Author Topic: Thinking deer stand.. (Read 3893 times)

ironglow · « **on:** May 07, 2013, 05:09:12 PM »

i think I will build a tree stand in my woods. I'm only planning about a 4X4X6 enclosed.. Is there any rule of thumb as to proper height off the ground?

bulletstuffer · « **Reply #1 on:** May 07, 2013, 05:18:59 PM »

Different states have different regulations as far as height of permanent stands. I use a climber mostly and go as high as I need to get the best view

Good luck,

Bulletstuffer

Oldshooter · « **Reply #2 on:** May 07, 2013, 05:50:00 PM »

Should be where you can legally see the best. I do not know of any height restriction in Texas . Are there any in NY State?

Speaking of legality. Cuomo gonna let you have a gun up there?

This reminds me I have get at least one built soon.

ironglow · « **Reply #3 on:** May 08, 2013, 01:37:48 AM »

Max height is not a problem, I only plan on 4-5 feet to the floor for a good view, I just wanted to know if there is any benefit to height beyond being able to see the entire field of fire.

"Adolph" Cuomo's bill is law, but is just starting to wend it's way through the courts. There are teams of lawyers on the case, including some from the NRA. I don't own any "military style" guns, but know many who do..and don't know any who have registered theirs, including a state cop who refuses to. Most of the counties of the state have rejected Cuomo's law by letters of condemnation. Most all sheriff's organizations have rejected his garbage too. See map below..Green counties have already held meetings and rejected Cuomo's law. The red counties , mostly in his neighborhood either have not voted or are with the would-be dictator.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #4 on:** May 08, 2013, 01:56:32 AM »

The Box stand I have on a pipeline "right o way" is 8 ft ground to floor. It provides excellent view. I have made 250 and 290 yd shots routinely from it. I sometimes see amimals out farther but rarely take em. Seems they are on their way to a meeting or sumpn. I will take long shots at coyotes just to stay in practice on slow deer days. What kind of distances can you see up there IG.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #5 on:** May 08, 2013, 03:43:06 AM »

Here it depends on what weapon is used and which county you are hunting in.
Give so thought as to wind , will it mostly blow into hunting area ? will it blow scent down or up ? If there is a chance of scent being spread into the kill zone go high or add a roof with a pipe extended up to get sent high allowing it to dissipate . If blind is on top of a hill it can be lower than one in a gut where it needs to be higher to see farther. Of course flag poling above everything else can be awkward also. Make it big enough to spread out a bit, best not to have equipment crowded around you when moving to make a shot.
I want to build a stand large enough to move around in. Maybe a cot to stretch out on waiting for legal shooting time , I like to get in the blind early . Also want a roof to keep rain and snow off.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #6 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:14:30 AM »

Quote

I want to build a stand large enough to move around in. Maybe a cot to stretch out on waiting for legal shooting time , I like to get in the blind early . Also want a roof to keep rain and snow off.

Thats what I'm talking about! kinda like a hunting lodge on poles! Mine has a heater. Trying to figger a way get it equiped with HVAC. Actually needed more than Heat here. I do like to go in early and nap till shooting light!

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #7 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:31:48 AM »

drape a cotton tarp over the blind and soak with water . It will be an Outer Banks Cooler , that's what they did to chill food. The sun and wind evaporates the water taking the heat out of the box. Water is a great refrigerant ,

Oldshooter · « **Reply #8 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:36:05 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on May 08, 2013, 04:31:48 AM

drape a cotton tarp over the blind and soak with water . It will be an Outer Banks Cooler , that's what they did to chill food. The sun and wind evaporates the water taking the heat out of the box. Water is a great refrigerant ,

I understand the principle but never thought about doing that. I will have to try it.

oops is this the hyjack thread. $:-\$ Sorry IG

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #9 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:37:34 AM »

Make sure the wax etc. is washed off the tarp. A corn laundry is better than home for washing it

ironglow · « **Reply #10 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:39:14 AM »

