New Blind Build

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

New Blind Build

Details
54” wide x 80” Long
Trap Door entrance
16” OC Rafters/Walls/Floor Joice (with more blocking in floors)
7/16” OSB Floor, Roof
7/16” T1-11 Painted with Latex Barn Paint
Free Windows (side of the road)
1x3” strapping on corners and high-side window
Low/single pitch (1/12) metal roof with drip edge and custom side sheeting
Hurricane ties for rafters and structural screws for wall panels
1/2” insulation in ceiling with spray foam sealing (makes for good airflow through rafters)
Platform multi-angle brackets
Sitting on a 7’ platform with solid cross bracing.

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

Still to add:

See through blinds for front windows - deer are at eye level when they exit woods

Fiberglass insulation in the walls and maybe a sheet of foam insulation under the floor

Floor padding (carpet over gym matting)

Turnbuckle tie downs with galvanized cable

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

Things I’d do differently:

I’d go 1/2” treated plywood for floor at minimum.

I could have lifted this up with my tractor, but once I built the base I had a real good level (ledge at 2’ down) so I didn’t want to mess with it. This significantly increased by time to build, because I had to mess with the ladders and roof sheeting at 15’ in the air.

Instead of 54” x 80” I’d just go 48” x 72”. 54” wide is still too shallow to shoot a compound, so I would have been better off saving multiple sheets of material by going 48” wide. And at 72” long I’d have 4” more overhang on each gable end (the roof is two sheets of 4x8 plywood.

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

Also - not sold on trap door entrances yet.

Don’t have to build a stair/platform system (which is important for kids and elderly father). But they take up a lot of floor space and can be loud and still obnoxious to get in/out of.

 

[Spike_Horn_Shooter]

This location had a millennium soft blind the last two years. It was in a rock/tree outcrop in an old hay field. This year it has standing beans on both sides, that were overseaded with brassicas in July and wheat / rye in early and late September.

Having the food on both sides (east and west) should be awesome, but I think I could get busted easy with pretty much any wind. Which was the thought of building a fairly airtight blind and only opening the windows to shoot.

 

[Tree Spud]

Looks good! I don't like trap doors either. Waster of floor space and they can be noisy when rolling a chair over it.

 

[356]

Also - not sold on trap door entrances yet.

Don’t have to build a stair/platform system (which is important for kids and elderly father). But they take up a lot of floor space and can be loud and still obnoxious to get in/out of.

Thanks for sharing your build and reflections. I had one trap door blind that I ended up converting to a traditional entrance. As I get older, ease of entry is more important. It seemed I always made too much noise trying to get into the trap door. That said, you have a nice looking blind and quality build.