scott44
5 year old buck +
We'll see, Mine went up 9/18/18 and I had all good intensions of pulling the cover off mine but I just didn't, I'm all in now after it's been on this long.
Towers for ground blinds
- Thread starter j-bird
- Start date
Booner21
5 year old buck +
We had between 6 and 7 in our blinds including windows. Night and day different between and enclosed blind with windows and an open ground blind. We built one on a trailer and killed a couple deer out of it this year. Had deer within 30 yards of it within 3 days after pulling it into the field. Seems patterns change slightly every year but hoping having it set out we can move it a few hundred yards and deer won’t pay much attention to it. May be an option to decrease total cost vs putting up 3 of them. If those rednecks can be had for the same price as a mobile blind they look like the way to go though. I agree ground blinds when set out most won’t see 3 months in the winter time.
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S.T.Fanatic
5 year old buck +
Old windmill frame? There are still plenty of them around my area. None of them doing much good anymore and many of them are bent/twisted up. Im guessing a lot of people yould give it to you if your took it down.
j-bird
Moderator
I should have been clearer....the support that supports the blind material itself....not the stand. These redneck blinds have a square tube metal frame that supports the exterior blind material, while the other blinds I have been looking at are more the traditional hub style with very little metal in them at all.
I have 4 x 6 rough cut timbers to create my base/tower with and I am fine with that. I use a lot of reclaimed wood from wooden shipping crates that machines get shipped in. Its a lot of work to salvage them, but well worth it. 95% of the wood in the blind I posted a picture of is reclaimed wood. I find this as simply yet another way to save costs.
Knehrke
5 year old buck +
This year, we went with a Mossy Oak Gamekeeper 7' elevated metal platform that has a center ladder entry and put a 60" Barronett Big Mike blind on top of it, centered between three pines and a hawthorn in a more open grassy area. That's the third identical setup we have using this system. Up until it really begins to snow, these sets are the cat's meow. A little bit of outdoor carpet and a heater, and Bob's your uncle.
Unfortunately, while the platform was cheap (~$150), I think that it was on closeout from Walmart, and I'm not sure they're available anymore. Also, the blinds, like most blinds in my experience, have a limited shelf life. I may try to put my Double Bull up there next year to see if it is a bit more durable. We have been getting three or four years out of these blinds before they're toast.
We also use reclaimed wood from shipping crates, and it works - but I'm not convinced that they will last. The wood tends to be marginal at best.
Unfortunately, while the platform was cheap (~$150), I think that it was on closeout from Walmart, and I'm not sure they're available anymore. Also, the blinds, like most blinds in my experience, have a limited shelf life. I may try to put my Double Bull up there next year to see if it is a bit more durable. We have been getting three or four years out of these blinds before they're toast.
We also use reclaimed wood from shipping crates, and it works - but I'm not convinced that they will last. The wood tends to be marginal at best.
yoderjac
5 year old buck +
One of the things I like about building elevated box blinds myself is how I can customize them for the situation. I have some that are low enough that I can use a ramp for entry because the terrain rolls away from them. I have others where the floor is 15' off the ground because of the terrain and vegetation. Hight, size, window placement, and such are all customized for the location.
Thanks,
Jack
Thanks,
Jack
Chainsaw
5 year old buck +
Wife Anne took her buck from a softshell Redneck this season. The metal frame provided her a solid rest to pull off a 190 yard shot which is a long shot for us. The blind is large and very comfortable. On the downside the mice built nests in the blind and ate our chair to shreds. Maybe mice poison would have prevented it and it will be tried next year. For some reason the mice did not chew on any part of the blind material. The material part of the blind is removed immediately after hunting season with very minimal effort. The deal breaker for us though with soft shell blinds, or portable blinds is that while they do reduce scent flow somewhat they do not reduce it enough on our downwind side. Downwind deer smell us and this severely limits the usefulness of the blind in a hurry. Deer will regularly be out in front of it after many sits but not the older deer that we are targeting. Eventually we notice that cameras around the soft blinds end up with more night time pics than daytime. Our muzzleloader and rifle seasons combined run for almost two months ;if the season was only a week or so long educating the deer with our downwind scent might not matter so much.
Conversely in the hard shell Redneck blinds with the windows closed, our down wind scent stream is minimal enough that it does not seem to impact future sits from the blind. Keeping the windows shut and having safe access the Redneck can be hunted day after day after day and even the older deer continue to return almost as much during daylight as at night. Thus I'd rather have one hard shell Redneck tower blind, a similar manufactured tower blind or a tight homemade tower blind than ten soft portable blinds on towers. Proper access of course still remains critical to continue to hunt the spot whether hunting from a soft blind or an enclosed hard blind. Jack brings up a great point though about using the portable setups or even ladder stands to identify the best possible spots to put up permanent Tower blinds. For that the portable blinds/ladder stands are effective.
