The perfect blind?

[Jim Timber]

There's been plenty of discussion about blinds and elevator brackets lately, and Foggy's window upgrades. But what is the ideal blind?

How big, what features, how do you get in it, etc?

I've wanted to make a 6x12' I could park my ATV under, but funds are limited right now.

Is 4x4' really enough for an all day sit? Don't your legs get stiff? My knees can't handle not moving at least a couple times an hour, which poses a problem for me in shorter tree stands. Arthritis is a bitch!

So post 'em up. What do you hunt from? What do you really like, and what would you change?

 

[foggy]

Get too big and you cannot see down without scooting around in a blind. A 5 x 5 or 5 x 6 seems to be the perfect size - for gun or bow......and TWO gun hunters easily fit into such a size.

4x4 is barely adequate for ONE rifle hunter....but it works OK. Gotta have 6.5' height in order to stand. Side entry door....and a platform at the top near the door.

Gotta have decent steps with a hand railing for us old duffers.....and in order to not get sued. I'd stay OUT of the ladder and "stand" portion of the biz....and let the consumer buy his own lumber and construct to some plans you provide. Could lessen your liability in a big way.

 

[foggy]

Fold down....or up windows are best. Get them 36 to 38" from the floor to the bottom sill......then at least 14" opening so you are not staring at the wall. Important stuff. Sloped lower sill to get water to run away. Should have a drip cap above the windows and door to divert water. Insulation will sell....but I don't know that it's important. A sandwich panel construction would provide a solution to all the above. I have a plan that needs someone to execute. ;)

 

[Jim Timber]

I guess too high and too big are relative to the landscape.

I do see your point though. I shortened the windows in our livingroom by raising the bottom edge of them about 10" and the impact on view of the foreground of the yard via the couch (12' from the wall) was more significant than I'd expected.

I would think having some full height windows would help with this? Redneck, IIRC, has four corner full height windows, but they also don't have room for two shooters.

 

[Jim Timber]

This thread isn't to flesh out a business plan. I'm more interested in what you guys are using, and how well you like it.

Dipper said he's got $70 blinds. Lets see 'em! :D

 

[foggy]

This thread isn't to flesh out a business plan. I'm more interested in what you guys are using, and how well you like it.

Dipper said he's got $70 blinds. Lets see 'em! :D

:rolleyes:

 

[foggy]

I guess too high and too big are relative to the landscape.

I do see your point though. I shortened the windows in our livingroom by raising the bottom edge of them about 10" and the impact on view of the foreground of the yard via the couch (12' from the wall) was more significant than I'd expected.

I would think having some full height windows would help with this? Redneck, IIRC, has four corner full height windows, but they also don't have room for two shooters.

Eau Contraire.

 

[Jim Timber]

:rolleyes:

It's true. You need operating capital to start a business. I don't have any.

I do have a hankering to build a blind though. Seeing other's stuff is a close second to scratching that itch. :p

 

[Jim Timber]

Eau Contraire.

5x6 is enough to sit and smell your buddies breath. I want more room than that.

I think my tent blind is 5x5 and that's big enough for me.

 

[sandbur]

Jim- perhaps you remember the 4X6 blind near my house. Big enough for two of us, and only one of us needs a gun.

I actually made my windows smaller after a fawn winded me the first year. I cut the windows down to about 1/2 height by adding another piece of plywood to the outside-above the window.
Build it comfortable for your height. I have a ledge/table along the front window to lay my gun on, and my newspaper, and my book. WIFI won't quite reach the stand.
You have to keep occupied while hunting in Mn., you know!

Many days, you don't even need to load your gun....and never know the difference.

 

[NT179]

My two favorite stands are 6x8 and 6x6. The 6x8 seems huge compared to the 6x6.They both have a 6 foot and 7 foot walls with a sloped side walls and roof. Each have a solar heater on the south side which really can warm up the stand on a sunny day. -10 f on a sunny January can easily be 45-50 in the stand.

 

[bat man]

Bigger the blind is the taller the windows need to be, and if the windows get too big you can paint the areas you don't want black to make them smaller. 5 x 6 is nice size for 2 gun hunters. Just big enough for a free Craigslist loveseat.

 

[Satchmo]

We have a few of these 4' x 4' box stands and they work fine for one guy on the plots with known shooting areas. These obviously are rifle only stands, as my sons bow hunt out of the many ladder stands we have. Vinyl slider windows, carpeted floors, darkened interiors, and pole barn steel exteriors. They will last a very long time. The new one I'm finishing, and the next two we have planned, will be 5' x 6' so a guy can be a little more comfortable for extended stays.

 

[bat man]

what did you make the legs from Satch?

 

[Satchmo]

All but the one pictured are made with 4"x4" treated legs. The one above was a platform I basically stole from my previous "Big Box Store" employer for $50 when it sat on the shelf for a year after they discontinued carrying that line of stands.

 

[Jim Timber]

Keep in mind I'm restricted to a crossbow per my doctors. If I was building a rifle-only stand, that'd be different.

 

[Satchmo]

Keep in mind I'm restricted to a crossbow per my doctors. If I was building a rifle-only stand, that'd be different.

You would need to use wider window then to accommodate the crossbow. We also cover the top half of our windows to help keep the interiors darker for better concealment.

 

[Gator]

This one is 6x6 with a 6'3" inside height and set on 11' 4x4 post using elevator brackets. The front two corners are on angles. Setup exlusively for bowhunting though you could easily gun hunt out of it. I sat in it for the first time this past weekend and the only thing I would change from a hunting standpoint is to raise the windows a little. The windows are all 36x12 but they are a little too low but not bad. If I build another, I would also frame the floor square 6x6 and just put the walls on the angle. This would make the elevator bracket and leg installation a little better and more stable.


I also built a wooden ladder to a small platform for entry. I really liked this getting into the blind.

 

[wklman]

Like the design on that one gator.

 

[Bill]

Foggy,
I hand drew a sandwich panel hexagon plan a few years back and tossed the idea around. Ran into problems finding the actual sandwich panel except from alibaba. Didn't need a container full to proof out a design. Would be easy to build a square but the hex would need custom aluminum extrusion tooling.

Panels and aluminum frame would make a light weight insulated box that 1 guy could build alone.

Might work because it should be light weight shipping charges and if the panels folded in half a guy could box it up to fit on a UPS truck.

Where you finding panels in the US?

Sorry for the turn in the road Jim..