Anyone build a blind / platform with a bottom access hatch?

[FeelsLikeFar]

In full platform planning mode. Most of the week I was building a blind (in my head). This afternoon I've switched back again to buying an Out-of-Sight 5 side blind.

Either way, that's less relevant to my question. I plan on making the platform 7-8 feet in the air. Better view of course, but in part for security. I plan on a removable ladder, keep the less motivated out, as well as keeping the children in the family out. My thought were making the platform larger at the back would make entry and exit safer, with the addition of a hand rail. But I keep thinking about making a climb through hatch. Then I could just leave the ladder there and put a lock on the hatch. Also thinking that sitting on the floor and stepping on the ladder would be safer in the dark than climbing off a ladder on to a narrow rear deck. Also, if I buy a blind, I could put the door it the front as an archery opening. Also I could make the platform smaller, cheaper, easier to put up and less attractive for children to climb around the outside of.

Making a hatch would be a bit more work, but would also be saving me a bunch of work on the back end, plus the hassle and moving/removing the ladder all the time.

So has anyone made/bought a platform with a climb through hatch?

 

[rocksnstumps]

Have hatches in my homemade blinds. They are direct access inside the blinds not to some outside platform. I.e. no regular door either. They work fine for me yet can see issues as one ages and loses flexibility and such. And if you add a bunch of weight. Have a friend that he still manages ok but he and his brother are big fellas to begin with. Add a bunch of weight like his brother and he complains my hatches are too small. Sorry but not making a 3' x 3' hatch and dealing with framing that out. You do have to be careful if you add a floor covering for seams to be fastened down good on perimeter of hatch so a chair can roll over them quietly and easily. I like using old rolling office chairs from work they replaced awhile back.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I prefer a platform with access by stairs and a door. We had one stand with a hatch, but it was more difficult to get in and out while carrying a gun, bow, heavy clothes and boots. If there are concerns about theft, you could add a lock on the stand door. I have one stand that has a ladder access and it is kind of a pain in the butt getting in quietly in the dark and steps are much easier. Good luck and take lots of pictures and share what you end up with.

 

[Dogshooter]

I have built both and would prefer a door over a hatch. I often have a kid with me and the blind with a hatch is a pain moving chairs around to get in and out and having room to open and close that hatch, especially with two people. And the blind is 6’x6’ so it’s not small.

Much prefer the other blinds I have with doors.

 

[356]

I have done the climb through hatch once...and never again. I finally converted that blind over a traditional access using a ladder.

Disadvantages of Deer Blind Access Hatches

• Difficult Entry and Exit: Entering through the floor requires vertical climbing, which can be challenging, especially for older hunters like me, especially when wearing heavy winter clothing.
• Physical Safety Risk: The hatch door itself can be awkward and WILL fall on the hunter's head at some point while navigating the ladder.
• Guns and Gear Challenges: Bringing bulky items like bows, rifles, bows, backpacks, bows, and safety gear, bows, up through a floor hatch is more cumbersome than walking through a side door. Did I mention it is a pain to get a bow through?
• Ladder/Stair Issues: The required ladder or stairs are often positioned directly underneath the blind, which can make it harder to maneuver through the supports and braces.

The 5 panel outta site blinds have been good (I have two 5 panel and one 4 panel). I have one that I use a removable ladder as you are proposing and that works great. There are several ways you can hide the ladder. Consider a folder that you can "hide" under the platform.

 

[bigboreblr]

In the industrial world, when there is a hatch; they usually have a pop up post for a handrail. Helps with that frist step down, last step up. Box in a 2x4 on the floor frame. Have the 2x4 slide out of the hole when your inside.

 

[FeelsLikeFar]

One thing I have lots of experience with is hatches. lol Why I'm considering it.
Pop up poles make it much easier for sure with an elevated hatch. But flat hatches (which you don't find on roofs but in mechanical spaces) are a lot easier to crawl out of. Getting down you just sit on your butt, stick your legs in the hole and put them on the ladder. Fireman's pole? Playset slide? ;)

 

[Turkey Creek]

I built our enclosed tower blind with bottom hatch access; I didn't want to mess with buying a door. Its ok for now, but is a bit of a PIA getting a bow and anything else up through the hatch. I can reach the floor standing on the ground, so its really not that high. I am not likely to build another in the future, would likely just buy one and it would have a side door enterance.

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

I have a hatch on a 54” wide x 66” long blind. The blind is 8’ tall. The blind is a gun only blind.

I don’t mind it, but my 67 year old father hates it.

Pros:
-No door and sort of easier to build - no door framing, and especially
-I think you can be stealthier gettting in and out, without this huge mass walking up and down a staircase or ladder outside the blind
-Significantly smaller blind foot print when compared to a blind with a well built staircase
-The ladder in stays a lot cleaner if you have snow or especially ice

Cons:
-Getting in and out for older, less mobile hunters, this includes getting through the support beams; as others have mentioned. My access is 2’x2’. It still feels small with my winter gear on.
-Getting rifles in out, I don’t have one in the chamber when I take two steps up the ladder and lean the rifle against the wall, then throw my pack up.
-The hinges will always be in the way of your rolling office chair, placing the access panel along the side with hinges along the side would expose you to a falling access cover
-Even with a small access hole, and adequate bracing, your office chair will make noice when they roll over the access cover. In a small blind (under 6x8) where the access cover needs to be in the middle of the blind, I wouldn’t even put hinges, I’d just let it rest on framing and slide it over then back when I got in the blind
-It’s always a pain the lift the access cover, put your gear up, climb up then have to put the access cover down, slide chairs over the cover, then get situated. This is noisy and a ruckus. Not a problem in my blind, because it’s on a food source and I don’t hunt it in the morning, but if I was hunting cover in the morning, I could feel myself cringing at the thought of all that noise.

 

[roymunson]

Ours are custom 6 sided units but they're all bottom hatch entry.

I like that we're sitting on/sealing the door. it works unless the hatch is just wrong and when you flip the lid it won't go over center to stay open.

But it works well for us.

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]