Best blind windows and designs

[j-bird]

OK - I've searched and searched and I'm tired of searching. I'm also going against my own nature and trying to not be such a tight ass! As such I am looking for the best (reasonably priced) blind windows for my soon to be shooting house on a gravity cart project. I have tried to make my own windows on 2 different previous builds and they work OK, but I want something better. So...with all that said. What works best for you guys? I have looked at Deerview and I am torn between slider windows and flip up windows...mostly because the sliders are twice the cost. However I think the slider would seal better. I don't expect scent tight....but I'm tired or the damn mice and wasps. I'm OK with home-made, but I am looking for critter and weather tight and being able to see while being sealed up (to retain heat during the colder temps).

What works for you guys? Just bite the bullet and get normal windows? Deerview flip type, Deerview slider type, something else????

 

[ghilliehunter]

OK - I've searched and searched and I'm tired of searching. I'm also going against my own nature and trying to not be such a tight ass! As such I am looking for the best (reasonably priced) blind windows for my soon to be shooting house on a gravity cart project. I have tried to make my own windows on 2 different previous builds and they work OK, but I want something better. So...with all that said. What works best for you guys? I have looked at Deerview and I am torn between slider windows and flip up windows...mostly because the sliders are twice the cost. However I think the slider would seal better. I don't expect scent tight....but I'm tired or the damn mice and wasps. I'm OK with home-made, but I am looking for critter and weather tight and being able to see while being sealed up (to retain heat during the colder temps).

What works for you guys? Just bite the bullet and get normal windows? Deerview flip type, Deerview slider type, something else????

Jbird, I went with a horizontal slider on sale at Menards like $55 each. They're cheaper than Deerview and keep out bugs and the weather.

 

[Native Hunter]

I put regular double hung Pella windows in my new blind. You can raise the bottom one to shoot while setting down or lower the top one to shoot while standing up. If you measure and hang them correctly, you can even lay your rifle on top of the windows when you lower the top one to take a standing shot. I just used all the money I have saved over my life from quitting smoking to buy them.

 

[yoderjac]

OK - I've searched and searched and I'm tired of searching. I'm also going against my own nature and trying to not be such a tight ass! As such I am looking for the best (reasonably priced) blind windows for my soon to be shooting house on a gravity cart project. I have tried to make my own windows on 2 different previous builds and they work OK, but I want something better. So...with all that said. What works best for you guys? I have looked at Deerview and I am torn between slider windows and flip up windows...mostly because the sliders are twice the cost. However I think the slider would seal better. I don't expect scent tight....but I'm tired or the damn mice and wasps. I'm OK with home-made, but I am looking for critter and weather tight and being able to see while being sealed up (to retain heat during the colder temps).

What works for you guys? Just bite the bullet and get normal windows? Deerview flip type, Deerview slider type, something else????

I guess guys up north want actual windows. In my area, I'm more worried about concealment than extreme weather protection. I build mine with 4x4s providing the structural integrity. I don't use studs or insulation. I simply tack T111 type siding on the 4x4s for walls. This lets me make entire sides windows if I want. More windows equal more visibility, but that is visibility in as well as out. Any light entering the blind helps game see movement inside the blind. To minimize that, I just use T111 as my window. I hinge it at the top and push it out with braces a the bottom. Since my blinds are elevated, I open them just as much as I need to shoot. The fact that they are pushed out at the bottom shades much light from entering the blind. There is nothing to open in the presence of game either. I open them at the beginning of the season.

You may be far enough north that this might not fit you. Details of my construction and windows are here: http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/foodplot-stand-transfered-from-the-qdma-forum.5529/

 

[144]

Check out The Original Deer Blind Window Company (yeah, weird name). I bought some of the framed swing sash and I’ve been real happy with them. Wanted to go with deerview, but their lead times were just too long for my project. I had custom sizes built and TODBWC had them shipped to me in a little over a week. They’ve got a lot of sizes in stock, which is what I will probably use on future stands. Pricing is about the same as DeerView.

