We have been using a 4x7 ground blind with great success but I realized that there were low spots where the deer traveled that we couldn't see. I have had this idea for building a tower stand for some time and I finally went ahead and committed to building it. Since I hunt with my two daughters and close family friends we sometimes like to leave late Friday night and spend the night in the blind so we can wake up and hunt. We like this method because we do not have to wake up early and try to beat sunrise.

I did not want to build a tall blind before because I was worried that it may fall with us in it. I noticed how strong pallet racking was and how tall it could be. I found a source for used pallet racks in Venus texas and I bought 2- 20' verticals and 6- 12' horizontal beams. I also bought 3- 14x48' used billboard tarps which I had used before on our ground blinds. My plan was to build the frame out of the pallet rack then wrap the whole structure with the billboard tarp which will provide a wind and water proof exterior. My other concern is making sure the structure doesn't tip over in the wind. the salesman for the racking said to just buy the long T-Post and anchor each corner of the rack and wire the corners to the T-Post. Once we did that and installed the floors we wrapped the entire structure.

So we have a bottom floor for sleeping, storage and bathroom (#1 only-funnel, hose and upside down bucket buried outside. Second floor for hunting out of with windows soon to be installed. The plywood floor will have carpet on it to reduce the noise level. There will be a trap door from the first floor to the second floor so you don't need to go outside. Since we still have so much room above we hope to have an observation deck on top. I will need to figure a safe way to get access up there but I am sure I will figure out a way.
[img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-BIw7GCY0b6I/U9VggYErjPI/AAAAAAAAG88/ENWdvws2524/w709-h529-no/Deer_Stand00.jpg/img]

I will post more images when I get more work done on it.

Looks like a giant sail that is going to catch a lot of wind. Going to need a great anchoring system to keep it standing upright IMO. Tpost on each corner is not going to keep that blind from blowing over. I also think it is going to be noisy also when the wind is blowing and the material is flapping back and forth in the wind. Did you tie it down before you left the lease?

If it works that's pretty cool. But I gotta think you would have been better off using plywood. I'd like to know how it works out.

As stxranchman said, that is like a big sail and I hope you wired that down with more than t-posts or it's gonna get blown over. For all the activity your planning in it I would scrap the tarps. You need sturdy walls that aren't noisy when the wind is blowing and windows that can be opened and closed to manage the sound and scents of all of the people in it especially if your sleeping overnight in it with kids. You might want to frame it out more for walls windows and doors with 2x2s, skin it with corrugated tin, paint it and insulate it. You could also use cedar fence pickets for the skin and fill in the gaps with trim board like you would a privacy fence for the walls. They will last much longer than plywood and you don't have to paint them. Use the trees behind it to wire it to and some drill in stakes to tie down the front.

I have really enjoyed my Pallet Rack Tower. I am 12' on the short side and use the 15' side to provide a rail. My beams are 8' long and with a 6' box I have a nice porch to work with. You should have lots of room with 12' beams. Notice the 8' planks that I anchored the legs too. Makes the structure much wider for stability and prevents the legs from sinking into the ground. We dug up some gravel and used it to level the base of the pallet rack. Has worked very well over the years. As you can see from the photo I ran wires from each of the 4 corners. Current configuration actually has wires running down to a tree stump that was carefully trimmed at the new location. Suggestions already made about building a better structure using plywood sound good to me. You will have to decide for your self.

Enjoy!

what do those pallet racks cost?

Looks great....don't know if I'd like those power lines right above me tho

Camera is deceptive. Those wires are W A Y high! And the stand is not directly under the wires. However, the location was noisy on foggy mornings with the crackle of the wires. Never bothered the deer though.

So where do y'all find these pallet racks and what do they cost?

Enjoy the power lines humming! About drove me crazy. Blind looks good, what did you use for siding?

Stan, the Blind is from Texas Cedar Hunting Blinds. Comes as a base, 4 walls, and the roof. Nice blind at a reasonable price. Nice thing is that with three people we were able to take the box apart and lower the pieces to the ground and then take the pallet rack down in an hour. Putting it back together at the new location took a little longer but none of the pieces are so heavy that the three of us could not handle it!

I'm with everyone else on the tarps but if it works for you fine.

Anchor the corners by driving tee post parallel to the legs then wire them together. I like the footing beams the other guy added to his, good idea!

Also there are clips that keep the cross beams from coming out, be sure and get some ( they can't cost more than $1.00 each)

top / roof for bow hunting maybe.

Cool