treestand height

Arrowcraft · November 19, 2015, 12:26:00 PM

I have been bowhunting for over 40 years. I have always been a little squeamish about height even though by trade i have spent many years on ladders. I am no in my sixties and find my tree stand height dropping. I have had good success at these reduced altitudes , and shot angle seems better any thoughts about stand I am curious because i am taking flax from some of my younger buddies ?

habujohn · November 19, 2015, 12:30:00 PM

Find it has a lot to do with the cover you are in. 10 to 12 ft in a big cedar tree with a lot of cover works for me. However going up a maple with no background or leaves and you will find me up around 16 to 18 ft.

LookMomNoSights · November 19, 2015, 12:45:00 PM

Don't the younger guys know you are older AND WISER? I think you have to do what the situation dictates. If you can get away with being lower, by all means....go with that. If the only good tree to put a stand in tells you to go up 15-20ft to gain back cover or because there is NO cover at all, well you gotta do that.....or hunt from the ground. I seldom go way up anymore unless I absolutely have to.

kennym · November 19, 2015, 01:06:00 PM

" I have had good success at these reduced altitudes "

And how are the young guys doing?

We add cover to most stands, doesn't take a lot , just nuff to make more than a human sized blob on the side of the tree....

I'm liking 12' when we can anymore for shot angle....

KentuckyTJ · November 19, 2015, 01:21:00 PM

Oh man, my buddies make fun of my stands all the time. I very seldom get over 15'. Most are in the 10' range. I hung this one a few weeks ago. Sent this photo to my brother. All I needed to do was to be able to shoot over an old rusty farm fence. Have plenty of cover behind me and all around the front. I sat here one night and had a small buck come through eating leaves as he went around this inside corner in the fence. At one point I could have reached my bow out and touched him with it.Wind was in my face he had no idea I was in the world. I could have killed him with a sling shot. It was really cool. You can see one of the fence posts in front of the stand the deer was standing on the other side of. My brothers response to this one was a simple "Oh my". Haha

Mint · November 19, 2015, 01:31:00 PM

Whatever works is the best height. I have a stand now that is about ten feet up since that's what works in this tree. Most of the time I'm much higher since there is usually a lack of cover in the area I hunt.

riverrat 2 · November 19, 2015, 01:34:00 PM

Habujon X2. My biggest hurdle with treestands is my lower back. I tend to go as high as possible to sort of give me some ability to fidget around after I do a head check. I always got my fall protection on regardless if my stand is 10' or 20'
But I do like the vantage point a 18' stand offers. rat'

wingnut · November 19, 2015, 01:34:00 PM

When I use a stand it's between 6 and 10 ft. I go for heavy cover with small shot windows. Works great on deer and hogs. I also wear my gilly when in my stands.

Mike

stickandstring · November 19, 2015, 02:26:00 PM

I like plenty of cover and natural tangles. That dictates what height to set my stand. Otherwise, 15.5 feet seems to my comfort level, otherwise my feet get sore.

MnFn · November 19, 2015, 03:07:00 PM

You didn't say what kind of treestand you are using.

For years (I am 63), I used Locon stands or similar. I too have become less comfortable not only hunting from them at higher placement but also just climbing up and tryin to hang it.

This year I tried a ladder stand at even a higher stand height than in prior years. I felt more secure and the ladder did not seem to bother the deer at all. I had multiple shots under 12 yards at a lot of deer, bucks and does.

Fritz · November 19, 2015, 03:11:00 PM

Mostly hunt out of ladders now. 10-16ft is about right for me.

Stumpkiller · November 19, 2015, 04:33:00 PM

Depends on the tree. I'll do what I have to do to have cover behind me so I don't look like a human standing in a tree.

I prefer red maples where the branches palm out to blend my shape into the background, and I'll set-up with my feet 10 to 13 feet off the ground.

Brock · November 19, 2015, 04:49:00 PM

depends on tree and available cover and limbs...but I try to stay in 10-15 foot height at most... Higher than that and it increases shot angle, reduces visible amount of kill zone.

More I hunt and older I get the more I appreciate and prefer the 10 foot heights or hunting from ground....while higher may keep from being seen by heavily hunted deer that now look UP for hunters...I think the successful hits and recoveries at the lower heights and shot angles make up for it. I like cedars or holly or some live oak behind me if I cant find a twin trunk setup. I would say depends on situation but never felt that I needed to go 18025 feet up to be successful.

Sam McMichael · November 19, 2015, 05:40:00 PM

Safety and confidence trumps the kidding from your younger hunting friends. Since you have had success from lesser heights, its obvious that this will work for you. Most of my ladder stands are 7 - 12 feet high. Just be still and make sure you have a good back drop.

Tajue17 · November 19, 2015, 05:46:00 PM

preferably 8-10' but 12' max,, the cover around the tree dictates the height so I look for a tree with a young pine growing next to it or its tucked into some other foliage.. if its too high though I can't be accurate it just messes with my concentration.

Pointer · November 19, 2015, 07:07:00 PM

Its been 20 years since I hunted out of a tree..when I did I was up 12-14 feet or so. I found a property I can hunt where a stand will work and I'm considering a 16 foot ladder stand.

November 19, 2015, 07:27:00 PM

If I have to hunt from a tree, I like 12'-15.

These days I much prefer a ground blind.

Bisch

RedShaft · November 19, 2015, 07:33:00 PM

I hunt between 8 and 14ft. Usually 10--12ft. I used to use a summit climber n hunt 16-20. Since I have went to lone wolf hand climber and a lone wolf hang on and sticks. And I usually hunt in narls and in groups of trees n hide.
I hunted the whole season I a solid Kuiu brown jacket and never got busted once. I killed 2 deer this season.

This is my 3rd season hunting like this n it's much better for me and I feel safer.

Whip · November 19, 2015, 09:03:00 PM

I attended Barry Wensel's bootcamp last spring and one of the things I picked up on was how low many of his stand set ups are. Cover, and especially background cover, is often better if you don't go quite as high. Cover is everything, and I now more than ever let that dictate the height of my stands.

**DONOTDELETE** · November 19, 2015, 10:29:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by KentuckyTJ:
Oh man, my buddies make fun of my stands all the time. I very seldom get over 15'. Most are in the 10' range. I hung this one a few weeks ago. Sent this photo to my brother. All I needed to do was to be able to shoot over an old rusty farm fence. Have plenty of cover behind me and all around the front. I sat here one night and had a small buck come through eating leaves as he went around this inside corner in the fence. At one point I could have reached my bow out and touched him with it.Wind was in my face he had no idea I was in the world. I could have killed him with a sling shot. It was really cool. You can see one of the fence posts in front of the stand the deer was standing on the other side of. My brothers response to this one was a simple "Oh my". Haha

Now this is the perfect tree stand height for me......