Honkers

[Brose]

Roch yesterday

[greatwhitehunter3!]

Very nice.

[Gordon]

....thanks for the invite.

[browningguy18]

Roch yesterday

Nice work! Sweet looking spread too.

[Gordon]

What type of process is it to put in a pit blind?

[Waterfowlist]

What type of process is it to put in a pit blind?

No idea, but I am curious myself.

[Night Hawk]

Depends on what type of pit your doing...

Yearly pits I have dug and used wood for frame and flip tops for the year, come spring all materials are removed and pits filled in.

I helped drop a perm a couple years back. It was an old manure tank that the gentleman had cleaned out. I was very suprised with how much base work(C5) and framing was done before dropping it in. It still sits level today, in both situations we used a back hoe to dig our trench

Personally I like to hunt differnet fields too much rather then the same hill top pit everytime. But somewhere like Rochester or other refuge area...it can save lots of time and struggles

[greatwhitehunter3!]

I want to build one someday down in our creek overlooking a large pond.

[h2ofwlr]

A treated (Tr) wood pit would work well for most of us.

4' wide and 4' per person across for length [32" wide per person, (3 people per 8') is not enough room once you get in gear, heater, dog etc.] x 4-8" deep If only 4' deep when sitting on a chair your head is kinked as there is not enough head room (a complaint that I have with the pits I've hunted out of in Rochester). Dig it a bit over 5' deep and a 1' wider in each direction, add 1' of clear 1" rock to act as a drain field and base to support the structure. (In a corner have a small sump basket so if you get heavy rains so you can pump it out). I'd be leary if over 16' long (4 man) as it'd get awfully haeavy to lift onto a trailer and into the hole. It may be better to go to 2 - 3 man (12' long) pits if you want 6 people to hunt. Space them perhaps 10' apart.

3/4" treated plywood is used for the main walls. If a long term(10+ years) pit--get the treated plywood and wood meant for home foundations--not the treated at Menards. HD, Lowes etc as that is not the same rot prevention. Use doubled up Tr 2x6 for uprights and cross pieces and horizontal runs (for the frame). Use non corrisive spikes or screws (hot dipped galv , triple coat, or stainless steel).

Basically you build the 2x6 frame on site and add the 2x8 around the bottom wall and the Tr plywood for the walls. Long term there is a LOT of side pressure to the walls from the dirt, so every 4' at the bottom there needs to be a double cross peice, again 2' up and again at the top. The sides and ends start with a Tr 2x8 and then the 4' wide sheet of treated plywood above that. On each end add a couple of extra 2x6's for a ladder.

Add a bit of clear rock up about 1' on the sides of the walls once it is dropped down into place. Place a filter fabric over the rock before you back fill with ground, compact the ground in 4" layers (otherwise it'll settle). When installed the top of the plywood and frame should be at least 6" above the surrounding terrain. Landscape it so the water drains away from the pit on all 4 sides. Use garage door rails to hold the plywood if using slider doors. Some use flop doors and use a conduit frame with heavy black mesh and then zip tie natural plants to the doors. (You'll need to place plywood over the flop doors so an unsuspecting person or critter does not fall into the openings year around).

Usually these are installed in the spring time so that over the summer the plants grow up and it looks natural. I'd use a big track hoe to dig it and lower the pit into the hole. And a skid steer for adding the rock and grading of the soil. You could build the wood pit/s in a shop/garage and haul them on a trailer to the site too.

One word of caution--do not select a location in a low lieing area, meaning if there is ground water 3' down--it will flood the pit continually. The ground water needs to be at least 6' down from the top of the surrounding area - other wise you'll be fighting the ground water. It is bad enough to deal with rain water if a rainy fall, but it's a lot worse if also dealing with ground water intrusion into the pit too.

Also part of determining the location to consider: The prevailing fall wind direction (west) and how the pit straddles the wind (so you are not shooting over each others heads), how the geese will approach you, where (direction) the birds will come from (roost), etc...

If I had a permanent place to hunt, the above is how I'd build it and things I'd consider.

[Bill Gilbertson]

Many of the pits in Rochester use old metal garage doors for the sides. If you are going to use a sliding top, using actual rollers in the garage door track makes the tops slide easily.