So I have tried hunting from a blind this year and enjoyed some of it but also missed being up for better view. Problem is my trees are pretty limbless and the woods floor is pretty open because of the canopy of the larger trees. Would you consider hunting from trees based on this picture and if so how high?

Forgot to mention this would be deer hunting and wanting to get a 10-15 yard shot

Take some brush up with you and lash it on, just enough to break yourself up

Thats all i hunt. I use a climber. I try to find a tree with a big one right next to it or next to a group of trees. Usually stay low 10-12 ft.

Zip tie fake Xmas tree boughs to your stand...or use fake garland.

I hunted from a ladder stand in area like that this year,kept getting busted every time ,I guess the game caught on to me pretty quick.stuck out like a sore thumb. Pulled the stand out and instead of hunting the middle trees,I moved back and off to the side of the area and used a pop up camo blind in and around several big trees close together to help conceal my location,also used brush,tree limbs. I haven't been busted and seen much more game getting off the main trail it really made a difference big-time.

In this piece of woods I used most of the tips that have already been mentioned. One other thing is setting the stand on the opposite side you expect the game to approach from. It's not as convenient or comfortable but it gives you another tree to hide behind.

Kanati x 2. Some trees close together can do the trick especially if you stand as soon as you see deer so they are less likely to see movement (I like to stand and shoot as opposed to sitting and shooting). Once you’re standing you are just another tree (with a weird branch).

I agree with you 1/2miledrag. I always prefer to stand and use a tree for concealment either in front or behind me.

Trying hard x 2!

Jed nailed it. If the deer are patterned and coming from a specific direction, I climb and sit on the back side of the tree from where the deer are coming. It has worked well for me in open woods for 30 years. I used to hunt very high but had a treestand mishap, so now I rarely go over 18' even in the open woods, and usually I'm more like 14' or 15'.

So if a deer comes you face the tree and then shoot past the tree to either side I assume? That sounds a little tricky

I have noted that deer seem to pick me off less in winter tree stands than the do in the leafy season. I can't explain that at all. Maybe by that time of the season I am less fidgety? You can see more without twisting around in your seat all the time. Attempting to put branches with leaves around me is usually not as simple as it would seem. And they get loud and crunchy and move around when the wind blows. We would need a tractor trailer load of those fake Christmas branches for the stands we have up.

As far direction of the stand, if you use one of the larger Millennium stands, you can move way out from the tree and get good behind the tree shooting without your lower limb hitting anything. Our trees always seem to have some limb or twist that determines the direction the stand is pointed. I really get a lot more comfortable shot coverage with those long platform stands. That has been a game changer for me. Tedd

I use ladder stands and brush them in. I’ve even put 6 ft pieces of rebar in the ground about a foot in front of the stand and attached tops of pine trees to it. Works great.just change the pines every year.

Don't over look your camo. Large block with plenty of grey works the best for me.

when i hunted from ladder stands i always liked a clump of trees together whither straight limbed or not and had good luck.

"So if a deer comes you face the tree and then shoot past the tree to either side I assume? That sounds a little tricky" ... No, I let them move past me. That presents a broadside or quartering away shot opportunity.

The key is not to panic and go moving all around until they've already moved past you.

Positioning depends on type of stand you use too. I use multiple styles. If using my Summit, the top side bars prevent a lot of shots, so I want to shoot to my right side (when sitting down) as the cant of the bow clears the top of the stand. If using my Lone Wolf hand climber or loc-on styles, I can shoot in any direction out of them pretty much with no obstruction.

For me, again, if the travel path is known... I set up so the deer come in on my right (when sitting), I let them pass me and shoot them on that side. Hope that makes sense.

I'm a big fan of Chris Spikes videos and one thing that stuck with me is if he finds hot sign, i.e. dropping persimmons or acorns, he has no problem climbing limbless trees if those are his best options. I've killed a lot of deer out of poplars with the original Baker, because trees with no low limbs were all I could climb. All my Loc-ons now have tie-wrapped artificial foliage, but you still have to pick your time for movement. In the late season when leaves are gone, I generally don't get busted if I'm motionless when deer look up. YMMV.

yes...thanks for the clarification

I will say that every time I got "busted" this season, it was from the deer being on the downstream side of the wind/thermals and I'm 15 ft. up. It was sometimes announced by a snort, but often just a turn and quiet walk away. I take a solar shower before I go in the woods. A deer may doubt it's eyes, but not it's nose! Guess I'm going to have to get some Nose Jammer, like everybody over on the BowSite, lol!

Unless you want to install 20 steps and a hang on stand, use a climber and go high.

MP

On ladder stands cut and hang a small cedar tree on either side of the tree with electric fence wire, after a min. they will get used to it and it'll help. With a climber just go as high as you can, use a safety harness from the ground up and go. I got a saddle stand and hunt skinny trees all the time now, you can kinda hide behind the tree with a saddle, trick is don't get caught moving. Some people don't like them but I think the saddle stand system is the greatest thing since man walked on 2 feet.

About 18' and wear snow camo

I like to put the base of my stand on or near small branches of another tree (next to the tree I’m climbing) to help blend in.

Have you ever thought about using a tree saddle? I like to think I look like just another Y limb on a tree and rarely get busted, plus you can rotate around and keep the tree between you and the deer.

I also pull pine or oak branches up around me in winter

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