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Building a Deer Blind Tower

113K views 76 replies 25 participants last post by  330-Trapper 
#1 ·
I am looking for Deer Box Blind Pictures and Ideas of What to build and what Not to add to an enclosed stand...

If anybody has built deer blinds before and Has things they'd add to theirs please post....

I have a steel frame which is 7' tall and 4x8, I can Weld a larger platform if needed to make it Wider than 4':confused:
 
#27 · (Edited)
The best one I ever seen was in Texas. Guy had a pole barn contractor come in just to dig and set the poles. He used 4X6 posts 24 ft long and buried in cement 4 feet so that the top of the poles were 20 ft above the ground.

He then ran his frame around the posts 6 ft down from the top of the posts AND made the 6ft of post part of the wall..........he had a peaked shingled roof which made it so a 7 ft person could stand up straight.:lol: Had hard board foam insulation for the walls and then over that he had regular cheap old dark wood grain paneling........he also ran insulation in the roof rafters......he then found some framed double pane windows that were 24 inches tall and 5 foot wide......each one slide sideways.......real neat as each one slide next to the other so it didn't have to tip in or out and not out past the corner of the blind....

He had a light weight steel ladder built that ran up one of the posts into a trap door in the floor of the blind. Ladder ran up the wall in the blind far enough that you could walk up the ladder, flip open the trap door and then walk another 4 ft up the ladder and then step onto the floor and then close the trap door..............he had a 40 lb propane tank at the base and ran copper pipe up one post into the blind with a big buddy heater.......he had a battery operated CO2 and Smoke detector also......:lol: all that and rubber backed carpet on the floor.

The blind/posts were 6ft.X 8ft. and with the 4X6s made part of the blind the thing was so secure and tight that he didn't even need any braces at all.....it withstood 78 mph winds from the leftovers of a hurricane and the only thing that was damaged was a few shingles blown off......:lol:

He said he only spent $750 dollars for the entire thing, he's a guide so and he wanted his clients to be comfortable. He said he found the windows at a garage sale and he said it was far cheaper and faster and "easier" for him to hire a pole barn contractor to come in with heavy equipment to sink the posts......done in one day then 2 days later he started building.......said it took 2 guys 5 days to complete....

I seen the pictures and it was beautiful. Even had an old bed from a metal bunk bed (ala army barracks) chained and hinged to one wall....stayed chained to the wall and when one of his clients wanted to take a nap he just unhooked the chain and dropped the cot down onto its legs...........sweet......

Just the ladder and trap door were a thing of beauty......and the windows were just icing on the cake............hunt in shirt sleeves when it's 20 degrees outside.........:lol:
 
#28 ·
Here are some pictures of the stand my father and I built in the winter of '06. This picture is immediately after we raised the stand.

The following pictures are after I enclosed the base of the stand to conceal our exit. The stand is 4x8, inside height on the high side is 6'6"...low side 6'. Exterior shutters flip up on string to act as additional rain/snow protection as well as shade. Board insulation on all interior walls and in the ceiling. Rubber stall mats on the floor with rubber backed carpet on top of that. The floor of the stand is 16' high. We built this stand in its entirety in a barn then transported it to the field and erected it on site. The 4x4s are sunk 2' and concreted in. Additional support is furnished by 1/4" cables on all 4 sides with turnbuckles and ground anchors.



This picture shows the flip up plexi-glas windows with the simple hook to hold em up. It also shows the thin nylon string/rope that holds the shutters in place.
 
#35 ·
I've shown these before on the site. 8x8 platform-10 ft high. The blind itself is 5X5 inside and 7 ft at the center. Windows and awnings are all hinged for adjustment up and down and tied off inside. Pretty much unlimited visibility all around.






And a more conventional blind on the same type platform base, and 5x5 inside with hinged awnings and sliding windows.


 
#37 · (Edited)
On the octagon blind I used parachute cord threaded thru eyebolts in the wall for both the windows and awnings. On the conventional blind, I threaded the cord thru plastic grommets mounted in the wall and tied off with a loop over an open eyebolt, The windows themselves slide in wooden tracks cut on a table saw.
I like the option of being able to completely close the awnings between hunts or during the off season especially, and adjust as needed on sunny days. Comes in very handy at times.
 
