Shooting house height input

Just curious how high the legs are on your shooting house legs. Build my base today and was having a hard time setting it up (mine are 4x4x10). In this location I don’t have room for any big equipment right now. Curious the height y’all use and how you stand them up.

My forks on my loader will lift 12'. I built last tower 11" so I could set the blind on top and bolt it on.

I have one shooting house on the ground, and one 18' to the floor, and about 14 somewhere in between there. The height depends upon the setting and whether it's an archery or rifle or combination stand. Some stands I put the floor together, flip it upside down and install the legs into the floor, brace them, now the tower is upside down beside where the stand site is. So then it gets laid on the side, the floor put in the tractor bucket (like the picture), and pushed upright on the legs, then after anchoring the legs to the ground by pounding in angle iron or rebar I climb up by ladder and assemble the walls and roof.
The other method is to auger 3' deep holes, set treated posts in the holes with an anchor pin in the bottom, backfill and tamp dirt level to top, then climb up by lift, ladder, or scaffold and build floor and walls.
I'm a barnbuilder by trade and I would never assemble a complete shooting house and try to lift it up and put posts under it, that's just not the way a carpenter would think.

The only problem is I don’t have access to a tractor. And I’m very limited on space u til they cut the timber out.

Prelude8626 said:

The only problem is I don’t have access to a tractor. And I’m very limited on space u til they cut the timber out.

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That looks ok. A couple of friends and you should be able to flip that upright.

Prelude8626 said:

The only problem is I don’t have access to a tractor. And I’m very limited on space u til they cut the timber out.

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Sounds like you need some help from some friends. I raised a blind up once with the winch on a four wheeler. We had it on a trailer and my son and his buddy were lifting on it to start and I was winching. After it got to about a 45* angle the winch evidently got hot and quit, but I just backed the four wheeler up and it settled into place. It was a hairy half a minute there with them lifting when the winch stopped though !

Drycreek said:

Sounds like you need some help from some friends. I raised a blind up once with the winch on a four wheeler. We had it on a trailer and my son and his buddy were lifting on it to start and I was winching. After it got to about a 45* angle the winch evidently got hot and quit, but I just backed the four wheeler up and it settled into place. It was a hairy half a minute there with them lifting when the winch stopped though !

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Moral of the story, buy a warn winch instead of harbor freight?

I have both of mine at 6ft and that is plenty and you really need to secure to ground good as I had one blow over.the redneck with anchor doesn't move at all

I had 10 foot 4x4s and I did what others mentioned, get your base located, jam the legs in the brackets, screw them in and push it up. I didn't put any bracing on the 4x4's (less weight) and after its set in the final location, then I put the bracing on. I was a little unsure at the time, but after doing it, piece of cake and would do it again. I didn't do it alone!!!!! One helping hand goes a long way!!!!!

For archery, it depends on your window layout and shot distance. If your prey is too close, the shot angle becomes too steep in a hurry above 10’. Last year in TX I was hunting out of 15’ stands and found deer closer than 20yds were too close for my preference given their propensity to duck and the smaller ideal shot placement to ensure a double lung hit. On my place, where stands are primarily for archery and shots are close, I prefer 5’ stands with my Redneck blinds. We are putting 2 more up this summer. One will be at 10’ and the other will be 5’. Other factor is wind. In my neck of the woods, winds are a constant factor. Even with a properly anchored stand, when the wind is blowing hard enough to rock the blind, I prefer 10’ or less. Just my .02.

Height is a personal preference. The first 2 I built are 15.5' to the floor, and I honestly like that height best. You get busted less, and can see better into the CRP I'm hunting. Last ones I built to be semi-portable, so I built them at a height I could pick up with my loader. Both work fine.

I use a build-as-you-go technique; all steel frame that is bolted together. Complete construction uses only 7/16 bolts and 3-inch screws ... it's solid as a rock. Total cost under $150! It's like having a big-boy erector set.

I’ve got them from 6 feet to 16 feet. Have stood them all up by just me and a friend or two.

Mennoniteman said:

Moral of the story, buy a warn winch instead of harbor freight?

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It WAS a Warn ! The moral may have been use a 3500 lb. instead of a 2500 lb. winch. Then again, it might have been the remote, or, God forbid, operator error. Those stands had 2” angle bases and 2 3/8” oilfield tubing for legs, 1/2” plywood skins, and 3/4” plywood floors. Ten feet tall, they were pretty heavy.