PVC STAND Complete
 

The PVC Stand is complete and in place - 64 days for the deer to get used to it.

It is set up along a creek running between 2 large fields, beans and corn, and it runs from 1 small patch of woods to another for 1/2 mile. Snuggled it up right next to the only 2 trees out there - great view all around!!!

Pictures attached - Enjoy!!!

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Pic 2 - kinda dark - can take a better picture later if anyone is interested!

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Looks great! Hopefully it pans out for you and you wind up taking a big one from it! Good luck!

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Lighten up a pics for ya.....

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

hey nice stand hazcon. i would be interested in seeing some pics of it in the day with a couple of different shots of the stand to see the surrounding. good work you deserve to stick a big one from it.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Someone has to ask....... Did you get a building permit for that thing from the county?[8D]

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Now on sale......Hazcon's tree house, limited edition.........$1,000 + shipping and handling ($300). Alot of assembly required.

Seriously, looks great, and perfect for you blind. I now understand why you built it.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

That is a thing of beauty! Good luck in it.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Enough teasing. You're almost done. If you put an upright post or log right under the middle of the platform it'll look just like a tree. Wind up a few spriggs of fake ivy around the posts and some of the cross members and it'll disappear completely. It really does look to blend quite well with the surrounding bushes. We do want daylight pictures from several angles. It's looking better.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Dave ,
there's no hole in the middle of the platform ... ;) :D

HAZCON7 ,
how did you stake down that pop-up blind ?

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

That looks great Haz. A membership to SORE is on the way. You may need to make it look a little more rigged up to get the life time membership. Did you use any camo duck tape? That would suffice.

Good Luck.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

I appreciate the help with the pics GroundHunter !!

I have carabiners (oblong metal ring with a spring clip) attaching the bottom loops of the blind to the eye bolts on the posts where the steel cable is rigged. It is a perfect fit.

I didn't use any camo tape but if it'll secure the membership then I'll wrap the ladder rungs with it ;)

Not sure if your advise was serious or not davidmil, but I like the idea of the fake ivy on the posts!!! I'll be stopping by walmart this weekend to pick some up in the craft dept. Thanks!

Thanks for all the kind words and for following this mini drama:D
I set my trail cam on the stand to see how the deer might react to it. I'll be picking it up in a couple of days so I'll take some daytime pics of the stand from several angles as requested.

Unfortunately, due to needing help moving it, I wasn't able to get it out until late evening. We busted out a lot of deer - but I think this stand is in a prime location for the coming rut. I have a complete view of the creek down each side for 1 mile. Last rut the bucks were traveling the creek edge cruising for does. With a good decoy setup and I am confident I'll take one of the big boys.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

You could always get some old military camo nets from a surplus store and hang it from the platform. You could also augment it with some of that ivy or real vegitation.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

NOPE... believe it or not I sometimes Mean what I say. Totally serious. All weather non-fading plastic ivy, flowers or Xmas garland will work wonders.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

HAZCON7 ,
be careful how much weight you put on those legs , PVC wasn't designed to handle high structural loads . Do the leg ends have any kind of weight distribution plates ? You don't want them sinking into the ground , and if they sink unevenly you could take a tumble . Perhaps a few more braces ?

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Man it is quite appearant you put a lot of work into that, when I saw the very first pic I thought "This is a joke right?" but after I saw the following pics it looks great, keep us briefed on how it does. You know you have me thinking about how to rig up a semi-portable PVC ground blind..... I have ton of PVC that I have no real use for!

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Thats quite a compliment Tazman - I appreciate it!

I couldn't have imagined how much work or money this project was going to take. I may have been better off buying something premade but I'm awful proud having made this thing all myself from my own plans and ideas. Besides, what could we learn if we always let someone else do the work for us?

Hopefully you'll see some good pictures of great deer with my stand in the background this fall - while I'm dreaming, why not on the cover of bowhunter magazine

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Hey Haz, cut a big hole in the middle of the that "thing" and put a fire escape poll on it. Quick exit!!!:D

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PVC also becomes brittle when exposed to the sun. It will crack very easy.

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Really? Nobody has told me that yet - do you think I should tear it down?

Look fellas - I weigh 180lbs lets call it 200lbs with gear. The wood deck probably weighs another 40lbs.
Thats 240lbs on top of 5 verticle support columns with 4 cross braces to distribute the weight (when I'm on the left side, portions of the weight are distributed to the right side towards the bottom.) Thats a mear 48lbs on each support. I could build the thing out of toothpicks and it would hold 48lbs. If you don't think a 3" PVC will support 48lbs for a few hours a couple days a week then hold ur breath and wait for my post entitled "MY PVC Stand Broke - I was wrong!"

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

I think it looks great. Never seen one made out of PVC before. I would do a little camoflaging around the bottom on the legs to break up the outline, but you did a great job. Keep us posted on how the deer react to it.;)

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Havcon, it may be fine in the short term but over time it may not be too safe. My dad made PVC pipe for over 25 years. We even had a fence made of 4 inch PVC but over a couple of years it would bust pretty easy if it was hit. 3/4 inch water line left outside will do the same thing. When cutting it with ratchet cutters it will shatter instead of making a good smooth cut. I think that painting it may help however.

ABS pipe may work better. I know some people make potatoe guns from this because it's much stonger. The PVC can explode and leave you in a bad way.

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Ya I'm aware of the brittle nature of PVC. It has 3 coats of paint on it so maybe that will help some.

Also, I really don't intend for it to last forever. If it lasts until Winter then I will be very happy.

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

Hazcon...Your stand will be fine. Where I bear hunted, the outfitter had SEVERAL stands made from PVC. They were 2 1/2" PVC (ladder and steps), with elbows at the top, also PVC. The elbows went back (at 90degress) and he had a brace that went in front of the tree. The arms extended past the tree, and he had holes in which he lagged these into the tree. He put webbing between the two pipes at the top to sit on.

I hunted from them in their 5th, 6th and 7th years that they were up. No problem. They were quiet and solid as hell and comfy.

This was with only 2 poles, and the stands were 14' high.

Just be sure to include a pic of the deer you kill!

RE: PVC STAND Complete
 

looks great to me. I have a spot that the trees are onlt 10 to 15 ft. tall.that would work well there.I may build me one.

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Thats good news Pro-Line - thanks for the heads up!