I’ve had some new hog hunters this year and 2 new guys purchase deer leases.
The hog guys have never hunted (sat in a blind and waited) before.
They asked, “what do you do while waiting”?
Here are MY top 5 activities.
#5. Eat (small cooler with keto type foods)
#4. Sleep
#3. Text friends / do non work related emails
#2. Sit and stare enjoying the solitude and nature
And my #1 thing to do. Read the bible
1 Try to stay awake because whitetails are sneaky.
2 Eat
3 Watch the little creatures as they go about their business,
4 Scan for those sneaky deer.
5 Drink my Gatoraide so that I have an “emergency bottle”.
OMG, I forgot to list this one!
I’ll give it an honorable mention!!!
Watch for deer, keep your eyes open and keep your attention on the deer, deer are sneaky and like to play “hide and seek’” and “peek-a-boo”. And sometimes they like to blow at you from behind. 
I usually bring a full box of Cheerios and eat on that all day, less #2.
I drink water and coffee and have a 3# coffee can for pee.
I don’t read or do anything but watch for deer, although I started to carry a camera because you see some cool stuff out there. 
Brother @Fizbin if I did all the things you put on that list, with the exception of reading the Bible, I’m not there to hunt I would be there to relax. All would be a distraction, but eating on the other hand🤔 which I love to do will probably make noise and scare the hogs or dear away.
Watching birds, dillos, listening to coyotes calling, raccoons running around, bunny rabbits, yes all very therapeutic. Eating my lunchmeat/cheese rolls and eating peanuts, along with a some Diet Dr. Pepper, good times.
Hogs are stupid, they don’t really react to noise much, not like a deer.
Eat Jerky.
Drink Gatorade.
Reflect on life while enjoying the serenity of God’s creation.
I would read my Bible(phone app), but, that would distract me from listening and watching for deer.
eat
wish I had gone to the bathroom one last time
freeze to death
think about how cheap the meat is in the grocery store
wonder why I am sitting in the dark
BTW… TX … javelina… My opinion BEST eating animal on earth. Love to fill my freezer with javelina
Ohhh , your #5 about fidgeting… reminds me. I have a natural dry cough frequently, no not the wuhan thing, and if I ever even start just thinking about my throat closing in on me, for no reason , I start to dry cough a bit.
The deer love this early warning device.
Yesterday evening I welcomed probably the most unprepared pair of hunters I’ve ever had.
Wow, just, wow. Lol
I looked at the trail cams.
They departed at 2215, there were hogs at 2330. They missed the hogs by 45 minutes.
The night before and all subsequent nights there were hogs at 1830, since they were late they didn’t get into the blind until 1745, less than an hour before hogs come. ** They were not settled in and even if they didn’t leave the blind to go get something out of their truck or what not, they SCARED the hogs away **
The next evening as all evenings the photo below shows what it looks like every evening.
He wants a “Do over”, I think as a courtesy I’ll offer for him to come back out but this time he MUST have a hunting license for himself and son. That’s $75 each, I’ll take bets that I never hear from him again.
Never sat in a blind to hunt. Mostly stocked deer and elk. Sat in plenty DFPs and a few LP-OPs. Always checked limiting stakes. Sector map. Comms. Equipment. Always making improvements like adding more sand-bags, cleaning out grenade sumps (deeper is better) and adding fresh camoflage. Still plenty of time to think and pray. Crack some awful jokes and complain. Eating had its own hazards with grit in everything. Always had to force hydration. Wildlife consisted of scorpions, centipedes and an occasional snake. Better to be on patrol. The good old days…
Are you still guiding hog hunts? What part of Texas are you in?
I’m glad we’re talking about waiting in a “blind” rather than a “hide”, different mentality but some cross over.
My biggest hurdle is to SLOW DOWN. It usually takes me 3 - 5 days in the woods to get in my stalking groove and for the last several years I have averaged 1 - 3 days. My blinds I generally make on the fly. I have a couple camo poncho liners that I keep in my pack as well as a healthy hank of 550 cord.
#1. Range Card: I will sketch out where I’m at and use a laser to pick readily identifiable “targets” and their ranges. I’ve found when you sit your butt on the ground everything seems farther away. Having sketched and lasered things keeps it simple.
#2. Put my hearing pro on (Peltor Tac6 or Hardigs) my hearing is bad but with the hearing pro on it’s almost better than my hearing aids.
#3. Candy/Munchies They put Halloween before deer season for a reason. In my neighborhood most of the young kids have grown so we don’t get many Trick or Treaters but if they would come by they would get Slim Jims, Beef Jerkey, Reese’s Peanut butter cups as well as the standard “Mini’s”. The survivors of course follow me to the woods.
#4. Mental Floss: Everything is significantly clearer with out the distractions of modern life. No “Bing’s” no “Ding’s”, Yes I keep a phone with me for the occasional picture or in case I get bent up but it’s on airplane mode. Call it praying, talking with God or just enjoying the bounty of nature its good to be in the woods.
#5. Read something. With my ear pro on I can focus on the pages of a mindless book and enjoy it and still be in tune with the outside world. Reading also helps me sit still and stops my mind from wandering about moving to a different location.
Not so different from many of the above but it’s mine and what I do.
Cheers,
Craig6
Annoying things about being in a blind:
Mosquitos, and I can’t spray or I smell like a human.
Technically no where to pee (you can trailer park boys it I guess).
It always seems the chair creeks or squeaks, even a little.
I get a mental block that my throat is dry and have to cough. I hate this, as once I start clearing my throat it turns into a cough. I know there’s nothing in it but can’t help myself, its all psychological.
I hate armadillos with a passion! The little buggers will be all out in a field in front of me maybe even just 10 yards out and I can’t shoot them for fear of scaring off the big stuff!
I don’t do blinds, but I do use a gilly suit for hunting a few things that I have learned use perfume free underarm deodorant, wash your hunting clothes in tide free has no smell just clean, same with shampoo and body wash. We have been using the smelly stuff that we are nose blind to the smells and the animals will smell you if you are up wind of them. So what has worked for me could work for you in the blinds, 1. Stay Alert, 2. Eat before you go hunting, 3. If you have to go #1 find a way to do it silently there is nothing more noisy than pee hitting a plastic bottle. 4 control your breathing this will help in the dry cough. 5 have a hydration pack that give you liquid when you suck on the drinking tube, a lot quieter and than opening up a cooler then snapping the pull tab on the can. Remember Stay Alert and don’t get hurt. About reading the Bible or Praying I do this before I go for a good outing and a safe one and if I come across a accident the I have the knowledge and gear to help and after the outing for such a beautiful trip.
I can get in the “mental” cough mode! I hate it as I know there is nothing in my throat. I’ve chewed gum from time to time and that helps.
Scent: We tie old super sweaty t-shirts around the woods on trees, feeders and blinds. This way the deer get used to the smell of people. So if you’re in a blind or walking around it’s the same ole, same ole smell that they’ve been smelling all summer, without getting shot at or eaten.
My brother things this is wrong and is stupid. Funny how it works and is incredibly easy to do.
