# Lets see your deer blinds.



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Started this as I was feeling bad about fishing dudes post being taken over.
Here in the mid west and east we do not have unlimited lands to hunt in and gaining permission to deer hunt many farm wood lots is hard in states where opening of deer season is next to a national holiday and produces a lot of excitement.
Easiest way to hunt the small wood lots is to have a blind, raised in states where it is legal. A way to get out of the wet weather, cold blowing winds and wet sticky snow.

So I will start with the last one I built and is about 85% recycled material used.
I had some building steel from a old building I helped a fellow tear down and decided to put it to use. Also had some red panels a friend gave me who builds pole barns for people and they don't want the scrap and he doesn't get much call for red either. As I have said I do modular builds then take them apart and move them by panels to where the blind is going to start out.

This is a peak inside at one wall. If you look at the left side you can see where I mated one wal to the other with 1.5 (2x4 ripped in half) inch studs, also forgot to mention the fast food hyway sign of corrugated plastic under the steel. 





This one you can see the window opening is a different size. It will face south and the glass is from a old micro wave I scraped out and is tinted a little.



Plastic on the frame.



Part of steel installed.



Nearly complete.







What the deer see walking along the creek.




This is the built here at home. I was using a dog house pop up blind and the second time in a day the door zipper froze shut. Went and bought some T1-11 that evening and the next evening had this blind as a ground blind. raised it after the season was over. It is only 4x4 but I have shot most of my deer from it since 2013. Plan is to move it soon and do a 5x5 in that location.



Still looking for other pictures of my other one.

 Al


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

Nice blinds.....
DD and former SIL use to get the newest and latest camo every year.......then hunt from box blinds like these....
You could wear a 3 piece suit...and no one would see you???

Anyway
Many people thought "stuff would leak out...


Take out what you don't want to hunt with.....


Refinements.....


How high do you want it?





BTW...Get any mice in yours?......I fight them every summer and fall.
Had a glue trap with a live mouse on it so it took the trap out and put on the ground....

Coyote came along and the glue stuck to his face as he was running off....LOL


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Looks great,I love these carpentry posts ,always looking for great ideas, just cant do the job any more..


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I quit doing Blinds, now just back up in the brush and set in my Chair.

When I first started Deer Hunting would wait on the ground for Deer to go by me then shoot them quartering away.

big rockpile


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

When I get real lazy....I just sit on the porch......


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Ya I have a mouse problem but those old victor spring traps work just fine except you have to remove the mice daily for a while. I should just catch a old cat and throw it in there with a kettle of water. One blind in the back I have a squirrel problem for about 2 weeks after the season opens then no more problem.

when I am really lazy I set in my recliner and have tell me she sees a buck in the front yard. Step out on the porch and shoot it. Then that messes up the lazy part cause i have to field dress it right away and cut it up a bit later.

. Al


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

I must had 6 or 7 of these near Rhinelander......Haven't been there in a few years.



Last few years have added the umbrella.....works slick....


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

hunter63 said:


> When I get real lazy....I just sit on the porch......


 Is that a Thompson Center Encore?


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Here's the real blind:









Back-up:









Chuck


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

gilberte said:


> Is that a Thompson Center Encore?


No,... that's a H&R Handi Rifle SS....wearing the .270 barrel (has interchangeable barrels).....has been my favorite "Go to " lately......
And is short enough to use comfortably in the port a potty blind.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Nice blind Chuck. A whole lot big for my taste and needs however.

 Al


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

My blind is two big trees that fell over forming a "V" about 400 yds behind the house. Heavy brush fills in the top of the "V".
Been using it for about ten years now. It sits right in the middle of three deer corridors between feeding and bedding areas and offers up shots from 15 to 75 yds. I'm going to stick my great nephew in there this year so he can hopefully get his first Deer.


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## Chuck R. (Apr 24, 2008)

Like a lot of stuff around here, it started small and simple.......

Chuck


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## JJ Grandits (Nov 10, 2002)

Ever since my daughter dropped a nice eight point out her kitchen window their favorite blind is the dining room. My son in law runs his food plots down the hill from the house. A nice 100 yd. shot through the dining room window.


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

I would never get in the woods if it wasn't to collect firewood. We get all the venison we want from the bathroom window just in order to get the deer to allow us a reasonable harvest from the garden.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

You need to put in enough garden for them too.....


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## gilberte (Sep 25, 2004)

I don't mind sharing a little, but they eat their fill and then invite their neighbors and friends if I don't "discourage" them


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Got any more pix of deer blinds


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Mine is in the chair at the tip of the arrow point.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Cabin, do you generally score from that position...


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

RonM said:


> Cabin, do you generally score from that position...


I've had some success.....


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Is that a Marlin 30-30 or a 94,looks like a Marlin, I have one of each...whenever I went to a rifle state I took one as a backup in case my Win Model 88 in 308 acted up.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

It is a Marlin. The Winchester 94 lever is straight not curved.


I skidded this blind today from the front yard to back behind the pole barn.



Is so wet here it skidded good, Bota in low low and idle along.


This one is going from the back to the front yard maybe.



would really like to put it back in my north east corner, but it is so wet I can not get it across the creek till mid summer 2018 if it isn't to wet of a year.


 Al


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

Here is my newest tower blind. I build them in my shop then haul them to position with tractor and forks.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

One of best blinds that I designed and built myself is shown below. It can be hauled out to your site with a 4 wheeler (or teenagers) in partially completed components and assembled on the spot by one person from the bottom up with no ladders (I did). A bit of work to assemble, but a nice stand! If you want plans, send me a PM. What is shown below is the scale model I built when I designed it. Also, the actual stand.

