Does anyone have any 4x6 plans they don’t mind sharing?

We built two 4x8s last year that are great but need two more. The 4x8s are huge and really think with putting them up 10 and 8ft, I just want to do 4x6s. Would you do one large window in the front or two smaller ones with a little gap between em to put something on. Any tips would be recommended. Thanks

I have 4X5 plans. I found that 4X6 was a little larger than I prefer for single hunter. The 4X5 is perfect for single or two.

4X8 may seem large, but to do a 4x6 you are just cutting it off off a 4x8 sheet. Somewhere in the future you may want one a little larger for two people or one grown up and a young child. You aren't saving much money with the smaller one. I would put two windows across the front and depending on where you put it, you may want a small window on the side.

I found that a 4x8 is a good size for 2 office chairs. But you are right it gets a little heavy when the lifting part comes

I saved this link years ago, may still be good

https://www.kentuckyhunting.net/threads/free-plans-12-wood-tower-stand.129551/

Quit being a puss. Lol

appreciate the replies y’all minus Yellaline who just volunteered himself to come help 😂 😂 the 4x8 are just massive and absolutely would suck to put up that high. 4x5 may be a hair small with a couple kids or an adult and a kid. Will put deerview tinted windows on em as we are very impressed with our other deer views.

I build 4x6 piss on the waste they are just a little small for 3 people but that’s rare.

I built my last two 6x8. I hope i never build another one but if i do itll be 6x8. Plenty of room to stretch out

We don’t build any houses with 4’ dimensions any more. Can’t stretch out. 5-6’ width is perfect for two adults.

5x5 with a swivel seat in the middle. Sc3 condo works great. Plenty of room and you can see out all the windows and cover everything. The goal is to be able to cover everything not stretch out and take a nap.

Now that’s debatable. I work so hard the rest of my time some of my best sleep has come in a shooting house

Yeah, I have done some good sleeping in one.

Just finished a 6x6 shooting house. I didn't really use any plans, just built it by what I had in mind and the picture I had in mind changed several times as I went along. Built it so that I can remove the walls and roof and haul everything up to the camp. Once there, I can put the legs on the base and stand it up. Once the base is up, I'll use the tractor to pick the walls up and secure them to the base. Then pick the roof up and secure it from the inside of the shooting house.

I cut 2 windows...one 48" wide on the front and one 36" wide on one side (the house overlooks 2 green fields--the 48" window faces the large patch in front of the house and the 36" window faces the smaller patch to the side). If you cut 2 smaller windows instead of one bigger window, you run the risk of hitting the divider in the window if you have to move the rifle around.

This is how I set mine up
Base--6x6
Front wall--8' tall (with 48" wide window)
Back wall--7.5' tall
Side walls--taper from about 8' at the front to 7.5' at the back (36" wide window on one side, 34" wide door cut in other side)

If you haven't bought any lumber lately, you'll probably be in for sticker shock. Prices are lower than they were a couple years ago, but still higher than normal. One thing I did to save a little money was to check the paint dept at lowes and home depot for paint people had mixed and didn't like the color. They sell the "mis-mixes" for about $15/gallon. I found a couple gallons of Rustoleum Deck Coat at the local lowes here that was mixed and the cutomer didn't like the color it turned out to be. It was regular price of $55/gallon and I got both for $15/gallon. I used this to paint the outside. Once the outside was covered with the deck coat, I used regular spray paint to "camo" it. If you go this route, use flat or matte spray paint. I mistakenly picked up a can of black gloss (didn't realize it until it dried and it was a lot more glossy than I thought it would be). I painted the inside a dark color to break up the silhouette when looking in from outside.

I got a question for yall on shooting houses. Have any of yall ever used the OSB product Zip system made by Huber? It's basically 7/16 OSB with a water resistant coating on one side. You use a specific rubber tape over the seams. I'm wondering if you can use it on a shooting house, tape it and paint it with something and it last awhile.

What are y'all's thoughts?

We have regular osb on some shooting houses that have been there for over 20 years. Painted one time. I've seen osb put over windows in abandoned buildings with no paint, and have been there 30 years.

That's my thoughts too. I can get this stuff cheap. So if I build a shooting house out of it and I get 10 years out of it it would be a huge bonus.

If you can get it cheap (same price or maybe a little more than regular OSB), I'd go for it. I watched a guy's youtube channel and he built his own pole barn house. He was debating on using plywood or regular OSB for the walls. He cut a small piece of OSB and left it in a bucket of water for a week or so. It never swole up or separated while being covered in water.

theres a right side out too on osb . just stain it like decking OR pour you some Johnson water proofing in a pump-up spray bottle and spray it down good on a hot dry
day . id spray it down ever year .


if one side is shady all the time you just got to worry about mold and mildew.

OSB will work, just keep it painted

I been putting metal on the outside, roll insulation, then 1x boarding and batting on the inside. I also wrap with plastic to seal them a little. It makes them really easy to heat and limits the smell that escapes. I get the metal cheap. I would be afraid that osb would eventually rot. The last two i built were on our property. I wanted them to last a really long time

What’s the best windows folks are using.

if you want to spend some money the Deer view windows are great

Deer View

Yep we were using osb for the sides but treated for the base/legs. We did the same and got the messed up paint to paint with and then went over with spray can spray for camo. Paint rock, deer view are the best. I will have the tinted flip windows in this one as well.

Thanks for the reply’s y’all…will post pics when we get it built and all.

Thanks

Your other option is to build a raised platform and put a popup blind on it. Take them down at the end of each season. Never have a wasp nest to deal with.

