DIY Ladder Stand?

[lotsofshots]

No intention of hijacking, but I have some tripod leg kits for sale in the classifieds that might help. Each of the 3 legs are made of 2 5' sections of square tubing (6 sections altogether), so you could make 2 15' legs for your ladder stand. They're Strong Built, so they're plenty sturdy.

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229427

[dustoffer]

Here's one I made from a section of ladder I was given--ladder part is 10' long.

[pappabear]

Academy sells a metal one that is actually built for two people that holds 450 pounds I am a big guy as well 300 plus and I use these just for my self. I am also cheap and these things are right around 100 bucks I have two of them and they work fine, and I think 100 bucks wouls be cheaper than all the wood your gonna need...maybe not, just trying to see if I can make things easier for ya.

good tip, i may have to check into these (i'm a lil over 300 myself)

[froghunter]

have a wooden ladder stand i build. its 10 tall and sets in a cedar tree. works like a champ. i used treated wood and 2 1/2" screws to hold it together. its gona be heavy if you build it right but that didnt bother me since it stays where i put it. wooden stands fail because they are A. rotten or B. poorly built. avoid both of these and there will be no problems. i see only 1 problem with a 20 foot stand, properly built it would weigh a ton.

just think of ALL the wooden buildings, multi story buildings and stairs that are made of wood and used daily. GO FOR IT!!

[Grizzly1]

Academy sells a metal one that is actually built for two people that holds 450 pounds I am a big guy as well 300 plus and I use these just for my self. I am also cheap and these things are right around 100 bucks I have two of them and they work fine, and I think 100 bucks wouls be cheaper than all the wood your gonna need...maybe not, just trying to see if I can make things easier for ya.

For what you are doing, I totally agree with this guy! My dad bought 2 of these stands 4 or 5 years ago and he weighs around 350. The ones that we have came with a wrap around velcro camo cover which conseals you very well and it has a roof plus it has a metal frame around it with a shooting rail which gives you security and your going to have a task adding a sturdy shooting rail w/roof and camoing it good on a wood ladder compared to the cost of just buying one ready to go. If your a big guy then these metal 2 man stands are perfect for one big person or I've hunted it with my brother and we were still ok.

My suggestion to make it last alot longer is to save your time building a wood one and buy you one of these and spend that extra time caulking any holes on the tubing to keep the moisture out (that is where your rust starts on the inside) and then I would buy some good exterior paint and repaint all of the metal before you even put it in the woods and spray the fabric with waterseal. This is what I did to ours and I think it will make it last alot longer. You can definitely do a wooden ladder and built right w plenty of braces it will be good but it sure is going to be extremely extremely heavy, I've put up the 2 man ladders before by myself and I think they are about 14' eye level which is usually plenty. If you are going to use it for bow hunting then you can either take off or fold up the shooting rail and maybe not put the roof on so you can stand up.

Just my .02

[tpcollins]

I've seen some 16' and higher ladder stands from Walmart, MC Sports, and the like going for as low as $80. I would think the time and money to make your own would be as much . . .

[quickstrike]

I have hunted out of home made ladder stand but never built one myself. I will be hunting out of a hang-on stand this year.

[griffbowhunter]

good luck on it.

[1kickflip100]

Here's mine!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGNghTjdrDk&list=UU_lvUpUvb-t7i7gykoL5BFA&index=1&feature=plcp