**How high do u hunt in your stand?**

[Ohio Bill]

I was wondering how high everybody hunts....And what type of stand do u use? I only hunt 12 ft up...i use a ladder stand...Ive never had any problems with only being 12 ft up.....this years buck was just about under my stand.:D

[LakeRaider]

is permanant. Kinda like a lounge. lol Had to put rails around it this year cause I take a lot of naps. Its 18 ft. off the ground but right on the edge of a ridge so it feels like your up 40 ft. or so. Its built into 3 trees so theres not much sway when the wind blows. A really great view. LakeRaider:""

[Q2XL]

15 to 20 feet. dependin on the terrain i am huntin.

[Caribou Dreamer2]

I like the area between 20-25 ft. sometimes 30' but not to often.I mostly use a api climber when i'm in a tree.

[pdq 5oh]

I use a Summit climber and hunt 20-22 ft. I prefer the view from there.

[Pike]

I use a 20 FT. pull rope and prefer to get 20FT. up, but sometimes it isnt possible, so I will try to get atleast 15 ft.up. If I cannot get 15 ft. up I hunt off the ground and make a ground blind. Pike

[flathunter]

I am scared to death of heights, my feet are always planted firmly on the ground while deer hunting..I have shot some deer at close range while bowhunting from the ground.

[CritterGitter]

I use a climber and prefer to be 20-25 feet up. I consider this ideal as I get a good field of view and I am not in the direct line of site for deer.

[Steve]

Till my nose bleeds and then add 5 feet :)

[lureboy98]

Haha good one! I also use a 20 ft pull rope and get up between 15 and 20 feet. I hunt on a hill and the ground levels off about 20 ft in front of me and I don't have to stand up to shoot in front of me with my crossbow.

[gamegetter1]

I hunt 20-25 feet up in the tree. I use a summit climbing stand. You can't beat the view, and I make sure to practice shooting my bow from this height too. Helps a ton.


David

[Ðe§perado™]

I have to go with Q2XL and go up about 15-20 ft.;)

[bill_gfish]

Just to show you how long it's been since I deer hunted I always thought that it was illegal to make a deerstand permantant and that you couldn't afix it to a tree using nails, I guess because of the permanancy there. But, I looked it up, quickly I might ad but saw no mentions of wether a stand can be permanant or not. I am almost positive that in the mid to late 80's you couldn't have one that was permanent. I did read that the odnr said 12 -15 feet is the right hight for placing your stand.

Bill

[Ðe§perado™]

They can be permanant on private land , but not public.

[Doesniper]

I don't like anything below 15' unless I'm on the ground. 20-30' is my favorite.

[lureboy98]

I have a Warren Sweat Master Climber. Its pretty basic but gets the job done.

[OLDHAT]

I used to be like Steve, If I wasn't at least 25 ft, then I felt "naked". I'd go as high as 30-35. But the last few years, I have learned to hunt on the "backside" of the tree keeping the tree between me and where the deer come from/ where I anticipate them to be. The only downfall is that I stand up 90% of the time. Since I have started using this type of set up, I'll rarely go over 25 ft, but still like to get up to at least 20, I feel this helps your scent "stay high" in your immediate hunting area.

Oldhat

[Splitshot]

The deer are getting wiser and often look up. I always try for at least 25 feet, but perfer 30. After that the angle gets a little steep for me. I use a tree lounge and also the netting. Even then, I have had deer stare at me.

I remember years ago, that if you were 8 feet off the ground the deer would never see you. They are like the Borg! They adapt.:)

[george tinkham]

The farther you go up the farther the deer is from you.Height is distance too.and I like them close.Highest I probably go is 20' but seldom.If I go this high I need at least a 20 yd shot from the tree.Because of steep angle.Now I like shots at 10 yds. and thats how far from trails I set stands.This gives me lower shot angle and the deer never seem to pick me out.As I like to say...10yds and in will make me grin.

[Nut]

I hunt from the ground. Only choice I have since I dont have a climber. But last year I hunted Pa in a shooting house with a line of sight of 17 feet off the ground.

[vc1111]

I get high...maybe 24 or 25 feet on average. Once you get about that high, it seems like you can get away with a lot more movement without getting busted so easily.

[Stacker]

Depends on the situation but considering I am primarily a bowhunter who never shoots past 30 yds. at deer most of my setups have been above 15' but under 25'.

