Again in June we have been slowly chipping away on the to-do record on our summer season work weekend on the lease, and the most important merchandise on it went up first: a Shadow Hunter 6×6 Octagon Combo on a metal tower, looking over a meals plot that didn’t exist but. The blind got here from Summit Outdoor in Fort Wayne, Indiana, absolutely assembled, and the day after we set it on the tower I climbed in, pulled the plastic off the home windows, and gave the digital camera a deer camp cribs tour.
This can be a first look. Fall season is on us now and no one has hunted out of it but, so what follows is what the blind is, how we set it up and why, what I seen the primary time inside, and what it prices. As soon as we’ve sat it by way of gun season, I’ll come again with a report.
Why It’s a “Combo”
Shadow Hunter calls this one a combo as a result of the home windows range, and that’s what makes it a rifle blind and an archery blind on the identical time. Up entrance is a horizontal window with a carpeted taking pictures rail and a gun relaxation, which makes a really steady platform for gun season. Within the corners are vertical home windows you’ll be able to draw a bow by way of. Crossbow works from both. Per Shadow Hunter, that provides as much as eight home windows in three sizes: three 34-inch by 10-inch crossbow home windows, 4 8-inch by 24.5-inch vertical archery home windows, and one 24.5-inch by 8-inch gun window.
We positioned the principle horizontal window wanting straight out over the plot, and the nook verticals cowl the tree strains down the sides the place deer are available in. Behind the blind is an previous clear-cut the deer work up and down, circling a gasoline effectively. As soon as the plot is established, that’s the place they’ll stage earlier than coming in, which is why the following function issues a lot.
One Pull and the Window Goes Darkish
Each window has a blackout tab. Pull it and the window blacks out. My plan when the season opens is to black out every thing behind me and solely run the entrance home windows, however nonetheless be capable to spot-check behind me if I hear one thing coming by way of the clear-cut.
The nook home windows lock shut with a small latch, and after I cinched all of them up through the tour I may inform it does three issues for cold-weather looking. It retains warmth in, so a small heater will make it toasty and I could not even want one. It retains scent in. And it retains sound in. The home windows additionally go up and down simply and quietly, which is what you need when a deer reveals up and you’ll want to open one with out saying your self. Shadow Hunter lists the panes as impact-resistant acrylic on silent foam-padded tracks, with exterior blackout shields on each window.
Inside: Packed With Options
I used to be a bit bit wowed the primary time I stepped in. It was scorching, it was June, and I had each window open simply to test the look over the plot, and the factor is filled with options, room, and luxury. The ground is carpeted, the blind is vented prime and backside, there’s a gear shelf up excessive and one other shelf throughout the way in which. Shadow Hunter’s spec sheet fills in what I didn’t measure: the inside is 68 inches sq. and 77 inches tall, partitions and ceiling are ShadowTech fiberglass-reinforced panels with high-density foam insulation, the flooring is marine-grade carpet over ShadowMesh, and the blind ships with 4 taking pictures rests, two cabinets, a coat hook, and a gun and compound bow holder.
There’s loads of room on this 6×6 for 2 guys very comfortably, even with gear. I’m placing a second chair in. We name this spot the Participant Layer, and it’s going to be a two-man hangout, as a result of typically it’s higher to stare on the woods with a buddy than by your self. Shadow Hunter charges it for one to 3 hunters.
The Set up and the Plot Beneath
We had the blind on the bottom subsequent to the tower elements someday and up within the air the following. The pictures present the metal tower being bolted collectively within the clearing with the blind sitting beside it. As soon as it was up, we staked the tower down with rebar and put in the ladder. Shadow Hunter sells the blind 3 ways: blind solely, with mounting brackets if you wish to construct your individual timber tower and set your individual peak, or with the absolutely constructed metal platform and ladder system, which is what ours is on.
The plot below it’s a no-till job. We sprayed it that weekend with the King Quad and a 25-gallon sprayer, anticipating it to brown up in two weeks. The plan was to come back again in a month, re-spray any misses and regrowth, then broadcast seed and drag it excessive for soil contact and hope for rain. The combo is cereal rye, oats, a bit pink clover, and perhaps brassicas and purple-top turnips for the late season and December sits. Earlier than we left I put a few path cameras on the plot to see what was coming and going.
What It Prices
Shadow Hunter lists the 6×6 Octagon Combo at $3,199.99 for the blind alone. Towers, platform bundles, and DIY brackets are priced individually on their Elevators web page. The outside is 20-gauge rust-proof aluminum with two layers of paint and a UV prime coat, 70 inches sq. and 81 inches tall, with lockable handles in and out.
There’s additionally a 6×6 Octagon Archery within the lineup, the non-combo model constructed round compound bows at $3,299.99, and the identical weekend we arrange Ben’s new 5×6 Hybrid Combo on the opposite aspect of the property, which has its personal first look.
Early Verdict
I’m tremendous stoked for the season, and I recognize the time, effort, and high quality Summit put into this blind. What bought me on the primary day was the mixture: an actual gun relaxation up entrance, nook home windows I can shoot a bow out of, one-pull blackouts on every thing, and sufficient room {that a} second individual isn’t a compromise. That’s the design. Whether or not it delivers when it’s chilly and one thing is working up out of that clear-cut is the half I nonetheless have to search out out, and I’ll let you know after I do.
For extra on this blind or anything within the Shadow Hunter lineup, head over to shadowhunterblinds.com.
Incessantly Requested Questions
What does “combo” imply on a Shadow Hunter blind?
The window combine. A combo has horizontal home windows with taking pictures rails for rifle and crossbow plus vertical nook home windows for archery, so one blind covers each season. Shadow Hunter additionally sells the 6×6 Octagon Archery, a non-combo model constructed round compound bows.
What number of hunters match within the 6×6 Octagon Combo?
Shadow Hunter charges it for one to 3. The inside is 68 inches sq. and 77 inches tall; in apply it matches two hunters very comfortably with gear.
Are you able to bowhunt from it?
Sure. The 4 8-inch by 24.5-inch vertical nook home windows are constructed for drawing a bow.
Does the blind come assembled?
Sure. It’s hand-built in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and delivered to your door absolutely assembled. The tower or brackets are put in on web site.
Can I put it by myself tower?
Sure. Shadow Hunter sells mounting brackets for DIY timber towers so you’ll be able to set your individual peak, or a whole metal platform and ladder system.
How do the blackout home windows work?
Each window has an exterior blackout defend you’re employed with a pull tab from inside, plus an acrylic pane on a foam-padded monitor. You may black out the home windows behind you and go away solely your taking pictures home windows open.
How a lot does the 6×6 Octagon Combo price?
$3,199.99 for the blind alone. Metal towers, platform bundles, and brackets are bought individually.
What’s the distinction between the 6×6 Octagon Combo and the 5×6 Hybrid Combo?
The 6×6 is a full octagon with eight home windows and room for as much as three hunters. The 5×6 Hybrid Combo is new for 2026 and squeezes octagon-style views right into a 5-by-6-foot footprint with six home windows for one or two hunters, at $2,599.99.
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