What type of sticks do you use? The math for a standard 32" would say the sticks need to be almost 4 ft apart to reach 26'. How do you climb that? i don't think I could.
16-18 ft. I kill a few deer. I have them all around me almost every hunt. It's more about camo and scent control and being still and quiet.
I'll go up to 30 feet if I'm in a tree that doesn't have cover around it and I know the blob I'll create will stick out. Otherwise I'm 15-18 feet.
There's exceptions to every rule, but generally speaking you're better off hunting higher, rather than lower. You HAVE to be out of a deer's peripheral vision to win. Hunt high my friends.
15 deer in the last 8 years and all taken at 15 ft. (or from the ground). No record breakers, but my area's not known for them anyway.