i was talking to a friend who said that bigger deer in pa(which are normally hunted hard) get to the point where if a fixed stand is too big, we won' t come never it. i am curious, for bowhunters that have taken big deer, what kind of stand did u take him from? (fixed, climber, ladder, built-on) if so, how big was the stand? i am just wondering if his quote is really valid...thanks and good luck this year getting that big one!

I am not going to say he is totally wrong - but it is not as simple as that IMO.

I have taken mature bucks from big ladders to large climbers.

I think the biggest problem comes from putting the stand out to close to the season or hunting it to much. And you can always camo them up - I don' t think the deer can really tell what it is.

Now climbers can stick out a bit - but if you get up into the upper tree limbs - I don' t think they really pick it out all that often. They will though if you are skylined.

I think the biggest stand in the world if put out months before the season - will have mature deer pass under it. I wouldn' t go build a tree house though

I live a couple hours north of you, and have killed several good deer out of climbers and fixed ( ladder and loc on). I like to use a climber when hunting a new area first, then after some hunt/ scout outings if I have an area that' s suited for a " fixed" then I' ll set one up to save time. I and my guiding partner alike have killed some from the ground as well. Not everywhere has the right tree set up. Now permanent stands are a different story. Deer of size here will avoid them like the plague after they discover they' re there. Sometimes I' ll set up a climber afew hundred yds. from a permanent and see bucks the guy usin the stand has never seen( besides they' re not real SAFE)!!! I think selection of stand placement is much more important, as we have several well placed King Kongs ( these things are quite large) that, as yet have been noticed. My son will be hunting from ladders and loc ons as he hasn' t enough practice w/ a climber and so far thru scouting looks like he should have lotsa opportunity.

Hanging stand, permanent tree house type stand, ladder stand, and ground...it makes no difference. Your pal is providing you with misinformation. There are a gagillion other factors that determine the success or failure of harvesting a mature buck with the size of the stand being the gagillionith thing to consider in my opinion. There are many other things to worry about.

The size of the stand should have nothing to do with it if it is properly placed and concealed.I hunt mostly from a climber.I like to be able to move fast on hot sighn and changing winds.It is harder to get good concealment but you can work with that by adding a branch here and there.

Concealment, not being skylined and using a quiet stand is the important thing.

By the way........I have taken 2 qualifying bucks from the ground.

I' ve taken my 2 biggest deer from the ground.

I use API AL100 hanging stands and have taken 3 " BOOK" bucks from them with the biggest going a shade over 150!
So much depends on the tree you hang your stand in....how high you go etc.
There are many factors to consider......if you hang it high,stand size should not really be a factor as long as its within reason!
Use common sense and go as high as possible in the tree you hang the stand in!
Slip into your stand and slip back out......disturb the area as little as possible......BE STEALTHY!!!!!!!!
Jerry www.stealtharchery.com