Tower deer stand project

[retch sweeny]

It will be stood up, Leveled and anchored with steel cables. It can be moved as a sled by attaching 2 x 10 12 feet long. I have already pre-drilled the bottoms of the legs for such an event. I have hunted this land for 36 years. I’m putting in a funnel that has produced every year so odds are low I will ever need to move it. Yes my Dad knows about it. He is the one that had me change the design from a ladder to a staircase. I should have designed it that way to begin with. With age comes wisdom.

[retch sweeny]

After some dry weather and a forecast for a nice weekend I reserved a U-Haul trailer to get the stand up north to where it will be erected. Friday afternoon I was loaded and ready to go.



I enlisted the help of 2 of my brothers and a nephew. Was started at 8:00 on Sat morning. Building the stand didn’t leave a lot of time of picture taking but I did my best.



We flipped the stand over and set it on cement pads and leveled it.





Than anchored it in 4 locations with 3/16 cable and steel posts driven deep into the ground.





The pre-made stair case was the next addition.



Then it was time to attach the walls.





Putting up the last wall and the roof was a chore and I forgot to stop for pictures. It wasn’t until I finished the stair railing that I remembered to take more pictures. Here is the finished stand.









Here it is with the windows open and shutters down.



Here is the view looking North from the porch. There is a river that became a pond a few years ago when beavers dammed it up. You can see all the trees that died from being under water. The beaver problem is gone but the damage remains.



The view looking West. you can see 440 yards.



Looking North you can 1,000 yards to the farm.



Looking East to the river. I need to cut some shooting lanes.



When the stand was finished I attended a first communion celebration for my niece. Then I came back with my father to show him the completed stand. He liked it and it was easy to climb the staircase with his 77 year old knees.





I started the design of this stand back in Dec of last year (2011). It took 5 months to complete working on and off as time and weather would allow. It was a fun project that several people will be able to enjoy for years to come.

[Deebz]

Looks great Retch!

are you going to paint the ladder/framework at all? I like the tree trunks painted on the walls. It looks like it will blend in nicely with the backdrop of the dead trees. Looks to be in a likely location as well.

[retch sweeny]

Looks great Retch!

are you going to paint the ladder/framework at all? I like the tree trunks painted on the walls. It looks like it will blend in nicely with the backdrop of the dead trees. Looks to be in a likely location as well.

Yes I will paint the treated lumber base but I ave to wait for the wood to dry, its still quite wet. Tthe stand will blend in better in the fall when the leaves are down and everything is grey.

This farm has been in the family for over 100 years. This corner is a great spot that has produced many deer. The river running so close to the corner of the field makes it a great pinch point/funnel.

[msbadger]

Great job and fun watching the process...not done yet though...we need those fall pics of smiling faces and down game...Thanks

[hunter12]

I am interested in building this type of box blind, it looks great!!!! How can I get the design layout? What is the cost to purchase plans?

[Lake Hamilton Agri Mechanics]

Great job on the stand. I belong to an Agri Mechanics class and we were asked to find something the class could build as a whole and started looking and looking and then we found your stand and my instructor said that its perfect but i need detailed plans instructions and a list of supplies all the way down to wat kind of screws or nails to use please get back to us on that asap