Got busted by four does that I have been watching at night for a few days now. I had their patterns down perfectly and they came right in where I thought they would. Problem is they got to about 15 yards before I had a chance to get my bow up, and I was promptly busted by a yearling after she looked at me bobbing her head for about 15 seconds. Big mamma was about 30 yards away and head on so I wouldn't have had a shot even my bow was up. I think I was about 16-18 feet up, which is actually lower than I usually go. However, being cognizant of shot angles and coming off of gun season I decided to stay lower. I'm confident if I was higher I probably wouldn't have gotten busted. With all of that said, how high is too high for shots ranging from 15-25 yards? If I had a 30+ yard shot I wouldn't think twice about being at 30 feet but these deer seem to be getting too close to me
I personally like at least 20' I'll go higher especially if there's no cover to hide and the upper canopy permits me to.. that being said... the closer the deer gets to you the smaller your kill zone will be so it takes practice to dial in your shot placement ! Good luck and practice those shots ! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
If you're confident in your shooting, I don't think you can be too high up. This is my thinking based on hunting skittish Public land deer. I won't hunt less than 20' high.
no way, the only thing she could have seen me move was blinking and I kept my eyes squinted almost shut the whole time. Did not move a muscle and was breathing shallow.
I just have my doubts that a yearling is smart enough to pick you out without movement. I'm usually in the 16' to 22' range. Stand height is determined by tree and shooting conditions for me.
I let cover dictate how high I hunt, but if I there's doubt then the higher the better for me. I'm a fidgety dude though. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Sounds like I may have to go higher. Haven't used the tree stand yet but it is up about 14' in trees with lot of thick dead weeds and under brush. 2 trails cross close to the tree the stand is in, open CRP about 30 yds out and a creek the other way. Little to no hunting pressure in this area but 1/2 mile away is hit hard. These deer will move through the hunted area.
Along those same lines, I would love to know how many times I was busted without knowing it. Sent from my XT1254 using Bowhunting.com Forums mobile app
The slope with your feet at 20' bow at 24' deer is 3' tall about 21' or 7 yards. with the deer at 15 yards will be 7/15 deer vitals 9" horizontally from one lung to the other, you get 4.2" of drop. Accounting for broadhead that is a 3" drop. Will leave you 3-4 inch kill zone. As you go higher the kill zone gets smaller. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
Exactly. I want the canopy to break my silhouette as much as possible, so I prefer to get up next to as long as I still have shooting lanes. In Mississippi, I hardly ever hunted less than 23', but preferred 25'-30'. I did however practice a lot of 0-30 yard shots from elevation. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Someone should make that into a calculator so you can just plug in height and distance and get vitals target size
Try climbing up 25' to the base of the stand, measured, not estimated. Then place a deer target at 10 yards. Don't lean it against a tree, stand it up straight like a deer stands. That shot is next to impossible to make where you'll catch both lungs. At 15yards it gets a bit better, but there is still a very small margin of error, a couple inches high or low and you only get one lung. I used to think higher is better, until I actually did as I described above. Now I try to stay no more than 20' and flat out will not hunt if I don't have good cover around, and especially behind, my stand.
Same for me. The cover is the deciding factor and I'm not too worried about getting picked off when I draw. My concern is that deer will see me move from far away. Deer are very good at picking up movement at say 100 yds, but not that great at 10 yds. I also like to be about 20 yds to the closest trail I'm hunting. All of this is based on hunting in Alabama and I haven't killed a buck yet this year, so take it for what it's worth. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I think the elevation helps with scent management as well. It's the cackle of does that will bust you. If you're fooling them, you're in the game at least. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I think one would have more freedom of movement at 30 feet up than I do at 15. I have to stand so still my back and feet are aching after two hours. And once your body is fatigued, your movement discipline is compromised just as much as if you're freezing cold. On a side note, does anyone else think you've been busted by making eye contact with a deer? You all might think I'm nuts but I swear I've been busted just moving my eyes.
