# Anyone make a platform for pop up blind?



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

I am thinking of making a raised platform to put a pop-up blind on. I have some ideas of what I'm going to do, but I thought I would check out some pics/ideas from the diy guys here. I generally hunt from stands, but my step-sons want to hunt more this year so some blind hunting is in order. There are a couple ag fields on the farm, but they all have a gentle crown to them. If you're standing up, you can see across them, but if you're on the ground you can only see about 30-40 yards out. I would like it to be fairly easy to take down (not permanent) as it will be on a lease, and only needs to be about 4-5 feet high. I am thinking of a 'sectioned' platform of 4 pieces that just bolt together, with small enough pieces to handle by myself and transport with an atv (can't use a truck as the crops are in). And I know that they sell platforms like this... but that's not in the budget :wink:

SO... anyone got any pics of a platform they built?


----------



## theloghouser (Aug 16, 2002)

one year i put a round bale on end with another one on end on top of that , then a pop up blind on top, deer paid absolutely no attention to the set up / worked GREAT!


----------



## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

My BIL and nephew do that, but they are permanent, and I don't have any pics anyway. 

My only reason for responding is to make you aware of a potential problem. Often (maybe always) the windows are not cut low enough to take the shot while sitting. While hunting one of their blinds last fall, that, and my stupidity, cost me a P&Y buck. It was a downhill 18 yard shot. I knew there was the potential to hit below the window. I got the sight on the buck and moved my head to the left to make sure the broadhead would be thru the mesh. All looked good. Got back on the sight and took the shot. Sounded like a 12 gauge going off. Of course, I had put the arrow thru several layers of fabric below the mesh. The arrow took off toward Saturn and I probably shot 4 feet over the deer. The arrow didn't go 50 yards, I assume because it used most of it's energy penetrating all that fabric. 

This past spring I was hunting turkey from the same blind. Again, a slight downhill shot. This time I came up off the stool and shot from a semi-crouched position. Not my favorite way to shoot, but the results were much better. 

Just something to be aware of. Best of luck to you, and kudos for getting the youngster out with you.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

theloghouser said:


> one year i put a round bale on end with another one on end on top of that , then a pop up blind on top, deer paid absolutely no attention to the set up / worked GREAT!


nice. I've seen that done before with wooden box blinds placed on top, seems like it would work good. I don't really have access to bales, or means to move them at this farm. Plus, the spot i am wanting to put it is a ditchline/creek between two fields and it would be pretty hard to get a bale level.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

bbjavelina said:


> My BIL and nephew do that, but they are permanent, and I don't have any pics anyway.
> 
> My only reason for responding is to make you aware of a potential problem. Often (maybe always) the windows are not cut low enough to take the shot while sitting. While hunting one of their blinds last fall, that, and my stupidity, cost me a P&Y buck. It was a downhill 18 yard shot. I knew there was the potential to hit below the window. I got the sight on the buck and moved my head to the left to make sure the broadhead would be thru the mesh. All looked good. Got back on the sight and took the shot. Sounded like a 12 gauge going off. Of course, I had put the arrow thru several layers of fabric below the mesh. The arrow took off toward Saturn and I probably shot 4 feet over the deer. The arrow didn't go 50 yards, I assume because it used most of it's energy penetrating all that fabric.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the heads up. I have thought about that, which is one of the reasons for keeping it at 4-5 feet off the ground. And the way the ground crowns up, if the deer are more than 15 yards away they will likely not be more than a few feet below our level. Also, the blind I will be using has tall skinny windows at each corner, that go down lower than the other windows so I'm hoping it will work out. I will have to get them out there to practice shooting out of it though, that's for sure.


----------



## rockrollnload (Apr 30, 2011)

Here's a link to one I made last year. Worked great!

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2080011


----------



## Sluggy24 (Dec 18, 2009)

its not very DIY but my dad has been using a rusty old set of scaffold, with some 4x4s and a bit of ply, its easy to set up and take down! You can cut down the braces and punch new holes if you don't want a full 10 foot platform. On our moose stands we left them full length so you have a nice deck area in front of the blind when the weather is nice. 

-Jay


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

rockrollnload said:


> Here's a link to one I made last year. Worked great!
> 
> http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2080011


Looks great... were you able to shoot a bow out of it at 20 yds or less (angle, etc)?


