Let's see some "Do it Yourself Hunting Items" you can't buy in a store

[Rembrandt]

I know there are some creative hunters out there that have made accessories, stands, shacks, or items for their hunt that are not in the stores. Either the commercial item didn't fit the bill or the price was too high and you made your own.

I tend to fabricate a lot of things that seem like a good idea, some work out and others were flops. Attending deer shows and talking to other hunters, it's amazing the ideas that come from minds that have spent endless hours in a tree stand.

My most notable flop was a pair of glasses with tiny rear view mirrors attached to the bows....thought it might help seeing what was behind me without turning around. The eyestrain from looking up in those mirrors gave me a headache that lasted two days.

One of the handiest was a variation of the old clothes line....cable stretched across the river with pulley system and a seat, great for keeping your feet dry and bringing game back.

 

[hps1]

Cool "ski" lift!

Bad back and hunting some pretty heavy critters led to following revisions on my pickup.
Tool boxes on both sides helped leave bed clear for the "drawer" which provides access to stuff loaded forward without climbing up into the truck.
VVV Turned 3/4" roller and low pillar bushings on lathe mounted @ rear end of bed VVV

VV Mounted recessed rubber wheels @ front of tray. VV

Add 1/2 door hinges @ rear end of tray, a sheet of 3/4" plywood w/other 1/2 hinge @ front end (which stores inside of the tray until needed) + a couple pins,

slide drawer out to edge of tail gate, slide plywood our and insert pins to secure........

and the boat trailer winch mounted in front of bed makes short work of sliding 700# nilgai into the bed w/no backache to follow. Only problem is that usually have a bunch of gear in the bed that has to be unloaded first so back to the drawing board.

This receiver mounted combination hunting chair/gin pole in concert w/winch lets us drag 'em out of the brush & lift the critters for the short drive back to camp or field dress without unloading bed.

And it fits the jeep as well


Regards,
hps

 

[jmr40]

Nothing hi-tech or fancy, but I replaced the carry straps on all of my binoculars with paracord. The compacts got one strap. The para cord is a lot lighter and I like it better than the straps that came with them. It takes up a lot less space as well.

And the heavier ones I doubled up on paracord.




I find it works a lot better. I can adjust length by tying a knot in varying places on the cord. Normally I like them to be a little longer than possible with the straps that came on them. I wear them around my neck, but under my left arm out of the way since I shoot and carry my rifle on the right side. They will be positioned just above my belt. I can grab them and quickly slide them up to see through. They are not banging around in the front all of the time, yet are quickly accessible.

I didn't do all of them at once, but tried it on a pair and liked the system enough to gradually do it to all of them. I kept the factory straps for a while, but eventually decided I'd never go back and trashed them.

 

[Armored farmer]

When I started deer hunting in the late 70s, you didnt buy deer stands...you built them.
Here is one I welded up and built from scraps.
I was 13. I guess I did ok. The stand is still there 43 yrs later. It needs a new floor.

 

[troy fairweather]

Don't have any photos now, but I've made some little things to help out. I have a thin lifting strap with a D.ring and short peace of rope for a deer drag. I have a shooting stick I made from a broken carbon telescopic fishing rod. 2 other small straps with D rings and round bungi cord for the seeds rear legs when field dressing.

I hunt from the ground, for cold or rainy days I have a wool blanket with 2 Swiss wool scarfs, they are like a tube and can be used for leggings or sleeves. I made a quiver for the side of my backpack it's very handy.

There more stuff I just can't remember right now lol. I like the ski cable idea. I may be guilty of using a deer as a sled to ride it down very steep snow covered hills.

 

[hps1]

I maybe he guilty of using a deer as a sled to ride it down very steep snow covered hills.

That would be a sight to behold, Troy. I'd like to see a video of that one.

Regards
hps

 

[Armored farmer]

How about an elevated hunting blind?

And a food plot adjacent to it.

 

[troy fairweather]

How about an elevated hunting blind?
View attachment 900689 View attachment 900690
And a food plot adjacent to it.
View attachment 900691

What did you use for widows plexiglass?. Only if I had my own land.

 

[hps1]

How about an elevated hunting blind?
View attachment 900689 View attachment 900690
And a food plot adjacent to it.
View attachment 900691

Using front end loader is cheating, I used to build similar box blinds for our lease with 14' 4x4 legs and stand them up with a single gin pole....that can get dicey sometimes. Had one double built with pipe legs that was 6'x4' when my son was a youngster. He shot his first buck @ age 8, and many more from that blind. It even had the same color/camo pattern as yours but overlooked a draw.

