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Check your High Seats - you get what you pay for!


IanF
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Hi Folks,

 

Posted this else-where & thought it may be of interest!

 

There are many of you who use high-seats for deer & fox, & I am sure you all religiously check the condition of these before each season. Errrr, yeah!

 

Thing is, we have a duty of care and any seat erected has either got a regular inspection & report - or there is the high potential for problems.

 

Our laws mean that any person who hurts themselves, has a claim against the land-owner - irrespective of whether they had authority to be using the seat at the time. Accordingly, all you can do is attach warning signs & have an inspection report filed against the potential of an incident.

 

In the last five years or so, there have been a few outlets selling 'cheap' Chinese manufactured high-seats. They are cheap for a reason & may not stand up to prolonged exposure to our climate. Pity really, as that is what they are sold for!

 

The following pictures show what I discovered when replacing a five year old 'budget' seat on a new permission. Hidden by the camouflage netting, EVERY major load bearing joint had rotted from within, the seat literally falling to pieces when the support straps were removed! You can imagine the potential for serious injury!

 

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Having quite a few seats across the country, I am definitely a fan of the robust construction and reasonable price of stands constructed of treated timber. They are not difficult to construct & I have a few favourite designs, dependent on whether a lean-to / free-stander / box-blind or low seat is needed on the ground

 

As a company, we run regular construction and usage courses (blatant plug ;) ) which makes for a great day in the company of other shooters. The main benefit is that you come away with an understanding of the factors that affect the siting, construction and effective usage of high-seats for deer & fox control. You also get full cutting lists for each of the different stands to allow you to construct your own as needed. A light-hearted stalkers shoot finishes an excellent day.

 

If this interests you, do get in touch & we can discuss some dates - in the meantime, check your high-seats!

 

Rgds

 

Ian :)

 

www.farringtonds.com

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These "imports" are indeed very poor quality steel and you won't know it unless inspected regularly, especially when they rot from the inside out and by then it's too late.

 

...that big 6 point buck turns broadside on at 100 yards, safety off, breathe, squeeze...SNAP...foot through a rung or collapsed support bracket....a 243 100grain soft point is out the barrel & winging it's way between 3500 to 5500 metres away depending on firing angle into the air... aye, ooops, sorry officer....£99 they are a real bargain eh :blush:

 

You do get what you pay for and we now go for 4" x 2" hand built jobs, yes, a bit more maintenance required but a sight better than the imports.

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For those with existing steel structures, maybe drill some holes to let water train from vertical tubes and drill on the underside of horizontal tubes to let the condensation breathe and dry out. Get some airflow. Not an answer but it will help a little (especially for 5 minutes with a drill).

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it does beg the question as to why in the last picture you stood on the thing with both feet though! :blink: :rolleyes::lol:

 

 

How the Hell did he manage to take a picture of the UNDERSIDE of his boots then? :lol:

 

He didn't stand on it! He'd be risking life and limb! He sent the boy up there obviously! :P

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