I started work on this Tower Stand last year, but due to ongoing logging operations I did not get the stand put up. Looking over the site after the logging operation, along with the steep hill I will need to go down to set the stand, I have decided to put it up in a different location. I looked over the area where I have a good ladder stand, and I had about decided to replace the ladder stand with a tower. Then the light came on. I have permission to hunt the neighbors 120 acres. They have moved to Tennessee, and I seriously doubt they will be up to hunt, and if they are only for a single weekend. He is not a serious hunter.
On the neighbors 120 Acres I have a ladder stand in a bottom where the wife likes to hunt at this time. Her stand is on the South edge of an 80 acre field. The South and West edge of the field is a wooded strip about 100 - 300 feet wide. Her stand is in the middle of this strip of woods. The center part of the 80 acres is about 40 acres of hay field. On the East side is a rougher side pasture that is probably 10 acres. We rotate our horses into this area, but move them back to our land well before deer season. This 10 acres is fenced off from the 40 acre hay field. More hay field is to the West however the strip of woods the wife hunts has a dry creek bed that cuts the hay field into two parts. I cannot see the other 6 or 7 acres from the Stand location.
My plan is to put the tower stand up straddling the fence on top the hill. If I locate the stand at the approximate center of the fence North to South, I can cover almost the entire 40 acre field, as well as approximately 5 acres to the East. That 5 acres is a real hot spot for deer. The fence row is brushed in, the 5 acres has woods on the other three sides. My plan is to put the stand up with the door accessible from the hay field side facing North. I will have the brushed in fence row keeping me out of sight of deer that might be in the 5 acre field while getting to the stand.
STAND CONSTRUCTION
This stand has a floor that is 6 feet X 6 feet square. All four walls are constructed using 2 x 6 lumber for studs and plates from an Amish Saw Mill. The reason for the 2 x 6 wall construction is the 24 inch wide table top that goes around all four sides of the stand, "except the Door Opening". The Table Top will be centered on the wall, half inside and half outside. Building the Table Top this way eliminates the need for any braces on the table top. The roof will be 9 feet X 9 feet square. It will be slopes and screwed down to 4" steel C-Perlins. I have Trim Metal for all four side of the roof. OUCH !! the Trim cost as much as the roofing metal. My original stand location was on a point, and did not require a lot of elevation. I already have the CCA 4 x 4 legs cut to 6 feet in length. This location will work out with the legs I already have cut. The legs will be positioned on Concrete Big Feet. The Big Feet gain me approximately 7 Inches in elevation. The legs are attached to the Stand Floor band boards with Elevator Brackets with Compound Angles. My Table Top will be approximately 36 Inches above the Post Tops. This puts my Table Top Elevation approximately 9-1/2 Feet above Grade Level along with being on top a hill. The Six Feet Legs makes the stand sound like it is low, but on top a hill it will be plenty high. I have 24" Steel Stakes with Rings welded to the top to anchor the stand down using Steel Cables, and Cable Clamps.
All of the wooden members for this stand except the Leg Posts will be rough sawed Amish Pine treated with Ready Seal deck preservative and stain. All of the boards used on the floor were soaked multiple times with Ready Seal before assembly. The exterior wall covering will be 1 x 6 boards I have had drying for a year. The table top will also be made of 1 x 6 pine boards treated on all sides.
The last Tower Stand that we built was constructed the same way, except we used Lumber from the Lumber Yard, Metal Siding, and Painted Exterior Plywood for the Table Top. Last year when I bought the roofing metal it was double the price we paid for metal on the last Tower Stand. That was the main reason for just using metal on the roof. Like wise Lumber from the Lumber Yard has also gotten excessively expensive. I am reasonably sure with the wood preservative on the wooden members, the stand will hold up very well.
You are probably wondering why I have the Table Top half inside and half outside the stand? With a swivel chair set in the CENTER of the Stand Floor you can swivel the chair, and be positioned perfectly to shoot all four directions without moving the chair except turning it. What I will do is position a 4 x 4 block approximately 8 inches long on all four sections of Table Top. I will then position a Shorty "Shot Sack" Sand Bag on each wooden block for a front rest. I will normally set the block of wood on a Padded "Dinner Table" Place Matt so that the front rest can be repositioned quietly if needed. Wood on wood does not make for a quiet reposition, especially when excited or in a hurry. With Four Front Rests positioned all I need to do to set up on a different table top is move the handgun and the sand bag used under the butt. I store the Shorty Sand Bags in 50 Cal ammo cans to keep rodents from eating holes in them when not in use.
We normally run a 550 Cord around the interior of the stand above the Shooting Window openings. This gives us a good attachment point for Camo Material to cut down on being back lighted. We attach the Camo using flat black painted cloths pins. Like wise we adjust the amount of coverage of the camo with cloths pins. I normally add a couple wider shelves above the window opening to store gear up and out of the way. Junk cluttering the floor is not a good thing. I will also use 550 Cord as a retainer to keep items from being knocked off the 2 x 6 above the window opening used for storage.
By now you are wondering what I am shooting since this is in the handgun hunting section that will cover a 40 acre field. I am hunting with a Nosler M48 Bolt Action Handgun chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. I am still working with my bullet selection, however the Hornady 120 grain ELD-M is looking very promising at the velocity level the 15 Inch handgun operates at. I will also work with the Hornady 123 SST Bullet, and see how it expands as well. I have a Fackler Water Box for testing bullets. I need to get to using it before it starts cooling off. Blowing up One Gallon Bags of Water and Refilling lots of them normally makes for getting wet. Not a good thing when it starts cooling off.
I normally wait for broadside shots, and place my bullet behind the shoulder to cut down on meat loss. My main concern is getting enough expansion at handgun velocity levels. This is why I am working with lightly constructed bullets. For a scope I am using a Weaver 2.5-10X Classic Extreme Rifle Scope. This is a 30mm tube scope with loads of eye relief, and a great field of view on the lower power settings. It has covered Finger Turn Elevation Knob, so I can easily dial in the Elevation Correction for the Lasered Yardage. I am 100% sure that I will have my Laser Range Finder with me in the stand, along with my Drop Chart. I am pretty careful, and do not try shots that I am not 100% sure that I can make. While I regularly shoot targets to 600 yards on the Range, I do not plan to attempt to make any real long shots that I am not sure of on deer. This will be my first stand location that I can shoot past 150 yards. This will be a different ball game this year. With this much real-estate to watch, I will have to resist shooting any Coyotes that may come along.
This will be my first Deer Season using the Nosler M48. My last two deer were taken with a 356 Winchester Encore, and a 7.62x54R Encore. I believe the deer before that was with my 6.5x30JDJ Contender. I have also used my 35 Bullberry Contender as well as my 480 Super RedHawk on deer. This will be my first Season using the Bolt Action M48 in 6.5 Creedmoor, and I hope many more seasons follow.
Bob R
