Plans for shooting houses??
 

Guys in our club want to build some nice shooting houses. Before we go reinventing the wheel, is there anywhere (internet or other) that I can go to get some plans or designs with plans.
Thanks in Advance

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Gatorbuck Welcome to the board. Sorry I can't help you with the plans ,I tried finding some myself and ended up drawing my own .

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Try this link out.

http://www.angelfire.com/sc/huntingstands/work.html

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Ford.<img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Gatorbuck, I built my own about three years ago and it wasn't difficult at all. Mine is 8' wide x 7' tall x 5' deep. It sits two full sized people comfortably, three if one is a kid. Also, I wanted to build it tall enough to where I could stand and stretch. I used reject lumber (Home Depot, Lowes) for my 2x4's and saved money. Mine were pressure treated, as it is a ground blind but it could be elevated. I used OSB sheets for the walls which is starting to peel and I'm replacing it with 3/8&quot; plywood. I've had fun with painting camo patterns, but I have gone with mostly black because of the simplicity. I also painted the inside black to keep an unpainted background from getting me busted. That also keeps light from reflecting inside. I used corrugated tin for the roof and didn't pay too close attention as far as sealing any cracks there. It can get plenty warm here in a closed blind and those drafts can feel nice. Also, I used screws as opposed to nails, (except for the roof) and it is making it easier to replace my OSB walls. Carpet keeps the noise down. Sorry, no written plans, but I would think that the second one would go easier and so on. Total price for it was about $100. Good Luck, I hope this helps.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Why not add a couch, wet bar and a jacuzzi? Do you guys really consider that to be hunting? Do you wear head-to-toe camo to sit in your playhouse?

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RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I wish I took a pic of the 2 towers, the guys have on the property next to us. They are 40' off the ground, completely inclosed with sliding windows all the away around. They have a bed, heater/stove, tv/satellite, and draining urinals in them.

They are on sitting on top of huge I beams that were sunk 10' into the ground, it cost them over $15,000 apiece for them and they have 2 and are building a 3rd this year!

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

swampthing 40 foot up!!! Man I wonder if they have gun mounts for some quad 50's? That is going a bit overboard, I always have a bucket or build a seat that I never seem to sit on and consider that extravagant. I can not imagine having a hunting condo!

The Tazman

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Gatorbuck, welcome to the board! You will probably, like most of us, build a few boxstands before you get it down to an art that you like! Here are a few hints:
1. Most of them are built on 8 to 10 ft. legs.
2. You will want to buld the box itself, tall enough that you can stand up and stretch when you need too.
3. Some build windows all the way across each side, but really they don't need to be more than 20 to 24 inches wide and just high enough to get a scoped gun through comfortably. The larger the windows, the easier it will be for deer to spot you!
4. Also the bottom of the window should be high enough off the floor so that you will not easily be seen, but not too high that it would be uncomfortable to shoot from!
5. As for the side widths, 4'X 4' should be good for one person, 6'X 4' for two people. I once thought I'd like a wider stand, but after hunting from one, I found that I tend to move more and do not have as good of a view from the wider stands!
6. After building a sturdy platform,(I use landscape timbers and light wood for bracing.) Use a thick plywood for the floor, (I use 3/4&quot; plywood.)
7. I use 2X2's for framing. It will feel kind of weak, but trust me once the siding is on and it is bolted together in the corners and anchored to the floor it will be just as strong as 2X4 framing, just a lots lighter.
8. As for the siding, 1/4 plywood (a good one is Luan Flooring Underlay) is as good, and will last as long as the thicker stuff!
9. Be sure to slant the roof a little and leave a few inches of overhang on the sides and it will stay dry!
10. After building a few stands, now I bolt and screw everything together. About 3 or 4 screws in each corner and 3 or 4 lag bolts in each side into the floor will make this stand as strong as it will ever need to be!
Within about an hour two people can completly assemble or disassemble these stands! Good luck!

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Yep they are 35-40' up there, no ladder its stairs going up to the condo, with a &quot;garage&quot; on the ground for theyre atv's. Its a couple elderly retired lawyers that hunt out of them, they cant see as well as they used too, and they feel safer up there! They can afford it and it keeps them hunting, my hat is off to them!

