How High Do You Hunt?

[Osprey]

I hate heights, probably 90% of my hunting is from the ground. When I have to go up I try to pick good cover and stay fairly low, never over 20 feet.

[badfaulkner]

It stays green here in the South in our hardwood bottom swamps. Climbing high actually works against you. Our deer look up anyway, no matter how high you climb. The key is to stay below the canopy and see them first. Eight to ten feet is good.

Or, just hunt from the ground with your back to some cane brake from a stool, chair or bucket, anything to break up your outline but get you off the ground so you can see on level with the palm fronds.

[venisonassassin]

On average 15-20 feet sometimes less, occasionally more but not very often. It depends the cover and terrain. Last year, for example, I was only 8 feet up when I shot my buck.

[Boo]

Anywhere from 6-25' or so depending on the terrain and cover.

[matt1336]

As high as I neeed to. I've sat 40'+ and s low as 6' off the ground depending on the situation. I try not to get too high w/ the bow.

[Jdub]

As long at won't negatively affect my shooting range, i like to get 25'. But it really depends on the situation just like many others have said. I set a stand last weekend that I think will be the best I've ever hunted out of (in michigan anyway) and it was only maybe 16-18'.

[lungbuster]

I generally get as high as I can for wind and cover, but as others have said the tree and situation really dictate it for me. I think the lowest I have ever killed a deer with the bow has been 15' and the highest somewhere around 30'.........The problem with being too high is it makes close shots tough because you have to aim for the exit (on all shots) and if a buck is only a couple yards from your stand and you are 30' up you basically have only a straight down shot angle which I don't like.
I think alot of hunters think they have to hunt too high in alot of situations where they actually could hunt very low and get a better shot angle, by going too high I think alot of deer get single lunged instead of double lunged and lost.

[Uncle Lou]

I hunt about 20' max.

Like lung said, bad angles come from too high, but I also watched a treestand video demonstration a few yrs back showing a smoke bomb. Their point was get high and your sent rises. I will leave sent dispersal conversation to others, but that demonstration stuck with me.

At the ATA this year we had a treestand company across the aisle. They had a ladder stand that looked 30' up. I kept telling the guys in the booth you would have to be well over 20yds away to get a good hit on both lungs I kept looking at it and even paced it to make my point a couple times

[Zap]

How does this look?





marty

[Bird]

Nothing less that 20 feet, and highest is 26 feet.

Especially hunting in the bluffs, uphill side of the bluffs are eye level unless you are at least 20 feet.

[Swampthing]

I DON,T LIKE HEIGHTS SO i STAY CLOSER TO GROUND ABOUT 15 FEET.

[Southern Man]

Interesting. I can remember a time when nobody hunted over 12' I hang a stand where I am hid. I like limbs. I always keep the wind in mind, walk trails leading to the stand, and take pictures to see how well I'm hid. True, the higher you go the harder the shot due to angles and brush, but I have begun to practice high also. I didn't start out wanting to be this high but just worked out that way and now I'm used to it. Low stands in this woods leaves me in the wide open most of the time.

[NatureBoy]

I hunt a lot from the ground as well. If stand hunting in hilly terrain though, I like to get up high if possible - 20+ feet. In flat country the wind currents are usually easier to judge and play correctly and I generally stay lower and try to find good background cover in my stand sets.

[robert richer]

nothin less than 20 ft....

depending on the topography such as waukesha, 25 ft or more....where as in the Vernon cty...hill country maybe 20 ft...again depending hill side and angle, etc...

opening weekend in Vernon county for gun season 32 ft over-looking my corn field and food plots...optimal!!!

[dan]

How does this look?





marty

Missed this Zap... That stand is a perfect example of why I would raise an eyebrow at someone who always hunts a certain height... That stand is where it has to be based on cover. Sure you could go higher or lower but you would double or triple your chances of getting spotted.
All my stand heights are based on the exact situation.