# Pit Blind Pictures or Plans??



## Paperboy 1

I have the opportunity to make a pit blind at one of my goose spots. Do any of you have pictures or ideas for one? Maybe 8x4 by 4-5 feet deep. Sound right guys or too big?? 

Anybody living in my area that wants to help would have a for sure spot to hunt with me.

Thinking of having the sliding top on it instead of a flip open cover.

Backhoe is waiting. 

This spot last year I took 24 birds in 5 days by myself.


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## LoBrass

My pit blind was constructed of treated plywood and 2 x 4's. It is 12' x 4' x 4' with 2' x 2' openings and a larger dog opening at the far end. I have flip top lid which I like because they allow 360 degree viewing on approaching birds.

After construction I allowed the wood to dry for 60 days and then had a rubberized coating sprayed on the bottom then the top to overlap completely. I had to tile the area the second year because it popped out of the ground as it is fully watertight.

I love mine and we kill around 40+ birds a year with 50 our best early season to date.

Nothing like hunting early geese out of a pit. Good luck.


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## Bill Collector Bob

I hunted out of this one in SD a few years back. They had a look out hole in the flip over lid (plywood w/ wire on top for adding camo). 

Each hunter had their own opening/lid and they used a decoy to cover any of the open spots so there wasn't too many black holes.

Propane heater was nice for heat and cooking.

These are pics from their website:


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## N.E. Outdoorsman

Paul,
I don't have a tractor/backhoe, but I have a shovel... I'd be glad to help ya out. Let me know when and where. I'll be there!


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## Paperboy 1

LoBrass...How does the flip top lid allow 360 degrees of vision and how is it attached??? Could you email me some more pics? Just wondering. I do like yours over that underground hotel of Bob's.:lol: Wow

I had thought of just using some OSB and 2x4's. This land will go back to the bank this coming December so I can't see getting all fancy. There is a 1 year redemption on it though. Maybe I will get to hunt it in 2011. Ya never know.

I thought I would have more responses than I have on this question.

Thanks Guys!!


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## LoBrass

http://txfowlers.com/FOX_DEN_GOOSE_PIT_BLIND_COVERS.asp 

The cover has a mesh which allows you to see right through the camo covering. I contacted the company and they built me 2 double custom covers which are arched to allow your head to rise above the pits top and you can see everything.

A 2" x 4" frame was constructed to fit snuggly onto the pits top. Then screws were used to attach the conduit frame of the Fox Den covers onto the 2" x 4" frame. I remove the flip top lids after every hunt and place waterproof lids onto the pit. This way the camo material is not weathered.

I take many kids and newbie goose hunters annually. The whole setup allows me to keep control of the hunt while affording guys the luxury of seeing the game as it unfolds. When you are under cover the birds NEVER see a thing. 

My pit is not built on the cheap. My goal was to build it and hunt out of it for 30 years. The next work done on this pit will be done by my boy (he's currently 6). The spray on material is not Rhino liner. It is used for industrial coatings. The exact same material is used to coat nuclear waste for hauling over the road. The company that sprays the material just happens to be located 2 miles from my shop. The Rhino Liner guys were rediculous on their price. These guys thought the whole idea was cool and did me a fovor. They even colored it dirt brown.

I built a pit one time on the cheap. The problems I had were many. The pit filled with water half way through the season, it fell apart during extraction and the cover situation was never right so we suffered with birds seeing us all the time. The current pit is definately the result of a number of pitfalls, so to speak.


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## Paperboy 1

Thank you for the input John. The field I want this blind in was a very dear friend of mines home. He passed away from cancer a week before Christmas. The property will be going back to the back for auction sometime in 2011. I can't see spending a lot for something I KNOW I will lose.

Just would love to hunt from a pit this year. The Harrisville Treatment plant is just east of me about a 1/4 mile and the geese take off in the mornings and evenings from there. LOTS OF GEESE! Lots! They have been educated, as we call it, and I feel being hidden better will up the anti.

