A pop-up pack-in style blindA large elevated hunting blind. Michigan, USMobile hunting blindA duck blind on the Chesapeake Bay
A hunting blind (US), hide or machan is a concealment device or shelter for hunters or gamekeepers, designed to reduce the chance of detection by animals. There are different types of blinds for different situations, such as deer blinds and duck blinds. Some are exceedingly simple, while others are complex. The legality of various kinds of blinds may vary according to season, state and location.
Blinds may be stable or mobile. An early blind used by hunters was a cocking-cloth, a piece of canvas stretched on a frame like a kite that would permit hunters to approach pheasants and to shoot them through a hole in the cloth.[1]
Ground blinds are an alternative to the traditional tree stand; movements in a well-designed ground blind can virtually be undetectable by the game.[2]
Duck blinds in the grain fields in south central Oregon and north central California can be as simple as a hunter walking threeto five kilometres (2–3mi) out into a grain field, stopping at a dike, a raised area, 60cm (2ft) or so high, 3–3.6m (10–12ft) wide and usually 800m (1⁄2mi) or so long on a side. The hunter simply sits down on the top and pushes dirt away with both feet, front and back. In two to three minutes a shallow depression is created. Then additional stubble from cut grain can be placed around the edges, enough to provide cover when the hunter lies down when birds are spotted, sitting up when they come in range. The blind can be deepened to allow sitting upright, if desired, by using a digging tool. In other areas duck blinds can be quite elaborate. More substantial structures are common in the midwestern United States, and their purpose often extends beyond concealment to include protection from the elements, particularly from rain and cold. In some areas, blinds can approach small cabins in their size and amenities. A sinkbox is another elaborate form of duck blind, designed for partial submersion in a body of water; sinkboxes are illegal to use in the United States.[3] Also for hunting waterfowl in fields, hunters will use a layout blind. A layout blind is a low profile blind that a person can lie down in and stubble in to hide from waterfowl.
Deer blinds may not be legal in all areas, so hunters are obligated to check hunting laws before constructing them. Alternatives include simply sitting still at the base of a tree. In some states, hunting from a camouflaged blind may be prohibited during rifle/shotgun season. In such cases, a hunter is required to add orange patch on blind such that the orange is visible from all angles.[citation needed]
Other simple blinds include climbing a tree, usually with special climbing equipment and with some kind of seat, or with a burlap enclosed frame. In India, a hunting platform on a tree during shikar is known as machan.
A retriever is a type of gun dog that retrieves game for a hunter. Generally gun dogs are divided into three major classifications: retrievers, flushing spaniels, and pointing breeds. Retrievers were bred primarily to retrieve birds or other prey and return them to the hunter without damage; retrievers are distinguished in that nonslip retrieval is their primary function. As a result, retriever breeds are bred for soft mouths and a great willingness to please, learn, and obey. A soft mouth refers to the willingness of the dog to carry game in its mouth without biting into it. "Hard mouth" is a serious fault in a hunting dog and is very difficult to correct. A hard-mouthed dog renders game unpresentable or at worst inedible.
Gun dogs or bird dogs are types of hunting dogs developed to assist hunters in finding and retrieving game, typically various fowls that are shot down on the flight. The term hunting dog is broad and includes all breeds and skills of hunting canines, but "gun dogs" refers to canines that are trained to work alongside a loud firearm while hunting or retrieving game. Gun dogs are divided into three main categories: pointers and retrievers, setters and spaniels, and water dogs.
The Australian wood duck, maned duck or maned goose is a dabbling duck found throughout much of Australia. It is the only living species in the genus Chenonetta. Traditionally placed in the subfamily Anatinae, it might belong to the subfamily Tadorninae (shelducks); the ringed teal may be its closest living relative.
Game or quarry is any wild animal hunted for animal products, for recreation ("sporting"), or for trophies. The species of animals hunted as game varies in different parts of the world and by different local jurisdictions, though most are terrestrial mammals and birds. Fish caught non-commercially are also referred to as game fish.
Bowhunting is the practice of hunting game animals by archery. Many indigenous peoples have employed the technique as their primary hunting method for thousands of years, and it has survived into contemporary use for sport and hunting.
A bird hide is a shelter, often camouflaged, that is used to observe wildlife, especially birds, at close quarters. Although hides or hunting blinds were once built chiefly as hunting aids, they are now commonly found in parks and wetlands for the use of birdwatchers, ornithologists and other observers who do not want to disturb wildlife as it is being observed.
