How many people can say when they are driving down the road traveling to and from a friend’s house, or on their way home from work, or out scouting, that they see a pop-up blind in a field. Chances are a lot of us have at one point or another. These blinds usually aren’t in an inconspicuous place. They’re usually right out in the open. Some may be butting up to a telephone pole in the middle of a field, or on a corner of a field with nothing around them. But they all usually seem to be out-of-place and have a look about them that just doesn’t seem “natural”.

“Tits on a man!” - GySgt Kerr

I have been told numerous times that, in order to not spook deer with a pop-up blind, throw it out there in the early summer. Then, by hunting season, it will have been there for a couple of months and won't spook the deer when you're ready to hunt. So I, like countless others, found a great piece of property with a few good mature bucks on it where I had scouted the previous season. I honed in a few good ambush positions where I knew the deer would be feeding and decided to throw out my brand new ground blind in the early summer. The spot I decided on had a great backdrop, I brushed the blind in with the surrounding foliage, and I nearly emptied an entire bottle of scent killer on it. After allowing it to stay undisturbed for a few months, and glassing from a distance, I was convinced opening day of bow season would end with a blood trail.

Michigan’s whitetail deer archery season starts on Oct. 1 and that day had finally arrived. That morning couldn’t have been more perfect. The prior week had been hot with temps into the mid-70s. However, opening day saw a 20-degree drop and ushered in that fall chill we all love. I arrived to the blind early that afternoon and settled in for what I thought would be an awesome hunt. As deer started making their way into the field upwind of me, they seemed to do the same exact thing. They gave a good long look at the blind I was in and kept their distance. How could this be? It had been sitting here for months on end with zero disturbance. I was downwind of them and wasn’t moving. What could be causing all these deer to act so cautious? Then it hit me.

I remembered what an old friend, Gunnery Sergeant Kerr (Gunny), once told me while we were hunting on Marine Corps Base Quantico, VA. He said, “Sergeant G! I don’t know why you use that thing (referring to my pop-up blind), You stick out like tits on a man!” Gunny was a Marine Corps Sniper during the War in Vietnam, and at the time, was working with me as a civilian counterpart with while I was stationed at Quantico. He's a man I deeply respected, so I didn't argue with him (I did, however, call him out for envisioning tits on a man). But there it was, sticking out like…well you read it already. How could I have missed it? I guess I had been so oblivious to the most obvious of things that I started assuming it’s the norm.

Hunters need to stay ahead of the game in terms of hunting strategy, tactics, and especially equipment if they want to be more successful. But individuals who embrace hunting more naturally experience great success when it comes to seeing more game animals and harvesting numbers. Rising hunting competition over the past years has lead to increased hunting pressure and an increase in the opportunity for the animals to pattern human hunting behavior.

So how can hunters be more competitive and successful? Well, my answer would be to start thinking natural. Thinking natural is the art and style of using nature to your advantage. Using things like “dead space” (the area where people and animals don’t naturally focus), silhouette concealment, and natural camouflage.

Why is “Thinking Natural” overlooked or hard?

To be honest ... people are lazy. Plain and simple. We want the easy way out. The less work the better. It's easy to throw out that pop-up blind and not have to worry about anything else. It’s easier not having to think about concealment or about how my silhouette sticks out. People have told me “I don't know how to do any of that stuff, it looks like a pain”. Their fear of failure and of the unknown is holding them back from operating at their fullest potential. They fear things they don't understand and are hesitant about any kind of change or to anything that brings them out of their comfort zone. Thinking natural isn't something to fear and it’s actually easier to do than some people think. And It all starts with a little bit of practice.

Easy ways for you to “Think Natural”

Here are a few things to start with:

Natural looks better - Of course it does! Have you ever seen someone plant a fake tree outside? Well, I have. It doesn't look right. Somethings just aren't supposed to blend together. Whenever possible, use the surrounding environment. Some state and local laws prohibit the use and natural material for ground blinds, so do your research. If the area you hunt allows you to make ground blinds with the surrounding foliage, us it to your advantage. Just as you go mid summer (or earlier) to prepare your treestand locations for fall hunting, go and prepare you a few natural ground blinds. You'll save yourself the work during the season and you'll save some cash not paying for depreciating materials. Free building material to look natural and remove those unwanted unnatural angles.

Angle spotlight - The right angle is something that is man-made and looks completely out of place in the outdoors. The next time you are out in the woods, try and find a perfect right angle at 90 degrees. Chances are you won’t. Its because it isn't natural! The only places you’ll find them in nature are on your gear and other equipment. Find a way to camouflage them, and you'll start to see the bigger picture. Things seem to blend in more after you remove them. The ghillie suit is an example of how to mask these kinds of angles. There are 5 distinct “V’s” to the human body. Two “V’s” are located here the base of your neck meets your shoulders, two more are located where your arms meet your chest (armpit), and the fifth “V” is located at your crotch. The ghillie suit focuses on removing the appearance of the 5 “V’s” through distortion and added material. The reason it works so well is because it removes the unnatural look of the human angles. But another thing ghillie suit do so well is they use the surrounding colors

Use natural color - Color match as much as possible. If your in a dark area, try to wear darker clothes. If your in a brighter open area, try to wear brighter clothing. Animals have a way of blending into their environment, so why can you?

Study Animals - Knowing how animals use their surroundings, helps you use the surroundings. Watch and learn from different animals as they use the terrain around them to move and remain hidden. Chances are you’ll pick up on a few methods to use for yourself and by doing so, will make you more in tune with surroundings giving you the skills to hunt in any terrain and conceal yourself on the fly

Start Now!

I’ve talked about “what thinking natural is” and “how you can start thinking natural”...now it's time to follow through. Start identifying out of place materials, look for those right-angles, start color matching your camouflage, start using natural materials, and start understanding the animals you hunt more.

Be sure to tag our Instagram and Facebook pages with photos/videos of you thinking natural!