15 feet up???

OwnerITO · Post by **OwnerITO** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:13 pm

Is this too low? I am wide open to deer coming into my shooting area and basically right on them as well when they come out to my shooting area. I wanted to go higher than this but the range I have to shoot is maybe 17 yrds max. (yes I use yrds) If I go higher I am afraid of having to take too steep of a shot and have a less chance of hitting the 'hot box'. Anyone comment on this plz? BTW, I am right in the middle of the woods so distance shooting like out to 30 yds is a definite impossibility.

Hi5 · Post by **Hi5** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:30 pm

The proper height is very easy......

High enough that the game you are hunting is not aware of you. That may vary, depending on hunting pressure in that area.

Being unnecessarily high does make it tougher to make a clean double lung shot, because of the angle.

My ladder stand is 15 feet high. That has worked for 5 successive elk, and I have had deer walk right up to my ladder rungs and look up toward me--then walk away not knowing what they had looked at.

Wear camo, and have it on your face and hands too. Move little and stay quiet. Watch wind currents and if it's clear that your scent will be drifting and SETTLING toward where the game may appear, move out ASAP. I've been lucky in the early season where I hunt because there has been a lot of thistle down floating around. If that's not in season, try the commercially available fuzzy floaters.

I think that scent often carries right over top of game and dissipates in the distance. That's why I'm not too concerned about wind direction only. If the thermals are dropping to the ground, though, that's an entirely different matter.

vixenmaster · Post by **vixenmaster** » Thu Oct 04, 2007 10:36 pm

I have a ladder stand its only 14' high. I had 3 deer come in yesterday morning and never saw me. I shot the 4 pt. at 11 yds. they never knew i was there. When the arrow hit the buck he jumped and spooked the 2 Doe's. They still had no clue i was even there. My arrows weigh 560 gr. and my CB was quiet!

tuskntine · Post by **tuskntine** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 12:36 am

Wear camo, use scent killer , and try to brush in your stand ! If ground blinds work (and they do) , then 15 ft, is high enough.

tracer · Post by **tracer** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 7:34 am

I usually hang my stands at 16-18ft for early season and as the season progresses and defolage that occurs, I will move them higher for those mature bucks.

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:23 pm

I have stands that vary from 9ft to 15 ft in height depending on the cover and location.. If you have the stand RIGHT on the trail, then of coarse you want to get high, but I never go above 15ft. Plus I dont like heights so you wont catch me up 20ft in a tree. Ive never had issues with deer seeing or scenting me either, unless the wind is bad. The trick is getting far enough off the trail so nothing pays you any mind, but yet you are close enough for a 20yard shot. When I started out, I always placed my stands right beside(ontop) the trails and had issues with deer seeing me..Judging that I need to add a edition to my house to add wall mounts to, im proof you dont need to go 30ft up a tree to outsmart a deer LOL

Grizzly Adam · Post by **Grizzly Adam** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 5:35 pm

15 feet!

Like all bears, I hunt from the ground!

Sometimes I'll get in a ladder stand or tripod with a rifle.

There are some successful hunters who really believe in nosebleed seats ... Dan Fitzgerald comes to mind! Myself, I like terra-firma. Not scared of heights ... just like hunting on the ground.

I used to "get up" more. I've killed scores of deer from homemade tripods that were only about eight feet off the ground. Having a good backdrop is key ... and staying still. Staying still is the best hint of all!

Furor · Post by **Furor** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 6:39 pm

Both deer I have killed have been on the ground this year, I definately prefer sitting/laying at eye level with my prey. One was a spot/stalk doe, other a sit-n-wait nice 4x5 buck. With a crossbow you can lay on the ground near or under cover and its as good or better than being up high IMO. On the ground you have the option to move if the wind switches or do a stalk if they are near but not right where you want them. Only disadvantage to being on the ground is when you take a shot, the arrows keep going long past where your target was and finding them can prove challenging.

huntman · Post by **huntman** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 8:23 pm

We have a stand up where i shotgun hunt that produces deer year after year ... we call it old faithfull. It is only about 10 feet high and the deer we have killed have been as close as 8 yards, Never had an iusse with is, but like eveyone else has said the wind is your enemy or your best friend!

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Fri Oct 05, 2007 9:03 pm

In close quarters where the deer can't see you from a distance the stand doesn't need to be too high. I've found they won't really bust you as bad if they have to look up at a sharp angle, but if they can see the stand from 60 or more yards away they will pick you up quickly. At 20 or 30 yards 15' is usually plenty high.
Had a 15' ladder stand a few years ago and a buck "busted" me almost instantly when he stepped out into my food plot 60 yards away. I went to where he was standing and saw the stand was in the one "hole" in the cover behind me! I cut a small cedar and hoisted it up in the tree behind the stand to "plug the hole". Shot the very same buck a little over a week later when he entered the food plot on the exact same trail he had used before! Ne never even glanced my way and walked to a spot 23 yards away and turned broadside as if to say, "go ahead and give it your best shot".

A small racked 6 point, but I put him in the freezer anyway.