# Building a Fence Blind



## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

After recently building a box blind from some treated 1x3 lumber that was given to me I got the idea to make them out of welded wire fencing. The idea came to me when I used a piece of fencing to help support the roofing material on the wooden box blind. I wanted them large enough so I could easily shoot my longbows from them.

I bought a 50" roll of 5' 12 guage welded wire fencing from home Depot for $44 which will make two 6' diameter blinds with a roof and 5' walls which is more than enough room for two people to hunt from. I then purchased a roll of 6 mil black plastic to not only use for the blinds but other things as well. 

My buddy Butch had some old metal fence posts so we were not out anything on them. He had recently found some water repellent camo material on e-bay and we used it to cover the blinds.

This will be a picture and script tutorial for how we did it and share what we learned in the process so hopefully some of you who want to build them will avoid a few problems we encountered as we learned.

First, let me say that the fence posts are a must otherwise the winds will destroy your efforts without them.

Start by cutting a length of fencing 18' long. This will be your blind walls. When cutting try to cut the wire between the grids so that you have tag wire ends sticking out which will be used later to help secure both the fencing to the posts and the covering to the frame.

Using two fence posts to make your entry opening drive them into the ground at your desired opening width then attach the ends of the 18' long strip of fencing. Once both ends are secured to the posts position the fencing as close as you can to a near perfect circle and drive three more posts into the ground where needed and evenly spaced. *Note:* When wiring the fence to the post with tie wire tie off the wire ends from the outside and leave the twisted tag ends sticking out and away from the blind. Cut off the ends of the two twisted wires so they will better penetrate the plastic and/or fabric you will be using to enclose the blind.

In the photo below, Butch is at the front of the blind, the two entry posts are on the right. Disregard the camo cloth in the pic, we had put this one up first without fence posts and had to go back and add them in.


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

Once you have the wall fencing secured cut another piece of fencing about 7' long and place it on top of the framework with the shorter 5' ends running from the entry to the front of the blind. Tie it in on both sides of the blind in such a manner that it is bowed up into an arc above your head. Best done by working from the inside of the blind. Once secured on both sides you will have a tunnel of sorts looking from the rear of the blind towards the front. You can now pull down on the middle section of the front side of the roof fencing and tie it in to the front wall at center. The corners (either side of center) can then be bent and folded downward and secured there.

We used a stick to help support the top upward while tying it in.


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

Next we cut a 10'x10' piece of the 6 mil plastic and draped it over the top and using some of the tag ends of wire around the upper walls held it in place. Just be careful when placing the plastic on top to avoid making holes in it.


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## Handgunner (Mar 5, 2009)

Lookin' good so far, Al!  I can't wait to get started on ours!


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## The AmBASSaDEER (Mar 5, 2009)

Is it done yet?


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

Our camo cloth is only 5' wide and too narrow to cover the top completely so we overlapped it with a cross pattern which only left 4 corners uncovered. main thing is that it should keep the rain out and the corners can be covered easily enough with smaller pieces of fabric or by some other means.

once these pieces were secured enough to hold them in place we wrapped the 5' walls with the 5' wide fabric securing all the loose ends of the roof plastic and fabric underneath. We decided it was better to secure inside the wall fabric versus outside to help eliminate wind damage. Be sure to leave enough for a door flap.

After all the fabric was secured we used our wire cutters to cut out our windows. Again, cut the wire sections out and leave tag ends so you can pull the fabric back inside and secure it with the tag ends.


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## threeleggedpigmy (Mar 5, 2009)

Those are looking good gentlemen.


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

All that is left to do now is hang some window curtains. Using camo mesh we covered the windows from the inside so we can adjust them as needed later.

BTW, you can use just about anything to enclose the blind, it doesn't have to be camo cloth. You can also wrap the walls in the black plastic to create a much darker interior.


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## cpowel10 (Mar 5, 2009)

Thats a good idea.  We've got a bunch of rolls of fence (most is 4' though) laying around.  I may have to whip up a few of these!


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

A look from the inside.


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

Although not complete at the time we took this pic, here is one a bit different using artificial Christmas tree limbs to camo it up.

I would think even old carpet pieces would make good wall coverings.

I forgot to mention we also used a piece of light weight chicken wire to lay across the roof and over the coverings then secured it to help keep the wind from catching and pulling up on the fabric edges. We also think old heavy weight fishing net would work well in this application.

Note the wood and debris piled up around the bottom. This will help keep the fabric from moving in the wind as well as filter out unwanted light.

Also, the tie down ropes are not necessary with the fence post. This was before we went back and added the fence post just yesterday.


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## Dead Eye Eddy (Mar 5, 2009)

Nice, but I think I'll stick to my "Doghouse" blinds.  You can find them for $60 (less on this site) sometimes on sale, and they're a lot less work to put up.


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## Handgunner (Mar 5, 2009)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> Nice, but I think I'll stick to my "Doghouse" blinds.  You can find them for $60 (less on this site) sometimes on sale, and they're a lot less work to put up.


And won't last nearly as long.


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## Al33 (Mar 5, 2009)

Dead Eye Eddy said:


> Nice, but I think I'll stick to my "Doghouse" blinds.  You can find them for $60 (less on this site) sometimes on sale, and they're a lot less work to put up.



To each their own, besides, I like doing things the hard way and I don't have to worry about anyone stealing these. Neither will I have to worry with toting them back and forth when I want to hunt them.


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## gadeerwoman (Mar 5, 2009)

Guys in Texas make a lot of blinds like this using wire and carpet. I've also used woven stock wire to make a blind around the upper portion of ladder stands and even to make a roof over them. Nothing like a little 'noggin thinking' to come up with blind ideas. Wire blinds are great for turkeys too.
And with a few tree limbs and straw they are pretty easy to camoflauge. We even incorporated a little gully hole into one, making the blind over it where we were actually almost ground to eyeball level with the critters. Deer paid no attention whatsoever unless they caught your scent.
Good job Al.


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## Wild Turkey (Mar 5, 2009)

We used to build them like igloos with a tube to crawl in. Covered them with oak leaves in the fall for camo. The leaves kep us dry and covered scent. worked great hunting thick pine forests.


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## GeorgiaTrout (Mar 5, 2009)

I've built some blinds very similar to these. I used concrete reinforcement wire on the blinds I built. No need for the fence posts because the reinforcement wire will support itself.

Those blinds do look good.


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## Robert Warnock (Apr 16, 2009)

Good looking blinds, Al.  Very innovative use of available materials.


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## Miguel Cervantes (Apr 16, 2009)

Great idea Al, and very innovative.
I can see a few of these in my future,,,,,,,,soon.


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## Son (Apr 16, 2009)

*Building a fence blind*

Did exactly the same thing before popups came out. Worked good, and wrens enjoyed roosting in em.


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## PWalls (Apr 16, 2009)

Good innovation and use of materials. Personally, I like my Ameristep Doghouse blind when I need a blind because I don't hunt one regular spot long enough to leave something more permanent. But, that does look good.


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## j_seph (Apr 16, 2009)

Hey Al, I did not see no door, did you leave your buddy in there?

nice idear


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