But my favorite "blind" is in my back shed looking out a small hole in the back wall, in a padded lawn chair, where wind direction and my own scent are no issue and I can "hunt" while I do my office work or read a book. Could even run internet back there if I wanted. As I get older and my spare time is eaten up by naps to make up for sleepless nights and a general "slowness" that comes with older age, I can appreciate this type of blind! I don't pretend to call this real hunting, it is more like harvesting.


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## barnbilder (Jul 1, 2005)

Mine is a John Deere with hay spikes. Seems to work good.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Lots of good looking blinds....I like Al's because it has an entrance platform...


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I put a porch on all of mine now.

 Al


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

The porch makes it easier to access the stand, can leave your cooler out there too. Just a good idea....


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

What you need a cooler for? I carry my tea in a couple big thermoses.


 Al


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

What do you guys do for heat , if anything, you are out of the wind and rain, but being cold is another issue for me....


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I have a duel fuel back pack Coleman cook stove I use in one blind. In another I use a propane back pack Coleman cook stove.

 Al


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

What about you other guys, for heat....


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

You would be surprized how much warmer it is just being out of the wind. Off the ground which is most time damp too.
A lot of people use the small Mister Heater single head heater on a smal propane tank
Some people use the one called my buddy, others use my big buddy. 

A friend in WV uses a old small propane space heater, has the thing hooked to a 20 pound tank setting under the blind.

 Al


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

OK it's not 'my' blind. It's my teenage sons. 
A Freind of mines brother bought an old warehouse. Inside was the tower portion and cage. They had been using it with a forklift to change bulbs....Uggh
If you look closely you'll see the stake pockets.

The I beam skid was part of equipment packaging I brought home from work. 

My 17yr old son put it together. It drags very well and is very stable. 
The roof frame is 1-1/2" EMT conduit. You can draw a bow without hitting anything.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

It looks top heavy,.hope you have it anchored well..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I don't know about top heavy that is a lot of iron at the base.

 Al


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## cpnkrunch (Dec 6, 2014)

I use a Polaris ATV. Pull up to where I want to hunt, shut it off, lock the brake. Nice soft seat. Bad weather, switch to the cab of my 560 Farmall. Back deck works too.


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

RonM said:


> It looks top heavy,.hope you have it anchored well..


Not Top heavy at all..... it's very base heavy...And has a wide foot print... 

And best of all the only $$ he or rather I, have in it are a few 6011 5/32 welding rods and the electricity to run the welder...


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Good deal, as long as it's safe...


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

We had to show momma how safe it was too..He's 17, but momma's still momma.
But if you look closely the tower is 24" web joists, ladder is 11/2" 1/4" angle, box is framed in the same angle. Floor is expanded metal. Walls are old Electrical switch board panel sides... roof Conduit is thin wall EMT. 
The base is HEAVY... far heavier than the tower. The 71/2" x 1/4"" I Beam lower frame and then the two 7' x 18" x 3/8" I-beam prices he used to bridge with and the two fork pockets out of 8" x 1/2" C channel add up to a bunch.. don't know exactly... But it's well over good enough to hold it up right... We pulled it up about 1/8 mile to the top feild in 4 the gear on the tractor... Never offered to tip...


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## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

RonM said:


> It looks top heavy,.hope you have it anchored well..


My opinion also, a good steady wind could shove it over. I'd anchor with a steel fence post at each corner.


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

Yesterday I saw what I think is a deer blind but it's so different from any others that I have seen I'm not sure. It looked like a 8' x 8' four man camouflage tent on a platform. I didn't get very close to it but it looks like it was sitting a ground level platform. The location looks good for deer.


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## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

Fishindude said:


> My opinion also, a good steady wind could shove it over. I'd anchor with a steel fence post at each corner.


I don't think it could possible tip as is. I guess what would concern me is that a strong wind could put a lot of torque where the bottom meets the base. But perhaps that is all steel at the bottom that is bolted or welded to the base.


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## bobp (Mar 4, 2014)

I sure didn't intend to get a huge debate going on this blind. 
I'm confident in its saftey. I'm 6'4 about 350#...I can't tip it... I tried. 
It won't tip. The 'roof' might blow off? But tipping over isn't happening...Barring of course a tornado severe straight line winds ECT...At which case nothing will stand the argument with God anyway... and no one will be using it in that kind of weather. 
I've explained all the steel that's in the base...I guess it's just not sinking in.
It's not only welded but it's welded hit and deep a few feet of bead has been run on it...With 5/32 6011 @ 100a. 
We pulled it over with the tractor to put the roof on... You have to tip it near 45° before it'll just lay on over. 

At this point all I can say is thank you for your concern. It'll be taken under advisement.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

For me just looking at the photo made it look top heavy, then you explained about the structure , cleared it up for me..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

If you look at the base looks to me like half a battle ship is in the base so I personally do see how it is top heavy.

 Al


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

I hunt a friend's property in a stand at the edge of the woods. A blind sure would be nice, though. The logical place for it would be in the middle of the roughly 200x200 yard hay field we hunt. We could sit back to back and cover the entire field with a maximum 100 yard shot. Alas, his wife would never agree to it as it is their "front yard".


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

Does it have any heat in it, all that steel will make it cold ...


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