brainstoming a tall and slender tower blind design

[ksJoe]

I thought of a new design for a blind and thought I'd solicit your input.

about a year ago I built a small hexagon shaped blind (link).

I'm thinking about making another with a similar footprint: so a hexagon, 2' sides, 4' corner to corner. But this one would around 18 or 20 feet tall.
I'm thinking four 4x4 posts. Or maybe 4x4s on all 6 corners.
I'd build a ladder into the framing between a pair of the posts.
Wind is a concern. It would sit on concrete piers that go 3 or 4 feet into the ground. The wooden posts would be very securely held down to the piers (e.g. cable pulling it down).

Besides the wind, I'm also concerned about safety and rigidity of something that small and tall. I definitely don't want to ride this thing to the ground. I would probably weld up some steel hexagons out of angle iron or box tubing to make sure it was plenty rigid.

I'd probably make two shooting levels, where the steel is replaced with clear plastic panels that are removable for about 18" or so. So there'd be no traditional windows to open, just clear plastic panels to remove, opening an 18" slot in 360 degrees.

Seating arrangements would probably be a swing like for a child's swingset.

I'd nearly completely assemble it at home, and build hinges for a couple posts. So I'd bolt the hinges to the concrete then lift it with the tractor and secure it with cables.

Pros: cheap, easy, should last decades, two shooting heights, I can do most of the work at home. pivot in place for 360 degree shooting
Cons: only accommodates 1 person, I might not like a straight up 20' ladder in 20-30 years.

What do you think?

 

[Telemark]

Sounds great. Make sure the concrete piers widen at the bottom, and use saddle brackets so the feet stay dry.

 

[Telemark]

By the way, you might want to angle the ladder just to make it more secure when entering and exiting. If you don't want it sticking out too far from the back, you could have it enter in a trap door in the floor of the blind.

 

[Foggy47]

Going straight up a 20' ladder and negotiating onto the platform at the top is not for everyone. I used to be ok with a trapdoor blind.....but despise them now, mostly due to aging, but they are not easy with a backpack and a gun, especially with a straight ladder. Nobody in my family is a fan of our trap door blinds.

I had some 16' 4x4 post blinds. Stood them up like you are planning. Not sure how I did so without breaking those 4x4's. Make sure you do lots of bracing to keep them rigid.

Tool'n made a 20' high blind.....he may have some advice on raising one.

 

[ksJoe]

By the way, you might want to angle the ladder just to make it more secure when entering and exiting. If you don't want it sticking out too far from the back, you could have it enter in a trap door in the floor of the blind.

If the ladder was outside, it would definitely be angled.
But I feel safer (and more discreet entry) with the ladder inside. I'm picturing the blind as a fully enclosed hexagon with 2 foot sides (just 4' +/- corner to corner). There just isn't enough room inside for the ladder to have any angle on it. So I'm thinking the ladder is straight up, inside the blind, on the way up I pass through 2 trap doors - one for each shooting level. Even though its straight up, I think it will feel pretty safe climbing because I'll be enclosed with walls and things to grab right up close to me. There just won't be much room to fall.

 

[ksJoe]

Going straight up a 20' ladder and negotiating onto the platform at the top is not for everyone. I used to be ok with a trapdoor blind.....but despise them now, mostly due to aging, but they are not easy with a backpack and a gun, especially with a straight ladder. Nobody in my family is a fan of our trap door blinds.

Do you have power? Have you thought about a winch?
I'll put solar on top (for high def security cameras & wifi). I was talking to my wife last night about this idea, and we were talking about when I'm older and don't like climbing it, I might put a winch in it. With a swing set seat, it could be on a cable, and have a 12v winch with wireless remote lift me all the way to the top.

I really appreciate the ideas & critique guys. Its a compromise design, no doubt. It offers both prows and cons.

 

[ksJoe]

Tool'n made a 20' high blind.....he may have some advice on raising one.

I'd love to hear ideas!

My tentative plan is to fabricate hinges for two posts, so two posts are solidly attached to the concrete before it starts going up. Then lift it with the tractor to pivot into place.
For my lifting tool: I converted an old non-3-point PTO driven host hole digger to be hydraulic powered for my tractor. That makes it stick out extra far, and I set it at an angle so it can be tilted up by rolling the ssqa full back. The post hole digger project design was to accommodate drilling some wells in the next year. But long-story-short, it has the side affect of making a nice tool for lifting objects high. I used it to put my solar panel structure a couple months ago. For perspective, that's a 10' door and 13' walls on the building. The wood structure in this picture is a single piece, I built on the ground and lifted into place with the tractor.