#38 · (Edited)
On the octagon blind I used parachute cord threaded thru eyebolts in the wall for both the windows and awnings. On the conventional blind, I threaded the cord thru plastic grommets mounted in the wall and tied off with a loop over an open eyebolt, .
Man, you know how to build blinds.
Any reason not to hinge them on the bottom and hook them to the inside when closed? Seems easier.
I also wonder why to build them so tall ? Looking at your blinds, I pretty sure you can see what everyone else sees when then stand up........nothing. Shorter means less material, less building time, less space to heat, less for the deer to see and less wind resistance.
 
#39 ·
Man, you know how to build blinds.
Any reason not to hinge them on the bottom and hook them to the inside when closed? Seems easier.
I also wonder why to build them so tall ? Looking at your blinds, I pretty sure you can see what everyone else sees when then stand up........nothing. Shorter means less material, less building time, less space to heat, less for the deer to see and less wind resistance.
I was thinking the same thing on the 8' walls... But HEY!!! Maybe a reason and I have to also say - Nice work on all these blinds!!! :chillin:
tb
 
#40 ·
I found that on my 2 blind I built. That putting the hinges on the top of the window covering, I was able to put a big strip of Fire and Ice nailed above the window covering and let it hang a few inches over the window covering. This keeps the weather from driping into the windows.

Hope the picture helps

 
#41 ·
Man, you know how to build blinds.
Any reason not to hinge them on the bottom and hook them to the inside when closed? Seems easier.
I also wonder why to build them so tall ? Looking at your blinds, I pretty sure you can see what everyone else sees when then stand up........nothing. Shorter means less material, less building time, less space to heat, less for the deer to see and less wind resistance.
The octagon blind also functions as a bow blind thus the 6 ft sidewalls and 7ft center. Found there was less bow interference with the windows hinged at the top . If not for the shelf under each window, your suggestion would work fine Richard. ;)




I was thinking the same thing on the 8' walls... But HEY!!! Maybe a reason and I have to also say - Nice work on all these blinds!!! :chillin:
tb
The side walls are just under 6 feet tall on the octagon blind.
 
#44 ·
For the conventional blind I used 1/4" plexiglass. For the Octagon, I used double strength glass cut at a local glass company and then built the frames the size I needed. I see no benefit either way. Glass can break, plexiglass tends to scratch. It was just a matter of my personal preference, and seeing they were my first and only blind builds so far, I thought I would try both. The glass was the lesser in cost however.
 
#47 ·
Would a person be better off with 2x4 Framing or angle Iron and wood or paying extra fro Steel frames..... Right now after seeing all these Cool designs, I'm leaning towards 1/4" treated sidewalls, framed together in my Garage as a "Kit" to work out all the kinks and Ideas.

I'm still unsure of the inside Hight? I hear all of the reasonings, but you can always lower the sidewall hight, but if you make it too short inside and regret it... then that's a lot of work... I plan on Archery the least, Rifle and Muzzleloader.... With the Smokepole a 7 or even 8' roof should allow for a Reload.

Seems to me a porch is a good thing, if only a foot or so :evil:
 
#48 · (Edited)
Used 2x4 wood framing in my case. Rather than 1/4" treated for the sidewalls, I used 7/16" OSB board, rough side out. We had some issues with blinds built in the past with treated plywood for the walls in that critters were eating holes in them. OSB for some reason eliminated the problem. Something in the treated seemed to attract chewing, at least in our case.

I also have a small walkway space on my platforms around the blinds. Nice to do window cleaning/maintenance etc. One of our group has a porch front and back on his platform for those rare 70 degree rifle openers like 3-4 years ago.

6-7 ft height would be plenty for a muzzy reload. You can always tilt the barrel some to start the ramrod, even at 5-6 ft tall.
 
#49 ·
I guess with the treated I was just trying to use Whatever would last the absolute longest... does OSB last as long as greentreat? It was probably the Glue in the OSB that detered the wildlife.... Was it Red squirrels or ***** or What do you think it was?

I've had ***** nest in my only box blind I've ever built... left me piles of dung and chewed up my foam but pad.... should have set a cage trap in there...:lol:
 
#50 ·
I guess with the treated I was just trying to use Whatever would last the absolute longest... does OSB last as long as greentreat? It was probably the Glue in the OSB that detered the wildlife.... Was it Red squirrels or ***** or What do you think it was?

I've had ***** nest in my only box blind I've ever built... left me piles of dung and chewed up my foam but pad.... should have set a cage trap in there...:lol:
We've got lots of blinds that have been painted and built of osb that have lasted 8-10 years so far. I suspect it was mice or squirrels that did the damage. I watched a mouse climb vertically up an 8ft 2x4 wall stud in my garage last winter to get to my rafters. Looked like Spiderman..:lol:
 
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