In my lifetime (born in 1965), I’ve witnessed two advancements in ground blind design that I would classify as “game-changing.”
The first was in spring 1996 when bowhunters/entrepreneurs Keith Beam and Brooks Johnson brought a concept to market for a pop-up blind featuring the effective hub system commonly used today. Note: Beam and Johnson didn’t design the new hub system. In fact, Beam was shown the hand-made blind while visiting an archery shop in Fort Collins, Colorado. Beam was showing his own ground blind design to the store owner when a man in the shop offered to show Beam his pop-up blind creation. Beam immediately appreciated the man’s game-changing hub-style design, and he and Johnson worked out a licensing agreement with him. The inventor’s original creation, which was later named by Beam and Johnson the Double Bull T5, featured two hubs and a teepee shape.
FYI: The name “Double Bull” had nothing to do with ground blinds. At the time, Beam and Johnson were selling products to youth archery programs, and one of their first offerings was a target with two bull’s-eyes; hence the company name.
The second game-changing advancement in blinds — see-through walls — happened in early 2018 (to the best of my knowledge). I think Primos, which had purchased Double Bull years earlier, was the first company to offer this feature. The Primos Double Bull SurroundView blind took the hunting industry by storm. While shoot-through mesh windows had been around for many years, this was the first time entire walls were made from a see-through material.
I’ll never forget the first time I stepped into a SurroundView blind during an ATA Show. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Other show-goers couldn’t see me sitting inside the blind, but I could see them walking all around me, not just when they stepped in front of a widow. Incredible.
The only way for your customers to experience this light-bulb moment is to display a top-notch pop-up blind with see-through walls in your store. Invite them to enter the blind, take a seat, and see for themselves. To prove that the blind effectively hides the hunter within, switch places with them after a few minutes.
Several companies offer pop-up blinds with see-through walls. Check out the Barronett Blinds Hi-Five, Buck Bourbon Rack House 300+, Primal Vision 270, Primos Double Bull SurroundView 270 and SurroundView 360, Muddy Outdoors Prevue 2 and Prevue 3, Rhino 180, and others.
In addition to selling at least one model of pop-up blind with see-through walls, it makes sense to offer ground blind accessories, too. Place two portable chairs in the blind so hunters can check how high they must sit to shoot comfortably out the windows. One to consider is the 18-inch Barronett Tripod Chair; also check out the company’s 20-inch XL Tripod Chair.
While a bow ground stake bow holder won’t work in the floor of your archery shop, you could still have one lying in the blind so your customers know that you sell them. It’s also a smart idea to fill a nearby end cap with products most desired by ground blind hunters. This could include bow holders, ground blind support poles, pruners, black facemasks and balaclavas, black long-sleeve t-shirts and jackets, and black hats and gloves. Check out HME Products to see a wide selection of ground blind accessories.
