Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting deer stand ideas sought

Hunters,
Years ago we quit doing tree stands due to the maintenance and started putting up 4 post stands that have done well. They are 15 years old, but the rot is showing and the bears seem to like clawing and biting chunks out of the posts. There are 4' x 4' with about 4' side walls and a rail all around. A little tin roof was added to protect against snow or rain in these last few warm years.
I am looking for ideas for the next generation deer stand. They need to be reasonable cost since several need to be built. Every year we haul in & out old office chairs and I would like to be able to leave them out there in the new ones with out weathering too bad. Trying to avoid building cabins in the sky also! Someguys may build window stands with heaters and some of us may be open sides still with some simple roof.
Please send me your ideas on windows, heaters, roofs, ladders, doors, ideal size dimensions (for one and two person stands). Pictures are great.
Blaze away!
h

Here is an example of one I have been using for years. I have them all over the property.

This blind is my favorite size.





I built several before I got it right.
The windows are 1/4 inch thick plexiglass, hinged at the top. They swing up and use a screen door hook to hold them in the up position. That arrangment is quiter that sliding windows.

The side windows are off center and there are no openings in the back. This helps hide movement from inside the blind. The door is big enough to go through standing up and placed on the left side. That makes it handier for a right handed shooter.
The metal roof will last forever.
the walls are 2x2 framed pannels of 1/4 inch plywood. The sides are 6'x4', the front is two 6'x3' pannels, and the back consist of one pannel and the door frame. It's pre built at home and put together on site with a cordless drill and dry wall screws.
I put a 2x4 under the window sills to rest a sand bag on and a little shelf to hold the bionoculars and thermos jug.
The floor is covered with scrap carpet. The heater keeps the youngun's warm without spending a lot of money for insulated clothes they will out grow before next season.

You do not have to put a blind like this on stilts. I've used them sitting on the ground and on top of a high bluff.

I built the base this blind is on from oil field pipe, angle iron, square tubing, and expanded metal. It is assembled with nuts and bolts and can be broken down and moved by two people in an afternoon.

Almost all of the materials were scrounged. I have about twenty dollars invested in it. Not counting the heater and propane tank.

My son loves it.

PDS -
Nice tower stand ! But does the propane heater smell run off the deer ? Man, I'm scared to poot in a stand for fear of the deer smelling me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

No. And breaking wind ain't a problem form 200 yards away either. Well, for some it might be.... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

Here's the stand I've hunted from for 3 or 4 years now. It is 8' by 6' with 6' walls, and about 10' off the ground.
It contains 2 office type chairs that stay in year 'round. The floor is covered with a piece of old carpet and the windows are a mix of reclaimed glass and plexiglass, which slide. I've got 2 shelves in each front corner and plan to put in another across the front wall above the windows. Exterior walls and roof are metal sheeting and it sits on metal racking cabled to the ground.The walls and ceiling are insulated and lined inside with 3/8 plywood. The door is framed with 3/4 plywood inside with metal on the outside, with styrofoam sandwiched between. Like PDS, I prefabbed everything at home out of salvaged material and then assembled it on site with deck screws. Heat is via a Mr Heater tank top heater on a 20 lb propane bottle, has 3 settings and works well in our climate.
The size is about right for 2 people, wouldn't want it any smaller and if you go much bigger, heating it would become problematic.
I went with putting in a set of stairs for several reasons. Surpisingly, I'm not getting any younger <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and I hope to be able to use this stand for the next 20 years or more. From a safety stand point it makes sense when trying to pack in all my equipment and heater etc. And my parents, altho not hunters, enjoy joining me every now and again, and the thought of them trying to climb a ladder at their age, bothers me big time.
I believe the biggest benifit to building such a stand, is that it allows me to go into my stand before daylight and stay until well after dark, comfortably. The amount of deer movement I now see at mid day, has been a real eye opener to what I had been missing.
Hope this has been of some help. If you have any questions, just fire away and I'm sure someone here will be able to answer it. Good luck on a project that really is worth doing. You'll love it when your done.

And just a thought on one person stands. If it is to be closed in, do not make it too small. The stand I built before this one was 4' x 4', and it cost me several nice bucks because I could not comfortably manouver myself and rifle fast enough. I believe 4'x6' would be my minimum. That said, I took my best buck to date from that small stand. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

COLT357!!

There ya are! Where's the monster? I check here every 5-minutes, I'm not sleeping, my wife left me, my dog hates me, MY GAWD I NEED AN UPDATE!!!!

Nice stands guys.
Alberta - is that canada you are in? How did you get that heater to work with the windows?
I tried a enclosed stand made from a converted fish house and the windows would fog up from my mr heater head on those cold MN mornings. There was no where for the moisture from combustion to go, but to make frost on the windows. Sliding windows didnt work for me.
A strange question - has anyone installed a urinal or lugable loo in their stand so you can sit longer?
Keep the ideas coming. Great pic's.
h

When the heater is on at least two windows are open, usualy all four.

I use a liquid laundry detergent jug for a urinal. My youngest son does not have the "aim" for that yet so I keep a 3 gallon bucket with a lid and about two inches of kitty litter on the bottom for his use.

I've spent the entire day in my blind also. A small FM radio with ear buds, snacks, drinks, and a good book help pass the time when there are no critters to look at.

With my bad back and knees I need to stand up and strech from time to time. Being fully inclosed sure helps hide all the movement. Altho I do feel very silly sitting there dressed out in full cammo.

My blind is 4' deep 6' wide, and 6' tall. That's just large enough for two and the heater. I would not want it any smaller.

I know this isn't what you were asking about, but it is my favorite deer hunting seat as long as it isn't rainning.

Don't have any pics, but this year for a semi-permanent stand I built a 5X5 platform on 12' 4by's and put one of those pop up ground blinds on top of it. It has enough room inside for an old office chair, a bucket for a 2nd person, and a heater.

I "stands" on my two hind legs, and stalks 'em. Saves a lot on wood/heater/furniture etc.