Your realistic Hunting Cabin/Lodge....plans and pics

[Dr. Wally]

Curious what we all would want in a Cabin or Lodge for family and friends. Pics and blueprints encouraged. Realistic thoughts and plans... Barn layout, walk in deer cooler, wraparound porch, stone accents and fireplace , Kitchen, bunks , mud room. etc... what are your thoughts and plans, little pearls of wisdom for those of us still planning. While friends and family make up the true center of any cabin, we have to think of the structure... I hope we have a lot of pics to guide others.. GO!!

 

[Deadeye]

My Best Hunting Memories came from hunting out of an old 1-car garage that was given to one of my cousins (funny part is it was my dad’s dad’s old garage and the cousin was from on my moms side).

My dad cut it right up and down the center and loaded the two parts on his log truck with the log loader.

We set up a new base to set it on at the corner of four properties owned by us and three of my uncles. Dad set it on the base with the loader and we secured it to the base.

One of my uncles had remodeled their house, so we got the windows and door from there to fill in where the car Opening was. A propane light and an old pot belly stove with a table with a cook top and two old gliders for couches and we were set.

Many a night was spent there playing cards and waiting for Opening Day. Also many lunches were made by my mom and aunt to feed the guys as they trickled in.

That old building lasted for several years until one of the support blocks broke and it made the building sag. The one Uncle it sat mostly on boarded up the doors and that was that.

It was the end of an era as well. Gone was the days of getting together to put on Drives and celebrating each other’s success. In were the days of hunting alone and getting pissed if someone got the buck you were after.

Sad really.

Guess the point of all that was it doesn’t take a huge lodge to make Wonderful Memories.

 

[j-bird]

I don't have a cabin or lodge....I live on my property but I can say there is a few things that I think is nice to have at your disposal.

#1 - enclosed storage for ALL your toys. Being able to keep everything out of the weather is better for the equipment and will help it perform better and longer. keeps this from being tampered with while your gone as well.
- as sort of a sub-group of this....a concrete floor is great. Gravel will work, but if your trying to move/slide around equipment or even laying on the floor or the like working on things....concrete is the way to go.
#2 - a semi-enclosed means to deal with your deer or what ever game you chase. When I harvest a deer I drag the deer to where I can access it with my tractor and FEL and then take the entire thing back to the house. This allows me to get a live weight, and to dress it out with a gambrel/hoist, have access to running water as well as plenty of light and even stay a little warm or run a large fan if it's hot out. It's especially nice when its cold out as I can have access to warm water to keep knives clean and feeling in my fingers so I don't cut myself. It also means I have extra hands around if I need it.

Just suggestions or things to consider:
Exterior materials - consider the amount of time and work you want to put into upkeep on the place. The exterior surfaces and materials will take a beating over time and you may or may not have the resources or desire to contend with that. Log exteriors are very pretty....but they require work to stay looking that way. Know what your signing up for.

Alternative heat - even if you heat with electricity or gas....if the power goes out, you have no heat (even with gas). Have a means to burn wood and heat at least enough of the place to keep pipes from bursting and the occupants at least somewhat warm.

Alternate power - a generator is a great thing. You may not need one to run the entire place, but being able to run the essentials sure is nice. Consider LP fueled for larger units.

A porch - a porch of some sort is ABSOLUTELY required. Large, small, screened or otherwise....at least a floor with a roof over it! Regardless of how small or grand the place will be, the ability to sit out and watch a storm roll in or simply listen to it rain or watch lightening bugs in the evening is all part of the relaxation process.

The rest of your camp can be as minimalistic or as grand as your dreams and pocket book will carry you!

 

[Drycreek]

I hunt at home and on a lease that’s 25 minutes away, but the 217 acres that I owned for 11 years had a small house that I had built. The only thing rustic about it was the yellow pine on the inside walls and the cedar trim and cabinets, all handmade by the guy that finished it out. It was a 30’x40’ on a slab with all the conveniences, two baths and two bedrooms, a 20’x30’ carport and an 8’x40’ covered porch. Metal sides and roof, spray foam insulation, central heat and air. Jug or two of Jim Beam in the pantry. Even though it wasn’t a “lodge”, we spent many weekends there and several holidays. It was very comfortable and extremely handy since we lived an hour away.

Out back, an A-frame to hoist carcasses, a 20’x40’ commercially erected carport on a slab with a 10’x20’ shipping container in one corner to house my golf cart. My tractor usually stayed in the “shed” when it wasn’t at home, ditto my spray rig and three point spreader. Also had a portable building that was varmint proof to store such things as seed/fertilizer, pop up blinds, bags of corn, etc. that didn’t need to sit outside. I’d be lying if I said I don’t miss sitting at camp at night jawing with my buddy, cussing the hogs (and making midnight excursions to shoot them) but I’m fiscally better off not to have that place to keep up, and the monthly check I get enables me to smile through the tears

 

[Elkaddict]

For us, it’s a retirement home with enough room for kids/grand pups. Barn for storing tractors, implements, Atv’s etc.... Front covered porch to watch the sunset while deer munch on clover and chicory in front yard plot, and in the spring bears finishing up the corn/turkeys getting their freak on). Wood stove for emergency heat and cooking. Still figuring out the emergency electrical supply to run the well pump/fridge/freezer (propane generator would be the easiest but perhaps the hardest to fill in an extended power outage....also pricing solar with battery storage). It’s not the perfect set up....but close enough for our needs. One surprise addition for us was getting fiber optics installed this week. It makes a huge difference for me as I’m pretty much on call 24/7/365 and have to quickly turn large documents. That may not be the rustic many are looking for but it allows me far more stress free time at our “deer camp” while I’m still working.

