For less than £65 and a few hours of work, you can create your own deer box blind

Planning and Materials

The first step is to determine the specifics. Do you want the blind elevated? (Old tree houses or tree towers that kids have outgrown work great for elevated units.) Will it be wood or plastic? Will you make it yourself from scratch or with the help of a kit? Will your roof be of plywood, wood or fibreglass?

This explanation will be for a wooden, do-it-yourself, ground blind. You will need:

5 8' pressure-treated 2" x 4" pieces of lumber

10 5/16" x 2" carriage bolts

1 sheet of 8' x 45" x 1/2" pressure-treated plywood

2 sheets of 8' x 68" x 1/2" pressure-treated plywood

1 sheet of 45" x 68" x 1/2" pressure-treated plywood

10 5/16" wing nuts

9 6' pressure-treated 1" x 4"

10 3/16" flat washers

1 box galvanised deck screws

Camouflage burlap fabric

2-inch insulation foam

Black paint

Camouflage paint

Painting tools--brushes, roller, tray

Tree branch and other natural foliage

The Base

Take two 8-foot 2" x 4" and mark them for 16-inch increments.

Cut six supports 2" x 4" x 45 from three remaining 8-foot 2" x 4". Space supports 16 inches apart and screw them in place with deck screws, making sure supports are square.

Put sheet of 8' x 45" x 1/2" treated plywood down on your frame for floor, securing to frame with deck screws.

Framing and Roof

Create vertical framing using eight 1" X 4" x 68" (cut from 1" x 4" x 6''s). Framing should be: 4 1" x 4"s (two combined on each side at one end of blind), 2 1 x 4s (on opposite sides) at midpoint, and 2 in corners at far end.

Cut shooting windows in two pieces of 8' x 68" plywood and 45" x 68" piece of plywood. The 45" x 68" piece will be the narrow wall between the two 8' x 68" walls.

Secure 8' plywood pieces to each of the long sides of the blind with screws. Secure 45" piece of plywood to blind with screws.

Secure roofing material with screws.

Insulate with 2-inch foam on all walls, floor and ceiling.

Rails, Camouflage

Drill holes every 2 inches apart from 24" to 44" on two long walls.

Cut 1" x 4" x 6' for shooting rails and drill holes in ends to match holes in framing.

Line up shooting rails and fasten with 5/16-inch carriage bolts, flat washers and wing nuts.

Create door with burlap and scrap 1" x 4" lumber. Attach burlap to frame and staple the burlap to the 1 x 4's.

Fishing Touches

Paint the inside of your blind black to hide interior movements. Also paint around the outside of the shooting windows black to make it look like they are always open.

Paint the outside of the blind in camouflage colours to match the surrounding woods.

Use tree branches and other natural foliage to camouflage the blind.