To that end, I was on a mission to find a way to build a new duck blind.  Ideally it could be used both in the boat and on the ground.  At this point you are probably laughing at me since I am asking a lot.  Well, you would be right.  There isn't anything that really go across both spectrums and does both or either well.  To that end, it seems that a couple of blind options are needed.  First, if you are hunting the fields and will be in amongst the cut corn, soybeans or wheat, layout blinds are far and away your best option.  They are comfortable to sit in and provide great concealment with their low profile and camoflague covering.  Add in some vegetation that is native to the area you are hunting and you have a great recipe for success.  You can obviously build a higher profile blind yourself for much cheaper, but the results are not as impressive.  And really, once you have found that perfect spot being hidden is really the most important part of the hunt (besides shooting straight).

For the boat, a homemade duck blind such as the one I detail here seems to work well.  Basically you want to have a barrier from the duck eyes to hide silhouettes and more importantly movement from the blind.  To that end, blending in to your surroundings is important.  Even better when out in a boat is to stash the boat down the bank from you and wade in the water or stand atop some land and/or cattails to keep the concealment perfect.

What are your thoughts on how to build a duck blind?

This article is going to focus on construction of a quality, cheap duck blind. After finding a good spot to hunt and placing your decoys in a pattern of your choosing, nothing is more important than building a good blind to shield you from the ducks' eyes.

Want detailed instructions with pictures? Click the picture below for some in depth instructions available for purchase:

Duck Blind Basics

Before we get into the specifics of the actual blind, let's review the basics of what a good boat blind encompasses. To me it comes down to three things:

Allows for easy to use, quality shooting lanes

Provides cover to hide you from ducks

Is sturdy enough to hold up to the elements

Let's take a bit more in depth look at these three key items of a duck blind. First off, everyone who has spent any time in the blind knows that ducks have very good eyesight. If you are in the perfect spot, but stick out like a sore thumb you won't bag many birds. For this reason a quality boat blind must conceal the hunter from incoming birds, especially any movements to grab your gun.

Many blinds out there will conceal a hunter great, but will not allow for a clean shot at a perfectly decoying bird. The entire point of duck hunting is to bag birds, and you can't do that effectively if your blind won't allow legitimate shooting lanes.

Finally, if you are constantly messing with your blind you aren't looking to the sky for approaching ducks. A good blind will allow for relatively quick setup in the confines of the boat and not constantly fixing it when it is assembled.

Duck Blind Construction

Items required for boat duck blind plans:

Burlap duck blind material (can be from old potato sacks or the like they sell at Cabelas)

3/8" Conduit Hangers (get from local hardware store)

Spring Clamps

The idea here is to have the 3/8" conduit hangers placed in the following locations:

Each oarlock (most small boats have 4 oarlocks, 2 on each side)

The front of the boat (most small boats have a gap up here for tying an anchor rope)

The back of the boat (there are usually 2 handles at the back of small boats to pull them around)

You can choose to do this around the entire boat, or just the part of the boat that is facing your decoys. As stated earlier, it is important that you are able to have the full range of shooting options when the ducks come into your decoys, so make sure to cut the conduit hangers down to a length that allows you to shoot easily all the way to the water while standing in the boat. 60" seems to be a good height for most people, but fine tune according to your boat and the heights of your hunting party.

When sitting in your favorite duck hunting marsh, the most important thing to do besides getting to the right spot is to ensure that you are hidden well in your blind. If you want to create a homemade duck boat blind on the cheap, the method described in this article is for you. If you employ the duck blind plans laid out above, you will be well on your way to bagging more ducks this fall!