I use a climber on public land. I normally go 15-16 feet to my base. At that height im just under most branches. I was thinking of going about 10 feet up but using big trees as my cover. Thoughts?

I sit at the bottom of them now and it works

I set a stand at 8' in a big oak with a cedar back drop. No problems other than the deer were so close I couldn't do anything. Slow movement good back drop. Get hunting. God bless Mark

Mark and Ralph are you using climbers?

I had a hunting buddy in Ohio that used to hunt like you are describing. I don't think he ever went above 8 feet and many times he was around 6 feet. It sure did work for him.

I killed a lot of deer from 8/9 ft up a tree before commercial stands came along. Then they told us you needed to get at least 16 ft up to be effective. I still hunt 8 to 10 ft from climbers and ladder stands. Just have to pick the right tree and cover.

Agree with Andy Man. My ladder stands are brushed in at 8 ft but spent the last fall on the ground with a ghillie suit and Waldrop pac-seat. Other than the view it was the same. And less work

True Riverwolf. Whatever it takes

Good "set ups" and minimal movement and it will work.

20 years in a wood ladder stand 8' killed plenty of deer out of it.

I use a old lock on ladder stand, I use one ladder section and the platform. My feet are right about 5 feet amd my line of sight is like 10/10.5 feet. I can tuck this stand in spots where no other hunters can hang a stand and I have attached it to 3/4 inch diameter trees in the middle of grass fields. It is a deadly tactic, deer don't nt look at you and they don't expect it, there are to busy looking up high. Give it a try, you'll be amazed how deadly it is.

I want to try this as there are alot of big trees in my area. This will also improve my shot angle.

If I am going to be in a treestand it will be a low stand. I like six to ten feet no higher. I like large trees or evergreens that I nestle in among the branches. I make sure I have background that obscures my silhouette just as I do with a ground blind. Much better shot angle also.

As a side note, I usually leave at least one section of ladder off when I set up ladder stands.

Getting deer close is about keeping still as much as anything else, and height doesn't guarantee any advantage. Work on patience and being "still".

Over 57 years I have killed my share of deer and most of my kills have been from the ground and low levels. When leaves are down or snow covered, I attach a hanging stand on a tree just above ground level.

Personally, I have experienced that off ground or low level I have more shot opportunities and better shot placement on the "pie."

Would any of you have a pic of your setup?

I never went over 10 ft. It gives you a larger target to hit and get both lungs. And you are in the deers periphrial vision whether you're 10 or 20 feet until he's within about 15 yards of you.

This is a good thread with good advice from many members.

I've killed a lot of deer out of 7 ft tripods. My ladder stands are never higher than 10 ft. Where I hunt in Texas and Oklahoma big trees are differcult to find. Spend most of my time ground hunting now days.

One of the reason I switched to a saddle, you hide behind the tree, height really is not an issue unless you are in real skinny trees. Shawn

Going higher is counterpriductive because your deadly area for a double lung shot now shrunk considerably. 12ft up is plenty. When you stand up you are at a good height and have a great kill area, if you remain seated, dito. Silence and moving correctly is more important by far. No noisy poly on poly clothes, arrow on the shelf, no noise while drawing slowly. No abrupt left or right movement.

I set my platform 10-12 ft. max. and try to have branches as a back drop. I like hunting before the leaves all drop the most. A hang on stand above or between branches is effective. Its always worked really well.

I certainly could be wrong but I suspect most of the low stand kills were on private land. It has been my experience in South Central Pa the higher the better. We have smart deer here due to pressure and using a low stand is asking for disappointment. Being brushed in with a ghillie suit on the ground is better than a low stand. Just my 2 cents.....Be safe...Des

Another thing i thought of was multi trunk trees. There are some trees in my area that are about a foot apart. That would be nice cover.

I use the multi trunked trees alot with really good results. Where I hunt has alot of little trees so you have to have the multi trunked trees and there is an abundance of foliage so hunting high is not an option in most spots.

Works for me.

Interesting thread

It’s my understanding that the guy who owns Lone Wolf custom gear only hunts around 10 feet. I find a tree with limb cover and hunt low, 10-12 feet most of the time.

75% of my hunts are 12 feet or below. I carry two full-length sticks with cable aiders, I rarely need the aiders and many times don't need the second stick.