Popup sizes don't match well with 4' plywood, so I just use PT 2x8's for the floor.

Problem is scent control. Main point besides comfort/kids etc of these is scent as there is no good option for putting the stands/access etc

Academy offers windows as well. Deer View is who I use but lead times are lengthy. If build another shooting house in the near future I will probably check into the academy windows.

https://www.academy.com/p/game-winner-12-in-x-36-in-blind-window?sku=36

They are pretty much identical to Deerview windows. I checked them out a while back in the Academy here...stopped in to get 2 one day and they were out. Got online to order them and they weren't available for pickup or home delivery. Only difference in them is Academy only offers 2 sizes (12x36 and 12x12) while deerview offers around 14 sizes in the same style window. Deerview is a little bit cheaper also (compared to the same size windows at Academy)

If the wind is wrong, don't hunt that stand. I have lost count of the number of times I woke up, checked the wind for my stands, and returned to bed.

Only time I hunt regardless of the wind, is when I am out of state, and the guide/outfitter tells me where to sit.

At home, on my place, I won't sit on the wrong wind.

There is no scent control other than hunt them when the wind is right no matter what stand you put up

I beg to differ…hunted out of a redneck blind and had deer surrounding us with the windows closed. Same with other blinds with the windows closed. You have to make a quick shot through when you open that window. Of course I try to only hunt when the wind is right but sometimes it’s tough when it swirls

May be one out there that is completely air tight but pretty sure you would suffocate if it was. Put a smoke bomb in one then see if any smoke leaks our that should give a decent representation for how air tight your blind is

It doesn't have to be air tight to prevent a deer from smelling you. And how many times has the wind switched while you were hunting? When it does, close the windows. Or at the camp the wind is out of the west, but where the stand is, you get there and it's out of the north. Crap happens. Make the most of it. Now sitting a climber is a different story. I will climb down if the wind switches if I know there is a good buck in there I am after. But shooting houses cover a lot of stuff up

Windows make 0 difference if it is not air tight. I can sit in a shooting house with every windows and door open and spook every deer if the wind is wrong. Climber or a box they smell you if the wind is incorrect period

Yep, deer are going to smell you from a shooting house on the wrong wind, every time.

I don't agree with this. Been surrounded by deer numerous times after the wind switched and never got busted with rhe windows shut.

You just got lucky cause unless it's air tight they smell you

No luck too it. All mine are sealed with spray insulation and sealed windows. I actually don't even have problems in the sportsmans condos I've got. It's not a good idea to hunt with a bad wind but switching winds are gonna happen.

Maybe you smell better than we do cause it’s happened time and time again to us in any and all types of houses, sealed or not. 🤷🏼‍♂️
The type of house or windows hasn’t mattered.

But now I will say I think sometimes it depends on the individual. My dad can sit wherever he wants to sit and pays no mind to the wind and deer don’t hardly ever catch his scent. I’m right the opposite. I have to pay attention to every detail cause I can get smelled be every deer in the woods. It is crazy what he gets away with.

I can't bow hunt because of this very reason. I get busted doesn't matter what wind. Shooting house I'm good. Wife can hunt any wind gun or bow and never gets busted.

You may just not have an odor then. Some people can get away with much more than others but it is not cause they are in a box

I have built 5x5, 6x6 and 8x8. To me the best size is 5x5 for 1 adult and 1 kid. 6x6 is big enough for 2 adults. 8x8 is huge but if you want to spend the night in it then it's the ticket

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Problem is scent control. Main point besides comfort/kids etc of these is scent as there is no good option for putting the stands/access etc [/quote]

If the wind is wrong, don't hunt that stand. I have lost count of the number of times I woke up, checked the wind for my stands, and returned to bed.


[/quote]

I have killed 2 really good bucks from a shooting house with windows when wind was "bad". Bucks came into the field because the wind was in his favor but I was sitting in a tight closed up stand. He could not smell me. Have to be kinda quick opening the window tho...

I’ve got a Chinese buddy that the deer don’t bust if he is off the ground and sits still no matter what the wind direction. Drives me crazy he doesn’t buy any special unscented shampoos or laundry soaps. I’ll sit in the same ladder stand and the same doe will sneak around and wind me then start blowing. He’ll be there the next week and he’ll pop a buck with her nibbling weeds downwind. When I questioned him about it he told me he was sorry to say I stink and started calling me stinky. That’s the kind of nickname that will stick to a guy.

I'm sorry but it sounds to me like these hunters who allegedly don't have to worry about their scent... who are telling you they don't get busted..... maybe that's because they are probably moving, making noise, etc. and they have no idea. They never see the deer they don't see to begin with. They catch their scent and slip away.

Not every deer runs off blowing acting like an a-hole when they smell you. Deer on my place don't do that. Not even a little bit I'm lucky to get a single blow they usually just jump in some cover and that's the extent of it.


On the Shooting House -

4x6 plans are all over the internet. Anything bigger and a single hunter can't really see out of the thing. That's the problem. Deer walks right by you and you never know it. You sitting in there playing grabass looking far off. Rookie move. See it all the time.

Other thing is put the house off the field with some brush/overgrown weeds, etc. for a buffer so you can get in/out without running the deer out of the field and also they won't come over and sniff around the house checking to see if you are in there.

I have always just build shooting houses out of whatever I had lying around

I agree that a 4x6 doesn't save a lot of money. But going the other way, a 4x4 does indeed save some. I have made all of mine 4x4 and that's plenty of room for me. I guess I am antisocial or something, but the last thing I want to do on a deer hunt is sit with someone else. We can talk and visit back at the house.

Ours are 2 man houses for kids mostly.