Is this how you install your deer stands?

[Len Backus]

This summer I bought another 52 acres to add to my 170 in central Wisconsin. I have lease rights to an additional 80 acres. We built this deer hunting shooting tower on a small hill on the edge of a crop field. Woods are on 3 sides of the field and 80 acres of marsh are at the far end of it. I can shoot well past 1K. The marsh serves as a sanctuary for deer. We don't go into it once the bow season starts in late September. Much of the breeding activity occurs in this area. The bucks were running around like crazy in there today. Rifle season starts at the end of next week!

[ 11-13-2003: Message edited by: Len Backus ]

 

[Dave King]

Len

Where can I get one of those Cat lawn mower and AT Forklift things?? I'd just stick a box on the lift bars and have a mobile stand... chase those rutting SOB's down

.

I'm leaving to come up for the deer season and to visit in-laws

. Cheryl will visit her Mum most of the time and I'll be forced to choke down a dry and desert dust turkey on Thanksgiving Day (thankful it only comes once a year...choke, choke, cough).

Non-Resident License was $168, got an extra "bonus" anterless tag and the standard buck or doe tag with the complimentary "T" zone free antlerless, also gave $5.00 to some "feed the helpless" thing.

Here's an older photo of a fair year's damage...Randy (my lifelong friend) eat's the things YUCK!, he's the fat fella on the right, I'd be the jack-o-lantern on the left.

Good luck and take care in the new stand..

[ 11-14-2003: Message edited by: Dave King ]

 

[Matt Regalia]

Hey Len,

How tall is that tower? I have built a few 16 footers (16ft to the floor) but that looks to be around 25. How big is the platform? Going to add any guy wires for stability in the wind? Should make for a beautiful hunting/ shooting/ observation deck.

Please post a picture when it completed.

Matt

 

[Len Backus]

Matt

23 feet, I think, to the floor. The stand is complete and we did use guy wires. Anchored them with those auger type stakes that are used to hold farm fences. Pretty slick. I have a sheet of 3/4 plywood for a benchtop. We added quite a bit more 2x4 bracing then is shown in this photo. I'll take a picture of the completed project this next week and post it.

Dave

I think you can get one of these machines on Amazon.com

If you put it on your Discover card you get 1% back. Let's see...that would be $400 back.

 

[Dave King]

$400 cash back!!!! Wooo Hooo I'm gonna be rich!

 

[Matt Regalia]

Len,

Sounds like a real nice set up. Are you enclosing the top? A roof maybe with open walls and just do burlap for concealment. The towers I built are on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in the marsh. They have nice 2X4 railings and burlap covers the sides. We get some viscious wind down there and the burlap will breakfree before damaging the tower. The first one I built had plywood sides and the first good storm we had it went over. So we did burlap and have not lost one in 9 years. since it is in the swamp i can not run guy wires. I run 16 ft 2X4 out as spider legs and then stab a 2X4 into the swap and screw the end of the spider leg to it, to anchor it down.

Sure wish i could get a machine like you have out in the marsh when we stood our towers up. It was alot of rope, a 4-wheeler, 6 wheeled Argo, and 6 guys.

Matt

 

[Guest]

Len,

We used a "Tree Trimming" service with a boom truck to install these.

Don

 

[Len Backus]

Matt

I have put camo die-cut fabric on the sides and no roof. I have a covered and enclosed slightly shorter stand further down in the crop field for really nasty weather. I think, though, I will figure out a way to mount a big golf umbrella on this one if the weather forecast is bad.

Wow, I can just imagine how tough it was to get your stand up without a machine. Maybe in the winter when the ground is frozen you could get a machine out there.

Don

I thought I was the only one in the world smart enough to figure out how to use a machine to set up a stand like yours and mine. Now I feel less special.

 

[Matt Regalia]

Len it might be possible to get a machine out there in Winter. But I still remember the last wheeled vehicle that was bigger than a 4-wheeler that I took out in the Marsh during the winter (My old Willy's jeep with a Chevy V-8 and mud tires). Took me 300 feet of rope, chain, cable and a D4 Caterpiller tractor to get it out

Let just say the marsh was not totally frozen yet

Matt

 

[Guest]

Len,

You will always be "special" to all of us.

Not sure what you paid for that rig but the local tree trimming service charged $30 an hour and I thought that was very resonable.

We installed the bases on one day and a week later had them slide the tops over the bases. The week allowed the concrete to set up. The tops are carraige bolted to the bases. We put 1 1/2" angle iron vertically up the sides of the smaller ones for added strength. Last week we had winds measured to 78 MPH and they are still standing. I guess they aren't going to blow over anytime soon.

Don