Hunting Chair

[Dane]

I have gotten permission to hunt coyote on some pretty nasty land. It was logged last year and is interspersed with very small fields. Basically no great open spaces to see the coyotes to approach as they are hidden in the grass, brambles and downed logs. Add to that the dew settling at night creating thin ground fog that makes sitting on the ground almost impossible. Not to mention the fun of hunting outside of winter when the snakes, ticks and other bugs are active.

I've seen trucks outfitted for night hunting in Africa. A swiveling chair in back and spotlights to spot approaching game. So, I thought I'd apply the idea to my Gator. A cheap fishing chair, swivel and pedestal base from WalMart form the core. I used scrap steel around the shop to fabricate a shooting brace and light support tower that swivel with the chair. 1 1/2" square tubing forms the base frame with 1" round tubing wrapping around to form my shooting rest. The light tower is a section of 1/2" EMT.

I started another thread about removing the side rails from my bed. I originally thought of making a removable platform above the bed. Wanting something quick I just bolted the chair to a piece of plywood and set it in the bed. Surprisingly it works so well I may abandon my upper platform idea.

The camo netting is mostly for theatrical affect.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Hunting%20Chair/Chair1.jpg

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Hunting%20Chair/Chair3.jpg

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Hunting%20Chair/Chair5.jpg

[Dane]

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Hunting%20Chair/Chair2.jpg

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2012/Gator/Hunting%20Chair/Chair4.jpg

[bowman]

Nice job. :Thmup:

Bowman

[WOEII]

Nice setup! :Chers: :cool:

[Dane]

Since building the chair I have gone to thermal IR for scanning so I no longer need the lights on the post. In total darkness the bright yellow seat and yellow rims are not much of a problem but they sure glow if there are any stars or moonlight. I've made a seat cover but still have to do something about the rims.

[osiris]

what are u using for the ir, binoculars or a camera? Just going to paint the rims black then?

[Dane]

I'm using a FLIR PS-32 for spotting game as it approaches. Then I have a LED spotlight mounted on my gun for final confirmation and shooting.

I bought new tires (http://www.johndeeregatorforum.com/forum/showthread.php?12691-New-Tires&highlight=tires) and a set of black steel rims.

[osiris]

that scope looks nice, any other projects planned?

[Dane]

Take a look in the XUV 2012 section. I have threads for most of what I've done.

[Dane]

The old hunting chair worked OK during winter but it did have a big weakness.
1. I had to park the Gator on level ground. If I didn't park level the chair wanted to swing downhill.
2. It was getting to be too short with the growing weeds & brush of summer.
3. It was heavy. The 3/4" plywood base that filled the bed was great for stability but killed my back.

So it was time to upgrade the ole' chair. I reused the seat, swivel and shooting rest from the old chair and made a new support from 3/4" EMT. The new stand gets me up a couple feet higher. Each leg of the tripod stand has 8" of height adjustment so I no longer have to search for level ground to park the Gator. And, the whole thing weighs about 20 pounds less.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2013/Gator/NewSeat1_zps2f20c13f.jpg

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2013/Gator/NewSeat2_zps05a3cee4.jpg

Why didn't I make it taller? At it's maximum height I can still drive into the garage without catching the door. I thought of doing something collapsible so I could really get some height but I knew it would only be a matter of time until I forgot to lower the rig late one night and would take out the garage door.

[Skillet23]

Nice setup, like a extremely portable tripod...if not for the smell of the bikes, I'd use something like that for bowhunting.

David in TX

[Dane]

The stand is not tall enough to get my scent up off the ground like a proper tree stand so I have to be very mindful of wind direction but I'm quite surprised at how animals are not bothered by the smell of the Gator. I guess there are so many cars, trucks and tractors around that gas & oil is part of the scent scenery and is not so much associated with humans. Even I can smell the gasoline from my Gator so I know animals can pick up on it from a long distance.

This spring I hog hunted with the Gator parked right below my stand and the hogs walked by within 20 feet of it in daylight. They looked at it for a bit as something different then kept on walking and stayed in the area until I fired.

[pahawi]

Looks great, but I hope your 550 is more stiff than my 825, as when I just move the slightest in the bed of mine, it's rocking the next few seconds, which isn’t preferable using a riffle :hdscrh:

Paul

[Dane]

The low pressure tires and suspension can cause a lot of movement. Worst is climbing up into the seat but once seated I have the pivot as close as possible to my center of mass so when I rotate there is very little weight shift that the Gator sees so it stays surprisingly stable. Then the shooting rest provides a solid place for my elbow and because the shooting rest moves with the chair I can use my feet to turn the chair and track on running coyotes and still keep my elbow on the rest for a steadier shot.

[Dane]

Here is a picture from the new chair's first time in action. The grass between fields was about 4' tall so it provides natural camouflage to the bulk of the Gator. A bit of camo netting provides a bit of concealment to the ROPS area. I generally park so I have trees or something to break up my outline.

http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad67/pilotdane2/2013/Gator/InField1_zpsf7780181.jpg

I did not have luck on this stand. After 40 minutes of absolutely nothing I moved to another area a couple miles away. Even with the noise and smell of the Gator I had a coyote in half an hour and headed home for a cold beverage.