Hunting strategy or hunting method is any specific techniques or tactics that are used to target, pursue, and hunt an animal. The term mostly applies to humans catching and killing wild animals, but can also be used in ethology and nature documentaries to describe predation strategies adopted by carnivores.
Waterfowl hunting is the practice of hunting aquatic birds such as ducks, geese and other waterfowls or shorebirds for food and sport.
Upland hunting is an American term for a form of bird hunting (fowling) in which the hunter pursues upland birds including quail, pheasant, grouse, woodcock, prairie chicken, chukar, grey partridge, and other landfowls. Unlike aquatic and semiaquatic bird species, upland birds are terrestrial and tend to be found strictly on the dry lands above the high mark of waterbodies, often hidden in heavy groundcover, so hunters generally employ the use of gun dogs to locate, expose and retrieve game. The average group consists of 2-4 hunters with 1-2 dogs. Normally, if there is one dog the owner usually handles the dog while the others focus on shooting.
A duck pond or duckpond is a pond for ducks and other waterfowl. Duck ponds provide habitats for waterfowl and other birds, who use the water to bathe in and drink.
Big-game hunting is the hunting of large game animals for trophies, taxidermy, meat, and commercially valuable animal by-products. The term is often associated with the hunting of Africa's "Big Five" games, and Indian rhinoceros and Bengal tigers on the Indian subcontinent.
Deer hunting is hunting deer for meat and sport, an activity which dates back tens of thousands of years. Venison, the name for deer meat, is a nutritious and natural food source of animal protein that can be obtained through deer hunting. There are many different types of deer around the world that are hunted for their meat. For sport, often hunters try to kill deer with the largest and most antlers to score them using inches. There are two different categories of antlers. They are typical and nontypical. They measure tine length, beam length, and beam mass by each tine. They will add all these measurements up to get a score. This score is the score without deductions. Deductions occur when the opposite tine is not the same length as it is opposite. That score is the deducted score.
A sneakbox is a small boat that can be sailed, rowed, poled or sculled. It is predominantly associated with the Barnegat Bay in New Jersey, just as the canoe-like Delaware Ducker is associated with the New Jersey marshes along the Delaware River near Philadelphia.
Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) in Marshall County, Illinois, United States.
Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on 10,360 acres (4,190 ha) in Cass, Schuyler, and Mason County, Illinois, United States.
Tree stands or deer stands are open or enclosed platforms used by hunters. The platforms are secured to trees in order to elevate the hunter and give them a better vantage point. A tripod stand is a similar device, but because it is freestanding rather than attached to a tree, it is not technically a tree stand.
A duck call may be either the sound-imitation process used in waterfowl hunting, by which a hunter lures waterfowl, or the actual tool which the person uses to do so. Early duck call tools were basic woodwind instruments, while later innovations are constructed of rubber and plastic, and allow the hunter to adjust the volume and tone of the calls with reeds. Today's duck calls usually fall into three main categories: single, double, or triple reed call with many variations, although the triple reed is rare. The goal of a duck call is to sound like a realistic live duck, in attempts to decoy, or fool a duck into believing the decoys that are seen by a duck, and the sound that is heard appears lifelike.
Hunting is a popular recreational pursuit and a tourist activity in New Zealand with numerous books and magazines published on the topic. Unlike most other developed countries with a hunting tradition, there are no bag-limits or seasons for hunting large game in New Zealand. Hunting in national parks is a permitted activity. The wide variety of game animals and the limited restrictions means hunting is a popular pastime which has resulted in a high level of firearms ownership among civilians.
Layout boat hunting is a sub specialty of traditional waterfowl hunting which is done in a low-profile un-motorized boat with a unique design that allows the hunter to maintain a close position to the water in order to conceal them in open water areas that are frequented by diver and ocean ducks. This is a sport with a long history going back to market hunters and boat-mounted punt guns. The main focus of the layout boat is to put the hunter very close to the decoys, or even among them, for additional concealment. This makes for dramatic hunting scenarios where a decoying bird comes extremely close to the hunter and boat.
Australia has a population of about 25 million, with the Commonwealth Government's 2019 survey estimating there are 640,000 recreational hunters in the country. There are around 5.8 million legally owned guns in Australia, ranging from airguns to single-shot, bolt-action, pump-action, lever-action or semi-automatic firearms.
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