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How high?

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Old 09-18-2011 | 06:56 AM
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Default How high?

I am sure this subject has been discussed many times before BUT I haven't seen it on here lately.

How high do you go in a tree before the deer don't seem to notice you? In MANY of the hunting shows, those guys are WAY UP the tree....not in your typical 15Ft. ladder stand.

How much does height help scent control...with the wind taking your scent up, up and away?
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Old 09-18-2011 | 08:58 AM
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In an ideal situation for me i always want to be between 20 and 22' up with good cover, I hunt an area where deer come in with their heads up lookin in the trees all the time and i just feel a little more secure. That being said, that is ideal, and as we all know the ideal situation is rarely the case. I think you can deffinately get away with 15 with cover around you, lower than that i just start feeling like i might as well be sittin on the ground due to all the mid canopy underbrush.
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Old 09-18-2011 | 01:04 PM
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I depends on how much cover you've got and where the tree is in relation to the trail. I had 4 does mosey past me last night, no idea I was there. I was maybe 14 or 15 feet up. But, I had good cover around me and the trail they came in on had them looking ahead, not at me, as they approached.
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Old 09-18-2011 | 02:43 PM
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i dont have a specific height i go up to, i like to find trees with cover in the background and get to the height needed. i have hunted as low as 10ft and as high as 20ft. just depends the woods i think. if i hunt on a field edge i like to be atleast 20ft up though
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Old 09-18-2011 | 03:37 PM
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You can be low with cover but i find 20 plus is more forgiving to movement and scent.
they tend to not look that high and your scent seems to drift more upward.
still hunt the wind
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Old 09-18-2011 | 04:26 PM
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I don't/won't put a lock-on any lower than 25' and I won't use my climber less than that if I can get up a tree that high or as close to. Just my .02 cents, but have been busted lower too many times.
I just finished up putting out my last stand for this year on Friday and the 30' pull up rope had 2 feet touching the ground when I was done. I had it tied off on the seat frame.

Last edited by SecondChance; 09-25-2011 at 05:02 PM.
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Old 09-18-2011 | 04:32 PM
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I seldom hunt much more than 12' up. That's all the higher I can stand to be.
It has worked for me in the past.
I hunt areas that afford me a height advantage to increase the 12 ft I am already in the air, such as ridge lines with cover.
As well as areas that tend to force the deer to look ahead rather than up.
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Old 09-19-2011 | 04:41 AM
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one of my stands is 30' high on top of a ridge so i can see clearly down both sides. my ladder stand is roughly 15' high. i don't get busted at 15' or higher where i hunt.

If i'm on the ground i generaly get busted alot when bow hunting, but i can pull the shot off with a rifle before they run.
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Old 09-19-2011 | 05:46 AM
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Anywhere from 15 to 30 feet high depending on the cover, the tree canopy of the area I'm watching, the height of the underbrush, and the weapon I'm using (bow or rifle).
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Old 09-19-2011 | 07:54 AM
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More than 20 feet is preferable for scent purposes.

If I am more than 15' up (which I always am), I don't worry that much about cover. The deer in my area don't tend to look up. Plus the areas that I hunt are mostly pine, so it is basically impossible to have cover while you are in the tree.
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