New Deer Stand, built with my own ten thumbs.

SC_Mike

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I have a field in the back of my property about 2-3 acres I didn't hunt last year because I didn't have a stand. Back in May I decided to change all that. I had a friend with a drone come out and shoot some overhead pics of the property to find best placement as not to send a bullet through my truck or my outhouse, or another stand.

I wanted a good sized stand that I could stand up in and stretch out some. I decided on a 4x6x6 box basically with visibility 360 and no ladder, I wanted some kind of stairs.

The real key were the brackets that are available for the legs on the corners. The brackets kick the legs out at a 15 degree angle in two directions, making it easier to get the legs out on a more stable stance. You can find them if you do a search, or PM me and I'll tell you which I used.

I started with a basic 4'x6' frame made from treated 2''x8'' and a 3/4 inch treated plywood floor. Tied together tight with 2 1/2" outdoor deck screws, I didn't want any squeaks. The brackets are made for 4" 4x4 legs as long as you dare. I thought 10' would be enough.

Here's the floor on its legs after I had used the tractor to stand it up, then I added cross braces and used the bucket on the tractor to set it back in the edge of the trees. I couldn't get it exactly where I wanted so I settled on a spot over a rock pile the previous owner had created, giving me extra incentive not to fall during the building process.

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Here you can see the way I ran the framing for the sides, screwed securely to the frame so the 1/2 inch ply would go on the inside and screwed into the 2/4s on the "outside".

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The front corners I used 6'6'' 2x4s to get the roof high enough to stand up in and 6'2'' in the rear to get a decent fall for the rain water to run off. The roof is just three pieces of 1/2 inch treated cut to 2'x8' and screwed into three 2''x4'' rafters that ran front to back. I overlapped them as you would do shingles as not to get any leaks inside the box. I used minimum screws inside the box area and added silicon to the screw heads on the outside.

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I then felt the urge to camo it so I painted as I thought about my stairs and tried to remember my HS geometry.

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The stairs ended up a little more steep that I wanted but are very comfortable even for those of us of the "XL" persuasion... About a week ago I stopped painting as not to introduce anymore paint smells to the woods and field. This give it about six more weeks before the season begins for the scents to fade.

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I used some camo cloth to cover the windows and can pin sections up out of the way when hunting. Here's a few pics of the inside. I have added a small shelf for anything I may need. I added a urinal which runs two feet under ground. After a test run with the urinal I should have run it at an angle as not to get sounds of "falling water" back up the through the pipe. a couple of small sponges down the tube should take care of that.

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Anyway, I hope this helps someone who's thinking of building their own. I've got about $700.00 in it counting the brackets but I did use some scrap lumber and I had the chair and cloth. I spent roughly two days a week over a couple months on it by myself, with help probably half that time.

Any questions let me know or PM me.
 
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You might want to cover the plywood edges of the shooting slots with pipe insulation or a swimming pool tube to allow sliding your firearm back and forth quietly along with protecting your stock. I would add a coat hook too.

If you are in the habit of toting things in a backpack, consider attaching a length of para cord with a carabiner at the bottom so you don't have to climb wearing the pack, just clip the pack to the cord and pull it up behind you.

Oh, traction strips of some sort on the steps for those frosty mornings.
 
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Nice job. Makes those wet, frosty mornings a lot more comfortable.

I knew a guy in the Catskills who built a tree stand overlooking a trail merge that had to be a couple hundred sq feet. He had a couch, portable head, battery powered TV set with headphones, and a gas heater. You could spend a weekend up there in comfort, and he often did.

Me, I have always been more of a ground hunter / stalker. Had a couple bad experiences with home made tree stands years ago.

Larry
 
Mike...that's a nice set-up. Should be a comfy place to hunt (I'm envious :)).

I know S. Carolina has one of the earliest opening dates in the country, has your deer season started where you are located?

Don

10/11 to 1/1, but I usually wait until there's a good chill in the air. Usually about mid November...

Thanks all.
 
Paging SC Mike! Paging SC Mike!!

That TV guy from Treehouse Masters is on Line 1 for you!
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Shall I tell him you'll call him back when you get time?
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iu
 
Looks like a great job!! You can't over-build a deer stand!
And if you use a climber or fixed position stand, always wear a harness!
Years ago, I worked for a hunting products company as a design engineer.. and many of my designs are still being used by stand companies today.
An outfitter in Texas wanted three four-legged pods to be used in south Texas senderos. He said he couldn't find any that was tall enough for his needs... I asked, what was tall enough.. his answer was "oh, about 20 or 30 feet."
The three pods were around 24' to the floor.. they had a fiberglass "house" on top that was 7' high.. overall they were about 32' high. The box was insulated with spray foam and had foldout plexiglass windows on all sides... the legs set on four concrete pads. I ask him if he also want aircraft warning lights on them..
We called the the stand.. "Podzilla".
 
Very nice build. I like the way you thought out the details. We have several permanent enclosed stands that we've built through the years similar to yours. Typically they're dry and comfortable and I've taken a few nice bucks from them.

The past few years, though, I've gone with something a little more portable. Of course, portable is a relative term, in this case we set them up for the season and if it turns out we don't like the spot after hunting there we can relocate it for the next season. Not quite as comfy as a stick built stand, but they're dry and protected from the wind.

Bottom picture is my 79 year old dad trimming out his stand for the season.

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Very nice build. I like the way you thought out the details. We have several permanent enclosed stands that we've built through the years similar to yours. Typically they're dry and comfortable and I've taken a few nice bucks from them.

The past few years, though, I've gone with something a little more portable. Of course, portable is a relative term, in this case we set them up for the season and if it turns out we don't like the spot after hunting there we can relocate it for the next season. Not quite as comfy as a stick built stand, but they're dry and protected from the wind.

Bottom picture is my 79 year old dad trimming out his stand for the season.

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Nice job. I like the ladder set up wit the way you kicked the bottom out.

Good to see your father out helping. I hope you two have a great hunt season and beyond!
 

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