Height of tree stand?????


Guest thegoat273

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Guest thegoat273

I have only been hunting for two years. I knew from the first morning I was addicted to it. I am curious what is the height of your tree stand that you hunt from? Is higher better?

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

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Is higher better?

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In my opinion. cover is more important then height. I would rather be at 12 ' with something to break up my outline, than at 20 feet with no cover. I have a ladder that is at 15', and have had deer go by and never notice me. Most of my hang on stands are in the 18' to 22' range. All depends on the available cover. I myself am not comfortable much over 20'. Plus when archery hunting, the higher you get, the more extreme your angle on close shots.

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Guest thegoat273

Re: Height of tree stand?????

i live in Illinois, where archery is the main form of deer hunting. I also hunt in a climbers. so i have to clear everything on the way up.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

First, welcome to the forum.

Like some others have said cover dictates how high I get with a treestand. My treestands range from 10' to about 32' in height. The one that's 32' is just above the lowest branch in a tree for bowhunting 3 whiteoaks in a 9 year old cutover. The height of my treestands depend on the cover I can get around the stand. It's more important for me to blend in, especially while bowhunting. I also bowhunt from ground blinds made of natural materials (like cut branches) and camo netting. I prefer to use natural materials and camo netting because I like the way they blend in to the natural surroundings. 2 of the 4 deer I killed while bowhunting this year were from ground blinds. I also killed a buck during our gun season from a ground blind overlooking a creek bottom on the point of a narrow ridge.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

Goat, I have been hunting for quite awhile now and as you do more of it you will find out what works for you.

You will find out three very important things about treestand hunting:

1. ALWAYS WEAR A SAFETY BELT

2. You are using the treestand to kill a deer out of so if something is not working CHANGE IT!!!!!

There is no sound reason to stay in a place or a certain tree if you are not seeing or killing anything!

3. Cover is the most important aspect not the height. You can get high enough that no deer will notice you....but the question should be will you notice it? After you get high enough the "Canopy" of the forest begins to DECREASE visibility and instead of being a benifit it becomes detrimental in your quest to harvest anything.

Strike a balance between height and cover and you have a great treestand. Then after you have done that the problem that other hunters have been trying to solve becomes the main issue.....Where are the deer??????? grin.gif

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

I hunt from 10-16 ft. tree stands. I don't necessarily think higher is better even when bow hunting. As long as you you make your moves when they need to be made a deer isn't going to spot you. Good camo and cover take care of the concealment. I have heard people hunting out of as high as 30 ft. stands, I won't ever do it. It's too dangerous in my opinion.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

I usually like 12' to 15'. A couple tips I'd give you is...

1. Always wear a safety harness, ALWAYS.

2. Have some extra ladder or ladder section to hang on to so you can climb up past a hang-on stand.

3. Something I really like, put the stand level with a rung or step on the opposite side. I'm right handed, so I put the stand level with a step on the left side of the ladder and the stand is on the right side of the ladder. Easier for me to get in and out of.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

I'm generally comfortable at 25 - 30 feet. I have been in a few higher stands in my life, like 35 - 40 feet. Getting up to 40 feet in my opinion is stupid for bow because its a longer shot, but 35 feet i feel completely comfortable my scent is lifted and I am unseen.

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Guest deldeer

Re: Height of tree stand?????

i don't like heights so i only go up about 12 to 15. no higher for me. like the other guys said, cover is the most important thing, right behind wind direction.i have shot many deer on the ground also,so you don't really need to be up high.....good luck

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

Someone hit it right on the nail...cover means more than height. Now of course you can't be too low to the ground. I take my climber about 15ft up in the tree..that is my comfort level. My hang-on however, the comfort level is a bit lower. I only feel safe about 10-12 ft up in the tree. Now my climber I like because I can throw it pretty much in any tree and get it covered up pretty good. My ladder stand is 16ft and that stays on the farm down in PA. I think I feel the safest in my ladder stand. I use a Seat-O-The-Pants full body harness in all my stands. I would never climb any stand without a full body harness but to think about 15 years ago I never wore anything.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

A lot depends on the stand I'm using any particular day. For the most part I use my climber so I like to get up 20 to 25 feet if a particular tree will allow.

Higher is not necessarily better. If you get higher than 25 or 30 feet, sometimes shot angles get too severe, especially if you're shooting down hill.

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Re: Height of tree stand?????

I hunt anywhere from ground level to about 20 ft up.Hiegth isnt really that important as long as you pay attention to several things.Cover is important, both in front of you and behind you to break up your outline.Movement will get you busted every time, the lower you sit the more motionless you have to remain and the more important it is to pick the right moment to draw your bow.Scent control get more important the lower you get to the ground as well, as does watching the wind.The closer you get to the ground the more important blending in becomes as well, camo can make all the difference.I was hunting a cornfield from the ground this year in my hardwoods camo and getting picked off regularly, I got a cornstalk pattern and it made a world of difference.At the same time Ive hunted from higher treestands in my work clothes and never had a deer see me up there.

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