My experiece tonight, need a little advise

[frassettor]

Well after I kicked up 2 bucks yesterday, and a doe, I was a little anxious to get in the stand today. This is the first time that I hunted out of a treestand with my recurve, and it was an eye opener to say the least. I wear one of those muffs to keep your hands warm and realized that I cant hold my bow on my lap because of this. I do hang it up on a hook, but had some trouble with that because the bow is 64 inches. My feathers rub on my jacketwhen I do try to hold it on my lap. I had one small doe come in and was going to take a shot at her but.... as soon as I grabbed my bow and was holding it for 10 min my hands were freezing, so I didnt shoot. She got nervous and took off with her flag up. I tried shooting with gloves on and it was much harder because the gloves seem to cause things to be a little slippery on the bow handle. Second I cant stand standing up to shoot, which I realize that I am going to have to get used to it. Its Mainly because I hate heights. I used to shoot all of my deer sitting down but really dont feel I should attempt that because I didnt practice that way.Im 19 feet up and was thinking about lowering it a little bit. Any advise from anyone on these problems would be great.good hunting to you all

[sticshooter]

Maybe try some leather on the grip and get a glove made from neoprene. It works for me.<><

[redfish]

I don't hunt out of an elevated stand for many of the reason you mentioned. I have been fine tuning gear for years. Part of the fun is figuring out what will work and what won't. Pay attention to the hat. The string hitting the bill near full draw can distract you and ruin a shot. The best part is that you get to learn these things the hard way and they make great stories.
Have fun.

[frassettor]

I learned in the yard I cant wear a hat for that same reason. Now I wear a camo fleece to get away from the hat thing. I just dont want to find some of these things out when the moment of truth happens.

[ChuckC]

You nearly answered yourself there.  Get your gear and practice EXACTLY as you think you may hunt.  Only then will you know if your gear works as you use it and if you can shoot in those conditions.
ChuckC

[Bonebuster]

If you are at nineteen feet and not comfortable, then get lower. Use cover to hide in addition to height. When in a tree stand, I am rarely more than fifteen feet high.

 

[Minuteman]

Use a fall restraint then you can rest easy knowing the fall will only be as far as the tether is long.
 I usually don't hunt that high, a little lower wouldn't hurt. Unless the deer in yer area are pressured hard and spend the whole day looking up in trees for hunters.
 Shooting while standing is yer better bet. It allows you more clearance from the stand for your bottom limb, and lets you bend at the waist properly to keep your form in line.

I got a short ladder stand and put it up in the maple tree behind the garage so I can practice shooting straight down. It can be a difficult shot if you've never done it. Shooting at a deer is no time to learn you don't have a shot in you.

[the Ferret]

You don't have to go that high to kill a deer. My son killed a 142" whitetail out of this stand last year. Doubt it's much over 9 feet up as he could jump up from ground level and grab it (he's 5'9")

 

[Bill Carlsen]

Frassettor: Lower the stand. I rarely have mine above 16' and most of the time they are 12'-14'. As for the bow slipping with the glove on, I just wrap a piece of camo tape around the handle. I really doesn't change the feel but gives you enough of a rough surface so the bow stays in your hand.

[wingnut]

Yep get the stand down to a height that you feel more comfortable.  I go 10 - 12' all the time and at times if the cover is better lower, just use the top section of a ladder stand.  That puts my feet at 6 ft and me in the bush.  Works great!!

I use fleece gloves and don't have the slippery problem.  Jason uses a stretch glove that has little dots in the palm that grips real good.

Mike

[Gatekeeper]

Frassetter,

I am also uncomfortable with heights but I forced myself to deal with it. The terrain has a lot to do with the height that I set my stand. The land I hunt has a lot of hills and all the good hunting spots are in draws so my stands tend to be 15’ to 20’ high. The stand that I like the best is at 28’! This stand allows me to watch almost the whole back part of a30 acre CRP field. When the deer come into my shooting lane they are about 20’ below me. That is because the terrain drops off. Here are some things that I have done to help me gain confidence in my equipment and help set my mind at ease.
1. Use a safety line with a prussic knot on it as soon as you leave the ground.
2. Test your safety restraint at a lower level to prove to yourself that it works.
3. Use a load binder on your chain on stands and wire the handle in the closed position.
4. Remove the cheap little seat on your chain-on and use the Summit Trophy Tree Seat and attach it to the tree with a ratcheted cargo restraint. I don’t find the little seats that come with most treestands to be comfortable. This seat has armrest on it and I find that to be a plus.
5. When you are shooting from the stand brace you knee against the seat or the tree. This is a mental thing for me I think. As long as I am touching something solid with my leg I feel secure and steady.
6. Get a setup for your yard if you can and practice shooting from elevated heights.
7. I posted on this link  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=051974   the way I hold my bow. It needs to be refined a little but the setup works for me. It is under the 4th page and the topic is titled hanging bow.
I agree with the guys on here about keeping you stand low if you can get away with it and especially if you never become comfortable in high spots. I think the main thing that has made me get comfortable in these situations is simply spending time in the stand and shooting from it. I have found that when a deer comes in I don’t even think about the height. All of my attention is on the target and I go into automatic mode.

I hope this helps and good luck.

Tom

[swampmaster]

do you shoot with a glove or a tab?  i shoot with a damascus glove and wear fleece gloves over them. i cut the 3 fingers just enough for the string to clear. this works for me.

                                    swamp

[GingivitisKahn]

Hunting from the ground is lots of fun too and you don't have to mess with all that heavy, noisy treestand stuff.  :-D

[LV2HUNT]

1) Lower the stand to 10-15 feet

2) Use a bow hook. I like the gorilla bow hook that is a swing arm. It allows me to position the bow many different ways. It is also simple and quiet.

3) Lose the gloves, with the bow hook and a rubber band and toothpick to hold the arrow on you can have your hands in your pockets. If you need to stick a couple little handwarmers in your pockets to supplement.

4) Practice shooting from a sitting position. Just bring a bucket or seat out to the range and have at it.

5) Lose the muff and do not have any calls or anything else hanging or attached to you in front. Hang or attach any calls to the tree. You do not want anything getting hung up on your string when shooting.

[frassettor]

Thank guys,  

[Doc Nock]

You got a lot of good advice and I picked up some neat ideas too!  

I've shot the last 4+ deer sitting. But yeah, I do practice it... from elevation. With gear on.

Hard part is once the season starts, keeping at practice between hunts sometimes. Those li'l stretch gloves with rubber beads on them work very well!

[Legolas]

Take a look at a  treesuit . Its a very different setup but you can not fall out of it and you can lean out and twist and get support. I killed an 8 pt out of mine today. Also you can rest your forearm over the straps for support when a shot is eminent. Other times I have stuck the bow in my boot top for support.
I like to shoot my longbow without a tab or gloves so in cold weather those mittens that flip away to expose your fingers work well.
I would like to expand in an email if you wish.

Paul