I will be hunting in Ozona in west Texas this season and this will be my first time hunting out of a pop up blind. I am comfortable with shots between 20-30 yds. How far away from the feeder do you guys set up your blinds? Do i position 30 yds from feeder or from pen around feeder or is that too close? How do you position it relation to the feeder? North, south, east, west? I know it depends on the wind but in October the winds tend to shift since it is the very first cold fronts of the year but our wind predominantly comes from the east southeast and north northwest. So should I set up west southwest of feeder? Any advice or direction is appreciated. Thanks

I typically set up my pop up about 30-35 yards from the pen and use a chum pile. Many deer will circle the pen before or after entering the pen to feed and in our area, they tend to be much more comfortable at a chum pile rather than under a feeder. Also, it seems that many deer that circle to check the downwind side of a feeder will not circle far enough to catch the blind. I have a few that the blind is 50 yards from the pen. Really depends on how the deer approach and react around each feeder.

The side that you choose should greatly depend on your stand placement and the typical travel routes of the deer. Just because you set up for the "right wind" for a deer that is under your feeder, doesn't mean that you aren't going to get busted by others coming in.

I have seen people set up two stands directly across from each other with the feeder between them. They will simply hunt whichever one is correct for the wind at the time. Most places I have hunted, this wouldn't work well since the deer typically come from one side or the other.

Also, if I am setting up for a north wind, I do not set up directly south of the feeder. I try to set up on the south side, but either to the east or west of the line from the feeder, depending on which direction the deer typically come from. If the deer typically come from the East, I set up to the West of the line directly south of the feeder. This allows the deer to circle the feeder to check the wind without catching my scent.

Another thing that I have noticed works fairly well is to try to use natural barriers as a windbreak. I have used open fields, tank damns, fences, rifle blinds and other items that deer will typically avoid going into to check the wind or would make them excert the energy required to do so.

Good luck

Try not to set it dead East or west too. you will either have the sun in your face, or at your back in the mornings and evenings when the deer are most likely to be active.

As others have mentioned, will depend on where most of the deer are coming from. I hunt the western hill country, and most of our winds are from the NW, or SE, so I generally try to hedge with a NE, or SW positioning of the blind depending on where most of the animals come from. Will also depend on the hill currents if you have some elevation changes (hilltops are MUCH easier to play the wind than valleys).

I actually like the sun at my back, because it makes it harder for the deer to see into the blind (I don't use mesh windows b/c they can affect arrow flight). Sun in your face and they'll pick you off pretty easily without the mesh (with the mesh works fine). This tends to put me on the S-SW side of a setup since the sun is getting pretty far south during season.

Distance depends on setup - Some I set 20-25 yrds from the feeder, some backed up significantly with hand corn to get them closer.

Final piece of advice. Get 2 or more popups and set them up for opposite winds on different feeders. Hunting the wrong wind is a big no-no, and can bugger a good deer for several days. Knowing time is a luxury that most don't have, I would rather have a second setup going for a different wind than sit out a hunt because the wind is bad. (If feeders are at a premium, no sweat - truck feed a section of road and set up on that - has been probably more successful for me than sitting an established feeder anyway)

I set up facing north on most of my blinds. This keeps the sun going from right to left and not in my face. If you are trying to shoot thru mesh you cannot see when the sun is in your face. I think you can be close if you are brushed in well. I have one blind that is less than 20 yards from my feeder. I have another that is 40 yards because that is the best location. I just had corn 20-30 yards out and the deer actually seem to like to eat corn away from the feeder more anyway. Find a tree with thick brush under it and clear out just enough area for your blind. Then brusk in the front well.

I've found if my pop up is up enough time prior to the hunt the deer don't have an issue being there with it anyhow.