I've seen a lot of interesting deer stands through the years, but none like this one, made from an old plastic portable toilet. Believe it or not, this isn't a one-of-a-kind stand. McDonald Sanitation Services LLC in Thibodaux, La., regularly sells its old toilets to deer hunters, according to this Associated Press story.
The company charges 50 bucks each for the old porta-potties, which is a lot cheaper than a wooden deer stand. The old john enclosures are made from green plastic, which means the hunters don't have to repaint them.Realtree.com, a Web site that sells hunting and outdoor equipment, has a fun explanation for the deer stands:
Man, this is one that Jeff Foxworthy is going to be all over! Next time you find yourself inside one of those construction-site porta-johns just might be thinking about Melinda Rodrigue, owner of McDonald Sanitation Services. And you'll likely be thinking about peeking out of the john's window at a giant 10-pointer. That's right, for the last three years, the Thibodaux, Louisiana entrepreneur has been selling stripped-down and sanitized portable toilets to ambitious deer hunters---to be used as water-resistant deer blinds and deer stands. Here's how things shake out. Melinda's business rents out some 1,100 porta-john and several each year become damaged to a point they become cost-prohibitive to repair. Melinda doesn't take much credit for this somewhat slippery scheme though. The previous owner of McDonald Sanitation saw a demand for johns so he filled it! Rodrigue didn't want to upset the apple cart so she continues revamping the bad bowls to sell to “forward-thinking” deer hunters. To make the crappers hunt-ready, the tanks are removed from the toilets, and on some the ventilation pipe and outlet hole have been removed and sealed. The door, walls and floor remain intact. Toilets are also pressure-washed and cleaned with hospital-grade disinfectant and sometimes bleach. Gosh, you can't make this stuff up! Getting your own porta-stand might be a tough deal. According to Rodrigue, “At $50 a pop, the 50- to 60-pound structures have attracted the attention of more than a few local hunters, as the cost to build a wood stand is much higher.” She's sold only 15 of her stands to date, but Realtree has learned that that has more to do with the availability of beyond-repair johns than hunter demand. We've also heard whispers that Jeff Foxworthy is looking into a licensing agreement with McDonald Sanitation Services to promote and possibly ‘cosmetically redesign' (read camouflage) the next batch of bowls. (Disclaimer: No whispers were really heard) --- Nino BosazWell, I'm glad they're sanitizing those toilets, although I wonder if those sensitive deer noses can still pick up the scent!