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

Sluggy24 said:


> its not very DIY but my dad has been using a rusty old set of scaffold, with some 4x4s and a bit of ply, its easy to set up and take down! You can cut down the braces and punch new holes if you don't want a full 10 foot platform. On our moose stands we left them full length so you have a nice deck area in front of the blind when the weather is nice.
> 
> -Jay


That's funny because I seriously considered using some old pallet racking that we had laying around as a base... but it's a bit too narrow for what I need.


----------



## rockrollnload (Apr 30, 2011)

Bowhuntertim214 said:


> Looks great... were you able to shoot a bow out of it at 20 yds or less (angle, etc)?


Yes, no problem taking shots at about 12-14 yds. I have to stand up, but it can be done. It also depends on the blind you use as they have different window configurations. The blind I'm using is a KillZone Turret XL. Just make sure to practice out of it before hand. Then you will find out what works and what doesn't.

Good luck this season, RRNL


----------



## Nolanoutdoors (May 3, 2009)

Here is one of mine that I was working on. I make most of them 5x5 with a trap door. This one is 5x6. All have 5 foot removable legs. I will put plywood and carpet on top and brush in.


----------



## Nolanoutdoors (May 3, 2009)

Here is a little better pic.

View attachment 1989115


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

Nolanoutdoors said:


> Here is one of mine that I was working on. I make most of them 5x5 with a trap door. This one is 5x6. All have 5 foot removable legs. I will put plywood and carpet on top and brush in.
> 
> View attachment 1989112


That's nice...just about what I'm looking for! and I like the trap door idea, thanks for sharing the pic.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

well, I finally got round to making my blind platform. After thinking about several possibilities of how to make it portable enough to haul out on my atv, I decided the best, easiest, and cheapest way was to just assemble it all out there. We measured and cut all of the pieces at home in the garage, then put a coat of some weather sealer/stain on all of the pieces. The decking was cut in 2 foot widths so I could transport it on the quad and not drive over the planted beans. It took 2 trips on the quad to get all of the material to the spot. Then we just assembled it on site and put the blind up...worked well and the one coat of stain actually blends in quite nice...it aint pretty, but it's effective. The best part is that it was 85% recycled/used materials. I only had to buy the decking and a couple more 2x4's...I think I have about $30 in to it. 
The "kit": This is everything except the legs and steps.
[URL="[/URL] 
On site, ready to start building.
[URL="[/URL]
[URL="[/URL]
The finished project. Took about 2 hours to get it on location and assemble. 
[URL="[/URL]

It's very stable and solid. It would support a wooden box blind if I ever wanted to go that route, but I like the semi-portability of this. When the beans are out I could drive my truck to this spot and move it all in one piece if I wanted to, or disassemble a bit with a cordless driver and move it.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

I forgot to list the dimensions. I went with a 6' x 8' deck at 7' tall. I had the 8 foot 2x4's already, and the sheets for decking are 8', so I just went full length so that it left me a 2 foot "deck" off the side. This makes it easier to climb up and get in. I just made the deck cantilevered and added the extra pole for the ladder, which also helps to stabilize it. I may put a hand rail up there of some kind so that the kids have something to grab when getting on and off the platform... that straight up and down ladder kind of makes it tricky without something to hold onto up top... but it works for now. The 7 foot height is plenty to allow us to see all the way across the fields. The location is in a ditch row between a bean field and a corn field, it's only about 10 yards wide or so. Both fields have a crown to them though, so if you're on ground level you can't see more than about 40 yards out...the 7 feet allows me to see clear across both fields and I have shots to both the beans and corn (although the shooting lane to the corn is fairly small). If a deer was walking the edge of the beans, I wouldn't have much of a shot with a bow, but if they are at least 10 yards out I should be fine, and if they are 50-60 yards or so I think we would be close to eye level with them.


----------



## bbjavelina (Jan 30, 2005)

That looks good and should be very effective.

Only thing I'd do different is kick the bottom of the ladder our 2 or 3 feet. 

Hope it works well for you.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

bbjavelina said:


> That looks good and should be very effective.
> 
> Only thing I'd do different is kick the bottom of the ladder our 2 or 3 feet.
> 
> Hope it works well for you.