FYI - I’m not affiliated with them, just happy with the product and turnaround time. Don’t see much posted about them anywhere you online so thought I’d mention it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[swat1018]

We used 36" x 36" sliders from Menards too. I got the double sliders. We used a 24" x 24" on the side with the door. The 24's would probably have sufficed all the way around. We open each side of the double slider about 8" and have black curtains on all windows that we can also slide toward the center. It's like having 2 8x36" shooting windows on each side, when open. Got them on sale for less than $60.

 

[willy]

Whatever you go with I recommend sliders. Prior to converting my flips to sliders I was busted by deer flipping windows open because of the sun glare movement. Hasn't happened since.(6 years ago). I think windows are the most important feature of a blind and skimping on them is a mistake.

Also I would build awning for each window to help keep moister and light from getting in. It really helps keep the inside of blind darker.

 

[hillrunner]

Sliders make noise when they open, the track fills up with bugs and debris over time. The track is also prone to getting iced over in the winter and freezing shut. Being a bow Hunter, they also don't open up enough.
I used sliders on one blind build many years ago, they didn't work for me at all.
Swing in windows open silently and gives you the entire opening to shoot out of. I would not mount them horizontally since then you have to mess with hooking them open somehow and you can't easily stop with the window partially open if a deer notices you.

 

[j-bird]

Thanks for the responses. I am using actual windows. I will look into your various suggestions as there are some that are new to me... The first blind I simply used top hinged solid window covers. They work fine, but the deer can tell if the window is open, and you can't retain heat - but they are fully adjustable and create their own awning. My second blind I used a homemade slider type window and that works better....but I still have issues with the critter and bug access as they don't seal well. These blinds really changed my means of being able to hunt with my kids and hunt conditions that would have otherwise kept me at home. I'm not trying to build the Taj-Mahal, but between the mouse poop clean up before season AND the holding onto the ladder with one hand and a can of wasp spray in the other to chase off the flying squatters.....it's time for an upgrade!

I hunt with my kids (and I hate the cold) and sometimes in late November and December its nice to be able to retain heat from a little heater and stay out of the wet and wind. I like the idea of the awning to create shade and keep inside the blind dark. I will admit that I never thought about the slider window freezing closed....that would frustrate me. I think if I went with a double slider I would at least be able to open up 1/2 the window should that happen. I will avoid a single slider...just to save myself that frustration.

Unlike Native...I have never smoked....so I can't go crazy with dropping coin on windows. I however do agree that the more I do this the more I need to focus on the windows and sealing up the blind better. Just like with my habitat work....my blind design is evolving. At first I just wanted something to work on a shoestring budget....now, well now....the details matter more and more.

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks for the responses. I am using actual windows. I will look into your various suggestions as there are some that are new to me... The first blind I simply used top hinged solid window covers. They work fine, but the deer can tell if the window is open, and you can't retain heat - but they are fully adjustable and create their own awning. My second blind I used a homemade slider type window and that works better....but I still have issues with the critter and bug access as they don't seal well. These blinds really changed my means of being able to hunt with my kids and hunt conditions that would have otherwise kept me at home. I'm not trying to build the Taj-Mahal, but between the mouse poop clean up before season AND the holding onto the ladder with one hand and a can of wasp spray in the other to chase off the flying squatters.....it's time for an upgrade!

I hunt with my kids (and I hate the cold) and sometimes in late November and December its nice to be able to retain heat from a little heater and stay out of the wet and wind. I like the idea of the awning to create shade and keep inside the blind dark. I will admit that I never thought about the slider window freezing closed....that would frustrate me. I think if I went with a double slider I would at least be able to open up 1/2 the window should that happen. I will avoid a single slider...just to save myself that frustration.

Unlike Native...I have never smoked....so I can't go crazy with dropping coin on windows. I however do agree that the more I do this the more I need to focus on the windows and sealing up the blind better. Just like with my habitat work....my blind design is evolving. At first I just wanted something to work on a shoestring budget....now, well now....the details matter more and more.

