Creating my "Over the Top" Deer Blind

[Hookblock]

It looks like it would be hard to shoot out of the last one. Can you bow hunt out of the first one, or is it only for rifle? I can't wait to build one of my own, you guys have me real jealous.

Yep it's hard to shoot out of the last one, unless you leave the door open. And it needs heat . No you can't bow hunt out of it, I put the windows up to high. Now I have a reason to build another one

 

[jinman]

Eddie, your deer stand is definitely NOT as over-the-top as the deer stand in the pictures below. I haven't seen this before, so if you have, my apologies. I thought it had a nice tractor theme to it. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[EddieWalker]

Jim,

I have seen the trailer pics before and really admired it. Not sure if it's something I'd want on my land, but there is a certain "cool" factor to it!!!!!!!

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[sandman2234]

Wife's uncle built one that we used for years, but he got sick and sold the property to a neighbor who doesn't allow anyone except him to hunt on the property. Not sure if the stand is even still standing. It was constucted with four by four STEEL posts, 20 foot long, with a smaller sized post added inside at the top to get the height he wanted. Bottom is 20 feet off the ground. He used a ladder built under the floor and gained acess to the 10x10 room via a door in the floor. Everything that went up or down got raised with a rope that hung from the top of the ladder. It was well insulated, heated, with a pitched roof. They talked about added an A/C but power would have been a problem, as it was a long way from the nearest point of acess. The windows were slider types, so you could just slide them and poke the barrel thru. I often worried about breaking the glass, or scratching my stock on them, but they never caused any problems that I heard about. When I used it, I always took a small towel with me to set the barrel on in the window. Other windows could be used to let some of the heat out, as it tended to get really warm in there with the small propane heater going.

David from jax

 

[EddieWalker]

I really expected to have the roof on and the windows in by the end the weekend. Even now that the weekend is over, I'm still shocked at the lack of progress. Two days of strong winds, one day of rain, another day of heavy mud and Thanksgiving sure can put a dent into the time I had to work on the blind. Oh yeah, the water heater died on me and I had to clean the shop out for Thanksgiving.

When it was raining, I put my door together. I'm still not sure why, but I insulated it. I wasn't going to, but I walked by some 3/4 inch foam at the store, and it was just too overwhelming for me to walk by and not buy any.

Anyway, I did manage to get the weathervane on. It's my deer decoy, I just hope the deer don't know the difference between an elk and a deer!!!

Eddie

 

[3RRL]

Holy cow Eddie, or should I say holy Elk?
That is one fine looking weather vane you got.
Where did you say you got it? Is it possible to get over an Internet purchase? Too bad you didn't get done as much as you wanted, I know how that goes. Sometimes you get side tracked or little things like the weather screws plans up.
I'm loving your thread so far!!

 

[EddieWalker]

Thanks Rob,

I bought it off Ebay. ELK Weathervane Rustic Full Size w/ ROOF MOUNT Copper - eBay (item 370093789524 end time Dec-04-08 15:41:30 PST)

Cost was $280 with free shipping. It's the best deal that I could find for a large weathervane that was real copper. I'm really looking forward to it when it changes color to a green patina!!!

Eddie

 

[jinman]

Two days of strong winds, one day of rain, another day of heavy mud and Thanksgiving sure can put a dent into the time I had to work on the blind. Oh yeah, the water heater died on me and I had to clean the shop out for Thanksgiving.

Isn't it "interesting" how things tend to break when you have a crowd coming? Last July 4th my septic pump quit working right before my picnic and fireworks. Luckily, I lifted it out of the tank and found it was only a clogged inlet. Whew! I dodged a stinky bullet.

The blind and the vane look like they are made for each other. You are doing a great job.

 

[EddieWalker]

The holidays and Mother Nature have kept me busy. I didn't get anything done on my deer blind for a month. A few days ago, I started working on it again, but ran into problems right off away. I'm terrified of heights, it's just one of many fears that I have, but this one really challenged me on the roof. I have a certain height that I can function on a ladder, but the closer I get to my limit, the less I can do.

Carrying sheets of OSB two stories up on a ladder was just beyond me, so I used the loader on my tractor. That worked for getting them up there, but was too short for me to get on top of the roof. I tried the ladder, but got too scared with so little room to move around. Up high, I like lots of space and this was freaking me out.

I have a metal set of portable stairs that a client gave me a few years ago. We use it for standing on when putting hydraulic oil into the dozer. I decided to use them on my pallet forks to give me a few more feet of height that I needed to work on the roof of the blind. Since regular pallets are so flimsy, I built one out of 2x4's and 2x6's using three inch screws. It's super tight on the bottom and there is no wobble. I then raised the metal stairs to the height that I needed with an added platform to my homemade pallet. Then the stairs are held in place with two nylon straps. If one breaks, I hope to heck that the other holds long enough for me to get to safety. It's a gamble being up there, but one I"m more comfortable with then the ladder.

I also lock the loader in the upright position for a small bit of safety. My cell phone is in my pocket just in case something happens.

If anybody wishes to warn me against this, or tell me how dangerous it is, thank you. I wont' respond to your warnings, but appreciate the thought.

Eddie

 

[JDeerekid]

Wow you have the beginning of a real nice castle. You need to make a 3 more to mark the corners of the courtyard and build walls in between them and then dig a mount around the outside and fill it with crocs
Real nice project going there Eddie.
I know what you mean about the heights thing I have my limit also and you still wouldnt of got me on those forks climbing them stairs without my knes wobbling like crazy.
Great work and still looking forward to the final masterpeice.