My ranges are usually not great, since I live in an area called "The Enchanted Mountains".. Generally speaking, 100-125 yards is a long shot for big game. I want to build a 4X4.. but I have also considered building a small "garden shed" on the hillside. One point of elevation is the carrying off os scent. Wind, for shooting allowance unless it is really fierce is no problem, since it doesn't penetrate the woods very much. A roof is a must..
Below see 2 photos I picked from my home county's website, both typical of my usual hunting areas. The one I labeled "like my woods" was taken from the same county road..and is so similar it could even be my woods.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #11 on:** May 08, 2013, 04:47:44 AM »

That looks like nice country! Pete i would suggest at least 4 x6 so you could have a "buddy/ grandchild" with ya. The hill side shed would be nice. We dont have any hills around here to speak of, but we do have plenty 4x 4 treated pine though.

I also built "stairs" on mine to make carrying gear easier and to make it easier for the little ones to use.

SHOOTALL · « **Reply #12 on:** May 08, 2013, 05:03:23 AM »

ply wood is 4X8 why cut ? If elevated and the sides covered it makes a nice shed for tools to work food plot or 4 wheeler . A couple full sheets for roof and the over hang will keep you dry or shaded.
BTW nice hunting land in pictures.

ironglow · « **Reply #13 on:** May 08, 2013, 05:26:24 AM »

Maybe there is hope yet for old porta-potties..painted camo..put 2 together for a condo..

Actually; I have been considering building a shed in the woods, I probably won't elevate it very much but I could do some overnighters there as well as my grandkids & their families..
I'm looking toward some like those below ..but with operable windows on alll sides..

Oldshooter · « **Reply #14 on:** May 08, 2013, 06:14:50 AM »

Quote from: SHOOTALL on May 08, 2013, 05:03:23 AM

ply wood is 4X8 why cut ? If elevated and the sides covered it makes a nice shed for tools to work food plot or 4 wheeler . A couple full sheets for roof and the over hang will keep you dry or shaded.
BTW nice hunting land in pictures.

Good point ! I'm gonna use OSB on mine. I have some in the back that was leftover from the new house (roof decking and under the Hardyplank). that stuff is two years old now and in the weather and looks almost new. a little paint and it will last a while. I'm using it for target backs now and it last until it gets torn to shreds.

BTW I put hinged glass windows in my last one and it keeps out critters and wasps and I can see out without scent flying everywhere.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #15 on:** May 08, 2013, 01:53:14 PM »

I thought about material lengths and widths for the least cutting. Pressure Treated Southern Yellow Pine (PTSYP) 4x4's are typically 8-feet long, but come in 10-foot and 12-foot lengths. Embeded in the ground by 2-feet on an out-to-out 4-foot grid, a 12-foot 4x4 is 10-feet exposed. Construct cross-bracing on two adjacent outsides of the uprights that are PTSYP 8-foot 2x4's.

A 4x8-foot sheet of pressure treated plywood cut in half is a decent floor, particularly when 2-pieces of 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch are screwed and glued together. Cut 3.5-inch x 3.5-inch notches in the four plywood corners for the 4 x 4's to extend through.

Make a foundation for the deck between 6-feet and 8-feet above ground with 2x6's around the INSIDE of the upright 4x4's perimeter, 2 of the 2x6's can extend to the outer edges of the plywood (4-feet long), and 2x4's across the mid-points in both directions. Screw and glue the deck to the floor supports.

Splicing the embeded 4x4's above the deck to additional upright 4x4's that extend to the roof support sub-structure is straight forward. Build the roof support sub-structure with 2x4's around the outside perimeter of the 4x4's and 2x4's across the mid-points.

Lay up 2 - 4x8 pieces of Durock Cement Board for the roof and screw and glue them to the roof support sub-structure with a 4-inch overlap along the midseam. Heavily silicone calk the entire 4-inch overlap in the Durock before attaching the last Durock piece.

