My Deer Stand

For all the Gobbler Nation "do-it-yourselfers".
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HunterGKS
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My Deer Stand

Post by HunterGKS »

Here in Ohio, the 2010 deer season had weather that was more than miserable. Out of 9 days, I only went out for 3 ½ day & didn’t kill a deer for the 1st time in many moons. I decided to build myself a semi-permanent blind out of scrape materials left over from tearing down my old garage/shop & construction of the new building. So far, the only things I’ve had to buy were a few bolts, nuts, & washers. Turns out I will need to buy a sheet of CDX for the roof & a couple of sheets of plywood for the sides & front. The roof & sides will be covered with the same sheet metal that I used in the inside of my new building & the floor covered with carpet scrapes from when I had the house done.

The basic size is 4’x4’ with the front being about 6’ & the rear 7’ in height. The back will be open for access & the sides/front will be enclosed for 3’. I’m hoping this will cut the wind & provide some protection from rain/snow while still giving me a good field of view.

This is 1 of those projects that gets planned as I go along. I had the basic idea when I started & modified it as things progressed. So far, the only thing that I have re-done was the roof sides, I moved them from the outside to the inside to save some CDX. I was also having a hard time figuring out how to attach the metal but, as soon as I got it to this stage, it became clear as day: the front will be mounted directly to the 2-bys & the sides will go between the corner posts.

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I wanted to move the stand into the woods before it got too hot but it looked like the rainy weather wouldn’t allow that. I needed to cross a marshy/swampy area to get to “my” spot & it was underwater during the spring & into June. Luckily, we hit a cool spell with no rain & my path through the swamp pretty much dried up.

The blind is “modular” in the fact that the floor, roof, sides, & front were separate pieces held together with carriage bolts. So one morning in early July, I hooked up the trailer, loaded the 4-wheeler, put my small trailer in the truck & loaded the rest of the trailer with all the pieces of the blind except for the roof. I also took my chainsaw & enough tools to get the job done. It only took a total of about 2 hours to get it together. I used 4 concrete deck blocks to keep the blind up off the ground to avoid the wood rotting from dampness.

A large 2-trunked tree had been knocked over during the storm, which is why I took the chainsaw. It had fallen across the path I take to my squirrel hot spot so I spent an hour or so making small pieces of wood out of 2 large pieces of wood.

The next morning, I took the roof out to the woods, laid the blind on its front & installed the roof. My BIL came out & we lifted the blind into an upright position & set it into its permanent position. I set 2 6’ t-posts, 1 at the front left, the other at the rear right, & fastened them to the stand with 4 u-bolts, 2 at each corner. Hopefully the posts will keep the stand from being blown over. My BIL had driven his gator back to the blind site, so we loaded it up with the fire wood for his brother.

This is what the blind looks like & the views I have while sitting in it.

From the north.

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From the east.

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From the south.

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From the west.

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Looking from the inside out.

To the northwest.

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To the south.

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To the southeast.

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To the west.

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To the southeast.

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To the east.

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George

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BODY STILL. YOUR HEART JUST HASN'T CAUGHT ON.

.17 = NITRO OF THE RIMFIRE WORLD USAF 1969-1973


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HunterGKS
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by HunterGKS »

The deer season of 2013, the wind was extremely strong & it was a lot colder than usual. I have a small Heater Buddy that doesn’t keep you warm but does make the cold more tolerable. Last year it did absolutely no good at all. I decided I needed to more fully enclose the blind to try to cut down on the wind & also make the Heater Buddy a little more efficient.

I went back to the stand & got all the measurements to lower the East & West sides, the front, & to enclose the back & install a door. I had enough OSB board & sheet metal to do everything but the back for which I had to buy a sheet of OSB. I already had a door & all the hardware I needed so the upgrade was done on the cheap. Over the course of a few days, I cut all the boards & metal & put the pieces together. All that was left to do was haul everything to the woods & install the parts on the blind.

