Box Blind

What makes a box blind different

A box blind is a hunting blind with hard walls and a real roof. Fabric ground blinds pop up and come down. A box blind stays. It sits on the ground, on skids or on a tower, with a door, a floor and windows that open and close. Up on a tower, it's what most people call an elevated box blind. Some people call it a shooting house, a hardshell hunting blind or an enclosed deer stand. It's all the same idea: a small room in the woods.

The table on this page lists hard-sided box blinds, alone or sold on a tower. It shows each one's Type, Weight, Material, Capacity, Footprint, Height to platform when there's a tower, Weight capacity and Windows, as the maker states them, or as the Amazon listing does where the maker is silent (marked as listing values; weight stays the maker's figure). Bare tower platforms without a blind are on the hunting blind platform page. Towers sold as a stand with their own blind are on the tower deer stand page.

Here's the thing. Every other blind and stand on this site is about getting in, getting set and getting out quietly. A box blind is about staying. That changes what matters.

What to look at in a box blind

These are the columns that decide it, in the order I'd read them.

Material decides how long it lasts out there

The Material column tells you what the shell is made of: fiberglass, steel, plastic or polymer, or wood, as the maker or the listing lists it. On towers with fabric blinds, it's the steel frame.

• Fiberglass: one maker's line is built entirely of fiberglass in one piece with no seams, per Deer & Deer Hunting, with a drip edge over the windows and a 2-inch roof overhang to shed rain
• Steel: hard and heavy; one recent line pairs foam-insulated walls with insulated, powder-coated steel floors and 1-inch rubber mats to keep noise down
• Plastic or polymer: molded shells and window frames
• Wood: the old shop-class answer, if the maker offers it

A box blind lives outside all year. Sun, hail, snow load and mice all get a vote. (Mice especially. Mice always vote.) Pick the shell you won't mind looking after, because the blind won't come home for the winter.

Window type is how you see and how you shoot

The Windows column lists the type: glass, plexiglass, fabric zippered panels or clip-on panels. This is the field most box blinds compete on, and for good reason. You'll open and close those windows more than you'll do anything else in there.

What to look for:

• Quiet operation: one recent line advertises a one-hand, silent window system with residential glass
• Rain control: eaves or drip edges over the openings keep water off the glass
• Shooting height: windows low enough to shoot from your chair, high enough to stand

Inside color matters too. One maker's blinds have an ultra-dark black interior, which Deer & Deer Hunting says reduces shadows and makes it easier to move and shoot. A dark room hides you better than a light one. That's not camouflage, that's just how a porch looks at night.

Footprint and capacity: how many people, and how much elbow room

Capacity is how many hunters the maker or the listing says the blind holds. When a maker says "multiple hunters" without a number, the column stays blank. Footprint is the floor size as the maker or the listing states it, and it's a good stand-in for capacity when there's no number.

Think about what goes in with you. A chair. A pack. A bow, which needs room to draw, and a crossbow, which needs room to swing. A thermos. Maybe a grandson who brought a sleeping bag. One maker's fiberglass line comes in five sizes, from one hunter up to a family, per Deer & Deer Hunting.

Rule of thumb: if two of you will hunt it, don't buy the box that fits two people. Buy the one that fits two people and their coats.

Then spend real thought on the chair. Deer & Deer Hunting's last hard-shell tip is blunt about it: don't buy a great blind and use a poor chair. You'll sit in that chair for hours with your feet flat on the floor, so its height has to match the window height, and it has to turn without a squeak. A chair that's two inches too low makes every window a periscope. Blind chairs are on the hunting blind chair page.

Weight tells you what it takes to set up

The Weight column is the blind's weight as the maker states it. It's never small. A box blind goes in once, usually with a trailer, a tractor or a few friends, and it doesn't come back out on a whim. Count the people and the machine you'll need before you count the windows.

Type: blind only, or blind on a tower

The Type column says whether you're buying a box blind by itself or a tower with a blind. The table holds both. One recent box blind line, per Deer & Deer Hunting, is sold in combinations with a 5-foot or a 10-foot tower base.

If you buy the blind alone, match the tower to the maker's own compatibility list, and use the anchoring hardware and instructions the maker gives for it. A tower under a box blind holds a heavy box high off the ground in the wind, so the base and the anchors are part of the purchase, not an afterthought.

