger watching nearby - I'm fed up of leaning on barbed wire waiting for the critters to emerge! By the looks of it there's plenty of room for me and the better half, plus camera and flask/beer. Will let you know how I get on when it arrives BB

I had a good look at one at the Birdfair. I was quite impressed until I felt the weight of it It'll be fine so long as you don't have far to carry it and don't also have 20kg+ of camera gear to carry as well

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)