Adding camo to folding beaver tail blind

bob Petritsch

Active member
i have a beaver tail blind for my 18 foot boat. I intend to do more early season puddle duck shooting and want to inhance the camo.
Problem is the camo must fold up so you can roll the canvas up to transport the boat. Cat tails or other hard stick type is out of the question. I thought of only grassing,with thin raffia one side of the boat....that would halve the bulk.
Also thought of hanging panels on the side that can be removed and stored for transport.
Would like to hear from others who have solved this problem.
 
Rafia grass zip tied thru brushing loops is probably best way to go. Another option might be to carry some prebundled switch grass and put thru your loops once blind is up. Those can be adjusted to give you more overhead coverage from puddlers. A combination of those 2 is what works best for me. Rafia grass doesn,t get heavy until it gets wet and will roll up nicely in cordura walled blinds. If it gets wet dry out after use. Joseph Stern Company cheapest way to get in bulk and they have a color chart you can pick from. Don,t wait much longer to order or you,ll find best colors sold out.
 
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Zip tie raffia to bungee cords. Attach the bungee cords to the beavertail blind. Make different color raffia bungee cords for different times of the season. Works great, is very portable, very lightweight and looks pretty good.

Mark
 
Bob

I been hunting out of a boat blind most of my life. I used just about anything the northeast has to offer. But I finally caved and got fast grass mates. I use them on all of my boats and blinds. I have painted some to match the cover I'm in. I keep them in my boat until I'm ready to go. They work great. I have treated them with a rain guard spray. They have lasted for a long time so far. I try to buy a few ever year to have back ups. Real cover is the best , But with some of the new laws in some states you can't bring weeds from one body of water to another. Invasive plants and with all the other invasive things that are in our waterways. Hope this helps.
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We had great results with burlap. It doesn't look great but it works good for killing.

When we are hunting pressured birds a big pair of hand shears is the best!

If your hunting environment doesn't change those grass mats look promising or the zip tied grass.
 
You could try zip tying camo netting of your color preference to the grassing straps on the blind, then tie raffia more sparingly to add depth and additional realism. May cut down on some bulk that way as the camo netting is generally pretty thin.

Mike
 
Buddy said:
We had great results with burlap. It doesn't look great but it works good for killing.

When we are hunting pressured birds a big pair of hand shears is the best!

If your hunting environment doesn't change those grass mats look promising or the zip tied grass.
I have in the past used burlap cut into about 3" wide strips looped thru grassing loops w/halfhitch to add some depth to cordura walled boat blinds. Make strips long enough to extend completely between rows of loops and apply them just like shingleing a roof starting at bottom row working up. I cut my strips from the camo coated burlap and once it gets muddy/aged it looks real good. Does get heavy when wet is reason I switched to raffia.
 
I bet the burlap straps looked great!

I was in a pinch last year and used some painters cloth from harbor freight. Spray painted it and put grass straps on it. I would have doubts on longevity though.
 
The stripped burlap turns blind into a huge gillie suit if attached right. Works great except for being heavy when wet. Nastier it gets the better it looks.
 
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