With the tower securely hinged, I think the tractor should lift it into place no problem, but I'm concerned about it free-falling the last 10-15 degrees of the pivot. I might have a rope with a person or atv resisting the pivot so it can't free-fall the last little bit into place.

ideas?

 

[Foggy47]

Do you have power? Have you thought about a winch?
I'll put solar on top (for high def security cameras & wifi). I was talking to my wife last night about this idea, and we were talking about when I'm older and don't like climbing it, I might put a winch in it. With a swing set seat, it could be on a cable, and have a 12v winch with wireless remote lift me all the way to the top.

I really appreciate the ideas & critique guys. Its a compromise design, no doubt. It offers both prows and cons.

I admire your ingenuity. As long as we're dreaming....... Ever looked at an electric boat hoist? One in particular is Shore Station. They make a solar powered 12 volt model.....and I have one for my pontoon boat at the lake. Mine is actually electric over hydraulic. It lifts at all four corners via cables and commonly lift 6000 lbs and more. I could see using this tech and just lifting the whole blind to any height you want......just get in and push the button.

Stainless steel cables should last a long time (until they don't?....lol). Noise would be an issue tho......

 

[Foggy47]

This is maybe a bit far out for most folks......but.......

Was just at Facebook Marketplace......and saw an ad for a Stairway chair lift. Then again thought of this thread. This is not for me (or the OP) but I can see someone wanting a 12 volt version of a chair lift like that shown. Might be an easy 12 volt conversion for someone with lots of electric skills? Dunno. Lots of these chair lifts available for $200 to $700 on marketplace. They go up to 20 feet or so at a 45 degree incline. (There is a fold down foot rest on this too....but it's folded up. Note seat belt and folding arm rests - which could include a shooting rail.)

A 12 volt battery system and a solar collector a little enginuity.....could make a nice project.

I can envision attaching the top to a large tree, steel post, or Power Pole.....and some concrete pad on the bottom? Plausible?

 

[ksJoe]

@Foggy47 I'll try to remember that idea in 20 years as I'm approaching the time I'd need it. Actually, I wouldn't mind a broken one. It would make a nice starting point to add a winch to.

 

[buckdeer1]

When that blind falls over you may need one.I like the wide base and still cable or set 1 post on the north and 1 post on the south tight up against the blind to keep from tipping.The video on the Drurys where the blind they are in tips over is pretty scary

 

[birdog]

I agree with those that suggest a wide base. Don't forget proper bracing to prevent racking which will be a problem with something that skinny and that tall.

Use those mobile home anchors that screw into the ground or set another footing in the middle (assuming you're using footings for the legs) with the bottom of the hole belled out to anchor the blind down good and tight. I have seen people use super heavy duty 3" ratchet straps to anchor which makes replacement easy plus you can check tension periodically and crank it down a few clicks if needed.

 

[OakSeeds]

My favorite deer stand ladder is old TV towers which come in 10 ft sections .... the type pictured in this platform is made with steel framing and has level horizontal rungs that are easy to climb. 20' straight up is easy and you can step off safely onto a platform or deck/porch. We make kids and inexperienced hunters wear a safety harness. We removed 15+ for folks several years ago; however, with cable TV, if you look around you may still find some for free. I'll try to post one with a shooter house later in the week.

 

[TenPoint]

This is maybe a bit far out for most folks......but.......

Was just at Facebook Marketplace......and saw an ad for a Stairway chair lift. Then again thought of this thread. This is not for me (or the OP) but I can see someone wanting a 12 volt version of a chair lift like that shown. Might be an easy 12 volt conversion for someone with lots of electric skills? Dunno. Lots of these chair lifts available for $200 to $700 on marketplace. They go up to 20 feet or so at a 45 degree incline. (There is a fold down foot rest on this too....but it's folded up. Note seat belt and folding arm rests - which could include a shooting rail.)

A 12 volt battery system and a solar collector a little enginuity.....could make a nice project.

I can envision attaching the top to a large tree, steel post, or Power Pole.....and some concrete pad on the bottom? Plausible?

View attachment 58329

 

[Foggy47]

^ You gotta admit......a stand like that would create a lot of talk on this forum. lol

 

[matinc]

If your using 4 by 4 I would look into elevators by shadow hunter. Way stronger way to build.

 

[OakSeeds]

Here's the TV tower ladder on a shooter house. It doesn't even wiggle an inch. Step on the porch ... easy access. As you can see, the tower extends almost 6' above the step off platform ... this makes it very easy/safe to hold on to safety bars as you step off.

 

[buckdeer1]

The cheapest place I have found elevators is sportmans guide,but I haven't looked in awhile.It's pretty handy they give you a list of all the lumber and hardware needed to build tower