[Ohio Bill]

WOW im only up 12 feet and my knees are shakin....I couldnt imagine being 30 ft up..... hmmmm i bet the view is awesome@!:cool:

[Pike]

Guys, Just remember, If the deer didnt see you move or hear a noise, 99% of the time it smelled you first, and looked in the exact spot that the smell was comming from. Remember deer do not have that great of sight, Yes they can see you wiggle your little finger at 50 Yards, but its very hard for a deer to just pick you out when you are just sitting their quietly, with out the aid of their nose pointing them in the right direction. Pike

[Spitfire]

I dont hunt in the trees very often but when I do I am sitting 25-30ft. regardless of the terrain or area that i am hunting.

[johnc21]

I like to hunt atleast 20 feet. I have a few stands that are 30 - 35 feet. It starts gettin a little scary if I go any higher. I really appreciate the seat of the pants harness when I get that high.

JC

[Splitshot]

Ohio Bill,

I'm with you, my first stand you could stand on the ground and touch the bottom. About 10 years ago I realized I was getting busted more so I started to hunt a little higher each year. I mark the rope I pull my bow up with to be sure.

Pike is also right about a deer's nose being its most improtant defense. I think deer today are more alert to the slightest smell of a human too. I bought one of the first scent loc suits when they came out on the market and did all the other things to cover my scent.

I was hunting about 14 feet and had a slight steady breeze blowing from West to East. I noticed three does heading North about 50 yards down wind of me. When they were directly down wind, they stopped and put their noses in the air. With my glasses I could see them licking their noses. For twenty minutes they would walk back and forth and always stop directly down wind and stop and put their noses in the air and lick their noses.

It was obvious to me that they were getting a wiff of me, but not enough to spook them. I concluded that based on how they were acting, they thought I was much farther away than I really was. These were not city deer either, but way back in the big woods of the UP of Michigan. I doubt that there were any hunters within 2 miles of me at any time during the archery season.

With my climber I learned to go a little higher every year and I am getting used to it. It helps that I am locked in from the bottom of the tree. I see more deer from those heights that have no idea I am there and to me that means much less scent gets to the deer when you hunt above 20 feet.

[Lance]

I usually set up around 10-15'. The only time I go higher is if I'm in a tree that's downhill from the trail. I just try to pick a spot with a decent background so I don't get silouetted as easily.

[Splitshot]

Lance,

I agree with you. Suprised? I think you must understand the wind currents in a location like that and then sometimes it is even better to hunt lower. I just know that if I am higher I have a better chance at deer especially those coming from an unexpected direction. Then again mabye my scent is stronger. Naw, that couldn't be it!:p

[Lance]

We got agree at least ONCE IN A WHILE. ;)

[Lewis]

Most of my stands are at least 15 ft. high.
One thing that I have noticed though with 25 years of bowhunting,it is easier for a deer to scent you on evening hunts as the air is cooling and falling toward the ground.
As the morning warms generally the thermal air currents are moving upward.

[Ohio Bill]

Seems like the average height is around 20 to 30 ft....I just moved my stand on the top of a ridge...im on the edge so im about 17 ft up now....it isnt too bad...:D

[rjolenic]

Usually go up when I set lock on's around 15 - 20 feet. I think that's plenty high for hunting Flat NW OHIO. Now down in SE Ohio, I go nose bleed high. I have 25 foot hoist rope and I make sure that my bow is hanging at least 10 - 15 feet off of the ground hunting those ridges. Gotta get really high down there in the hills.

rjo

[lureboy98]

It makes me think that I should hunt a little higher than I do. I hunt about 15-20 feet up with the ground leveling off at 20 yards from me, should i hunt a little higher?

[Thunderflight]

Most of the time I'll climb 20 to 25 feet.

If I have a permanent stand then most of the time they are 15 to 20 feet.

It also depends on the amount of back ground cover too.

Thunderflight

[HUNTERDP]

I hunt with a climber and usually stay around 25' to 28' high but it really depends on the surrounding terrain.

[SenecaBow]

In the early part of the season I like to hunt at 15-20 ft. Later in the year after the leaves have fallen I'll go a little higher, not much more than 22ft. or so.
I work out of a bucket truck all day, so height is not the reason I don't like to go much beyond 22 ft., it's the angle of the shot, I don't like the steep angles.

[DonnieP]

I used to hunt way up there in the tree's but after taking a fall from 25 feet four years ago, I stay closer to the ground now.. I have enough hardware in my hip to build a deer stand! Check out the story by clicking the link below, it was published on the Ultimate Sportsman...

http://ultimatesportsmen.com/stories2/deersea.html

[SenecaBow]

All told, I ended up with twenty-six three-inch long stainless steel screws and thirteen plates in my hip and pelvis.

Holy Cow! --- Donnie, you have more metal in your hip, than some of today's cars. :(

Hope you are doing well. --- Gee, what a mess.