Raising A Deer Tower Stand

[Ridgerunner]

This past week, I built a deer tower on our back meadow. I have a couple ravines and a steep hill between the house and the site so transporting lumber to the back was almost impossible even with my ATV so I obtained permission from the neighbor to the north to allow me access across his field to my fence line. All went well and the structure was assembled this past week. The main problem now that the structure was complete was to raise the 18' stand to an erect position without any type of power equipment and just Stumpjumper and myself doing the work. After much internet research and thought, we decided to use tow rope, chains, and a come-along secured to the base of an 8" cedar tree. The other key tool to create the upward leverage needed was a 12 foot 4x4 with a "v" notch in the end. The tow rope was run through windows on opposite sides of the tower and brought together and run up and over the erect 4x4 notch and then down and secured to the base of the cedar tree. Unfortunately, my camera went dead before we got it fully erect but it worked like a charm except for one minor mishap Notice the two 2"x6" boards that run across the bottom of the legs and extend two feet beyond the legs on one side. Once the stand was raised beyond the teetering point, it was those extended boards that kept it from tumbling on over

Today I repaired the damage to the one side that you can see in this final pic. Oh, did I mention the chain broke free when we had it about 5' off the ground?

[zelph]

HoooraHHHH!!!!!

I would have given my eye teeth to see the faces of you jumper when the chain broke free. I bet you guys were tense when the stand landed and the extended timbers were put to the test

Thanks for sharing your DIY project. When you going to sit in for a couple of hours to plan your upcoming hunt events? What's going to be in season? You got water nearby with waterfowl on it?

How are you going to get your recliner up there? What will be the amenities? Is this going to be your "man cave"?

Is it visible from your house?

Clever means of raising it.....you guys did good!!!!!

[sudden]

That looked like fun.

[Ridgerunner]

That looked like fun.

The fun part was building it. Getting all wood to the site was a pain and the raising was nerve racking. Happy that it's up. We just need to get it leveled and work on the finishing touches.

[Ridgerunner]

HoooraHHHH!!!!!

I would have given my eye teeth to see the faces of you jumper when the chain broke free. I bet you guys were tense when the stand landed and the extended timbers were put to the test

Thanks for sharing your DIY project. When you going to sit in for a couple of hours to plan your upcoming hunt events? What's going to be in season? You got water nearby with waterfowl on it?

How are you going to get your recliner up there? What will be the amenities? Is this going to be your "man cave"?

Is it visible from your house?

Clever means of raising it.....you guys did good!!!!!

Zelph, the eyes were like saucers and it might have been a moment or two before we took a breath. Close to the same response when it was raised past the teetering point and came down and tipped our way a bit before settling into its final resting spot

As a matter in fact, there is a large secluded pond within 50yds and it gets lots of ducks and geese plus turkeys like to roost in some of the pines around it. I'm looking forward to spending more time in our woods.

As far a amenities....it is already insulated. It has 4 wooden windows that open out and 4 plexiglas windows the open inward. We will add carpet to deaden sound. It will have a urinal and a propane heater. Sorry, no cable tv.

[zelph]

Stumpjumper probably has a spool of cable laying around in his "man building" that you guys can use to run a temporary cable out to it by the 1st of the year Until then, you have your iPhone for internet access.

After the New Year, you can go around and collect used pine trees from the curb and secure them around the base of your "Man Hut" I like multi purpose trees

[Ridgerunner]

Ha, those pine trees work better for cover structure for crappie fishing The tower has plenty of cedar trees surrounding it in very close proximity. Stumpjumper has a spool of cable of a different type that we will use to anchor the tower down

[zelph]

Sounds like a good plan. I have not had some good crappie eating in a long time. Does the State Park have good ice fishing? How about the nearby pond, deep enough for some ice fishing?

[Ridgerunner]

Sounds like a good plan. I have not had some good crappie eating in a long time. Does the State Park have good ice fishing? How about the nearby pond, deep enough for some ice fishing?

We have not had many opportunities to ice fish the area in recent years. I have a friend that spend a lot of time ice fishing further north(Lake Erie) and does extremely well. He had to help rescue a bunch of fishermen who got trapped when the ice broke free and they could not get back to shore. As far as the lake behind my property , it has been 30 yrs since I ice fished it with permission. I must have drilled thirty holes and zilch; just some yellow bellies. I don't think I have ever ice fished Acton Lake where you stayed but have had my best luck on farm ponds. I'm not as fond of the cold weather as I once was

[zelph]

Getting stranded on an iceberg is scary stuff. Being on the ice and hearing it crack, moan and groan is an attention getter Being in an ice shack is the only way I'd go ice fishing nowadays. I used to go to the backwaters of the Mississippi River in winter to catch platter size crappie. It's bitter cold here in Northern Illinois this morning.....wood burner is keeping us nice and toasty.

If you painted your stand black it would get nice and warm on sunny days and retain some heat for the evening hours. You might even hang a hammock in there and spend a night or two just for the elevated fun of it

I notice you have only one bolt in the joints of the frame structure. Some heavy duty guy wires will be needed to prevent movement of those joints. 2-3 years of mother natures winds will take a heavy toll on the tower. Summer sun and rain will start to make the joints swell and shrink(loosen them)