First off, i cant believe i havent signed up for bowhunting.com before today... but the real reason i'm posting is because a buddy and i got in a tiff about how high a guy should hang his stand. He is 100% for setting his stand in the 12-14' range... me? I'm all about the 20-25' range.... and i'm deathly afraid of heights... My thoughts are obviously gonna be: outta their line of sight more, scent carry.. etc.. his thoughts are all about shot angles... which my defense is to not take bad angled shots... period what do you guys think? I dont and wont take a straight down shot, or a bad % shot... so why would you want to be that much closer to the ground, if you have the discipline to hold off on bad % shots?
I go as high as I need to to get the shot. As a rule, I prefer higher like you do. I've had some stands as low as 8-9 feet and others as high as 28-32 feet. Usually I am in the 18-23 foot range.
x2 Each set I hang is at a different height depending on shooting lanes, back cover, if the stand is on or near a ridge, etc, etc... I will say that all things being equal, I'll most likely hang a bit higher to get further out of sight and smell.
Also, Welcome to the site frepar! I know I'm happy I found it. There's a virtual ton of information on this site, both on the Forums and BH.com.
Generally, I'd say its all situational but as a rule of thumb higher is, most of the times, better. I say that as I have a set at 12 feet right now The higher you are the less likely to be busted for movement and the more likely (with the right wind) that deer won't catch your scent. High for me, though, is in the 20-22' range. I know some guys go up to 30'+ but I just can't fathom being up that high and feeling that I could correctly calculate shot distances even with the range finder!
do you ever feel as though you might talk yourself into a lower percentage shot from a higher stand? or is it just a question of whether or not shot angle is a viable concern? thanks for makin me look SOMEWHAT smart... ridges, as someone stated, are tough... i've been 25-27' up in a tree and look behind me and realize i'd be eye to eye with anything cruisin the ridge... grr
and thanks for the welcome!!! just reading the threads (before i registered) has been a goldmine of knowledge
I'm with your friend on the shot angle side of things. That being said, I've found that people that think they are over 20' up in a tree seldom are. I definitely keep my stands below 20'.
20' and under i'd be alright with.... it's the 12'-14' stuff that i cant bring myself to do... i buy those 16' climbing sticks and always end up putting a few more pegs in the tree.... typically i will only see the 25' mark if i'm doin a double set... tough to hide a bow hunter AND a camera man at 15'
My heights vary, depending on the set. I typically don't go lower that 12', but won't go any higher than 20-22ft. I just don't like the nasty shot angle you end up with over 20ft. If I have to, i'll find another suitable tree nearby. On a couple of occasions, i've climbed scary high because I didn't have any back cover and needed to be in that location.
I keep my stands anywhere from 16 to 20ft. I don't see the need to go higher than 20ft. The higher you go in a tree the more you have to climb to get to the stand.
It totally depends on where you hunt. Some places you will have to be lower, and there are places where you can get higher. Silly debate really. If you like to be high, then do so. If your buddy likes hunting lower, then so be it. There's no definate answer for any and all situations.
Too high for me is more a question of diminishing returns in my visiblity I get too far into the canopy. The terrain dictates how high I need to be. I have been as low as 12 and as high as 35-40.
for me the early season when there is a lot of foliage i hunt around 15 feet so i can see further and as the season gets on and the cover drops i move up and usually peak out at 22-25 foot to the bottom of my stand. ps, invest in a good safety harness and use it. some of us only fall once. i had a tree stand break and had a old lap style belt some 20 years ago also fail at the same time, fell 20 feet . and bull##$# you dont have time for nothing i woke up on the ground. some three hours later and walked a mile to my truck and was in the hospital four two more days, first day in trama care, the next year in rehab. oh yea my rifle broke my fall. and a neighbor saw me fall and did not help, really sometimes it's just luck getting home.
There was a poll a while back on one of the sites....the avg was around 18-22ft preferred. That is about where I like mine, though I do go higher and lower. Most of my fixed hang on stands are right in that range as I have 20' sticks. With my climber, I have been as high as 25ft in some situations - and sometimes that ain't high enough. I rarely hunt under 15'....maybe early season in a few spots. My deer look up all the time it seems...higher is better.
