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Box Blinds

eiowaarcher

eiowaarcher

Member
I know there was a similar thread going on last year but just curious what some of you guys have built or used for your box blinds. Set-Ups you really like and of course things you won't do again.
 
We build a 6'x6' platform about 12-15 feet up (we have used 4x4 and 6x6 posts, both work fine) and frame a box blind out of 2x6's just like framing a house, with windows and doors, works great and very sturdy!! Im building a new one for the kids to hunt out of on my new food plot at my house this yr, I thinks its gonna be a 6x8 condo!!! Putting a small wood burning stove in it a buddy is making me out of an old semi air tank also!!
 
Not a "box" blind but it works excellent! My landowner gave me the tank and even delivered it. :) While it's set up for gun, it wouldn't of taken much to make it for bow also. Very easy to move around also.







 
We build them in the shop and then put them up with our skid loader. We get the windows when they're on sale at menards. and put the door in the bottom.
 
Here's one we're framing up now

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A couple of different styles we've built over the years…

Camo Condo. 6x8, horizontal sliding plexiglass windows, entry door in the bottom. Plenty of room for 3 and has been great for taking kids hunting.



The mobil version…wagon condo 2. This one's a little smaller, but still fine for 2 people. Just moved it to one of our favorite turkey hot spots over the weekend :D



NWBuck
 
We went similar to shovelbuck in that we got a free tank with doors/windows precut. Also have an abundance of power poles we got for free and old bridge plank from a county for free. The tank is just OK, the colder it gets the louder it is. On the other hand the platforms we built will out last my house. Here is one platform we built and put the tank on and one that we built and will eventually build a hut on.
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Here's a little something I threw together on my farms, I think I have ten of these all together. Nothing fancy but they work ok!

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APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) :) :)
 
We built this one over the weekend. Made the walls at home, then just put it all up on Saturday, and chainsawed the heck out of the whole place.





 
This is one I made and have the door in the floor and used windows on sale from Menards. By having the door in the floor it seals up very tight and remains water tight even in the wind. I used insulated panels they were throwing away at work and they already had a painted metal skin, made metal trim so the only exposed wood are the legs and underneath of the floor. Would've liked to have it a little bigger but limited to the size of the panels, but it's pretty easy to keep warm and dry all day.


 
Don't forget about the orange on all 4 sides if using it during shotgun seasons. That is what those "U" shaped brackets are below each window in the pic of my blind. I open the window when I get to the blind and insert the orange square made from wood into the brackets and when I'm done hunting they are easy to remove.
 
iowavf said:
Don't forget about the orange on all 4 sides if using it during shotgun seasons. That is what those "U" shaped brackets are below each window in the pic of my blind. I open the window when I get to the blind and insert the orange square made from wood into the brackets and when I'm done hunting they are easy to remove.
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Whichever clowns passed that orange law need a kick to the face. If I have one more nanny state law & stupid nonsense government babysitter telling me how to be safe on my land I'm gonna go move to my own Island and eat coconuts.

On the blinds- as of 2 yrs ago I determined it makes 0 sense to build ur own. Out of a project of my buddies- he left 4 framed blinds in my barn I've spent an eternity finishing and it's obvious I'm not a builder but my silly construction will turn out ok & I know I didn't save any $ even if my time was free. Only way ill do more is just for a "fun project"
 
I think the orange is there for the smaller pop up camo ground blinds that also get brushed in. Some of those are hard to see at 75 yards and you can't see the orange the hunter is wearing. To each their own on building or buying a blind. I have $300 in mine and would hard pressed to find a store made one that would even come close to comparison at that price.
 
