Pimp my high seat :)

[mr_magicfingers]

Evening all, I finally bought a high seat for my little bit of woodland, after about 2 years of saying 'I must get round to building a high seat' and realising that 2 years had gone past and I still hadn't.

Now, having not spent a lot of time in them, but bought via recommendations on here through Keith's High Seats, I'm looking at pimping it up a bit and would appreciate recommendations from people who've spent more time in them. It will be used for shooting deer, squirrels, foxes etc in the wood and also simply for sitting there and enjoying being in nature.

First up is to pad the top bar with pipe insulation to stop the 'clang' of the rifle moving around. I have a cheap inflatable cushion to sit on and I'll probably make up a bit of padding for the board at the back.

I have a tatty old rucsac I'll modify the shoulder straps to make it easy to clip the sack onto a side bar so I can keep snacks and a flask of coffee to hand.

Not sure about some way of clipping the rifle to the seat if I'm going to be putting it down and getting some coffee etc or simply using binoculars.

Anyway, would appreciate any thoughts folks might have.

And because we all like pictures, here it is, just sited today in a little clearing. Dog for scale

 

[griffshrek]

I'm ashamed to say I've got thermal mug holders on two of my highseats , they are very handy

 

[liongeorge]

Useful looking high seat. Bit of cammo netting never goes amiss. What's the dog ? He looks great.

 

[Oh6]

I would start by getting some camo netting wrapped round it with at least a 4ft drop, as it looks very exposed.

 

[mchughcb]

Its good to hear that you got around to it after two years. I hope you dont take as long to make it comfortable to sit in.

 

[Tim.243]

Most of mine have a dark green net around them, it came off a farm building I boarded out.

I doubled it up and cable tied it to the rail, my double seat has an elbow rest in the middle which is just a re-moveable pole with a piece of ply.

2 hours is enough for me so I avoid any thing which can fall out or make a noise in that time....

Tim.243

 

[Chasey]

Lift ropes X 2 to lift and lower bag and rifle

Personaly id bolt a shelf on one side for binos thermal and other tat

Id put two hooks on the other side to hold my bag just outside the seat then as you say id put a rifle support on it to hold the rifle near shooting position

And of course a camo net

We have a couple of these exact seats and they are pretty comfey

 

[Cranhill]

Wing mirror, for looking the other way?

 

[75]

I’ve tweaked the angle of the backrest slightly. The vertical board is quite uncomfortable but I just unscrewed the bottom screws and shimmed the timber away from the frame with a few washers before tightening the screws. A few degrees makes a big difference!

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Useful looking high seat. Bit of cammo netting never goes amiss. What's the dog ? He looks great.

That's Fraggle, 18 month old labradoodle. I had a plan to train him as a gun dog but he's just so full of beans it's hard to keep him from rushing around. I'm working on it though, he's settling a bit more now, his recall is reasonable and he walks to heel well most of the time, just tends to rush off with the other dog we have when in the woods. Next year, need to spend more time on his training.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I’ve tweaked the angle of the backrest slightly. The vertical board is quite uncomfortable but I just unscrewed the bottom screws and shimmed the timber away from the frame with a few washers before tightening the screws. A few degrees makes a big difference!

Oh now that's a handy tip, thank you, I'll give that a try.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I'm ashamed to say I've got thermal mug holders on two of my highseats , they are very handy

that's the sort of thing I was thinking of

 

[mr_magicfingers]

I would start by getting some camo netting wrapped round it with at least a 4ft drop, as it looks very exposed.

that's a good idea, help keep the wind off a bit. Thanks.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Most of mine have a dark green net around them, it came off a farm building I boarded out.

I doubled it up and cable tied it to the rail, my double seat has an elbow rest in the middle which is just a re-moveable pole with a piece of ply.

2 hours is enough for me so I avoid any thing which can fall out or make a noise in that time....

Tim.243

That looks very good indeed.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Lift ropes X 2 to lift and lower bag and rifle

Personaly id bolt a shelf on one side for binos thermal and other tat

Id put two hooks on the other side to hold my bag just outside the seat then as you say id put a rifle support on it to hold the rifle near shooting position

And of course a camo net

We have a couple of these exact seats and they are pretty comfey

I'd thought of a shelf but worried about knocking things off. Thinking of getting something like a long, narrow plant pot and bolting that to the side as a sort of shelf/trough to put things into with less worry of dropping them.

Hadn't thought of a lift rope, that's a good idea, thanks.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

Wing mirror, for looking the other way?

It's surprisingly easy to see all the way round with the width of the seat and a narrow tree

 

[Eddie P]

I'd thought of a shelf but worried about knocking things off. Thinking of getting something like a long, narrow plant pot and bolting that to the side as a sort of shelf/trough to put things into with less worry of dropping them.

Hadn't thought of a lift rope, that's a good idea, thanks.

Make sure there are plenty of drainage holes.

 

[mr_magicfingers]

yep, that's why I thought of one of those balcony or window box pots, comes with drain holes as standard.

 

[Eddie P]

yep, that's why I thought of one of those balcony or window box pots, comes with drain holes as standard.

But they will clog with a few leaves.

Pehaps a system that allows it to flip over for storage so it can't fill with detrirus.

 

[Heym SR20]

I had a very comfortable night in a highseat last week in Germany. Don’t have any pictures but it was freestanding.

Key points. The ladder slopes so easy to climb - none of this vertical, of **** I am going to fall. You the arrive on a balcony - 3ft by 6ft. This allows you to open the door. The main boby was constructed of exterior grade ply over a wooden frame with a floor area of 8ft by 6ft. Sloping roof to keep off the rain. Top hinge double glazed windows that open inwards with a 6” wide solid shelf all the way round. Inside the walls floor a ceiling all lined with carpet to keep noise down and to provide insulation. A swivel lint office chair and a fold up mattress provided the furniture. With some food and a flask I was happy. Went in about 9pm. Full moon but sleet and snow showers. During the showers too dark to see anything, so shut windows and got some snooze, at about 2.30am my bladder woke me up, along with hair standing on back of my neck. Quietly got up and looked out onto the maize field. Kept scanning for several minutes. Suddenly there is big black boar shaped object on its own snuffling about. Ease open the window and sent a 173gn h-mantle. A solid thwack and he charges off into the Wood with a really angry squeal. All goes quiet. No ways I am I going into the woods on my own after a big boar.

Have a pee. German friend who is in a similar seat a few hundred metres away rings me to congratulate. Solid shot he reckons. We will wait a few hours. Go back to sleep as it’s starts sleeting again. About 5am the others come around with a trailer. A pig, fox and two raccoons shot at the other end of the estate. We find my Keiler - a4 year old c70kgs 10yards into the wood. Bullet straight in the boiler room. Very happy and load him into the trailer. They suggest I stay where I am so go back to the seat wait till dawn and watch everything come to life, and then curl up and go back to sleep. Woken at 10am. The others had all gone in the hunting hut and woke up late.

i have been rather spoilt. Sadly in the uk such huts would be trashed in no time. No more expensive to build, and friends spend many nights in deep winter in these.