Building a hunting camp: Part III

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:25:56 +0100

Buying Land and Building a Hunting Camp Part III

The dream of owning one’s own hunting cabin is possible even for the non-handy with proper planning. My 16 x 20’ cabin was born with the help of a two-car garage set of blueprints and some DIY books. Gather your family and friends for a few weekends and you can frame it up yourself.

The Building Crew

The crew leader does the measuring and cutting, and the crew puts it all together. We salvaged our windows from a friend’s remodeling project, and we used steel roofing for no-maintenance durability. Use a safety arrest harness when roofing, it’s slippery walking on the pitch and you will fatigue easily.

Life in a Minnesota ruffed grouse hunting cabin

I love waking up to the neighborhood drumming grouse, and coffee warming by the wood stove. I awarded the landowner’s pardon to the grouse living nearby. After the day’s hunt in the neighboring state forests, it’s nice to come home to the cabin. A few sticks of wood on the fire, throw venison steaks on the grill, and light the gas lamps. Feed the dogs, wipe down the guns, and set the boots out to dry. Tomorrow get up and do it all again.

Joel Schnell is editor of ruffedgrouseminnesota.com

Buying hunting land and building a hunting cabin Part II

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 15:44:15 +0100

The simple life of a cabin in the Northwoods comes with a bit of planning. Always fixing things on the weekend doesn’t sound like much fun, so low maintenance became key to my building. Since we are off the grid, lack of water, power and the ability to get a cement truck in were limitations as well.

The Plan

We came up with a 16x20’ plan, based on the blueprints for a double garage I bought. Based on consulting with a carpenter I know (do your own research prior to starting a project like this) we came up with piers made of concrete post forms with treated posts. Holes were dug and filled with compacted gravel under each. We made it high enough to crawl under from one side if any adjustments were to be made if some of the posts sank.

The Structure

The first two years we lived in a canvas tent on site, then we beefed up the platform with a few more piers and framed up our cabin. After all, there were deer stands to build and trails to cut too. In Part III we’ll frame up the cabin.

Joel Schnell is editor of ruffedgrouseminnesota.com

ruffed-grouse-minnesota

Building a hunting camp: Part III

Buying hunting land and building a hunting cabin Part II