Hey Joel...Call me dude! I've got the backhoe and the wood needed.

Thank you again John.


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## N.E. Outdoorsman

LoBrass said:


> http://txfowlers.com/FOX_DEN_GOOSE_PIT_BLIND_COVERS.asp
> 
> The spray on material is not Rhino liner. It is used for industrial coatings. The exact same material is used to coat nuclear waste for hauling over the road. The company that sprays the material just happens to be located 2 miles from my shop. The Rhino Liner guys were rediculous on their price. These guys thought the whole idea was cool and did me a fovor. They even colored it dirt brown.
> 
> .


That coating sounds like the stuff that I apply. It's called Speedliner. Tough stuff!


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## Paperboy 1

Well Joel?? Bring some with ya when we do it. By the way Honkaholic wants to help. We might just have ourselves a shootfest this September 1st!!:yikes: 

"TAKE 'EM BOYS":evilsmile

LOVEZ TO GOOSE HUNT


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## N.E. Outdoorsman

Paperboy 1 said:


> Well Joel?? Bring some with ya when we do it. By the way Honkaholic wants to help. We might just have ourselves a shootfest this September 1st!!:yikes:
> 
> "TAKE 'EM BOYS":evilsmile
> 
> LOVEZ TO GOOSE HUNT


I'm not sure we want to put that sort of money into a disposable pit blind...


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## Branta

I would never tell you not to take up a fun project like this, but if you just looked at your ROI (return on investment).... your pit project would be a bad investment when you consider all your time, $$, energy then the potential bag , the limitations of pits and knowing next year it's gone(?)...

try this instead:

if you want the concealment aspect of a pit blind, but wanting to avoid some of the costs, try just burying some layout blinds.

if you can dig a pit, you can dig a 8-12" slit strench and nest your blinds in there.

cost? just your time

beauty? you can dig them all over the field for whatever way the wind is blowing / geese are working. (this is the biggest downfall of pits - especially as fields get eaten up. no sense in being in the middle of the 80 when the geese are packed into the NW corner!)

just an idearrrr


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## Shiawassee_Kid

was thinking along the lines of branta's post. just dig down so your doors open on your layouts flush. that would be pretty sweet...i just hate diggin them by hand...total pain in the a--.


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## just ducky

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> was thinking along the lines of branta's post. just dig down so your doors open on your layouts flush. that would be pretty sweet...i just hate diggin them by hand...total pain in the a--.


But what happens when it rains/snows? Unless you're in sand, your layout blind is now in a bowl which will quickly fill with water. Or am I missing something? Thinking about that field hunt last year in Nodak, and the snow/rain we had. Might have been pretty uncomfortable had those blinds been dug in.


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## Shiawassee_Kid

just ducky said:


> But what happens when it rains/snows? Unless you're in sand, your layout blind is now in a bowl which will quickly fill with water. Or am I missing something? Thinking about that field hunt last year in Nodak, and the snow/rain we had. Might have been pretty uncomfortable had those blinds been dug in.


early goose, i wouldn't hunt...i would go watch football or something


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## Paperboy 1

Point taken Branta, but we have the backhoe and the wood I need is left over from a project here at home. So....why not?

You would have to see where this "field" is and what I have done to make geese want it first then decide on blinds above ground or a pit. There are NO CROPS! Lush green grass and they love it.

My neighbor is a mad man and loves doing stuff like this. He thinks his Kabota is a big toy at times.:lol:

On the subject of wind and direction for this particular field, the blind would be basically facing east towards the route the geese take EVERY DAY in the mornings (the harbor is a mile east as the crow flies w/ Lake Huron). When they come back home to roost, whether it be late morning or evening, they are coming from the north-northwest.

We were going to dig a pit 10x4x4 with OSB as the walls and some heavy duty plywood as the floor with 2x4's for support to hold the sides in place. Sliding top more than likely.

Am on the right track here guys.


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## BFG

Make sure you figure out a way to anchor it. Have seen more than one pit blinds get shoved out of the ground when it gets cold.


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