Creating a Hunting Club: Organic Shooting House

   07.17.18

Creating a Hunting Club: Organic Shooting House

Editor’s note: This is the 11th installment to a 12-part, comprehensive series about building a hunting club with buddies from nearly the ground up. Author Thomas Allen will share what he learns as he learns it. His hope is that anyone who reads this series can learn from his successes and failures, and apply them to a one-day fruitful hunting club. Click here for the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and 10th installments.

“There are no words that can tell the hidden spirit of the wilderness, that can reveal its mystery, its melancholy, and its charm.” — Theodore Roosevelt

If it weren’t for Theodore Roosevelt many of the outdoor pursuits we enjoy today simply might not exist. And while I can hardly compare myself to the man, I do share an affinity for the great outdoors, especially hunting.

I’d like to think the former POTUS and I could open a bottle of bourbon over a campfire and share hunting stories until the sun comes up.

I admire the man. Always have.

He had a vision for how the United States should conserve the greatest natural resource the world contains — among many other exploits that forever changed and defined the sport of hunting.

But it took a majority of Americans to buy into Roosevelt’s ideals and support them thoroughly to create our outdoor history.

Almost like a hunting club.

A bit of a visionary myself, but on a far lower level, I had a plan for this hunting club that we started last fall. We overcame one hurdle at a time, but the initial vision is much closer to reality now. Our accomplishments in preparation and executing the hunting season would not have happened if not for our membership.

We came together and got it done, you just have to know where to start. Everybody played an integral part.

Organic Shooting House
The process of building a new shooting house required a sturdy foundation. We decided to dig 12- to 14-inch holes for our 4×4 posts. The job was very difficult in the Alabama heat, and we took turns running the post-hole auger and the manual version to get our required depths.

The following project is a simple one. But it’s one of my favorite accomplishments as a hunter and a club manager. I am very proud of the men that contributed, and the new outlook we now have on a particular field.

The Field

Looking back to last fall, this particular field is where my 8-year-old daughter shot the first deer on our club — and her second. The big doe came into a field covered in BioLogic Maximum, a place deer visited with some regularity.

That shooting house was a disaster, like several others on our property, and needed either replaced or a total overhaul. We prioritized that specific spot as the one we needed to change more than any other, and this summer we did jus that.

Organic Materials

The project began last winter as one of our members Paul began collecting pine logs for his portable sawmill. Paul had numbers of logs that needed cut with no real endgame in mind. I asked him if he’d be willing to contribute to a few new shooting house materials and he eagerly agreed.

Organic Shooting House
We’re not building the Taj Mahal here, but a few aspects of a solid structure are required to build a solid shooting house. We built it to last, and to be comfortable, which included a level platform.
Organic Shooting House
With the platform set and QuickCrete in the postholes, it was ready for a decking and carpet. The platform measured 6-foot by 6-foot, and that required a sheet and a half of 3/4-inch treated plywood.

He is a man that loves a productive project, and we share the same affliction. So, we dug in, and had a lot of fun producing our necessary materials from the ground up. Literally. Plus, when you’re on a tight (non-existent) budget like we are, you take advantage of every dollar you can save.

I was even able to find a roll of old carpet that was dumped near one of our main gates some time ago. While the carpet is vastly different from milled wood, it cost us nothing and came from the very woods we intend to hunt. After a bit of inspection, it was deemed usable — I guess you can call that organic.

Organic Shooting House
The carpet was found near one of our primary gates, and upon further inspection it was deemed worthy as deck covering for our shooting house. The purpose was to reduce the noise that occurs when moving around inside the blind. It was free and works perfectly. We used simple roofing nails that came with a plastic washer to attach the carpet. Again, we’re not building the Taj Mahal.

All together, we have right around $150 dollars in this project, including two sheets of 3/4-inch treated plywood, roofing nails and QuickCrete.

Paul removed a pile of lag bolts from a tall stack of pallets a couple of years back that came in very handy for this project. Again, a foresight that saved us some money — every little bit helps.

We decided to put a 5-hub blind on the platform at this point. We left the main posts long so we could build onto the existing platform next year.

To tie down the blind we used 1 1/2-inch coarse-thread screws topped with a washer to secure the tie-down strings. We used the same method for the base tabs that are centered along each of the blind sides.

Organic Shooting House
The blind fit the deck dimensions perfectly — by design — and that made it easier to secure to the platform. It’s a pretty permanent move to screw the tabs to the base, but this is mostly permanent.
Organic Shooting House
I used the same approach with the strings that add outward pressure to the hubs.

Here’s the process:

Organic Shooting House
Here’s the finished product, ready to hunt. We kept our expenses at a minimum, built the structure out of self-milled lumber and other items we managed to collect without sacrificing our budget.

Once the platform and blind were set, we had a substantial amount of brush clearing to accomplish. And it was no small task.

Organic Shooting House
Here’s the view out the front of the blind before the shooting lanes were cleared.
Organic Shooting House
Here’s Paul putting the finishing touches on our morning of clearing. An extendable chainsaw was an instrumental tool to getting the job done right. We specifically cut only trash underbrush and weed-like trees. All pines, oaks and valuable hardwoods weren’t touched.
Organic Shooting House
This is the view after our clearing project was completed. The new position allows the hunter to take advantage of more productive entry and exit routes, as well as hunting better and more predictable winds. Plus, the location is further away from the field, which should add comfort to feeding deer in the food plot.


 

The Team

The Alabama summer heat was intense during our first official workday of 2018, and we really only had half the day. But thanks to a few guys and my son, we managed to get the holes dug, posts set and platform leveled.

We worked hard together, sweated together and accomplished one of our biggest tasks of the preseason.

Organic Shooting House
Here is a look at the old (R) vs. the new. A subtle change, but one that will produce better results for the upcoming season. A change I’m proud of, and excited to experience.
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