Low elevation blind

huntdoc

New Member
I'm working on building a box blind and have permission from landowner to place it on the property. All will be done with hand tools. I'm considering elevating 4-6 feet so I can gain a little height but is the highest I could probably go without a tractor. Is it worth it just for a few feet? How far should posts be buried with just 4 feet elevation? I'm trying to place it where there is some natural elevation as well and hope to have vertical corner windows for bow. Thanks in advance for advice.
 
Always worth it to gain a bit of elevation unless you are in an area that elevation causes visibility issues like in brushy woods when you find yourself looking down at the crowns of trees...If this is not an issue then 4 feet will certainly help.

I would bury the post 3 feet if the ground is diggable and if not I would "settle" for 2 feet but might put some quickrete on the holes...
 
Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.
 
Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.

To me the number one reason to use a well built box blind is for scent control! You can completely scent proof them if done right...I've hunted from many ground blinds or natural blinds and they work great as long as the wind is good... people would say well don't hunt it if the wind is bad... we'll true but when you can only hunt weekends and only have one or two spots having a scent proof blind gets you in the stand more


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Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.

My main motivation is for taking my daughter or anyone who doesn't like being out in the elements as much as I do. Allows me to get my kids out when weather is les than favorable like rain or too cold. Also will benefit landowner and his kids if they wish to go. When weather is nice my daughter likes to take turkey seats and get wind in our favor and tree to lean against. Just wait for the deer to come!

If it is 4 feet off ground, what if I elevate with just a box of 4x4 set on concrete pads instead of posts in the ground? Would add some anchors for the wind but little worried about getting holes dug in this spot and keeping it level. Ideally will set posts in quikrete.
 
Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.
I don't have any box blinds...Being in big woods I mainly hunt from open treestands but certainly will hunt from a brushpile or even just propped up against the base of a tree...killed some of my biggest deer to date from the ground with no blind at all...
 
Treetops from logging have been some of the best natural ground blinds I've ever used. I shot a young buck once that was crawling into the treetop I was hiding in! Shot was about 10'. I'm planning to build a couple of box blinds here on the farm for the future. Heck, I'm not getting any younger! 6 foot will be plenty tall for what I have in mind.


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I personally like my climbers and lockons but we have plenty of boxes on our lease anywhere from 0-16' off the ground. I also hunt from pop up blinds on occasions. I have made blinds many times on the ground. I don't mind them at all. Personally it's all about comfort. If I can be comfortable, I tend to sit longer and really enjoy my time in the woods. Also taking young ones hunting is much more enjoyable and successful when out of a box or pop-up. Box blinds even more so because it provides a rest for them to shoot off of.
 
My rednecks are 5' to 10' off the ground. The shorter can actually be preferable in some circumstances like where you expect close bow shots. We have one plot where 40% of the deer enter and walk past at 10-12yds. This is easier to pull off out of the front window with a 5' height. Cat, I hunted ground and pit blinds out west for many years (on water holes). When positioned well with predominant winds/thermals, they were amazingly successful. We would build with sagebrush to help cover scent (we also practiced religious scent control). We regularly had mule deer and moose nibble on the blind and never detect us (I've also had coyotes and badger crawl into the blind and had to shoo them away). I've looked for similar setups on our place and just don't have the same level of predictable thermals. Given our unreliable thermals/wind, I've com to rely on the rednecks holding our scent. They've been a game changer when combined with good scent control practices. We also rely on a pop up blind covered in fresh cut pine boughs to hide it. We had very good success with this as well in one of our new plots--so much so I'll probably not spend the coin on another redneck.
 
What I did on my box that is 6 and one that is 8 ft is set a post in center on outside and bolt to outside plate.One on north one on south.this way you can remove 4 bolts and drag somewhere else or whatever
 
I prefer a box blind simply to get out of the elements. Ground blinds are fine, but in some cases a few feet in elevation can really increase your viewing distance. I have some blinds only 3 or 4 feet off the ground and some that are closer to 8. I am hoping to build one this summer with 12' 4x4's as legs. To me it mostly depends on the lay of the land you are hunting and the amount of ground cover. I am the same way even with my climber - I prefer to be higher for some reason.....
 
For me box blinds offer several things compared to just a treestand.. 1) Not freezing 2) Scent control 3) snack space lol jk biggest thing is not freezing in winter to be honest tho. I don't think deer mind them as much as people think, I have had deer right under it already.