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

RuRu12, normally no, I don't wear camo to sit in the &quot;playhouse.&quot; I find that a pair of jeans and a dark (preferably black) shirt works just fine. I tried to make myself suffer more to increase my experience and I found that the more I suffer, the less I enjoyed it. If you're running around barefoot in a loincloth with a long bow, then have a good time. If I'm not purist enough for you, then whatever. It's still hunting, even if I had to let the butler go during the off season.

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RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

hey ruru12, i got one with an old lazy boy . man is it comfortable. i can sit there all day , take my lunch ,ice chest, and some reading material. thats where i learned that deer really do move in the middle day. lots of guys are in camp licking there chops ,wondering why they didnt see any deer . and yes i call it hunting ,it beats hanging from a limb. is that what hunting is supposed to be?

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I was in Cleaveland for a few days on business and didn't get to read/respond, but I didn't want you guys to think I was throwing bombs and running. So, here goes...

No I don't consider sitting in a box to be hunting. I would rank it right up there with sitting in a truck, or on an ATV. If you are not physically disabled than I think it is wrong and should not be called hunting. About the only thing I can think of that is lazier/weeaker is sitting in front of an electric feeder or a pile of bait.

No, I'm not running around the woods barefooted in a loincloth carrying a longbow. I do hunt all day, each and every day I can, and I don't need a LazyBoy to do it.

You guys might be amazed at how much personal satisfaction you can get out of getting out and actually hunting. I killed one of my bucks last fall over four miles from the closest road. I boned him out and packed him out in a backpack. Now that's hunting.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

To each, their own, RuRu12. I could wake the dead while sitting still, so I would be an absolute failure at stalking. As Soarkrebel put it, I can stay in my blind all day because it is comfortable. I enjoyed building it and I enjoy using it. Good luck hunting your way, I'll hunt mine.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Oh lets all worship the great hunter, RuRu12!
You are SOOOO much better than we are! Hunting from a blind mkes me no less a hunter than you are. Blinds are no different than ladder stands or climbers, they are just larger, permanent and comfortable. You still have to scout before you put up the stand. Oh and as far as lazy, haul one out to the woods and put it together in 100 degree weather and see how lazy that is. Our work is just done before the hunt starts. It is a legal method of hunting, so you shouldn't be so quick to judge.
As far as stalking, been there and done that too! I've been close enough to deer to reach out and touch them many times and there is nothing quite like it, but in some places it is an impractical way to hunt!
So in the future you would do well to support LEGAL means of hunting instead of bashing them! Unless of course you have such a fragile ego that you must make yourself look better by putting others down!

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Frank - I stand hunt too. Just not in a box, building or a vehicle. And there is no way I would ever hunt over a feeder or bait pile. And before you start with the &quot;Texas is different, you can't kill deer here because of the terrain, brush, etc.&quot; I have hunted in Webb County Texas and did manage to take a nice buck without sitting in a box or next to a feeder.

Edited by - RuRu12 on 01/28/2002 14:00:35

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I hunt mainly from climbing stands and ground blinds since I mostly bow hunt. However I have hunted out of a fair share of box stands and I don't know how putting a roof and 4 plywood walls makes it not hunting? With that logic where do you draw the line as to what is and what isn't hunting? Is using a high powered rifle like a .270 hunting? If not exactly what caliber does make it hunting? Some people think wearing comoflauge and cover scent isn't hunting? Where do you draw the lines when you get into this &quot;Better-than-you&quot; additude?

The Indians could say that almost none of us are hunters because we don't wear moccasins and use a hand carved bow. Davey Crockett might say we aren't real hunters unless we used flint lock muzzleloaders. Just because your ladder stand doesn't have a roof and plywood walls doesn't mean you are &quot;hunting&quot; and they aren't. Never mind this arguement is pointless and I think that most everyone here knows that.

Again for the record, I don't hunt out of box stands even 1% of the time. I guess I could say that since I mainly bowhunt, gun hunting isn't really hunting either? And the traditional bow hunters could say my compound bow wasn't really hunting..........and on and on...............