 

[MarkDarvin]

I'm gonna share this, but every time I do, it kills the thread. I don't know why, but it just does. Apologies in advance.

It took 4 very long days to get it from dropped off to functional and moved in. It's 12 volt wired, solar powered. Heat is a non-powered gas furnace, air moved with a ceiling fan, propane single burner cookstove, propane fridge/freezer. There was lots of little work after (shelves, bunks, cabinets, landscaping) but it could sustain life and exclude bugs in 4 days.

I also keep a google page off site to store pics in case a forum goes up in flames like they seem to do over time. Here's a link to my cabin pictures where you can see some of the later improvements.

http://skoogland.blogspot.com/p/cabin-pics.html

 

[MarkDarvin]

And to answer the first question...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Elkaddict]

Very cool!

 

[Brinktown]

We have a construction trailer we remodeled into a cabin including bathroom and kitchen and bunk bed rooms on opposite ends.



Dream lodge plans below. Plumbing is all centralized and easy to drain to utility room at the end of the weekend. Also want a scent free locker room next to garage where golf carts are kept. Also like mud room for boots, beer fridge, and laundry. Easy access to bathroom from locker room or garage that also functions as bathroom for nearby bedroom. This same basic layout could be reduced if you want fewer bedrooms and bathrooms.

 

[Dr. Wally]

cool guys
ingenuity
love it

 

[Laker]

Not nearly as fancy as you all. But, it beats a tent. I've got semi-secure storage and a warm / dry place to sleep.

 

[Drycreek]

Not nearly as fancy as you all. But, it beats a tent. I've got semi-secure storage and a warm / dry place to sleep.

View attachment 16723

No shame in that. Hell, I lived in a 28’ travel trailer for 2.5 years and my wife lived in it for 2. Poor folks have poor ways Actually, I would like to have that little jewel in your picture for a place I hunt that’s about 2 hours away from me. We have a house, but the guys that hunt down there ain’t never heard of the word clean, so it offends my delicate sensibilities to stay with them, (and I don’t care for them much either) The guy that leases it is a great guy, and a friend, but I’d just as soon stay by myself at night. That would be about perfect !

 

[Novatrapper]

So this is the cabin we use mainly for duck hunting and we also rent it out a bit in the summer.
I will be building a deer hunting cabin on a property I have in the next 2 years and the design will be very similar to this except half loft. (Room for antlers) lol. Sleeps 6 and makes a small footprint. Only 24x24.


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[Dr. Wally]

sweet

 

[farmhunter]

I enjoy the heck out of seeing people's hunting camps.

I like to share what's worked (and what hasn't) for me as well. We have a couple camps - one is mine the other is my cousin's. Our families and friends hope that they will be standing and active for generations! Our hunting camps are about 25 and 30 years in at this point. Our land has been in the family for many many years (1829) - but has had no house on the property since 1943 when the homestead was lost to fire.

We went with two distinctly different styles. The first was started as a 12x12 cabin on skids, and has been added on to several times in the 30 years we've had it in place. It's now 20ft x36ft The whole cabin is built on interlocking treated wood skids. We didn't build it with longevity in mind but its held up well. I would not suggest this style because some day it will be an issue wihout a foundation or pole barn construction. But it was inexpensive and easy to add on to. We did build it on top of a rock pile/stone wall that was on a field edge - that has helped as it's aged - but it does move and heave with winter!!

I love my cabin and wouldn't trade it for much! Memories at camp are priceless - we have 100s of pictures from day 1 until today that we keep in an album for visitors to thumb through - It has a kitchen/dining area - a couch/Recliner/Tv area - a bedroom with three beds and a bathroom with a shower and flush toilet - all on generator and 12 volt power separate

My Cousin's adjoining property cabin - was started as a substantial polebarn and several rooms were added inside on two sides - like an L-shape ( two bedrooms - a great room and a bathroom).
His plan is built with a better long term outlook. and he has room to add-on internally - and LOTS of pole barn storage inside.

If people are interested I'll draw up the layout for each as best I can.

 

[Butcher]

These are some beautiful cabins/lodges!!
I am clearing a patch of white pines and I am saving the better logs to fulfill a childhood dream of building a log cabin. My plan is to place it strategically with windows facing the opening where I am planting “food plot” trees and hopefully a good stand of ladino clover (thank you for the advice Mennoniteman). I dont know if this makes the most sense but I thought if I go out the night before the hunt and sleep there, then I wake up already in the shoot house.

I am going with an interior of 12x12, so the logs will be about 14-16 feet long as thats all I can really move on my own. Very small but enough room to sleep me and my son and or a friend. It is going to be a while before real construction begins but I am excited to get it under way!