I agree, it really needs a separate ladder at an angle... that would make it easier. It's easy to climb, but the transition from the straight up ladder to the platform is a little awkward... I may do something about that before season.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

well, we had some wicked storms roll through here last week so I went out to check on the tower blind, and to my surprise it was just fine. We had 60-70 mph winds blow through, trees down everywhere, power outages all over...but the blind was just fine except the roof had folded in. I wasn't worried about the platform moving, but I figured the blind might be all busted up. It must be because of the tree row blocking some of the wind... either way I'm glad that I don't have to buy a new popup.


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

I put up another platform this weekend. This one is only about 5 1/2 feet tall, but it sits up on a rise so you have a good view of the area. It overlooks a funnel exiting some thick bedding cover that is surrounded by corn and lower swamp land. The tree behind the blind is too big to easily get a stand in, plus it's the only tree of any size so you would be silouetted once the leaves fall. I also made this one portable and hauled it on the quad with one load. Anyone else DIY a platform this year? let's see some pics.
Complete platform loaded on the quad:







Finished location:


----------



## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

Bowhuntertim214 said:


> I put up another platform this weekend. This one is only about 5 1/2 feet tall, but it sits up on a rise so you have a good view of the area. It overlooks a funnel exiting some thick bedding cover that is surrounded by corn and lower swamp land. The tree behind the blind is too big to easily get a stand in, plus it's the only tree of any size so you would be silouetted once the leaves fall. I also made this one portable and hauled it on the quad with one load. Anyone else DIY a platform this year? let's see some pics.
> Complete platform loaded on the quad:
> View attachment 2841890
> 
> ...


I like the simplicity of this one a lot. are you anchoring it to the ground?


----------



## Bowhuntertim214 (Jun 19, 2012)

Pittstate23 said:


> I like the simplicity of this one a lot. are you anchoring it to the ground?


The blind is obviously anchored to the deck, but platform is not anchored to the ground. On this one the back two legs are buried into the ground a little to make it level. The first one I built is taller and has been out for a year with no issues... they are pretty heavy, it would take some crazy weather to flip it over I think, but that is a good thought.


----------



## HuntingFool2x (Jul 23, 2020)

Bowhuntertim214 said:


> I am thinking of making a raised platform to put a pop-up blind on. I have some ideas of what I'm going to do, but I thought I would check out some pics/ideas from the diy guys here. I generally hunt from stands, but my step-sons want to hunt more this year so some blind hunting is in order. There are a couple ag fields on the farm, but they all have a gentle crown to them. If you're standing up, you can see across them, but if you're on the ground you can only see about 30-40 yards out. I would like it to be fairly easy to take down (not permanent) as it will be on a lease, and only needs to be about 4-5 feet high. I am thinking of a 'sectioned' platform of 4 pieces that just bolt together, with small enough pieces to handle by myself and transport with an atv (can't use a truck as the crops are in). And I know that they sell platforms like this... but that's not in the budget :wink:
> 
> SO... anyone got any pics of a platform they built?


I made a portable platform consisting of five pieces and upon assembly, held in place by 12 carriage bolts. I used treated 4 x 4 posts for legs and made a 5 x 5 top from plywood and 2 x 4 used as floor joists. Essentially a card table. The heaviest piece is the top approximately 80 pounds. I hunt in NW PA, and was recently cited by the PGC under PA code 58 Sec 135.2 Sub sec (13) for unlawfully constructing, placing,maintaining, occupying, or using structures or other tangible property on lands under commission agreement, control or jurisdiction. I'm not the only one see ammoland.com, thread:Tree Stands, Blinds Left on Pennsylvania Game Lands Need to be Tagged. Scary because the steps to loc-on stands and the ladder sections of a ladder stand could be considered other structures or tangible property by PGC wardens I guess. So does this mean hunting industry vendors such as muddy, *******, shadowhunter need to make disclaimer that there box blinds,etc. can only be legally used in PA on private and /or leased lands? Can't believe this was the intent of the regulation. Want to believe it was to keep individuals from nailing a bunch of boards on properties they don't own to create a stand.


----------



## gatt40 (Apr 27, 2010)

I make stands out of plywood that only sit off the ground 2 feet at max depending on terrain. Mine are very portable as they are hinged in the middle to fold up like a camp table. A couple of handles on each end makes for easy carry by 2 guys. I usually screw down the pop up to keep it in place and add carpet to the floor to dampen noise.


----------

