Started my tower stand today

[EddieWalker]

Sounds like you and Eva are having fun with the blind, hunting or no hunting. Smart thinking with the coloring book!!! Good to have her out there, but you don't want her to be bored and not having fun.

Good luck with the deer hunting. I'm looking forward to seeing what you get.

Eddie

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Sounds like you and Eva are having fun with the blind, hunting or no hunting. Smart thinking with the coloring book!!! Good to have her out there, but you don't want her to be bored and not having fun.

Good luck with the deer hunting. I'm looking forward to seeing what you get.

Eddie

Exactly, I like to see animals when she is with me just to keep her interested but now that we have a nice room to sit in she is able to play and have fun while waiting for something to show up. Heck, she brought a bunch of little stuffed animals out too. It was kind of cute, I am carrying my .35 pistol and 12 gauge shotgun and she is carrying a plastic bag with chips, stuffed animals and a coloring book and in the other hand a clear plastic lunch box filled with markers. We were both wearing camo but had completely different requirements to go hunting (well, except for the chips). I hope to have a shelf put up the next time she comes out as we discussed bringing the computer so she can watch Horton hears a Who out there. That will kill 90 minutes and hopefully as its ending the critters are starting to move.

She is a great helper too as she picked everything up to get ready to leave while I kept watching for deer. So when I was ready she was standing at the door with a smile holding her hunting gear and my camera case

 

[Thomas]

Now thats what I call hunting in comfort ..n i c e.

 

[brin]

Thanks Robert...I had thought about being able to just slide down and tried it and it works fine for me as well as my grand daughter when she uses it after deer season..

 

[brin]

Thanks Jim, That is OSB for roof decking and I had not trimmed the roofing felt when I took the picture but their are shingles on top of that...left over from building our house...same with the 2x6'es they were left over too so I put them to good use.

 

[two_bit_score]

Great thread Robert!

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Great thread Robert!

Thanks, Ava enjoys going hunting with me now as she can have fun out there regardless to if we see anything. Here she is all set to go hunting, box of markers, bag with chips, stuffed animal and coloring book. She has been with me hunting the last two afternoons now. I am really enjoying this tower as I have wanted Ava to go hunting with me for a while and now she can without being asked to keep her voice down or not to move so much. And tonight a storm moved in as we were out there and it was nice watching the rain hit the windows as we were warm and dry inside coloring and snacking

I just have to keep Ava out of the decision making process for paint color as she wants it pink or dark pink when I tell her it needs to be a dark color

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I have been working on the inside of the tower a little bit each day also as I get ready to come home in the morning and when I first go out in the afternoon. All the windows are insulated and the extensions are on. I cut the trim for them and Ava helped me trim the one window today and start a second window but I didn't want to make too much noise so I stopped there. Tomorrow I will put the rest of the trim on the windows and caulk it. I did caulk the edges of the OSB along all the corners and that along with insulating around the door sealed up the last few drafts I had in there. It is now real cozy almost to the point of being too warm (thats a good problem).

I am thinking of getting some commercial carpet to put down in there to help deaden the noise from the office chair and a little girls foot steps. I don't know how much sound gets transferred outside of the stand and how much is actually heard with the thruway so close but I think the carpet would just make it that much nicer. Then we can just kick back and really enjoy "hunting"

 

[Tororider]

Robert, what are the inside dimensions of your stand? I am trying to figure out how big I should build mine. Would you change your dimensions at all having hunted in it a bit now?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Robert, what are the inside dimensions of your stand? I am trying to figure out how big I should build mine. Would you change your dimensions at all having hunted in it a bit now?

Inside dimensions are 7' 6" x 7' 6". The only thing I would do different on the next tower is put the windows tight to the main corner I am looking towards. With the width of the corner it gives you a blind spot making you have to move too much in my mind to see easily. I sit so I can look through 3 sides but mainly watch the one corner where the field is. I should have used wider windows on the front wall but I used what I could find reasonably priced.

I have found the 8x8 is a nice size for a tower stand if you plan to have anyone up there with you. Ava has been with me a couple times and there is enough room for both of us to sit and she can get up and walk around without any problems. If it is only for one person then 6x6 would be perfect. Plenty of room to move around, smaller room to heat (if you need heat) and easier to see all around the tower.

The one thing I have learned with this tower is the windows are the biggest thing you need to consider when designing it. I didn't want to spend a fortune on windows so I bought simple custom sizes that I could easily find locally without costing a lot of money. This then made it a hassle as I was trying to make windows work for my tower instead of buying the proper windows for the size tower I wanted. So now I am looking for new windows again for my next tower and when I get the right windows found I will start to build the second tower hopefully in the summer.