Depending on the height of the roof, a 6-foot or 8-foot by 4-foot piece of PTSYP plywood will fit perfectly as siding. Cut windows and doors to suit. Add cross members for shooting rails and to prevent "oil canning" of the siding.

Fit up a 2x4 stair at a "ship's ladder" angle on ground bearing pads, nail to the 4x4's immediately below the deck and you're ready to paint (or not). Mine is Forest Green and a Hell For Stout box.

I found a 3.5-foot bench-type boat seat that fit perfectly. Your results may vary.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #16 on:** May 08, 2013, 03:42:38 PM »

Quote

Hell For Stout box.

That sounds about right from your description! maybe even understatement.

With those 4x4's in the ground four foot it sure ain't going anywhere!

Land_Owner · « **Reply #17 on:** May 08, 2013, 10:40:33 PM »

Actually, they are embedded about 30-inches deep, because at 3-feet deep we're starting to get into the ground water table and digging deeper than that with a post hole digger is TOUGH. We're also in hurricane country, but that doesn't stop us from hunting and we don't want to find it tipped over, particularly with us in it.

Also, I don't need plywood siding here. For the most part, in these Florida "Tropics", we get some chilly weather that will suck the heat out of the body pretty good over a four to six hour hunt. Certainly not like the cold you guys in snow and ice country suffer, but cold to us none-the-less. AND, there are over 300-days of tee shirt hunting weather here.

So, my siding is hunting camo. Camo strips are CHEAP, light weight, conceals the hunter, easy to construct (staple gun), easy to replace, can be impregnated with permethrin for killing bugs, and doesn't hinder the passing of the wind.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #18 on:** May 09, 2013, 02:48:35 AM »

I like that, a picture is worth.......

ironglow · « **Reply #19 on:** May 09, 2013, 04:26:51 AM »

Nice looking stand, Landowner. Your camo strips seem to blend well with your tropical type forest and you can get use from any breeze passing through. I want solid walls to fend off any breeze..for obvious reasons here in the north. I don't plan on camo quite so much, since my woods being almost all deciduous trees, is very dense in the summer, but after the leaves fall it's a different picture, so I plan on the idea that with the stand permanently in place, the deer or bear will get so they ignore it.
A stand placed high in a large, densly branched evergreen tree works well for concealment, but I have few of them in my woods and none which are strategically placed.

charles p · « **Reply #20 on:** May 11, 2013, 04:20:33 PM »

Make certain your shooting window has a wide sill base at the bottom. Six inches is good. I build mine so the base is the height of my belly button when standing. If it is too high, you have to come up out of your chair to shoot, and you can not get steady. Too low is not good either but you can always add a sand bag. Put carpet on the floor and walls up to the height of the windows for quietness. Pay attention to your orientation. If you expect to be shooting into the sunlight, a large overhang can be helpful. Make is rainproof for comfort. If the roof leaks, the floor will soon rot.
As for height, we have a lot that are 16' but 12' works just as well unless the area is hilly. A ground box works well also for logging paths. I like to take my dog along to ground box stands. She sleeps while I hunt, but comes in handy after the shot. She loves to get in a box stand.

ironglow · « **Reply #21 on:** May 11, 2013, 04:32:14 PM »

Thanks for the tips Charles..they sure do make sense. I like first hand info from "someone who's been there, done that"..

minecreek127 · « **Reply #22 on:** May 16, 2013, 12:52:03 PM »

As for how high....how high do you need to be to see what you need to see? If you need to be 15' off the ground to see the kill zone, build the stand 15'. If you need to be a foot off the ground to see the kill zone then build it 1'. Sometimes, and I have been bad about this myself, we get too focused on getting "up there" when if we had stayed a little lower we stood a better chance of harvesting a deer.

With the type stand you are talking about building you are going to contain a lot of your scent, and with typical scent control measures you should be fine at most any elevation. Just remember that you are never going to totally fool a deer's nose, and if they are close and downwind they are probably going to bust you more often than not.