As far as your actual question I have a 4ft setup I just made, I like it cause you can still "brush" it in relatively easy and gives you just enough height that if you planted sorgum/corn/Egyptian wheat that you can hide it (to late this year to try it but I really want to see what happens next year). I did it half way tho.. I built a 6x6 platform then just put a grounder 350 tent on it which is the cheapest way to do it since I was going to run windows in a wood hut but by time I would have bought the windows I could just buy the tent, that way if I want to move it later its not such a pain. Good luck with your build
 
Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.

We have several Rednecks and they are saved for those days when temperatures or winds generally prohibit hunting otherwise. The Rednecks are absolutely wonderful for those tough weather days when hunting from outside would alert every deer on the property. We also have ladder stands but the wife and I often hunt from the ground especially during early October and November. On the ground we sometimes put up a few sticks and brush but as often are simply snuggled in to some blow downs or trees dropped or dragged in for the purpose of hiding us.
 
4' will definitely help! Looking into that myself. Actually looking into doing that on a trailer myself, and/or maybe something semi portable that I could just tilt off a trailer.

But I mostly hunt from a blind or the ground and on the ground next to a big tree is my favorite. Granted I'm mainly a doe hunter, but have seen a few decent bucks that way. Already eyeballed a few blow downs on a new lease that only has home made stands that are nice but not for me.
 
My main motivation is for taking my daughter or anyone who doesn't like being out in the elements as much as I do. Allows me to get my kids out when weather is les than favorable like rain or too cold. Also will benefit landowner and his kids if they wish to go. When weather is nice my daughter likes to take turkey seats and get wind in our favor and tree to lean against. Just wait for the deer to come!

If it is 4 feet off ground, what if I elevate with just a box of 4x4 set on concrete pads instead of posts in the ground? Would add some anchors for the wind but little worried about getting holes dug in this spot and keeping it level. Ideally will set posts in quikrete.
Without actually seeing it, your plan does sound sufficient to keep it from blowing over. You need to protect each corner post against uplift. This is done by one of two ways; anchor the post to the ground by digging in, staking, or concreting in the ground. The other way is to provide weight, preferably as low as possible in reference to the ground, of sufficient lbs to offset the force of the wind, which varies a lot, depending on location and wind exposure. Or, you can do a combination of the two. At 4' high the uplift forces on each post are much less than at say sixteen feet high. A heads up; more stands get damaged by falling trees than do by the wind blowing them over. Look for questionable trees that could potentially be blown or fall on the stand and remove them beforehand.
 
Does no one hunt from the ground anymore? No offense to anyone who hunts from a box blind (I have several) but I'm a lot more successful when I just crawl into some grass or find a brushpile to hunt from. Do we really enjoy hunting from boxes that much, or are we so ingrained to do it that way that it's the only way considered?

To answer your question I would do exactly what Okie said if I were set on building one. And don't think that my rant is directed at you, I see a lot of box blind build threads and hardly any natural blind threads or posts. Makes me wonder how everyone else is hunting.
Pennsylvania has a lot of weird laws against two and three sides blinds, using natural materials found in the woods to make a blind etc.
 
Old thread that has resurfaced. I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone who hunts out of a box blind or tent. I have several of them myself. At the time that I posted I had seen a lot of threads and posts in general on several forums and it struck me. My most successful hunting comes from patterning deer, making adjustments (based on movement, wind, entrance route, cover, etc), and being mobile... hunting. I guess I hate to see a prevalence of just blindly going to a spot and hoping something comes by but as stated above, it certainly has it's place in many situations!
 
Old thread that has resurfaced. I didn't mean any disrespect to anyone who hunts out of a box blind or tent. I have several of them myself. At the time that I posted I had seen a lot of threads and posts in general on several forums and it struck me. My most successful hunting comes from patterning deer, making adjustments (based on movement, wind, entrance route, cover, etc), and being mobile... hunting. I guess I hate to see a prevalence of just blindly going to a spot and hoping something comes by but as stated above, it certainly has it's place in many situations!
When you get to the point of building something semi permanent/permanent , chances are good you have thought about placement long and hard. You have valid point.
 
I had the problem of a blind that was just over 6ft tall and blew over a couple times.I set a 4x4 in cement one on north and one on south.Each one sets right up against the bland and has 1 bolt through base of blind so it doesn't allow that movement to start to allow it to tip.If you wanted to move to another location just unbolt 2 bolts and move out the side
 
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