Anybody build their own box stands?

I built four of them in 2003 like you're talking about. Studded frames. Insulation. Plywood walls. Metal sliding windows, ceilings, metal roofs, etc.

I was just starting to have kids, so I wanted something where I could bring all my kids and they could run around and be noisy and still see deer. I was also hoping to make them so air tight that we could hunt them on any wind.

After 17 years, I'll give them mixed reviews. They are now basically hotels for squirrels. The squirrels eat holes in the siding and nest in the insulation. There's nothing you can do to stop it. Patch one hole, they just chew two more. So now when we sit in the stands, you can barely hear yourself think for the sound of the squirrels running around screwing and fighting around you.

The ones exposed to direct sunlight get to be about 80 degrees hotter than the outside air. They are like convection boxes if you don't open the windows. Even then if it's a warm day with no clouds, they're miserable to sit in.

Now as my kids are getting old enough to hunt on their own, and those stands are timing out, I'm not going back with the same models.

The next group of stands we are building are going to be broken into two styles:

On food plots: fiberglass boxes. Easy to maintain, easy to install, moderately priced.

In the woods: open wooden platforms. There are harder to describe. But basically just a platform with shooting rails 38 inches high. Then a metal roof to throw a shadow and keep off the rain. You are much more exposed in these than in a traditional box stand. But when I'm hunting in the woods, I like to feel like I'm in the woods. Not like I'm in a pillbox. I want to be able to hear and see and soak up the feeling of being in nature. I don't like craning my neck to look through slots to look for deer.

Anyhow: that's a rambling explanation. But I'll post some pics of my different designs and you can get a feel for what I liked about them and what I didn't like about them.

Cheap and big enough for the kids and sound proof dont compute.

Ive built several 8x8’s with double pane windows, insulated door, rubber exercise foam floor with carpet over the top and insulated walls. Hardie siding on the outside. Full staircase with handrails to accommodate the grandpas too. We can play UNO in there 16 ft up with no problem. Look to spend $2k + to do it right and last for ever. Mine are built big enough so the kids can camp in them during the off season with their friends. When my oldest killed his first deer at 6 we had me, him, 3yo brother, 9yo nephew and grandpa all in the stand.


Im at the beginning stage of what Nocolors talks about. There is no price to put on getting my kids in the woods with their grandpas. Memories are priceless