Quote from: Land_Owner on May 08, 2013, 10:40:33 PM

So, my siding is hunting camo. Camo strips are CHEAP, light weight, conceals the hunter, easy to construct (staple gun), easy to replace, can be impregnated with permethrin for killing bugs, and doesn't hinder the passing of the wind.

I have been using Walmart bedsheets for years now and have found they typically last just as long as the camo burlap, etc. that Walmart sells, and is typically cheaper. I will buy a brown, black, green, or tan bedsheet and if I feel the need to break up the pattern I will hit it with a few spray can "branches", but honestly I haven't seen a difference between the ones left as-is and the ones I painted.

I really used to be concerned about camo around stands, until one year when a guy on my old club ran out of camo material and money and wrapped his stand with surplus military snow white netting. I, and others in the club, figured he would never see a deer....but the stand was just as productive as it had been in the years there was a traditional colored wrap around it. The next year I helped a guy build a box blind and it was wrapped with yellow vinyl siding and it was a deer killing machine.

Land_Owner · « **Reply #23 on:** May 17, 2013, 09:48:47 AM »

If you have the acreage and are not concerned with others "finding" your spot in the woods, then just about any color will do. The Wildlife Biologists in SC go hunting in the AM with their Right Guard deoderant stinch all over them, in their "loud" plaid shirts, and they connect with deer. It is a prevalence of deer "thing" in an area as much as it is sitting nearly perfectly still. If the deer approach from downwind, they are going to wind you unless you see them first, then it is GAME ON.

ironglow · « **Reply #24 on:** May 17, 2013, 11:10:00 AM »

I am especially concerned with a decent stand, since here in the northeast (and I'm in a snow belt area) a decent stand to me, means rain or snow doesn't cover the hunter.. or rain turning to ice!

My plan is to be enclosed with either flip up, down, in or sliding ..windows. Obviously it will have to have the roof vented..to prevent fogging or icing of the windows.
Curiously, I have a sister-in-law who started deer hunting about 7 years ago..and most years she gets more deer than us guys! Know why?... It's because she has the patience to sit in a stand all day..while I for example, start to fidget after a couple hours at best.
I figure if the stand is more comfortable with a couple "amenities"...I may 'hang in there' a bit longer..

Oldshooter · « **Reply #25 on:** May 17, 2013, 03:15:14 PM »

I bought some flip up framed windows last year that came with the hardware and hinges to mount em. I don't remember how much they were but I wasn't alarmed by the cost at the time. I got mine locally by a fella that sells all things deer hunting. But I did see some on line that you can give em measurements and they will make them to order. I love the fact that they keep out critters in the warm weather and keep the warm in when it gets cold. I use a coleman propane heater that takes the little bottle and it gets toasty if I need it to. Believe it or not it gets below freezing down here, even with the climate change and all.

Spanky · « **Reply #26 on:** May 17, 2013, 04:20:50 PM »

Nice stand Landowner.

Is that a bus seat?

Spanky

Land_Owner · « **Reply #27 on:** May 17, 2013, 11:03:56 PM »

A boat seat actually. "Seek and Ye shall find." I was wondering what I could use after it was built and the Trash Man was cheated when I saw not one but two boat seats that fit perfectly by the side of of the road on Trash Day, so I have a spare in the garage (Oh No!- not another spare for the garage). Organization of the redundant stuff in the garage is a chore for another day...

Oldshooter · « **Reply #28 on:** May 18, 2013, 02:19:24 AM »

Quote

(Oh No!- not another spare for the garage). Organization of the redundant stuff in the garage is a chore for another day...

I feel your pain! MY youngest son tells me all the time that the day I die he is going to have a garage sale. I tell him good, at least you will have some inheritance!

ironglow · « **Reply #29 on:** May 18, 2013, 03:08:37 AM »

Hey; I have this old lawn tractor which is headed to the junkyard..but it has a decent seat...Hmmmmm

Maybe I can mount it on a swivel bearing...