RE: Is my angle too steep?
I think you can make the shot work but accuracy is critical. One thing is remember to aim for your exit location rather than your entry point. There is risk of messing up a steep shot but you also tend to see more spine shots shooting down more than out. It would be a shot that I would practice if at all possible. Does your ladder stand allow you to set up lower? My 15' ladder has 5' ladder sections and where I hunt a tall reasonably straight tree is hard to find and never in the porper location. Too bad trees aren't portable! Anyway, I have sat at 10' for 2 seasons with complete success. I think deer tend to look up to that heigth more often than say 15-20' stands but if you keep your cover around you and keep pretty still lower stand work just as well.