Your pics brought back some fond memories from over a half a century past.

Regards,
hps

 

[Armored farmer]

Using front end loader is cheating,

The blind is just a little more than a mile from my house, but my little home-made bridge was flooded that particular day, so I carried the box blind on my loader the long way (6 miles) around.
I got some 'looks', lol

 

[FL-NC]

I may be guilty of using a deer as a sled to ride it down very steep snow covered hills.

That's just good thinking.

 

[FL-NC]

No pics, but I use pipe insulation held with zip ties on the rails/gun rests of my stands to keep the rifle or x-bow snug and quiet when I throw it up there for a shot. Its cheap, I just buy some more every year at Lowe's and replace it. I also put old rubber car/truck floor mats on the feet part of a metal stand to prevent boot scrape noises when I move/fidget. They wont soak up water and get nasty when they get wet like carpet. Also, in my pop-up blind I have an old camera tripod I screwed a piece of 3/4" plywood to, then on the plywood I put a small sandbag with a bungee cord. A nice secure rifle rest I can lay the gun on for hours and minimize movement/noise when its time to shoot.

 

[FL-NC]

I know there are some creative hunters out there that have made accessories, stands, shacks, or items for their hunt that are not in the stores. Either the commercial item didn't fit the bill or the price was too high and you made your own.

I tend to fabricate a lot of things that seem like a good idea, some work out and others were flops. Attending deer shows and talking to other hunters, it's amazing the ideas that come from minds that have spent endless hours in a tree stand.

My most notable flop was a pair of glasses with tiny rear view mirrors attached to the bows....thought it might help seeing what was behind me without turning around. The eyestrain from looking up in those mirrors gave me a headache that lasted two days.

One of the handiest was a variation of the old clothes line....cable stretched across the river with pulley system and a seat, great for keeping your feet dry and bringing game back.

View attachment 900579

View attachment 900580

That looks like a helicopter hoist rescue!

 

[Glockula]

That's a good idea. I cut up a couple old USMC isomats and zip tied them on my 2 tree stands. I also put a rectangle of the padding underneath the thin padding provided with most stands. Although a black bear tore one of my stands up last year and ripped most of the seat padding out.

Gives me something to fix in the off season

 

[hps1]

Speaking of tripods and shooting sticks, my son gave me a set of standing compound shooting sticks which are super steady, but try as I might, could not find anything of that order for sitting, so set out to make some out of conduit.



Mine work fine but when I posted them on another forum, another hunter posted a set that he had made from driveway markers and parachute cord that were much more compact and lighter than my conduit set, so I had to give it a try.
Left cord long at his suggestion so extra cord serves as replacement should hinge break in field VV Sticks fold up compactly for easy carry VV

Not only is his design lighter, it can be utilized as either single or compound sticks

(I need to move sling to bottom swivel on this rifle, to prevent front stick from sliding forward under barrel as I like to loop sling around front stick in the field.)

Regards,
hps

 

[troy fairweather]

Speaking of tripods and shooting sticks, my son gave me a set of standing compound shooting sticks which are super steady, but try as I might, could not find anything of that order for sitting, so set out to make some out of conduit.

View attachment 900965

Mine work fine but when I posted them on another forum, another hunter posted a set that he had made from driveway markers and parachute cord that were much more compact and lighter than my conduit set, so I had to give it a try.
Left cord long at his suggestion so extra cord serves as replacement should hinge break in field VV Sticks fold up compactly for easy carry VV
View attachment 900966 View attachment 900967
Not only is his design lighter, it can be utilized as either single or compound sticks
View attachment 900968 View attachment 900970
(I need to move sling to bottom swivel on this rifle, to prevent front stick from sliding forward under barrel as I like to loop sling around front stick in the field.)

Regards,
hps

I remember seeing a hunting chair that had a nice bit of round tubing that could swivel. How's the bar holding up.

 

[hps1]

I remember seeing a hunting chair that had a nice bit of round tubing that could swivel. How's the bar holding up.

Is this the chair, Troy?

If so, it's not quite the same since I forgot to remove the chair before backing rig under my carport. Yep you guessed what made contact first, but luckily my partner hollered in time and I got stopped before it did any fatal damage. We were able to straighten it back out and it's still hangin' in there and all's good.