iowavf said:
I think the orange is there for the smaller pop up camo ground blinds that also get brushed in. Some of those are hard to see at 75 yards and you can't see the orange the hunter is wearing. To each their own on building or buying a blind. I have $300 in mine and would hard pressed to find a store made one that would even come close to comparison at that price.
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Seriously curious... How can it be close to $300? I just got done building 4 and using the cheapest material I could find & it was no where near that. Those brackets you have the 4x4's stuck to are like $100 per blind or something like that (I can't remember, bro got those but something like that). Windows, all I could find, the cheapest were still somewhere in the ballpark of $30-$75 each & I had $200+ into windows alone. Then buying all the screws, treated lumber (4x4's, 2x4's, 2x10's, treated panel or plywood), paint, hinges, carpet for base, staples, caulk, roofing (wood, then tar paper then metal), etc, etc, etc - things get way more $ into them than I wished - not even in the ballpark of $300. If you have some ways to save some serious $, I'm open for sure.


here's more detailed on what I have into mine, I'm missing a lot of things, I know & I may be off a little/ballparks. I'd really like suggestions on saving some funds for sure.

per blind:
- Paint, $30 per blind
- Windows, $200 per blind
- Hinges, $20
- Caulk & foam, $20
- All roofing from wood to tar tape to metal, $60
- Treated 4x4's & 2x4's & 2x10's - $125
- treated plywood, $150
- Deck screws, $30
- Brackets for base to raise to attach 4x4's - $100
- foam strips for sealing things - $15
- Carpet $20
- Staples & fasteners for roof, etc - $20
- Misc extra costs I'm missing & all the other things I didn't plan for $50
- Time, 10-12 hours per blind - FREE :)

TOTAL: $840.
In all honesty, I did upgrade a lot of above items to nicer things on 2 of the blinds, better carpet, better wood, some custom things, blah blah blah and I have another $200 but most folks would never do those things, so I'm over $1000 but $840 was about as cheap as I could do it or did one. If I billed myself for time, electricity on tools & my building, wear on tools, etc - oh man.
 
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Sligh1 said:
Seriously curious... How can it be close to $300? I just got done building 4 and using the cheapest material I could find & it was no where near that. Those brackets you have the 4x4's stuck to are like $100 per blind or something like that (I can't remember, bro got those but something like that). Windows, all I could find, the cheapest were still somewhere in the ballpark of $30-$75 each & I had $200+ into windows alone. Then buying all the screws, treated lumber (4x4's, 2x4's, 2x10's, treated panel or plywood), paint, hinges, carpet for base, staples, caulk, roofing (wood, then tar paper then metal), etc, etc, etc - things get way more $ into them than I wished - not even in the ballpark of $300. If you have some ways to save some serious $, I'm open for sure.


here's more detailed on what I have into mine, I'm missing a lot of things, I know & I may be off a little/ballparks. I'd really like suggestions on saving some funds for sure.

per blind:
- Paint, $30 per blind
- Windows, $200 per blind
- Hinges, $20
- Caulk & foam, $20
- All roofing from wood to tar tape to metal, $60
- Treated 4x4's & 2x4's & 2x10's - $125
- treated plywood, $150
- Deck screws, $30
- Brackets for base to raise to attach 4x4's - $100
- foam strips for sealing things - $15
- Carpet $20
- Staples & fasteners for roof, etc - $20
- Misc extra costs I'm missing & all the other things I didn't plan for $50
- Time, 10-12 hours per blind - FREE :)

TOTAL: $840.
In all honesty, I did upgrade a lot of above items to nicer things on 2 of the blinds, better carpet, better wood, some custom things, blah blah blah and I have another $200 but most folks would never do those things, so I'm over $1000 but $840 was about as cheap as I could do it or did one. If I billed myself for time, electricity on tools & my building, wear on tools, etc - oh man.
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I bought the brackets for $85 on the internet, windows were $20 each on sale at Menards, side panels were free, most of the 2 x 4's I had from other projects or by brother had. I will admit if I had to go and buy everything at the lumber yard new, I would have a couple more hundred easy. I didn't have to paint anything due to the panels are already painted, had several pieces of those carpet squares a guy gave me, shingles left over from another project. I did have about $30 in metal trim a friend here in town made me, he has a metal shop setup in his garage.
 
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Forgot to mention our local landfill takes chemicals and paint and if they are still usable they are free to the public. I got a couple gallons of paint and several tubes of new caulking for my smaller blind I built a couple years ago.
 
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