Tajmahal begins

[wolc123]

Two-story blinds are my favorite.  The upper deck is open-top for good weather conditions, with a 3 ft wall for safety/concealment/gun or crossbow rest. The lower level is just above ground level and enclosed for foul weather conditions.  The back is open, front is closed (faces prevailing wind direction), with swing open window covers on each side, over 3-foot (gun rest) walls.     Have killed a fair number of deer from both levels, including a 3.5 year old buck from up top with the crossbow last season.   This one is built on an old snowmobile trailer for portability:

 

 

[2012_taco]

Well it was a long day but it is up and in place. Still need to do some tweaking, I need to add black out curtains, a couple more diagonal braces, and trim the shooting lanes. It's in great location between 2 food plots and several apple trees nearby. 

[Lomax]

Nice 

[mlammerhirt]

Looks awesome ....hotttest friggin day of the year and you guys decided to put that together.....cudos to your crew!

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[2012_taco]

2 hours ago, mlammerhirt said:

Looks awesome ....hotttest friggin day of the year and you guys decided to put that together.....cudos to your crew!

Sent from my moto z3 using Tapatalk
 

3 guys, the youngest is 58 and one guy is 74!

[46rkl]

I built this one on an 8x8 base. The inside is 6x8 and there is a 2 foot deck on the north side. Fourteen foot legs but splayed at an angle to widen the base and increase stability. A little buddy heater and a couple of chairs and it’s a great lousy weather hunting shack.

Also a good place to escape to when I really need some quiet.

I built the platform and legs, set it in place and fastened it down with stakes and cables and then put each wall panel up and finally put the roof on. My friends will never let me forget that I put the camp paint on each panel upside down! You really can’t tell unless you look closely and my friends don’t have too much to rib me about as each of them have taken a deer from it in the last three years.

[2012_taco]

On 6/10/2020 at 11:06 PM, 46rkl said:

I built this one on an 8x8 base. The inside is 6x8 and there is a 2 foot deck on the north side. Fourteen foot legs but splayed at an angle to widen the base and increase stability. A little buddy heater and a couple of chairs and it’s a great lousy weather hunting shack.

Also a good place to escape to when I really need some quiet.

I built the platform and legs, set it in place and fastened it down with stakes and cables and then put each wall panel up and finally put the roof on. My friends will never let me forget that I put the camp paint on each panel upside down! You really can’t tell unless you look closely and my friends don’t have too much to rib me about as each of them have taken a deer from it in the last three years.

Did you use the metal brackets for attaching the 4x4 posts? I  used them on the blind we just put up but after seeing how much i had to brace the 4x4s I'm starting to think they are a waste of money.  $70 for a set of 4. I think I could easily bolt the 4x4 to the deck frame and with the same amount of braces  it will be just as solid. 

[Lawdwaz]

The brackets are made for guys with zero to minimal carpentry skills like me.  
 

It not surprising that you could come up with a better cheaper mouse trap.  

 

[mlammerhirt]

Did you use the metal brackets for attaching the 4x4 posts? I  used them on the blind we just put up but after seeing how much i had to brace the 4x4s I'm starting to think they are a waste of money.  $70 for a set of 4. I think I could easily bolt the 4x4 to the deck frame and with the same amount of braces  it will be just as solid. 

Law I agree about the brackets......I bought a set to try out on the fort/Swingset I am building my boys. I will definitely have to brace the legs to eliminate the "rack" in the deck that the swings will cause. Not sure if I will buy another set.

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[46rkl]

10 hours ago, 2012_taco said:

Did you use the metal brackets for attaching the 4x4 posts? I  used them on the blind we just put up but after seeing how much i had to brace the 4x4s I'm starting to think they are a waste of money.  $70 for a set of 4. I think I could easily bolt the 4x4 to the deck frame and with the same amount of braces  it will be just as solid. 

Yes, I did use those metal brackets. They work well and are very easy to use but in the next one, I probably would not use them. Again, no problem, they work fine. Just not something I couldn’t do myself.

Edited June 14, 2020 by 46rkl
Deletion of info.

[G-Man]

12 hours ago, 46rkl said:

Yes, I did use those metal brackets. They work well and are very easy to use but in the next one, I probably would not use them. Again, no problem, they work fine. Just not something I couldn’t do myself.

They do make it easy to remove legs and.move if need be. I've done it to 2 different blinds ,moving uppers with a tractor after removing legs.  Would of been very top heavy with loader way up in air. . Yes you could unlag  legs from frame as well but I just leave mine in socket so they slide off easy , yes need to brace legs either way. .

