Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

ok, cool, but what's the "FM Forum"?

The way we did it with elk was to have a section of chain on the gambrels. We hooked the block and tackle to the gambrel then hoisted it up and wraped the chain over the pole and secured it. We were then able to loosen up the block and tackle and free it without having to support the animal.

I usually hang my animals by the hocks to make skinning easier, which we usually do pretty soon after harvest.

Steel pipe works really well because a rope slides over it easily. 3" would seem about right, although that is probably overkill, from a strength perspetive. Shade is important, and I would mount it where I could back a truck under it, and where I could use a truck to hoist an animal up. It would also be nice if it was close to a hose.

I am a hang-from-the-hocks fan.

By the way, I have really been enjoying this thread.

Thanks guys, I guess I might try to utilize input here in the meat pole project. I'm thinking probably a tamarack pole lashed between a couple trees in the spot I have picked out & I like the idea of individual chain hanging points on the pole from which individual pulleyes could be hung or a block & tackle could be moved into various possitions used to hoist a gambrel to the hook point off the pole.

I like that big pipe idea & could see that working well, but I aint got one & can't really go & buy one right now.


for this weekend there might be a little tractor work to do on the access trail to the property, some sheeting to be done in the inside of the cabin, and maybe start builing interior walls for the bunk rooms.

I'll stay out there tomorrow night, guess we have plans for tonight.

thanks guys.. til monday,
Dave out.

Well, another good weekend out at the shack.

Me & my oldest boy built all of the interior walls yesterday before we left & we also installed a new wood stove on Sat. I ended up getting the cast iron boxwood jobby I posted a picture of a little while back. seems to work prety well.

here's a few pictures of the inside with the walls up.

Veddy veddy nice, Dave, your kids will continue thanking you for it long after...

Dave,

Holy Crap.....We had that same couch in our house when I was a kid!!!!! When my folks got rid of it, my uncle took it out to our hunting shack. Might still be there, have to check this w/e.

As to the meat pole, I've seen a piece of square tube used with the hitch coupler still attached. It was a trailer tongue at one time, how about an old clothes line pole???

Jeff

Looking good. Dog looks pooped. Basset hound?

I mounted a boat crank chained to a tree with cable on the base of the tree and hung two pulleys chained on a limb. Instead of a 150 angle, I have a 60 and 90, so it really cranks easy. We have small deer, but my 6 year old raised her own doe off the ground. We also spread some used bricks underneath to eliminate a muddy spot.
When we get one cranked up, we swing him over to another hook and undo the first to let him hang "over there".
Clear as mud, right? The boat crank ain't free, but I figure I will have it many years.
stumpy

yeah, lucy the basset hound. there might be a lab on the couch in that photo, he's as black as the ace of spades so it would be hard to see him on the couch with the poor lighting.

they were both up on the couch for a while yesterday, they can't get away with that at home, in fact, they can't even come in the house at home (I have a heated shop with a doggy door)

boat winch huh stumpy? boy there must be a million uses for a boat trailer winch... good idea.

Dave

Very Nice! I didn't read all of it but what I did it sounds like you're having a great time vcreating your hunting camp. If you weren't so far away I would volunteer to come out and "witch" a well site for you. I would think there is probably a water vein or two close to the camp.
Hand driving a well is a bit of work but is you use a tripod with a large pulley at the apex, some 1'2" rope , and a heavy driver , it's not too bad. Having driven several well points in the past coupleof years I sure learned the ways of making it a bit easier.

hmm, very interesting.

Actually I think i can witch it myself, that seems to work for me. and I think a sand point will drive pretty easily for me as it seems to be like sugar sand for ayt least 6 ft down turning into a blend of gravel. (we had a cat out there pushing up some fill & making a pond.)

might have to pick your brain a little for sand point tips, do's & dont's or what ever.

I suggest going with a 60 mesh point ANything finer will clog up. Also use two inch well pipe. It comes in five foot length. If you know how to witch you should also be able to tell how deep the water vein is. A pitcher pump will pull about 22-24ft. If you hit a vein at that depth you will usually get a "head" of about 6 feet of water up the pipe. Use drive couplings and tighten the the lengths of pipe as tight as you can get them with 36" pipe wrench, plus a little more. Use teflon pipe tape for the joints. You'll know you're in the vein when you can't fill up the pipe no matter how fast you pour water into it.
If need be I can take pictures of the trip pod, driver set up at a well I'm helping to drive right now and send them to you

DaGriz,
I would like to see the pictures of that tripod setup. I am building a lake cabin in northern MN and thinking about doing a sandpoint too. Not sure if it is possible because my neighbor drilled a 130' well and he is at a 20'lower elevation and closer to lake level.
I have been watching this thread because of my current project and to get a feel for how my grandfather felt when they built our hunting shack 52 years ago.
Humdinger

Griz, that is much appreciated info & any more expertise you can share including pics is also much appreciated. Sounds like Humdinger is also looking for some sandpoint schooling.

Humdinger, my cabin project has been a lot of work, but can not compare to anything our grandfathers built. What I mean is the physical labor & speed part, The inside of my right hand, between my thumb & forfinger there is a callussed arch from framing/sheeting nailer & cordless drills. That's my cheater mark.... I shouldn't have been able to be as far as I am right now with the time I've had.

