Most of the season last season i hunted out of ladder stands. 15'-17' high. I only hunted my hang on 2 times. I set it up about 3 or 4 weeks ago and went out to it a few days ago to sit in it and make sure everything still seamed right. It felt a bit low. I have it hung around 12' right now. I feel like it needs to be around 18 or so. Any suggestions??
It all depends on your background/surrounding cover and the type of terrain you're hunting. If you can't get higher than 12 feet, or if you have plenty of cover, by all means go for it. Personally, I try to get about as high as I can in any given situation. Better safe than sorry.
Depending on your back ground and cover in the tree you should be ok I had about that height last year and did well. My stand was right at a big y in the tree and had other limbs and branches to cover my outline.
I like to be anywhere from 15 to almost 30 feet high depending on the situation and surroundings. Usually, I'm around 20 feet. I would feel very low at 12 feet. Sometimes early in the year when the leaves are still on, I might sit that low but not very often.
This is the only pic I could find on my computer. I think I have a better one somewhere else not sure where though. The stand is facing the south. The deer come down the trail to the left when sitting in the stand. Its about 15yd from the stand. I have a very active mineral station about 50yd behind the stand to the north. My plan is to try to take quarting away shots as they pass. I have another tree to the west (right when in the stand) I can move it too if I need too. Any suggstions?
I killed this guy 9' off the ground... that's where the best background cover was for the tree I wanted to be in.
Go as high as YOU feel comfortable, and no higher than that. Greg posted a pic of a giant he killed just 9 feet off the ground; proof that background cover is more important than height. That being said, like others have mentioned, I don't mind heights so much (except climbing up and down- once I am in the stand I could hunt out of the clouds if need be) so I go as high as possible.
I agree that you should not out climb your cover. Some of my best stands are only 10-12ft, but I have them set up in trees that offer a lot of cover. One of the best trees for this is a volunteer pine because they have a lot of lower limbs. Personally, I do not like the set up that's posted in your picture. You have zero cover to break up your outline and it will be even worse whenever those leaves fall.
From the pic, it sure appears that you could go up another 5 feet. Along with helping you keep out of the deer's line of sight, it also helps keep your scent high and less detectable. I primarily use a climber and I try to pick a tree that has a fork in it around 20 feet or so. I climb until my head is around the fork. I use a 30 foot rope to hoist up my stuff and I have ran out of rope a time or two. That is usually only when a hill necessitates it. Getting too high can create bad angles for your arrow entry and exit.
As others above have mentioned, focus on your background cover and you'll be fine. Height shouldn't be your maim concern.
Like already mentioned, be sure you have good background cover and hunt the wind and it's not a big deal. You can kill them from the ground if you wanted to. Also if you're not accustomed to going up high, make sure you're comfortable shooting from higher up.
in my opion you don't want to set a tree stand to high now with all the leaves in the way i think you should put a tree stand below the canopy of the trees but like everyone else said whatever feels comfortable and right to you... I think picking a treestand sport and getting it in a good location is a hunter 6th sense.
Go as high as you can.... less scent, movement etc. The key is you have to make the shot, its better to be 15 feet and comfortable shooting than 35 feet and feeling like you could fall! Find the happy medium!
If you're facing the south to take advantage of a deer trail then have a mineral station to the north 50 yards behind you, what wind are you in need of to hunt the location? If I was going to hunt from that tree I agree on getting another 6 feet higher to take advantage of the additional limbs.
I am another who hunts as high as necessary for a combination of cover and shooting options. Sometimes it is 10' sometimes it is 25', however I prefer to be in the upper teens, as that just feels right.
Doug, here is a scenario I can envision when sitting that stand. 4-5 doe are going to come walking down that trail and you are going to have 8-10 eyeballs, and 4-5 sets of nostrils to deal with once they come into view. IF you are going to hunt from 12 feet from that stand you better start shooting from the seated position AND you better pump one full of lead the first chance you get. It is going to be one heck of a feat to let those deer pass by, single out a target animal, stand up, and silently draw without getting busted. If it were a different tree in a different tactical situation I would say 12 feet is good. In the situation you are describing I would say move that stand up to 18-20 feet AND also make sure you are comfortable shooting from the seated position to your left side. You might have to shoot one of those deer before they make it past your stand for whatever reason. Although your vision of how those deer are moving is probably right on, you have to take into account the 10%-20% chance those deer do not behave like you envision.
