Breaking out the Layout for the first time tomorrow. Any tips and helpful pieces of info?

It needs to be covered in mud

mud mud mud more mud

and then grass grass grass

Mudding them is a pain you can use a flat camo paint and it will accomplish the same thing. I use either a khaki or light green and just dust it to knock off the sheen. I even do my blind bag.

Don't face it straight at your shooting area, 45 degrees towards your right (if your a righty). This will aid in fast target acquisition

This is a great tip most do not think about. I will build on this and say it a different way. Say you have wind to your back, and ducks coming strait in. Lets stay strait in is 12:00. Most will set their layout blinds with feet pointing straight ahead at 12:00. This is a mistake. A 12:00 shot with feet pointing 12:00 is not very good, if right handed, your swing range is 9:00 to 12:00. Anything out side that range is an awkward shot. So if birds coming in 12:00 and you are right handed, set your feet pointing “Not strait ahead 12:00”, but at an angel say 1:30 (if right handed), this way a duck coming in stait at 12:00 is a perfect shot, and right in the middle of your swing range, if ducks flairs right or left you have a shot within your swing range.

This also goes for sitting in a chair, say dove hunting. I never point my chair strait ahead, I turn it to the right. So when I'm sitting and gun on my lap, my gun is already pointing strait ahead where I want to shoot, I stand up to shoot my feet already in place with left foot forward and right foot back. So many people want to set up looking strait ahead, this is a bad position, also when gun is on lap, it is pointing left at your buddy, so turn your chair right and now gun on lap is pointing where it should.

Another tip, do lots of practise mounts first time out.

You must be a right handed bow hunter, exact same thing.

+1

use natural camoflauge, stuff similar to the area you are hunting in but not from the same spot. dont forget to use natural camo to blend the blind into the ground. completely brushing the blind is a tedious task but it is very necessary to become invisible.

X2