I know it obviously matters some...but how many feet can I go up in a tree/stand without it effecting my shots.....lets say....within 60 yards or so? I would see that as the longest shot id be willing to take at this point in my bowhunting life would 60 be a lot different than 20 or 30?
If your shot is within 10 yards I say 20' is about max. Anything further is fine. If you're up 20'+ shooting closer than 10 yards it's hard to get both lungs and if you do and you don't get a pass through you better hope the deer falls within sight.
I appreciate it.....will I have to adjust where I aim? or will holding my pin at the same place I hold it standing flat foot work up to 20' high?
You will have to aim higher. Because of the angle the arrow will exit lower than it goes in. I'm terrible at explaining this so the best thing to do is watch a couple videos about it on YouTube. Some of the guys will do a better job at explaining too.
Worrying about being a mile high is a waste of time. I regularly hunt from ladder stands 10-12' high, I generally only use two of the three ladder sections provided with a 15' stand. Hunting high has far more negatives than positives. Smaller target Odd angles More dangerous Wear and tear to person and equipment getting in the stand More scent left in the woods due to more contact points to handle going up the tall stand. Negates any short distance shot except from straight above Harder to accurately judge animals There's probably a hundred more reasons but I'll stop there. Hunting high isn't macho, it doesn't prevent your scent from getting to the ground...it just goes further out before it gets to the ground, it isn't an absolute necessity to keep from being busted. I can't help but feel there's a healthy dose of machismo involved in many who like to hunt high and then there's a good portion of inexperienced that follow the lead. Personally I feel if a person learns good solid fundamentals of picking good sites, hunting the wind, being clean, staying quiet and sitting still...you can hunt sitting on the ground or 10' up and be better off than 25' up in a tree wondering why you put a bad hit on a deer at an odd angle. If you decide to hunt high, do yourself a favor and don't listen to people giving advice and don't ask for it, go set up a stand where you want to hunt now, take a deer target out there and set it where you expect deer to travel through at different spots and shoot at it. If you like it and can consistently hit vitals then go for it. You'll have enough experience to boost your confidence and you'll know the mechanics of where to aim under what circumstances without haveing to wonder if someone gave ou the right advice. You don't want to be guessing or worrying about shot placement when you're 25' up and that buck of a lifetime (or even a doe for that matter) walks in on you.
After reading that I don't feel so bad that I'm deathly afraid of being 20' up in the stand. I'm good with 15' and I just put a stand up at 18' and I can't strap myself in at 18' to prevent a fall because I'm really afraid of heights and I get shakey if I let go of the tree or ladder. To help I got a giant carabiner so that I can clip myself in keeping one hand on the tree. I'm good with sitting still and got away with a buck staring right at me 10 yards away last year 12' up with zero cover.
Haha, I'm not afraid of heights and I have hunted from tall stands...I just don't see it as very justifiable at this point. I actually sat on the ground last year and passed that nice 8 point last year at five yards while he worked a scrape literally close enough to poke with a stick and I could hear him breath and see individual ticks on his balls as he stood up and worked a licking branch on his hind legs. He never had a clue I was there and never spooked...I read stories of folks putting bad shots on deer every year on this forum and it's generally pretty plain that a lot of it had to do with them making an already ball breaking experience even harder by stacking the deck against themselves the minute they climbed into a stand 25+' up, making a small target smaller and at an odd angle. Killing a deer is already enough of a battle of self control without making it harder and adding stress and challenge to it. I'm not trying to toot my own horn here, I'm just saying I feel a lot of people are making the entire process harder unnecessarily without knowing it and in many cases they are doing it because that's the way someone else does or claims to do it. Then to make it even more funny, people are half embarrassed to admit to not liking to be up high. If someone likes hunting high, more power to them...I don't think it's needed and like to hunt lower and that works for me...whatever gets it done.
Yeah I know you're not afraid. It's just nice to know someone else doesn't mind being lower than 20' by choice and not because they have a ladder stand that doesn't allow them to be high up.
good post CoveyM and i agree 1000%. i've spent 1000's of hours in treestands in my life. other than a few huge oaks where i may have sat in a limb/crothch, i don't think i've ever been over 20'. i hang stands from 8-15' with the vast majority being 12'.
I agree....I usually go with the higher the better thing when I rifle hunt. but now that I have a bow and am gearing up for my first bow season...it seems that 10 to 12 feet or maybe even the ground seems a lot better and more strategic to me I really appreciate the imput guys!!!
I don't think I've ever been over 18 feet. Most of mine are 12' to 15' and I've killed a lot of deer from the ground as well. Pick a good tree with cover, hunt the wind, scent control, etc.. I rarely get busted and I don't think it would make a difference one bit if I was 15 more feet up the same tree.
I have no machismo about hunting or being a bad ***. I usually hangout around 18-25' with a majority being above 20. Why? I'm just hiding pretty much. I feel more comfortable at that range and its really just a personal thing. But I feel more hidden and out of sight being just a bit higher Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
a famous author "roger rothaar" told my buddy and I that the perfect hunting height is the first row of cover. it requires less trimming and better concealment. it keeps thing looking more natural. I think people over trim and next thing you know you are skylined. doesn't matter on the height, sometimes I am only 4' off the ground. just depends on where my best concealment opportunities are. remember archery is about getting close. if you want to distance yourself from your prey than use a gun. don't worry about your stand height. worry about the wind. if your wind is good then height doesn't matter as long as you are concealed.
You always want to aim so that you arrow comes out in the armpit area of the front leg on the opposite side. It you are on the ground you'll aim what appears to be lower. If you are higher you will aim slightly higher but you want your arrow to exit through the armpit of the opposite front leg.
You should not be taking shots at game at 60 yards in your first season. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hunt usually around 20'. Every location is different depending on where I'm hunting. Some lower and some higher than 20' my suggestion would be to get in your climber or any stand and Practice shooting from elevation At different distances and angles.
15'-20' is the height I've always hunted from. Good advice from others though, angle the shot so that your broadhead ends up in the armpit of the front leg on the opposite side the arrow enters from and you shouldn't be shooting at 60 yards your first year. Heck, I don't even feel comfortable taking shots over 40 yards after 16 years of bowhunting.
My stands are normally 15-18 ft from the ground. I once killed a 145" buck from only 8 feet up a tree as there were too many over hanging branches to go higher.
I prefer 20 but I won't put a stand in a tree where the trunk is not wider than my silhouette at stand height.