Saturday (07/26/14) was nice with a temp of 48. I had loaded everything the day before so all I had to do was drive to woods, load the trailer with the parts & 4-wheel it back to the stand. The skeeters were bad at 1st so I fired up the t-cell but the wind soon came up & they were blown away. All told, it took me about 6 hours to get everything up, including the door, with some minor sizing being needed. Somehow, I mismeasured the back & the piece on the left side of the door was about 4” not wide enough. I got home, cut another piece of OSB & metal the correct size & put it all together.
It was 60 degrees this morning (Monday 07/28/2014) & threatening rain but I wanted to get the job finished so I headed out to the woods a little after 7. Everything went smoothly & took less than an hour to install the last piece, 2 hook & eye latches, & paint everything. I painted the inside the same green as the outside. I didn’t want to be sitting inside with light colored wood behind me silhouetting me in my camo. I do need to add a handle to the door inside but I’ll do that the 1st time I squirrel hunt my honey tree to the west of the blind.

I can’t wait for deer season to try it out. I may even sit in it a time or two during squirrel season.

BACK BEFORE

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BACK AFTER

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EAST SIDE BEFORE

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EAST SIDE AFTER

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FRONT BEFORE

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FRONT AFTER

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WEST SIDE BEFORE

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WEST SIDE AFTER
I got lucky again. Another tree fell & missed the blind by just a couple of feet. It landed on top of the down spout but didn’t crush it.

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George

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BODY STILL. YOUR HEART JUST HASN'T CAUGHT ON.

.17 = NITRO OF THE RIMFIRE WORLD USAF 1969-1973


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HunterGKS
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by HunterGKS »

The upgrades I did to my deer stand last year helped but not as much as I had hoped. I decided that I needed to enclose the front & sides a little more so, on 07/28/15, I went back to the stand & decided that I could enclose the windows by another 6” & still have a great field of view. The skeeters were as bad as I have ever seen them. I had planned on doing a little scouting for squirrels & check the mast crop but they were just too bad even with using Deep Woods. I didn’t take the T-cell as I knew I’d be moving around & it just doesn’t seem to work that well when moving.

The next day, I found that I had enough scrap OSB & metal to do the upgrades & only had to buy 20 self-starting metal screws. I got everything cut & put together & am waiting for cooler weather & less skeeters to do the work. Shouldn’t take more than an hour or so.

I had a 7:30 A.M. eye doc appt this morning, 08/06/15, & decided to put the 3 pieces on the stand as the temp was in the low-to-mid 60s with a slight breeze & overcast skies. Once again, I dosed up with Deep woods & spent about 15 minutes putting up all 3 pieces. I did wander through the woods a little looking for squirrel sign. I did find some digging near my honey shag bark & a few nuts on the ground but no cutting. It’s still a little early for that. The season opens on Sept 1 & I’m ready.


East Side

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Front

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West Side

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The deer have been working my mineral hole pretty thoroughly as well as the salt & minerals blocks. The squirrels seem to like the wood on the mineral box as the have chewed it up quite a bit.

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George

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BODY STILL. YOUR HEART JUST HASN'T CAUGHT ON.

.17 = NITRO OF THE RIMFIRE WORLD USAF 1969-1973


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guesswho
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by guesswho »

I'd move it. I didn't see any deer in any direction. Good luck, hope you kill another big'n
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redarrow
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by redarrow »

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
Put you plans in the nail scarred hands.
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HunterGKS
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by HunterGKS »

Thx Guys. Ronnie, All I can say is that this year has got to be better than last. I saw a grand total of 22 deer with only 1 confirmed buck & didn't even raise my gun for the 1st time in my deer hunting life.
George

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BODY STILL. YOUR HEART JUST HASN'T CAUGHT ON.

.17 = NITRO OF THE RIMFIRE WORLD USAF 1969-1973


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Grumpy
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by Grumpy »

I would put camo netting with rifle / bow shooting slots around the open areas and hang old carpet to suppress sound on the inside and roof.
I was not his father but he was my son,,MAK IV, 10-15-1993 - 4-22-2007
"Rest in Peace my Little Buddy"
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HunterGKS
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Re: My Deer Stand

Post by HunterGKS »

I have an interior decorator scheduled to come out next week to measure for drapes & decide what style & color Barca Lounger I'll be getting as well as an end table. An electrician will be running a line from the road back, about a mile, so I can install lights, an electric heater, & a small color TV with satellite. Hopefully I'll get it all finished by the time the season opens. Next year I plan to build a small shed on the other side of the tree in which to store my 4-wheeler while I'm hunting.
George

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR BODY STILL. YOUR HEART JUST HASN'T CAUGHT ON.

.17 = NITRO OF THE RIMFIRE WORLD USAF 1969-1973


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