What's this got to do with bowhunting or Texas? The dog I'm building this to hunt with was 'our own' Wildman's dog's pup which he had on TBH before the crash of 2006. My good friend and hunting buddy out here (there's at least one other hunter in CA) is training the chocolate lab, and I said I'd build the stand for him.
We hunt public refuges in the central valley (Pacific flyway), and most of the time we don't get a blind, so we free-roam and hunker down in the tulies on a pond, put out our decoys, and hunt in calf-to-thigh deep water.
I've seen other projects posted on TBH, here's mine.
Started out with a cart meant for moving boat trailers around, removed the ball, and welded a 2 by 3 foot frame with rails around the sides.
Then I got a piece of 2 by 3 foot 3 inch foam with aluminum laminated on both sides from a local manufacturer of sheds and prefab buildings. A trip to Home Depot and the project started to take shape. I painted the surface with truckbed liner with added non-slip grit they sell for stairs.
Dave called and said "don't forget to make it with some sort of cover to hide the dog", so I started on a cover piece. Two cans of Krylon camo paint (khaki and olive drab) were all I needed. The camo pattern matches everything I have camo'd, including my Mossberg 500 'swamp gun'.
After the glue was dry, I decided to see if a 70 pound dog would fit. Our golden does, she's useless for waterfowl hunting but a great family pet.
Which I then covered with camo netting from the local Army Navy store.
Legs are 30 inches long, and I cut them in half and pinned them together with a piece of PVC inside so we can adjust for deep or shallow water. Waders and blind bag are drying in the CA sun, broadhead target still in the garage after the elk hunt.
Finally, here's my 2 "hunting" dogs getting ready for next weekend (that's "my wifes" dog. My neighbor says it takes a REAL man to drive a pickup, hunt hogs AND walk a 10#, white, fluffy dog with a pink leash, collar and a silver rhinestone name tag).
I'll hopefully get some pictures of it in action next weekend with some birds to show off!
We hunt public refuges in the central valley (Pacific flyway), and most of the time we don't get a blind, so we free-roam and hunker down in the tulies on a pond, put out our decoys, and hunt in calf-to-thigh deep water.
I've seen other projects posted on TBH, here's mine.
Started out with a cart meant for moving boat trailers around, removed the ball, and welded a 2 by 3 foot frame with rails around the sides.
Then I got a piece of 2 by 3 foot 3 inch foam with aluminum laminated on both sides from a local manufacturer of sheds and prefab buildings. A trip to Home Depot and the project started to take shape. I painted the surface with truckbed liner with added non-slip grit they sell for stairs.
Dave called and said "don't forget to make it with some sort of cover to hide the dog", so I started on a cover piece. Two cans of Krylon camo paint (khaki and olive drab) were all I needed. The camo pattern matches everything I have camo'd, including my Mossberg 500 'swamp gun'.
After the glue was dry, I decided to see if a 70 pound dog would fit. Our golden does, she's useless for waterfowl hunting but a great family pet.
Which I then covered with camo netting from the local Army Navy store.
Legs are 30 inches long, and I cut them in half and pinned them together with a piece of PVC inside so we can adjust for deep or shallow water. Waders and blind bag are drying in the CA sun, broadhead target still in the garage after the elk hunt.
Finally, here's my 2 "hunting" dogs getting ready for next weekend (that's "my wifes" dog. My neighbor says it takes a REAL man to drive a pickup, hunt hogs AND walk a 10#, white, fluffy dog with a pink leash, collar and a silver rhinestone name tag).
I'll hopefully get some pictures of it in action next weekend with some birds to show off!
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