Our grandfathers swung hammers.. man, they worked hard. hand saws, everything was hand tools, yeah 52 years ago there were power tools by it's unlikely there was a way to use them out at a cabin site.

I think back 25+ years back when I "helped" build a hunting cabin that still stands today. I was a boy, about my oldest boy's age. We had modern finished lumber & modern sheeting materials much like I've been using on our current project. But there were no cordless drills or cordless framing nailers.

my project is zooming along like a rocket compared to what it would be without a few modern tools.

I told my wife 7 or 8 years ago when I bought my paslode nailer for building our house, told her after the first day of using it "well, that thing paid for itself today, every day it stays working from here out is just a bonus."

I strongly strongly suggest to anyone embarking on this sort of project that works full time & builds in his/her "spare time" These cordless nailers are a must, they shoot framers & sheeters and you don't need an air compressor. And the drills, cordless drills. Gotta have that stuff.

Dave coming along great, looks like you are doing a great job!

When hand driving a well point the critical one item is to be 99% certain there is a water vein no deeper than 24ft. ANything deeper than that is too far to be drawn by a hand pump or even an electric shallow well pump. Once you find the spot use a post hole digger to make a hole at least three feet deep. Much easier to start pounding when the point in the ground. You have to keep the pipe straight when starting, so use a 3ft or better level
Hand driveing in a spot that was "witched" also runs the chance that the vein is not big enough. I've witched a few wells that could only produce 1-1/2gal a minute. You really need at least 5 gal a minute. The tripod set up is nothing more than three hardwood poles about 16ft long, chained together at the top and set up over the hole. A big pulley is hung from the chain and the driver is pulled up by rope and then let drop to drive the point. If it quits raining here and I head out to the cabin site I'll take some pictures.
You will need a drive cap and a short 8-10" nipple. The nipple is screwed into the coupling at the top of the pipe and the drive cap onto it. This will help prevent damage to the pipe sections. My driver is extremely heavy, which makes driving a bit faster but lifting a bit more tiring. I also advise to put a heavy bumper into your driver so the drive cap does not hit metal when you are driving. I use a 2" thick piece of hard rubber matting that slips into the driver.

Cool Griz, very cool.

Hey guys.... Gunrack!!! I want a gunrack!!

in our old shack we had a gun rack that one of my uncles made I think. it is located in the center of the shack at the end of a coule of bunks. It holds like.. oh I dunno, 8-10 rifles vertical & it has a storage shelf above for boxes of ammo & what not, lots of hunting pictures are tacked up all over the outside.

I want one, doesn't have to be like the one in the old shack but I really like the idea of a gunrack out in the general living area for several reasons. I don't like guns stashed away here & there, hanging off bunk ends & leaning in the corners etc. I like having them all were everyone can see them in plain view uncased with the actions open indicating a safe rifle. They get to air out & dry this way & they also get some attention as they tend to get passed around & looked at by other hunters in the group.

Anybody got any good ideas for a gun rack design? Pictures?

Somehow the $3500 for a drilled well is more appealing now...

The story of our cabin is a 12 x 24 structure that they built in one weekend. It had eight bunks in the end (double bed bunks) with the kitchen table as overflow sleeping. I assume they had 8 guys building it and it is a simple structure, but it probably took every waking moment to get it done. I suspect that generation of men didn't know anything but hard work and it was just a little sweat for hunting passion. Of course some of the finish work was asphalt roll roofing on top and a similar product with brick pattern for the outside so this was "built for speed".
Only one old guy is left and he was a son of the founder. Every one who contributed to the building owned a voting share and there were club rules that still hold today even if it is only my brother and myself out there.
I recently had breakfast with the last founder and he told me why we shut the propane off for the stove and lights at night (kereosene stove heat if you wonder). We always thought it was for safety or concern about the old copper lines leaking. The real reason was decades ago my grandfather got up to take a leak late at night after a drinking night and he turned on the propane lamp and forgot to light it! Someone woke up to the stink and aired the place out before anyone got sick and that spawned the "no propane at night" rule that still stands today. We don't trust the 50 year old aooliance at times...

Enough high jacking the thread. This just brought back memories. Dave, please leave the cabin a little rustic so people will keep it in the perspective of "hunting shack"!

Humdinger

don't worry about high jacking anything that's crazy talk.

yeah I want "rustic" the whole inside is sheeted with OSB as I got it for about 4.50 a sheet back in May. I'd like to cover the inside with rough sawn plank boards or something similar to give it that rustic cabin apeal. Don't get me wrong, the light colored planed tongue & groove stuff is beautiful but I'm not sure it's the direction I want to go with this place.

I have a friend at work here that has a huge stack of very old tongue & groove boards from an old impliment sales building that was supposedly taken apart over 50 years ago. If the building was taken apart 50 years ago it isn't unlikely that it was standing for 50 years prior. the boards are likely 100 years old or better.

they are "planed" on one side & rough on the other. I suppose you would call them about a 1x4 that probably nets about... 3.5" of coverage?

Well, the rough side looks freekin super crazy awesome IMO, and I figure this huge stack he has is enough to do my entire interior walls & ceiling!! He just told me to give him 900 bucks, take the stack now & pay him when I can....

evil man tempting me with this super cool rustic T&G!!!!

I wonder if I need both my kidneys? I know I can't part with my liver, I need that to filter my malt beverage drinking fluids.... Hmmmm, I have to think of something....