my shooting house is about12 foot and when the wind blows from behind me which is most of the time i won't see many deer i wish it was about 30 feet and closed in. when i get in my climbing stand i get as high as i can ,about 30 foot and i don't think the deer can catch my scent unless they walk right by my stand,but the main reason for climbing so high is to be able to see about 200 yards around me in the timber.One thing you need to think about is your smell ,if you wearstrongdeodorant or take a bath with some strong smelling soap or smoke or move around alot the deer will almost bust you. I like to fill a trash bag with sasafras leaves and put my hunting cloths in there for a couple days and that helps alot when bow hunting because i only get about 15 feet or so.