Height to platform, on the tower listings

Height to platform is filled in for towers, empty for blinds sold alone. Higher gives you a wider view and lifts your scent. It also means a longer climb to the door and more wind on the box. Don't buy height for the sake of it. Buy the height your field and your tree line call for.

Weight capacity, when there's a tower

Weight capacity is the most the maker says a tower or platform will hold, and box blinds alone usually don't list it. With a tower, count the blind, the hunters, the chairs and the gear against that number. A tower under a box blind is carrying a house with people in it.

Where to put a box blind

A box blind is the one blind you can't move to fix a mistake. So the location is the decision.

Deer & Deer Hunting's hard-shell tips, condensed:

1. Put it in a proven spot. A blind that costs this much belongs where deer already travel.
2. Watch the sun. Dawn or dusk sun in your eyes makes it hard to see or shoot.
3. Use it where the wind swirls, the spots you can never hunt from a tree stand.
4. Set it up as early as possible before the season so deer get used to it.
5. Either brush it in well, with cover at least head high around the door, or leave it bare.

Missouri's conservation department adds that deer are wary of new objects, so brush or grass around a blind helps. On the wind, it says the most consistent winds are usually on ridge-tops, and valleys and drainages can swirl, especially on sunny days.

The same writer also suggests mounting a hard-sided blind on a utility trailer if you hunt different spots. I like that idea. It turns the least mobile blind into a slow-moving one.

Box blind vs ground blind vs tree stand

On paper, a box blind beats everything for comfort. In practice, you pay for that comfort by giving up mobility.

• Against a fabric ground blind: the box is quieter, warmer and closer to scent-proof with the windows shut. The ground blind sets up in minutes and goes wherever the deer went last week.
• Against a tree stand: the box keeps you out of the wind, and Missouri's agency notes tree stands get cold when temperatures drop and winds pick up. The stand goes on almost any tree.
• Against a saddle: one saddle maker admits a box blind is more comfortable than its own saddles, since you can stand and stretch. I'll take that.

Missouri's agency notes a ground blind is much warmer than a tree stand and blinds can be hot in early season. A box blind is the same story with a roof, so check that the windows open enough to move air in September.

Here's the plain version. In deep cold, the hunter who's comfortable stays put, and the one who isn't goes back to the truck by nine. Comfort buys hours, and hours are when things move. That's the case for a box blind in one line.

Heaters, smoke and the closed room

A box blind is the one place people are tempted to bring a heater. Treat that as a serious decision.

Propane heaters burn oxygen and give off carbon monoxide. One heater maker says its heaters should not be used in a structure without a window or roof vent, and says to check for leaks every time a hose or tank is connected. Minnesota's natural resources department recommends a carbon monoxide detector in any blind or shelter where a propane heater runs. The Consumer Product Safety Commission warns never to use fuel-burning portable heaters or lanterns while sleeping in enclosed areas. If you get a headache, nausea, dizziness or confusion, shut the heater off and get outside.

Getting in and out safely

If the blind sits on a tower, the climb to the door is the risky part. Keep three points of contact on the ladder going up and down, as Florida's wildlife agency advises for ladders. Use a haul line for your bow, gun or pack so both hands stay free. Inspect the tower, anchors and ladder before each season and after storms, and follow the maker's instructions for anchoring.

During firearms seasons, Missouri's agency suggests wrapping hunter orange ribbon on each side of a blind, or hanging an orange cap or jacket on the roof, so other hunters can see it. Rules on hunter orange, permanent blinds and blinds on public land vary by state and by property, so check your state wildlife agency.

Box blind care between seasons

A box blind stays out, so it gets checked in place.

• Open every window and clean the tracks
• Check the door seal and the roof for leaks
• Look for wasps and mice before opening day
• Check tower bolts and anchors, and tighten what's loose
• Take the chair cushions home

That's a Saturday-afternoon fix, once a year, with a broom and a 7/16 wrench.

Who should skip a box blind

• You hunt ground where a structure can't stay up all season
• You move with the deer every week
• You don't have the machine or the friends to set one up
• You hunt mostly from trees and like it

If you're in that list, a ground blind or a hunting saddle will serve you better. If you're not, buy the blind for the coldest sit you plan to make, not the nicest one. The nice mornings take care of themselves.