So, the question becomes: What colors do I paint it. I asked my work crew and got a number of answers. Bright-assed yellow. Hunters orange, Navaho Red. One young lady even recommended (horror) some green/brown/black camo scheme.
I decided to make it a readers poll.
What color should I paint the box stand. Everyone is welcome to weigh-in, but it'll be a couple of more days before I buy paint. Answer in comments. What color?
Paint it no color. Let the sun bleach it to a natural tree bark gray.
ReplyDeleteAvoid colors with brighteners. Just like fabric softeners, some paints have high UV pigment.
ReplyDeleteSome of the fluorescent colors or bright colors use UV absorbers to pull in UV and transmit it in visible light range. This stands out more for animals that see further into the UV range.
Stain it/seal it well. Let it weather.
ReplyDeleteHow about Hunter Orange Camo? Hopefully safer than green/brown/ black but still shouldn't spook the deer.
ReplyDeleteSeal it, leave it.
ReplyDeleteDeer are color blind.
ReplyDeleteAfter a few days the deer probably won't pay it any more attention than we would a fire hydrant or mailbox. How much attention to deer pay to say, a green and yellow combine or hay baler left in an alfalfa field for a day or two?
If it was mine, I'd paint it to suit myself, most likely an earth tone that blends into the background. Particularly if that paint was cheap.
Gerry N.
What ever is left over in the garage... :-)
ReplyDeleteTake whatever leftover paint you and your friends have lying around in the garage, mix it, and you'll most likely have muddy grey / brown. That should do fine. If you want it to look smart, dark green is nice, but that gets hot inside if it's in a sunny spot.
ReplyDeleteMy nephew made a ground blind similar to your box stand but without a top. No paint, no sealer, no nothing, just bare plywood. It has weathered over the summer until it is almost invisible against the woods around it. It's beside a main trail in the river bottom, and you can't see it until you're beside it.
ReplyDeleteBUT it's ground level in a hardwood bottom. If your box stand is to be elevated in piney woods, try looking at it like a deer would look at it--looking up at an angle. In other words, it needs to be a combo of pine bark gray and pine needle green with an occasional splash of brown.
As I've heard, containment of scent is the big deal in stands, not the color. Throw some Thompson Water Seal on it to protect the naked wood, but put some sort of clear plastic inner curtain over that window to contain your human scent.
ReplyDeleteAll hearsay, of course, I've never hunted from an enclosed stand.
A darker color of your choice, you need to blend in when inside it. The blinds I have been in which deer have been shot out of always get a good once over after wards. Deer may not see color that well but shapes and movement get their attention.
ReplyDeleteben
Go to Lowes and buy their returned mis-matched paint in a dark color(cheap), remember to paint inside and out and don't forget the camo cloth in the window.
ReplyDeleteblue and orange :)
ReplyDeleteMy preference is Navaho Red from Menards, oil based solid stain.
ReplyDeletePaint peels. Stain seals.
While you are at it, hang an empty laundry detergent jug from a rafter so it can be seen through the window. Get Bambi's Granpaw used to the slight odor and a silhouette swinging in the breeze.