Every situation can be different. The best height to hunt any given spot can be too. If I felt I needed to get high, I'd usually stop with my climber about 27'. Used to do that pretty regular in mature hardwoods, the reason I stopped there was because that's when I ran out of bow rope :^)

I remember when treestands first came out commercially. Before that guys tacked 2 2x4's in between 2 close trees and slapped a piece of ply wood on them. Most were 12 to 15 feet up. Only one guy I knew hunted high back then, like 25 to 30 feet. He was deadly tho. I found that deer which are highly pressured do look up...a lot. Even 25 feet and you get busted. On the other extreme really low pressured deer you can go 10 feet and be perfectly fine. The common denominators, as I see them: 1. Stink and wind 2. Movement 3. Good cover 4. Know when to draw.

Yea all of my stands are on private land. If I put them on public land they will get stolen. Fact. Hunted on the ground year and did well. Still enjoy the view from above even in a low stand

I'd stick with the 15' to 16' range.

If you think 10" will work and you understand why its going to work for you, and nuanced understanding of what goes on in the woods around you - then it will work.

If you hynt by following some basic rules like "I put my stand x feet high and sit still" then its more of a crap shoot.

What Dartwick mentioned also.

At 40 yards away or closer deer WILL see you if you move, no matter how tame or spooky they are because they don't have to look up. You're very much in their periphrial vision. Try this. Get 50 yards from a 2 story house and just look in that direction. As you can see even someone on the roof is in plain sight. The only time you need to be high is on the side of a hill so the deer don't end up beside you. Oh and most of my larger bucks came out of a state park.

One of my acquaintances from years ago used to talk about his tree stands, and warned that if we hunted his property to watch that we didn't hit our heads into them in the dark. :)

Stopped using hang-on stands years ago; too much hassle, and available tree and best tree location often too limited. Even then the highest I hung them was 10'-12'.

I now use 3-piece 15' ladder stands, and depending on location I sometimes only use 1 or 2 sections. When using all 3 sections the installed height (of my stands) is usually about 12'.

I do often use a hanging stand when ground hunting. I hang it about 12" (inches) above the ground to get above dried leaves and sticks. Killed a nice buck using this method.

LOL George. I am getting lazier. (see thread are you too lazy to hunt) and enjoyed my season on the ground last fall..

Lol George did that guy shoot deer out of them?

The very highest my bowstands sit is 10 ft. Most are lower. All have large backdrops behind them, either natural or manmade.

He did, but mostly used black powder flintlock.

Ive done it, but prefer 20 ft plus Mike

Its funny how many people killed and still kill deer from the ground...or 10 ft up or less. If you are 25 ft up amd a deer is 40 yrds out you are still in his line of vision..not to mention the terrible shot angle you will have. Dont know where this nose bleed trend came from.

AMBUSH! is how I approach hunting anything with a bow. ''IF'' 10 feet provides an excellent ambush site so be it. I do plant white pines around some ambush sites for concealment because it's in the correct spot.

How long does it take your white pines to grow?

I believe most guys using climbers make the mistake of setting up wrong on the tree. You have to use the tree as cover and set up at least a 45 degree angle away from the way you expect deer to come, more is better. Its kind of like saddle hunting, use the tree as cover but not as back cover. Hang on stands you can set u to use back cover and branches and limbs around you to break up yopur out line a climber you cannot do that. Double trees or trees growing close together help in a climber but again use the tree to basically hide "behind" and lean out to shoot. I myself hate a climber as it limits the trees you can hunt. A saddle or a hang on with sticks is just as quick and quieter to get up a tree and you are not stuck on a telephone pole! Shawn

I like ladder low ladder stands between a couple trees and brushed in. Almost cheating. I hunt private land and deer use the same areas year after year so no need to move them. JRC

This was my set up this year

Damn having trouble rotating

I went 11 ft

Another

It depends on the situation, I set tripods in Cedar, Mesquite, Oaks clusters. Use ladders, sit in a Waldrop in brush. Riverwolf is right.

Saturdays tree

Bluesman I ll be in my heater body suit about 11’ up.

With that background, no leaves on the trees, and snow on the ground, I would wear the lightest color camp you have and put the tree trunk to your back from the direction you think the deer are most likely to come from. With the sky and snow background with a medium to darker camo you will stand out as a big dark blob against the lighter background. Look at the brush pile to the left of your three trees in the background. I set my stands about 10’ to the foot platform, and once the leaves fall I switch to some of the lighter colored western brush or grassy types of camo to blend better with the lighter background. Has always worked well for me.

I look at the tree , about 4' up from the bottom, from about 20 yds. away. At that point I can tell how high up, where things are not in my peripheral vision, that's where I put my stand.

Bluesman in right. Ghillie suit

I’ve done what 4t5 has done with great success

A lot of sets ups go into being successful just picking the right type for your area.That's what it comes down to making the best choice for the gear that you have or use.Taking branches & zip tieing them in place or using Christmastree garland for background cover works well too.

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