croc2116

I have been wondering lately if my treestands are not high enough for bowhunting. I have 2 that are 15' and one that is 17'. What height do all you other bowhunters hunt from?

Thanks
croc2116

GPMD

15 is plenty high enough, my max is 20 for the bow. I shot the biggest buck of my life this season from a 13' stand. Its all about how well concealed the stand is.

arrow2512

All of my lock-ons are sat on 20'.But i know a few guys that have there stand at 10 and 12 and they get bucks every year .

ModernPrimitive

It really depends on the cover in your particular area,i.e; the height of surrounding branches & the lay of your land.
All things being equal 15'-20' is a good range; above 20' the shot angles do change quite a bit.
As an side:
I met a guy in the woods once during firearms season who had somehow managed to set a stand at what he said was 70' feet-it looked mile high to me; how he felt safe I have no idea but he did hunt it. A few years later that tree toppled during a serious ice storm. He had hoisted some sort of fiberglass seat w/ a 4 point harness up that pine and secured it as a lock on. Crazy.

arrow2512

3Seasons -If that guy was hunting from that high up in a tree he either had alot of woods to cover or he was watching deer over from neighboring land heading to where he was sat up at lol.

scribe

I have not read all the posts so this may have been mentioned. You hunt as high as the background cover dictates. There is no advantage to climbing extra high. In fact, it makes the shot angle much more difficult.

I have been bowhunting since 1961. During that period, I estimate I have killed about 300 deer with a bow. I do not have a stand over 18-feet and most as 10-15 feet high. My best one, a ladder stand, is 10-feet high. To date, in 9-years, I have killed 25-deer from it.

Just climb what the cover dictates.

SecondChance

I have 2 ladder stands that are 17 feet from the factory. I place my lock ons at no less than 20 feet for scent control. I have 3 that are 27' feet at the seat for I have a 30' pull up rope tied to the seat and it barely makes the ground. No problem with deer seeing me or scenting me.

Topgun 3006

How big an oxygen tank did that guy have hunting up high like that, LOL!!!

GTOHunter

Like Scribe mentioned,cover dictates what height is needed,You can over do it and Your shot angle is too steep!Good Cover and scent-control will let You get closer to the game Your Hunting...I shoot a nice 6-Point Buck out of a climbing stand about 10-12 feet off the ground because I was in a large tree with good cover in front and behind.


I did have my other Climbing Stand on the down side of a big hill....when the Deer came in from a higher Ridge Field they saw me right away...I was up high but from where they came it was a little above eye level so I either needed to go up higher or find a tree with better cover/leaves!

scribe

Help us all here. How does climbing higher help with scent control?

Someday, when things are slow, take a couple puff balls or better yet, a smoke bomb and climb into a 10-ft stand and 30-foot stand. See where the smoke reaches deer nose height. When we did it 25-years ago for a piece in Bow and Arrow Hunting Magazine, we were surprised. You might be as well. If you want to be even more surprised, see where the smoke goes if you are sitting on the ground.