Hunting Blind Looks Like Hay Bale

2017 - Volume #41, Issue #2, Page #27

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Michael Barabash of Westlock, Alta., built two hunting blinds that most folks couldn’t spot in a field of round bales.
    “I bow hunt and found that I couldn’t buy the specific type of blind that I wanted,” he explains. “I got the idea on the internet to build a blind that looks like a round bale.”
    Barabash says his 6-ft. tall by 5-ft. wide bale blind leaves plenty of elbow room for more than one hunter and does a great job of protecting him from the elements. It also masks his scent from animals’ sensitive noses.
    “You can set them out anywhere and either sit or stand inside,” he says. “I used the blinds for white tail hunting in 2016 and had deer walking within 30 ft. of me. The blinds look and smell natural because of what they’re made of.”
    Barabash built the blind’s frame by bending metal hog panels and welding them to a rectangular base made of 1 1/2-in. angle iron. Because the unit has no floor, Barabash says he can re-position it mid-hunt, if needed.
    “If you’re inside and want to change your angle of view for any reason, it’s easy to just pick it up and move it,” he says.
    Barabash covered each frame with black landscaping cloth to darken the interior, and then added a layer of black poly for waterproofing. The third layer is a material normally used as anti-erosion matting, and is made of straw and coconut husks sewn in between two pieces of netting.
    There is a 2-ft. wide hinged door on one end of the blind and drop-down, hinged windows on the sides. Barabash staggered the windows on opposite sides so the animals can’t see daylight through the back side of the blind if both windows happen to be open.
    The challenge in building the blinds was figuring out how to secure everything to the frame. He used twine to tie each layer on, and then added 3 rounds of netwrap as the finishing touch.
    “It took two of us at least 20 to 30 hrs. each to build the two blinds, and the materials cost me about $500 total,” Barabash explains. “Each blind weighs about 100 lbs. and two people can easily lift it into the back of my pick-up, which is how I haul it around.”
    During the off-season, he stores his blinds in a Quonset to protect then from weathering.
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Michael Barabash, Box 5601, Westlock, Alta. T7P 2P6 Canada (mbarabash@mcsnet.ca).

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Hunting Blind Looks Like Hay Bale BALE HANDLING Michael Barabash of Westlock Alta built two hunting blinds that most folks couldn’t spot in a field of round bales “I bow hunt and found that I couldn’t buy the specific type of blind that I wanted ” he explains “I got the idea on the internet to build a blind that looks like a round bale ” Barabash says his 6-ft tall by 5-ft wide bale blind leaves plenty of elbow room for more than one hunter and does a great job of protecting him from the elements It also masks his scent from animals’ sensitive noses “You can set them out anywhere and either sit or stand inside ” he says “I used the blinds for white tail hunting in 2016 and had deer walking within 30 ft of me The blinds look and smell natural because of what they’re made of ” Barabash built the blind’s frame by bending metal hog panels and welding them to a rectangular base made of 1 1/2-in angle iron Because the unit has no floor Barabash says he can re-position it mid-hunt if needed “If you’re inside and want to change your angle of view for any reason it’s easy to just pick it up and move it ” he says Barabash covered each frame with black landscaping cloth to darken the interior and then added a layer of black poly for waterproofing The third layer is a material normally used as anti-erosion matting and is made of straw and coconut husks sewn in between two pieces of netting There is a 2-ft wide hinged door on one end of the blind and drop-down hinged windows on the sides Barabash staggered the windows on opposite sides so the animals can’t see daylight through the back side of the blind if both windows happen to be open The challenge in building the blinds was figuring out how to secure everything to the frame He used twine to tie each layer on and then added 3 rounds of netwrap as the finishing touch “It took two of us at least 20 to 30 hrs each to build the two blinds and the materials cost me about $500 total ” Barabash explains “Each blind weighs about 100 lbs and two people can easily lift it into the back of my pick-up which is how I haul it around ” During the off-season he stores his blinds in a Quonset to protect then from weathering Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Michael Barabash Box 5601 Westlock Alta T7P 2P6 Canada mbarabash@mcsnet ca