Conversely in the hard shell Redneck blinds with the windows closed, our down wind scent stream is minimal enough that it does not seem to impact future sits from the blind. Keeping the windows shut and having safe access the Redneck can be hunted day after day after day and even the older deer continue to return almost as much during daylight as at night. Thus I'd rather have one hard shell Redneck tower blind, a similar manufactured tower blind or a tight homemade tower blind than ten soft portable blinds on towers. Proper access of course still remains critical to continue to hunt the spot whether hunting from a soft blind or an enclosed hard blind. Jack brings up a great point though about using the portable setups or even ladder stands to identify the best possible spots to put up permanent Tower blinds. For that the portable blinds/ladder stands are effective.
I own 2 of the redneck soft sided blinds. I like them and they are more durable then the more portable blinds. A word of warning. The first year I had one I didnt remove the cover soon enough and we got a heavy wet snow and then some rain. Even though it has a metal frame the roof collapsed. Redneck was great and I was able to order replacement parts but lesson learned. Get the covers off before much show falls or they will collapse.
This house was constructed last summer. It sits on a critter-proof steel frame with a tv tower as a built-in ladder. It has a steel roof - sitting on a pond liner (rubber membrane) on top of 2 X 4 rafters; the windows had not been installed at this time. Absent window costs, the entire structure cost less than $125 .... almost all materials (except steel roofing and membrane) are recycled. It has a 2.5 ft porch on the door side and structure to place a porch on the opposite side if the need arises during maintenance. Most of it is bolted together; it don't shimmy, shake rattle, or squeak. It should last 20+ years easily.
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Thank you!
roymunson
5 year old buck +
I am not a fan of them for several reasons.
1. snow will crush my blinds. I'm sure you can mitigate it somehow, but I've lot a lot of $80-150 that I left out for late season
2. Kid Inclusion- I can close the blind windows and the kids can make a reasonable amount of noise and we're still ok.
3. It is in fact warmer- See the kids thing, and if they really wanna hunt with me when it's cold, a buddy heater makes life pretty easy.
4. And Most importantly, scent control. We run ours to be scent tight. If you sit in it all day with windows closed, you'll get a headache. But we've hunted in dead wrong winds, with all the deer coming directly down wind, and we're just fine. That's where they shine IMO
If you blow out 2 or 3 blinds over the next 5 years or so, you'll be money ahead with a permanent set.
Also, if you're anything like me, you won't get out to pull the blind when you should and it'll sit in the weather too long.
JMO, but I'd build permanent and never look back.
1. snow will crush my blinds. I'm sure you can mitigate it somehow, but I've lot a lot of $80-150 that I left out for late season
2. Kid Inclusion- I can close the blind windows and the kids can make a reasonable amount of noise and we're still ok.
3. It is in fact warmer- See the kids thing, and if they really wanna hunt with me when it's cold, a buddy heater makes life pretty easy.
4. And Most importantly, scent control. We run ours to be scent tight. If you sit in it all day with windows closed, you'll get a headache. But we've hunted in dead wrong winds, with all the deer coming directly down wind, and we're just fine. That's where they shine IMO
If you blow out 2 or 3 blinds over the next 5 years or so, you'll be money ahead with a permanent set.
Also, if you're anything like me, you won't get out to pull the blind when you should and it'll sit in the weather too long.
JMO, but I'd build permanent and never look back.
PatinPA
5 year old buck +
I think I'm going to build a permanent this spring. We just had a freak 14 in. pre-christmas snow and it crushed the blind I had out. It's still usable fortunately but it's a bit airier from all the branches I used to brush it in now poking through it. I thought about the elevated platform for it and I might still do that in another location but I have some lumber laying around from some kids playset / old deck removal that I can use. Shouldn't end up costing me too much in the end.
I store all my stuff in a container at my property. Pulling portable ground blinds in the end of November, or worse December after the muzzleloader season, is horrific. Nine out of ten times they'll be all ice encrusted and frozen. Then, I have to leave them open in my container in the hope they won't mildew or mold..... I hate pop up blinds now. I even put a plastic "booner" 4x4 on a sled this year. I can leave that out and not worry about it. It's impossible to get it in to some of the areas I used to use a gound blind in, but it's a trade off I'm willing to make. If I want to hunt those areas I'll just sit on a bucket and stay still, like we used to do.
Troubles Trees
5 year old buck +
Top notch bud! That one will last for sure
TT .. thank you; it was a build as you go with no plans or specs drawn up. I will make some changes in the next one I build. Appreciate the kind words you and others have shared.
Bought tear drop pallet shelving used on CL $260. 12' tall so will need to anchor. First pic my brother used cheap earth anchors 16" deep and it blew over. Think will use 4 t post once get set back up. Pop up blind lasted two weeks before wind took it. The ghillie on my blind received a hair cut. Crap keeps getting caught in zippers. For $400 cant complain but you can get spoiled with blinds using deerview windows and scent control.
I had a wooden one that was 6 ft at base and it blew over twice.There is no way I would sit in anything straight legged that high.One way to tie down may be like redneck does and screw the anchor in the center directly underneath.I used a post set in concrete ,one on north side and one on south side just went up a couple feet above base of blind so it couldn't start moving
