A couple more finisher questions

[Canadian Honkers]

Hey,

I am not sure if you guys know the current situation here in Alberta. This year is a funny year, there seems to be a lot of second growth in the fields(green sprouts) mixed in with the straw. I am having a real hard time blending the finishers in well. The geese seem to really like the Oats second growth and the fields are pretty much all green. This is fine but the sprouts are really short and I don't know what to add to the stubble straps to blind the blinds in. Grass is really brown because it is so dry here.

What do you guys recommend?

Also I mudded my blinds up, however one of them is extremely dark(I can barely see the camo pattern), this will not work at all, so I sprayed down the blind with water. Will the blind shine? Or should I be alright?

Thanks guys.

[Tom Matthews]

CH,

Here are few thoughts:

1. Take 50 steps back from your set-up and determine the exact color mix required to blend perfectly. You can then gather enough stubble of grass stalks to cover the Finisher and spray paint them to the current surroundings. We sometimes spray paint the brush on our our duck blinds two to three times in a season just to match the changes in leaves on surrounding trees and plants.

2. Use 3" x 18" cut strips of Avery RealGrass or a similar woven grass mat product. Make sure to spray paint the correct mix of colors on the grass mat strips and give them ample time to dry.

3. We recommend that you "mud" your camo cover so the new shine will eliminated. If you have rubbed dirt and mud into the grain of the fabric to the point that the cover appears too dark, then you SHOULD wash it off with water. At this point, the sheen should be eliminated so it sounds to me like your cover should be just about perfect now.

We want everyone to remember that our blinds come to you about 95% ready to use. The last 5% requires "mudding," "stubbling" and learning to use the blind. You must become familiar with it just as you would a new gun, a new load of shells or a new dog. We want to caution users of our blinds from thinking that they can enjoy immediate success by simply "plopping" one in a field with decoys because ducks and geese are entitirely too smart to fall for these set-ups consistently.

The fact that you are asking these questions proves that you know what's going on so I appreciate being able to trade ideas with you. We would appreciate any follow up ideas or success stories (or failures) once you have determined the best way to blend your blind into the environment.

Thanks for the questions, and I hope these suggestions have helped.

Tom