How high do you put your stand at?

[silvergts1998]

I was wondering how high you put your tree stand at? On my self climber I am up about 15 feet. Is that high enough?

[dhf92]

i like my stand 20 feet for gun i hear its harder for deer to notice u just my input this will be my first bow hunting year

[DocHolladay]

I go until I get tired of climbing.... usually in the 20ft range. Some will say that in the early season to go about 12ft as that is good enough with vegetation on the trees. I still prefer to go in the 20ft range. It seems to help keep your scent above the deer. If 15ft is high enough is up to you. Do you feel comfortable at that height or would you prefer higher or lower?? Height is a comfort factor more than it is a norm.

[KwackWacker]

Treestand height for me is different for different areas. I never get more than 20 feet high when I am bow hunting because it makes the angle on your shots very sharp and that causes you to have a smaller target area.

[DouglasSpear]

The property I hunt has 2 permenant stands, one at about 17 feet and the other about 20 feet. Covering your sccent and staying still will do you better than getting higher or lower in my opinion. I've had deer, dogs, and people walk right by me while I was on the ground, but because I was in cover and had scent killer on, they had no idea.

[Brow Tine]

With my ladderstands usually 15-17'
With my climber I go as far up as I can without losing my shooting lanes. anywhere between 17-30 feet.

[NYBuckhunter]

For bow hunting, 15 feet is about the highest I go, I dont want to be shooting at a crazy angle. For gun Ill go up to 20ish. My ladder stand is at 16 IIRC.

[Wac'em]

In early fall I go 18-20' after leaf out 20-30' with the climber.

[joejohn8888]

why not just be safe and call it 20 feet. deer arent dumb creatures, iv had deer pic me out at 20 feet before, so i wouldnt consider going any less.

[Bowhunters]

why not just be safe and call it 20 feet. deer arent dumb creatures, iv had deer pic me out at 20 feet before, so i wouldnt consider going any less.

Welcome to the DHC forum joejohn.



For some its probably not as cut and dried as to "just go higher or go to 20 or 30 feet".

In some places most trees don't ever grow so high enough to allow for stands going up from 20 to 30 feet without winds swaying them back and forth and for some hunters that might be slightly afraid of heights that can take all the fun out of hunting in a tree stand.

If the wind is right for my stand position near the deer trail and the tree has a couple good limbs and some leaves to help break up my outline i've had deer walk right by me while I was on a little 12' ladder stand and not know I was there but like someone else pointed out if you don't have any tree limbs or when the leaves are gone and your body looks like a big blob and sticking out like a sore thumb it usually is better to go up towards that 20' height or higher if the tree and you can handle it.

Here in central and western Kansas we have winds that rival anything that Chicago (the windy city) ever see's, in the fall here if it isn't blowing 15-30 mph winds out of the south its probably blowing that speed cold out of the north and trying to sit swaying back and forth 20-30 feet up in a tree for 8 hours is not what I consider fun and it certainly doesn't help for an accurate shot with a bow or a rifle.

So i'm saying it depends on the hunters situation of where you are hunting, the tree's and if the hunter can feel good going that high so there's no cut and dried answer IMO.

[backwoodsman]

Ladder stands 12-15'. Tree lounge climber 15' or so. 50% of the time I stay on the ground anymore.

[vmthtr]

I was 25 feet up and the buck I shot saw me and did the stomp his foot, look away look back quick thing for a while. Not sure being any higher would have help, all leaves down here in N. WI.

Mike

[IndianaBBD]

First of all, never hunt higher than you are comfortable. If you are afraid of heights and being up 10 feet gives you the eeby jeebies, then try a ground blind.
I used to think the higher the better and would have had stands as high as 35'. TOOO many things can go wrong. I just don't recommend this anymore. The disadvantages by far out weigh the advantages.
The key is cover, and slow methodical movements on your part. I have been busted two ways: I deer sees me move, or a deer smells me. If you don't make sudden quick movements and the deer aren't downwind of you 15' is perfect. You also have to consider terrain. Don't sit half way down or near the bottom of a hill where you skyline yourself at eye level with the deer. If you expect deer to come from a ridge top then you either need to hunt closer to the top, or you have to have some crazy good cover. The trade off with cover is limited shot windows. However all of the disadvantages can be overcome with proper scouting that will dictate proper stand placement.

Hope this helps, take care and God bless.

[IndianaBBD]

Another thing is this. The type of stand you use. I used to hunt from climbers. The problem is you are always hunting trees instead of deer. If you have done your scouting and the right trees are in the right place, then use your climber. I have had much more success with climbing sticks, hang ons, and or my tree saddle then I ever did with my climber. I am lighter, quieter and can set up where the deer I am after is at without worry of the perfect tree. If the tree is large enough to support my weight, I can hunt it. Often times mature deer will bed in the little thickets and there may not be a tree over 6 to 8 inches in diameter and limbs everywhere. Not a problem with a saddle or Hang on. For hang on's I recommend Muddy and Lonewolf.

[StickThrower]

I pretty much go by where I am setting up or what I am using. For instance I put up a 15 foot ladder and felt it would be good where I put it but after a couple of days I felt it needed to be higher so I added an extension so it is now about 20ish feet, and much better. I usually take my climber about the twenty foot area give or take a foot or two bepending on what I can see and how the terrain is set up. I guess it is what makes you confident in how you are set up.

[TheBowHunter]

I go up about 22'-25' with my Tree Lounge. The higher you go the tougher the angle when shooting with a bow. I won't go any higher than 25'

[ironhead]

I also stick with 12-15'.

[mickhunter]

15 feet should be high enough. It depends on the tree and where the tree is located. Is it on a hillside or flat land. If its on a hillside you might have to go higher because the top of the hillside will be closer than the low side. Either way you want to be above the general line of site of a deer. That is something you have to judge depending on where you plan on seeing deer.