Stand height and shot picture

KentuckyTJ · June 18, 2009, 03:07:00 PM

King, hitting both lungs becomes almost impossible when a deer or hog is directly under you. The reason I prefer the lower height is so I can easily hit both lungs with higher percentage no matter if my shot is 5 yards or 25 yards.

You hunt big open country and trailing wounded critters probably isn't a problem but if a deer or hog is only hit in one lung and you miss the heart as you know it can run a long way. Around here we hunt small farms and when a deer runs onto the next door neighbors and they catch you on their place they don't appreciate it very much after you have kicked them off your place for years.

As far as the wind being bad. Even if you are higher and a deer is down wind most of them smell you and leave and you don't even know it. Scent mostly falls to the ground no matter how high you are. Like Brandon is saying with all our folage here in the east its very rare when you can hunt without a swirling wind anyway.

stick_string · June 18, 2009, 03:47:00 PM

Like was said before...I live in Texas....12 to 15 is Max!! (not by choice...just cant get higher)

Tripods rule the roost here!!

Kingwouldbe · June 18, 2009, 04:13:00 PM

Thanks Tj, some times here in SoCal, I have put a stand on the hillside 6 feet high on one side and 30 feet on the other, shooting down to the water.

Because the deer are coming from the hill side, if you put a stand down by the water they would be looking down on you.

You have to put it pretty high just to be above there line of sight.

As you can see in this pic the hill drops down to the water, this buck came in chasing a doe and gave me a 13 yard quartering at me, thous the far back exit, but he took a few jumps because the arrow jumped through him so fast he never knew what happened until gravity took over.

If he was on the other side it would of been about a 25 yard shot steep down hill.

Jake Fr · June 18, 2009, 04:35:00 PM

here where i live at i have no need to get any higher than 18' but i have a 10'er that i love to hunt out of i gues it's just preferance and what your area dictats

BRITTMAN · June 18, 2009, 05:00:00 PM

8 - 15 feet for me depending on the cover I have . I do most of my pratice out of a 8 foot step ladder and have hunted several times from a 8 foot step ladder . My Father and I have killed quite a few deer using the old portable step ladder in heavy brush where there are no good trees to hang a stand on or just needing to move to new deer sign but not wanting to stink up the place . Just make sure to put it in good brush with heavy cover and tie it off well with rope .

Mike

Fritz · June 18, 2009, 05:46:00 PM

12-15 ft. for me. I just like the shot angle better.

KentuckyTJ · June 18, 2009, 05:53:00 PM

King, by no means do I think for a minute that you of all people need any assistance in any hunting situation. I'm just not falling for that one.

We do have our extremes here as well. I've been 30' high in trees here in Kentucky and looking straight out 90 degrees for oncoming deer as well. But that's an extreme case. I'm referring to the majority of our setups here in the south.

James Wrenn · June 18, 2009, 05:55:00 PM

Around here unless you are in a very clear area going over 20ft will have you looking down at so much canopy from smaller trees you have no shots.Sometimes I can get higher and do but without a bunch of trimming most times 20ft is about it.Higher is always better for me.Helps with the wind and gives you a better birds eye veiw but it is not always an option.

Dustin Waters · June 19, 2009, 01:47:00 PM

I prefer to be abou 18-20 feet up but if there is great cover lower on the tree Ill go there. I usually let the location dictate how high I need to go up the tree. If I can get the platform of the stand sitting just above a branch with cover Ill put the stand there everytime as long as it is over 12 feet up. I have noticed that when I get above 20 feet. My legs shake the first few times I get up there, until I get used to the stand and know its not going anywhere. But as for the shot angles. I will never shoot a deer inside of 5 yards of the tree I am in. Too many things can go wrong with those kinds of angles.

tarponnut · June 19, 2009, 03:23:00 PM

I hunt lower every year. With good background cover and slow movements 12 feet is high enough where I hunt. I prefer 10' or on the ground if the glades' allow. Someplaces I hunt, the grass is so high(for miles)that you wouldn't even see the deer's vitals from the ground.
When I lived in Western NY I hunted higher, about 15'.
At 25' I would be hugging the tree with both arms and legs from sheer terror!

Maze · June 19, 2009, 04:19:00 PM

When I use to hunt with my comound I use to go 15'-20'because with a shorter bow I could get a way with a steeper shot angle. Now i try to stay 12'-15' tops. Plus I seem to be losing my nerve and I dont use a safety harness, so I really dont want to fall from a far distance.