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RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Just make sure you paint it orange so some loco dont shoot at your box some people have bad habits like that. P.S. take a youngster keep hunting alive :)

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Hello you guys. I can't help but reply to the noise I've read tonight. We hunters are in very hard times. With all the liberals trying to stop all hunting. For a hunter to put another hunter down just the same as the non hunters would ?? We are all out there to experence the thrill of the chase, to fullfill the natural preditor inside of us and to get closer to our beginnings.
I do it my way , you do it your way ,
lets just DO IT. <img src=icon_smile_approve.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I enjoy it when they argue, its like a hunting soap opera.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

ruru12, the lazyboy is very comfortable, most people that see think its a riot. but ruru i have another stand that be more to your liking. my grandfather who has been gone for years,once thought that since people could sit on a toilet and read could sit on one in the woods. so he put an old toilet seat in an old hollow tree. and i have sat there . i once leaned back and dozed off . and was awokin by doe maybe 10 feet away stomping. scared the sh** out me and her to when i moved. was this hunting sure it was. i have deer feeders and hunt them . great for young kids . my son killed one this year on one of my feeders. didnt have to sit and get discouraged. my family eats alot of deer and i will get my does any way i can. where i hunt if you tried to stalk you would normally just walk alot . the only time you might be successful is in the rain. at least thats the only time i have been successful. ruru you didnt explain what &quot;actual hunting&quot; was(according to your perception of course)do i have to walk four miles ,shoot a deer and pack it out to be a &quot;real hunter&quot;like you? can you help me understand ?

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I hunt from a groundblind because I can only fall about 2ft which is far enough. I sit all day and like to be comfortable so I used a lawn chair but the legs kept sinking in the sandy ground. The problem was solved by buying a lawnchair with rocking chair legs.All my buddies laughed but I have only missed getting at least one deer once in the last 7 years. This year I'm thinking of building a roof on my blind but then I won't really be hunting I guess,yea right.With a tag in my pocket and a gun in my hand while in the field,sorry I'm hunting.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

I will confess that on occasion when I am not stalking deer naked with my bowie knife gripped in my teeth I have resorted to wearing clothes once it reaches -10 degrees and even used a stand once, but to make sure I was hunting it was made of broken glass. I really like folks who feel if you are not 10 miles back in it is not hunting. I will tell you what some of the easiest deer to get a shot at are way back in there, but the toughest to hunt is that big buck that lives inbetween 2 housing developments.

The Tazman

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Go ahead and make them as comfortable as you can Gatorbuck. You'll be glad you did when you can HUNT comfortably all day. Wear whatever you want, and if you can figure out a way to install a jacuzzi and wet bar, then you'd better put a lock on the door to keep RuRu out! If it's legal, then enjoy it. That's all I have to say about that.

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RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

Gatorbuck I have a &quot;hut&quot; as I call it. I emailed pictures to one of the board members a few months back. I can email them to you if you are still looking for ideas. I have pictures of the hut assembled from the front, side and rear. And I have a picture of it disassembled.

Email me at [email protected].

Now for all of ya'll fussin' back and forth. I agree that this &quot;Holier Than Thou&quot; attitude needs to stop. We are all hunters and regardless of method if it's legal then it's alright.

I hope that no matter what you might think of box-blind hunting or bow-hunting or hunting over bait/feeders or running deer dogs or whatever method of legal hunting our fellow hunters use we can stand as one against the people who would take our hunting rights away.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

IF I HAD A SHOOTING HOUSE I WOULD USE IT IT WOULD BE BETTER THEN FREEZING MY BUTT OFF!!! I THINK I WILL BUILD ME ONE LIKE IN TX..I LIKE THE LAZZY BOY CHAIR WOULD BE NICE THANK YOU ALL FOR THE GOOD IDEAS. BUT YOU FORGOT THE COFFEE POT..

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

bennetRN, I thought about the coffee thing, but I can't get the local elec. coop to run power to my pasture.

RE: Plans for shooting houses??
 

off topic