Regards,
hps

 

[Jack Ryan]

Back before you could BUY tree stands I built about every model I heard about and for sure one of every kind I saw just to see if it was any good. I welded up probably 20 of those early Baker climbing stands and the the hand climbers to go with them. Regular ones and later ones I call upside down bakers.

Best stands I ever built were made out of those arms you hang an outside pole light with. Built similar hand on/tie on stands with a 4x4 post as the "center" piece to attach to the tree and a plywood platform to stand on. 4x4x4 wood blocks to tie on trees for steps. Then later I made hundreds of steel steps to tie on trees with rope. Still have and use a lot of those.

I'll still pick up a tv tower if I see one at the junk yard and make it in to climbing sticks for store bought hanging stands.

Combination dog leash, rifle sling, deer drag, poncho rope roof...



I can't even see my own pictures any more at Photobucket but if you can, here is a few. https://smg.photobucket.com/user/JackPatrickRyan/library/Hunt/Home Made Tree Steps?sort=3&page=1

 

[troy fairweather]

Is this the chair, Troy?
View attachment 900976
If so, it's not quite the same since I forgot to remove the chair before backing rig under my carport. Yep you guessed what made contact first, but luckily my partner hollered in time and I got stopped before it did any fatal damage. We were able to straighten it back out and it's still hangin' in there and all's good.

Regards,
hps

No this one was like a straight leg camping chair, lol I am guilty of something similar, only it was a clothesline and a brand new window hatch on a lund truck cap.

 

[Rembrandt]

Didn't care much for the flimsy commercial camera security boxes, decided to build some with a little more beef. Incorporated solar panels to keep the batteries charged.

 

[Bfh_auto]

No pics, but I use pipe insulation held with zip ties on the rails/gun rests of my stands to keep the rifle or x-bow snug and quiet when I throw it up there for a shot. Its cheap, I just buy some more every year at Lowe's and replace it. I also put old rubber car/truck floor mats on the feet part of a metal stand to prevent boot scrape noises when I move/fidget. They wont soak up water and get nasty when they get wet like carpet. Also, in my pop-up blind I have an old camera tripod I screwed a piece of 3/4" plywood to, then on the plywood I put a small sandbag with a bungee cord. A nice secure rifle rest I can lay the gun on for hours and minimize movement/noise when its time to shoot.

I do similar, but mine are pool noodles that I split and duct tape in place.

 

[Rembrandt]

hps1.....gave me an idea for making those shooting sticks, only using fiberglass tent poles. Thanks

 

[skeeterfogger]

Winter mocs.

 

[Rembrandt]

Wow, those are pretty nice. Is there a purpose for the hanging leather strips or are they just for decoration?

 

[hps1]

...gave me an idea for making those shooting sticks, only using fiberglass tent poles. Thanks

Thanks for starting this thread, Rembrandt. That camera box safe is a work of art.

Love to see others' projects in threads such as this and have gleaned many ideas for projects of my own from them. Would be nice if this thread could be made a sticky. I'm sure there are lots of great ideas floating around out there we could all benefit from.

As a seasoned German immigrant blacksmith said when I was a young teen, "Two heads is better than mine". I've found those to be true words of wisdom.

I much prefer shooting sticks to bipods for my use in the field and have been building my own for 20 years from many different materials, bamboo is very good. Only tent poles I tried were the collapsible ones w/bungee cord inside. These were not stiff enough. What diameter are the fiberglass poles; might be perfect. The driveway stakes are probably a bit under 3/8". They are stiff enough, but sure hard to drill big enough hole to get standard parachute cord through! I'm wondering if someone makes para cord just a tad smaller dia.

So far best thing I've found for single sticks is the (rubber?) coated tubing found in Lowe's garden center. The small dia. ones are good for sitting sticks and the larger (3/4"?) are great for standing.

Starting lashing knot.............Finish knot same as start + drop of super glue to prevent slippage....JB welded spikes
on larger tubing I generally glue a wooden dowel as filler.
Materials needed: Garden stakes, para cord, JB Weld, small bolt or 2 headed nail for spikes, super glue.

Sticks are more versatile & equal bipods in accuracy dept. when properly used. Make a pretty good target stand when caught in the brush and needing to check your long range zero. Let's see ya use a bipod for that dutyl.

Adding a bit of ghillie net makes your sticks a miniature portable "blind"


Skeeterfogger, those are great mocs and a project to be proud of!

Regards,
hps