[Fletch]

On 6/7/2020 at 2:37 PM, wolc123 said:

Two-story blinds are my favorite.  The upper deck is open-top for good weather conditions, with a 3 ft wall for safety/concealment/gun or crossbow rest. The lower level is just above ground level and enclosed for foul weather conditions.  The back is open, front is closed (faces prevailing wind direction), with swing open window covers on each side, over 3-foot (gun rest) walls.     Have killed a fair number of deer from both levels, including a 3.5 year old buck from up top with the crossbow last season.   This one is built on an old snowmobile trailer for portability:

 

 

What in Cousin Friggin Tarnation is that!!  lol

 

 

Is that some Modern Artsy stuff?

 

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by Fletch

[UpStateRedNeck]

I called mine "The Flying Outhouse"

Dunno if I posted it before here.  Sorry if it's a repeat!

[wolc123]

5 hours ago, Fletch said:

What in Cousin Friggin Tarnation is that!!  lol

 

 

Is that some Modern Artsy stuff?

 

 

I like it better than any of the other blinds that have been posted in this thread, and that is not just because all the materials were free. The upper deck is missing one thing that I see all of the others have, and that is a big advantage for deer hunting.   They all have "blind spots".  You never know from what direction a deer may appear from and I like to be able to see 360 degrees around.  More than 3/4 of the times that I have hunted that blind, the weather conditions were good enough to hunt the top level.

I have only taken one deer from the lower level of that one since I added the upper level about (5) years ago.  Back when it only had the lower level, I would move it around from year to year, based on where my best food plots were.  Now it has found a permanent home in my favorite spot.  

I have another, slightly smaller one made from a 6.5 ft construction style truck cap, over at my folks place.   I have never taken a deer from the lower level of that one , but did kill what may have been my largest-bodied whitetail buck (43" chest girth) from the upper deck of it with my crossbow in 2017.    That buck showed up about 4 minutes after i cleared the leaves out of the upper deck.   I am fairly certain he was attracted to that sound, thinking it was a rival buck clearing a scrape.   This one is not in such a hot-spot, and also built on a trailer, so I may give it a move.  I can't always depend on having dry leaves to scrape out of it.            

 

Edited June 15, 2020 by wolc123

[Lomax]

A little wrap today. Windows and siding next.  

[Zag]

5 minutes ago, Lomax said:

A little wrap today. Windows and siding next.  

Looks great!! Our redneck blind just arrived so we’re grabbing that Thursday and this weekend will get the rest of the platform done.

[2012_taco]

We went back out yesterday and finished the stairs, added a railing,  and sone of the miscellaneous trim pieces.  Still need to beef up the railings, but I  ran out of 3" screws! The pic looks like my phone has a fisheye lense? The sides of the blind are not curved!

Edited June 18, 2020 by 2012_taco
added text.

[UpStateRedNeck]

I've got to reinforce my stairs this year and re-hang the door.  Otherwise it's held up great.  If I get another plot out in in the north side, next year I'll be making another blind for it.  

[G-Man]

On 6/18/2020 at 7:17 AM, 2012_taco said:

We went back out yesterday and finished the stairs, added a railing,  and sone of the miscellaneous trim pieces.  Still need to beef up the railings, but I  ran out of 3" screws! The pic looks like my phone has a fisheye lense? The sides of the blind are not curved!

Need you to help.me make stairs for the glass tower...

[2012_taco]

13 hours ago, G-Man said:

Need you to help.me make stairs for the glass tower...

I can help, just need to co ordinate a time. Call me and we can discuss what you need and get a material list.

[Zag]

Picked her up the other day

[Lomax]

Nice Zag. Your going to enjoy that this fall and winter.  Mr Buddy heater and you can sit all day 

[Zag]

Well she arrived to her destination. Wasn’t to bad getting her back.

[Moho81]

How essential do you think it is to at least build the floor out of pressure treated lumber? I ask because I have enough non pressure treated 2x6's left over from another project to completely build the floor of my box. I figured I would paint everything exposed to help it last longer knowing that I will have to repaint it again a few years down the line. 

[Cory]

4 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

How essential do you think it is to at least build the floor out of pressure treated lumber? I ask because I have enough non pressure treated 2x6's left over from another project to completely build the floor of my box. I figured I would paint everything exposed to help it last longer knowing that I will have to repaint it again a few years down the line. 

Floor should be fine but the next time you change your oil on your truck take the oil and brush it on the wood . It will help seal it.