All good points. My blinds are built for my area, so I actually want to avoid heat retention. Mine are designed to create an updraft where hot air is released at the top. As for deer telling if the windows are open, that is easy to handle for me. I open the windows of all my blinds before the season starts (and spray them with permethrin). I also hang out blaze orange rectangles on all 4 sides (a good idea and required by law in my state during rifle season). Deer quickly acclimate to these. What deer notice is the change from closed to open. By leaving them open all season, there is no change. The only reason I close them after the season is that buzzards decided they like them for nesting!

Thanks,

Jack

 

[j-bird]

All good points. My blinds are built for my area, so I actually want to avoid heat retention. Mine are designed to create an updraft where hot air is released at the top. As for deer telling if the windows are open, that is easy to handle for me. I open the windows of all my blinds before the season starts (and spray them with permethrin). I also hang out blaze orange rectangles on all 4 sides (a good idea and required by law in my state during rifle season). Deer quickly acclimate to these. What deer notice is the change from closed to open. By leaving them open all season, there is no change. The only reason I close them after the season is that buzzards decided they like them for nesting!

Thanks,

Jack

Thanks Jack... If I left mine open they would become hide-outs of coons, owls and lord knows what else. The coons already like to poop on my landing areas as it is. I can't imagine the screech that would come from my daughter if she opened the blind door to a coon or opossum....I assure you the hunt would be OVER IMMEDIATELY! As either her scream would alert everything in a mile as well as her possibly unloading the gun and blowing holes in my blind trying to kill the dang thing! It would be ugly....very ugly! And for some reason it would be MY fault! I'm also not building a sauna....I just know that the ability to retain some heat means the difference between us staying on stand all morning vs me being drug home by a "frozen to the point of near death" 14 y/o by 9am. In late November thru mid December here freezing and even near zero temps are not unexpected. Sometimes just being out of the wind makes a big difference.... A comfy hunter is a happy hunter!

 

[yoderjac]

Thanks Jack... If I left mine open they would become hide-outs of coons, owls and lord knows what else. The coons already like to poop on my landing areas as it is. I can't imagine the screech that would come from my daughter if she opened the blind door to a coon or opossum....I assure you the hunt would be OVER IMMEDIATELY! As either her scream would alert everything in a mile as well as her possibly unloading the gun and blowing holes in my blind trying to kill the dang thing! It would be ugly....very ugly! And for some reason it would be MY fault! I'm also not building a sauna....I just know that the ability to retain some heat means the difference between us staying on stand all morning vs me being drug home by a "frozen to the point of near death" 14 y/o by 9am. In late November thru mid December here freezing and even near zero temps are not unexpected. Sometimes just being out of the wind makes a big difference.... A comfy hunter is a happy hunter!

I did have problems with coons one year when I planted corn. They would take it up there to eat it. Lots of coon poop. I also get the occasional squirrel or mouse. I started keeping a small container of rat poison inside each stand. I haven't had any small critter issues since. Buzzards must like that stuff. One year I just kept having to replace the rat poison. It took a while until one day I saw the buzzard fly in. This was in the early spring when they are nesting. That is what started my closing the windows in the off season.

Cold areas make a big difference. I can remember how hard it was to stay excited about hunting when I was freezing as a kid in PA. I find comfort is still a key for me, even now. As I get older, I have issues with my arthritis. Comfort lets me hunt longer and harder. Safety and comfort are the two drivers when I buy a treestand now. My box blinds are the most comfortable for me because I can stretch undetected every now and then. Cold is not a big issue in my area. Heated clothing help me a lit. If I dress warm enough, I really work up a sweat going to my stand in the afternoon (not good for archery hunting). The heated clothing lets me dress light without carrying extra clothing. When the sun drops and things chill off, I simply flip a switch to stay comfortable.

Thanks,

Jack