Here is the project I've been working on this summer. Last year was the second year my wife and I sought out disabled vets to take deer hunting on our property. We met some great people, made new friends,and on top of it the vets all got deer. None of the vets we have taken hunting have been wheel chair bound but I know that is a distinct possibility in the future as we plan on doing this till we can't do it anymore. I built a wheel chair accessible bind in '09. It is set up for a north wind only. Since I can't control the wind and I needed to have a south wind wheel chair accessible blind for that. There was only one place for it. My wife gave me the go ahead but said it had to look good and not look redneck like all my others as it was going to be visible from the house.
The location for this blind is a sweet spot in my opinion. My first buck(a 4.5 yr old) I shot off this farm was shot about 75 yards from where it now stands. Other mature bucks have been by this location many times since then, seen out the house window or on camera. It overlooks a 1.5 acre corn/bean rotation plot, a brassica plot, and 20 apple and pear trees that have been producing for a few years now. This year not so much as a late frost wiped all out but the liberty and hewes crabs.
Most of the wood materials were recylced from deconstruction construction projects. I bought paint, water sealant for wood, screws, shingles, concrete, remnant carpet, liquid nails, caulk, spray foam, black roofing sealant, and marine grade plywood(for blind floor).
I am like my grandpa in regards to not throwing things away as I might be able to find a use for them later(he is a Great Depression kid) All of the left over concrete siding we used for our house came in useful for siding the blind.
I gave up a little blood and skin in this project and for the first time in my life I stepped on a nail that actually made it through the sole of my boot. It went through on the ball of my foot and hit bone. It was from a 3 inch piece of 2x4 that I cut off that had rusty nails sticking out of it. What truly sucked about that was that I had to grab the piece and pull it out of my foot as I couldn't just step on it and pull out quick. It was a SOB. Immense pain started as soon as it came out. It didn't bleed much and I started antibiotics that night. The next day I woke up and it felt good. I went out and sprayed thistles and serecia, put in a gate on a field entrance, and then met my friend back at the shed to help guide me as I set the blind on the platform.
That didn't go as planned, he went home and I went into the house. My foot had been aching but didn't think much of it. I had trouble getting my boot off as my foot had swollen up considerably. My wife said I needed to get off of my foot. I agreed and went to bed, however I was supposed to go to my folk's place and spray thistles the next day. I got up at 5:30 and my foot was in some bad pain and I went to the emergency room when my wife suggested as I was a little nervous with the size of my foot and the pain level. They took xrays and saw no bone damage but couldn't be sure on soft tissue as it wouldn't show up on an xray. Doc said I had to get off my foot for a couple days and do nothing. I am not that kind of person, I can't sit still and my wife claims I have adhd. However I did what he suggested as he said if I didn't and it got infected bad, it might lead to some amputation of a portion of my foot. I think he was bluffing as he knew my wife and I know she talked to him prior to me getting there.
It is all healed up but I have a large moveable knot on the ball of my foot that is a pain when I am on my feet all day.
Sorry for the tangent.
The blind is 75"x75"x76"inside, ramp is 61' long, 40" wide, and platform height is 6'5". It was a lot of fun to build and I did it all myself, even set the blind on the platform myself. I had to jack the blind up and turn it by hand to fit correctly on the platform
