elevated box stands

[mjcmichigan]

Hi Jim, I went to the junk yard and found a couple barely used bench seats from
Mini vans. They sit might warm and if you need a nap.. you can hog the bench to yourself. I never insulated mine. The biggest mistake I made was leaving a mineral lick in it over the winter.. the mice got in and found it… took a couple seasons and some tin around the legs to keep them
From crawling in. Always took a can of wasp spray in in late august or early September in case I needed to evict anyone. Worse was hornets that built a nest on the back side of the door.. couldn’t get in without pissing them off… finally opened the door in daylight, took cover. Came back after dark and killed the hole nest without incident.

For insulation… consider a spray pack or foam board cut tightly to size.

In Michigan I could use close to a 1 # can a day. Was way nice to have a 20# tank and just take it in by quad before season starts.. take it and the heater out after season. I think the mice ruined on of my lil buddy heaters.

 

[jimbires]

I'm bringing this one back up . I know a few of you guys that asked me to keep them in the loop on this project . I didn't forget you guys , we just haven't got much more done . we did manage to get the poles in the ground , at each of the three locations . we've been talking about getting on this project after the weather breaks . it looks like we have the money now , to do this . I'll be sure to update this thread when things happen .

we will "X" brace the poles . bolt header board across the poles . put joists across the headers , and set the blinds on . anchor it all together . I think it should be good . after we get a bit of a deck to stand on , we can cut the poles to length .

 

[salmonchaser]

I'm bringing this one back up . I know a few of you guys that asked me to keep them in the loop on this project . I didn't forget you guys , we just haven't got much more done . we did manage to get the poles in the ground , at each of the three locations . we've been talking about getting on this project after the weather breaks . it looks like we have the money now , to do this . I'll be sure to update this thread when things happen .

we will "X" brace the poles . bolt header board across the poles . put joists across the headers , and set the blinds on . anchor it all together . I think it should be good . after we get a bit of a deck to stand on , we can cut the poles to length .

View attachment 25024

With that much work your stands should stand up to a tornado! Sure looks like a comfortable way to hunt, I need to go hunt in Texas sometime.

 

[JD338]

Thanks for the update Jim. What height are you raising the blinds to?
I'm limited with my tractor and frankly not real comfortable lifting a 1000 lb box blind up 8 feet. My tractor weighs about 7000 lbs and lifting it to 8 feet makes me think things could get real dicey quick. I have a buddy who has a Pettibone forklift and will bring it over to set my blinds on platforms. Going up 10 feet would be ideal.

JD338

 

[jimbires]

With that much work your stands should stand up to a tornado! Sure looks like a comfortable way to hunt, I need to go hunt in Texas sometime.

the guys have hunted out of them two seasons with them setting on the ground . they tell me they are very comfy , and easy to shoot out of . we put a little buddy heater in them . the guys say they open the windows when they get in and turn the heater on . I thought they would open the windows as needed, but apparently the heater keeps up enough with them open . it seems to be always windy on the lease , just getting out of the wind is a big help .

 

[jimbires]

Thanks for the update Jim. What height are you raising the blinds to?
I'm limited withy tractor and frankly not real comfortable lifting a 1000 lb box blind up 8 feet. My tractor weighs about 7000 lbs and lifting it to 8 feet makes me think things could get real dicey quick. I have a buddy who has a Pettibone forklift and will bring it over to set my blinds on platforms. Going up 10 feet would be ideal.

JD338

JD , the box blind floor will be 10 foot high . 10 foot I think is a good all around height . it's high enough to see good out of , and to hide your scent . it's not too high so the guys will use them . I'm always surprised at guys being uncomfortable climbing up into a stand . I want everyone to use these without fear . all three of the blinds are out in open areas . these areas are planted with trees from when the coal job got backfilled and planted . so in time things will grow up , and get thick . I'm not sure how the stand placements will be when that happens , time will tell.

I'd take your buddy up on the offer to lift your blinds . I'm not saying you couldn't do it with your tractor , but if something goes wrong it could be bad . three of our members still work for the tire company that said we could use their truck to lift these . so lifting them for us is no problem . we'll rope them and get the truck boom above the blind . with the blind hanging it should go easy . in my mind I've done this a million times , I hope it goes as planned . LOL when we go to lift them , I'd like to have Denise video it on my phone . if I get a video I'll let you guys know . maybe someone can get the video posted on this thread for me .