height for bow hunting

[Guest Kelbo]

i hunt out of a climber, there are mainly oaks and a few pines, i can not find any pines where i need to be placed at. Does anyone have any experence climbing hardwood? i have heard of the platform teeth not catching and things on this type of tree. Wondering what you all thought. P.S. how high should i go, i am a touch affraid of heights

[cinch314]

IN my area we dont have hardly any pines so I climb oaks and stuff. What I have done with my climbers is sharpen the teeth so that they grab better. Just my two cents worth.

[Leo]

Some stands have quite a bit of difficulty holding on hardwoods. Summits don't seem to have that issue.

At any rate regardless of the type of tree you're climbing, you absolutely should be climbing and coming down with your safety harness on and attached to the tree. Yes, it's a pain to keep adjusting the height of the harness attachment while you climb but that absolutely is how you use a climber safely.

For bow hunting 16ft is the magic number for me. Sometimes because of ground cover I only go 14 feet but 16 foot is preferred. Higher than 16ft the downward angle of your shots really shrinks the target vital area. Deer are deeper back to chest than they are wide and you really do want to avoid hitting back bone if you can. If you get too high you really start to limit yourself to mostly shots that will only get a single lung . That's not preferred. Attach a 16ft bow line to your stand and when you get to the end of it you know you're at the right height.

[JimPic]

I've killed deer at 10yds and under from an 8ft homemade ladder stand and regularly get deer within 15yds.I have some stands that are 12ft high but don't like getting too much higher thaqn that

[Guest bowhunter56]

18 ft.

[wtnhunt]

Welcome to the forums.

How high depends on the cover around you and on the lay of the ground. Have some areas here that I climb a little higher due to the ridges and gulleys. I do also see a lot of deer from 12 ft ladder stands too though. Typically with the climber I go to between 15 and 20 feet.

Never had any problems with climbing hardwoods.

[toddyboman]

Have to agree with what LEO says on the SAFETY HARNESS!!!!

Its a must when leaving the ground!!

I use an old ol' man stand its at least 4 years old but still works great:)

I have climbed most trees in my area....A shag bark hickory tree is one I will NEVER climb. But as for other hardwoods I have no problem.

15 to 20 ft is about the height I like.

[Guest bigalt78]

i dont care what anyone says about height i think the lowest you should be is at least about 17 or 18 feet. I prefer about 25 to 30. People might argue with me about this and yes you will see deer from a 12 ft. ladder stand and yes you will shoot deer but if you dont have THE BEST backdrop and a lot of good cover you are not going to kill a big buck and still i dont think you will even if you do have good cover, but if you're up about 18 or more feet you can do a lot more things and get away with them. Now if you are afraid of heights that's understandable but i use to be afraid of heights too and i've fallen out of two treestands from about 20 foot and it's not fun but if you wear your saftey harness like i should have been doing you'll be fine. If you're afraid of heights i'd say start out lower and just add a foot or two each time you go hunting and see if that makes you feel more comfortable. As for the type of tree's to climb i climb a lot of oaks. One more thing when you put your climber on a tree make sure you angle it and really hard because the tree gets skinner as you go up usually and if you dont do this when you get up there you'll feel like you're falling out. a

[johnf]

I like Leo's answer the best. I normally go 15-20 feet. Rarely any lower, but often to 25 feet if the lay of the land calls for it. I've climbed pin oaks to pine with my summit and have never had slipping problems.

[rad_112176]

I usually hunt between 20 to 30 feet depending on the cover and the elevation. I just bough the Lone Wolf Sit-and-climb and that thing is awesome. I climbed a oad tree today and had non ploblems. The nice thing is the way the seat connects to the platform so that when you stand up the pressure is still holding the seat in the same place.

[Guest csod08]

I bought a 15 ft ladder stand for this year and that seemed to be fine although I usually go up to about 20 feet in my climber.

[arrow32]

Depending on the area I go 15 to 22 feet. I'm always climbing up hardwoods don't climb to many pines. Use hang ons in pines.

Use your saftey harness and you'll be fine. Like Leo said its the only safe way.

[shockwave]

I hunt out of a loggy bayou climber.. I never have a problem with my treestand gripping any hardwood trees. I normally hunt from 16 to 25 feet high..

[JasonLester]

16.253 feet.... LOL

Climb up until you have good shooting lanes and you feel comfortable. If your uncomfortable stay lower. Higher gets you more chance of getting away with movement but adds a sometimes steep angle to your shot. If you gun hunting, no problem. If your bowhunting higher complicates things. So practice from the hieghts you think you may shoot from. I like getting up there sometimes. Unfortunatly most of my trees where I hunt aren't good for a climber. I have several ladder stands. I do like a climber some places but haven't used it in a couple years.

ALWAYS WEAR A SAFETY HARNESS!

Never had a slipping problem even on my cheap Walmart climber. Just make sure the teeth are sharp etc.

Good luck and be safe.

[MichiganHunter]

Hey, I do my bow hunting in tall pines and hardwoods in the U.P. of michigan and i have a summit viper climber and i have never had an issue, as far as highth i have killed deer from right on the ground to way up there, but i always suggest that people hunt as high as they feel comfortable, but i know people who kill deer every year at 12ft with a ladder stand. just hunt where u feel safe. and where the trees let u.

[HOYTnMUZZYboy]

Hunt as high or as low as you would like. I just bought the lone wolf sit and climb climber this summer. I have never had any problems with it slideing on any trees. As a matter of fact, I went hunting with one of my buddies in a place I had never hunted, found an old grown over dirt road that the telephone company used, and well it being an old telephone company road its prolly not hard to guess what was around.... telephone poles... yea in the middle of some thick timber. Had good backcover so i went up the pole. About 20ft up parked it and sat and waited. Saw alot of bucks but on there lease its 140 or better, so no muzzys got to eat that night. But like others have said make sure you have a good saftey harness!!! No matter how high you are make sure you have it on. Being on the fire dept I have seen guys fall from 10 feet and get seriously hurt. Safety first, yea sounds like im preaching but I would rather read about the monster buck that got away rather then someone is in the hospital in a halo or even worse....

Just my 2 pennys worth