Sorry for posting in the Hunting with CB area, but it seems to be the best place to discuss hunting related topics on the site.
My neighbor is generously letting me have much of the leftover wood from the house he just built. He routinely hunts my land, and we've agreed we're going to use the excess wood to build an elevated deer blind. He's got a teenage daughter who started hunting this year. Along with her, we often take other hunting newbies. Sometimes the wives like to come and sit in a double tree stand. We figure they'll last longer on cold, wet winter mornings and improve the odds if we put a roof over their heads and a propane heater near their feet. I prefer stalking deer, but the idea of spending a long winter morning out in the deer woods, while staying dry and warm, doesn't exactly put me off, either.
We've got a bunch of 2x8 lumber to work with, a lot of 2x4s, along with a long section of engineered/laminated beam. Some of it is untreated, so painting is going to be necessary, but that's no big deal. I'll get some 6x6 PT posts for the supports. We're thinking we'll go up about 7 to 8 feet, built a platform, and then wall it in, with hinged, wooden windows all along the perimeter for spotting and shooting. Simple, single sloped tin roof. Pretty conventional.
My key question is: How big? 4x8? 6x8? Larger? Most typically, it will be used by two people, but every once in a while, we may want to get three in there. Chair for each person, room for a basic hunting pack and, of course, a propane cylinder with a heater attached.
Interested to hear about size and feature considerations from those of you who hunt in blinds.