Low Hanging Treestands?

[oz]

repeating the wisdom of others.

I am low in one of mine this year here are the reasons I like it.

1. It is in a new location the deer have never seen a stand and do not tend to look up.

2. It is in a large poplar tree surrounded by small fir and lodgepole so I have good cover to break up my silhouette.  

3. It is tight to the trail I am hunting so I do not want to be too high and shoot at too steep of an angle.  

Hunted it for a couple of hours for the first time this weekend and had one doe walk by oblivious to the fact I was even in the country.  Optimistic that the buck I have targeted will do the same one night for me.

hang low if you have cover, and scent control.  If I had a tree further from the trail I would like to be higher for scent travel, but too high would silhouette me above the cover.

oz

[woodchucker]

Years ago, I made ladder stands out of 7'6" 2x4 building studs. There were dozens of them laying around the building lots, after the houses were framed. (apparently carpenters don't like "bent" wood?) I'd climb up, set my butt on the platform, and shoot deer. Never gave much thought to cover, or even how high I was. Basically, I could see as good (maybe a little better?) as if I was standing, but I was sitting and more comfortable!!! About 10 years ago, I bought a 15' ladder stand. 1st time I climbed up in it, I just couldn't get comfortable... (Ok, I was shaking like a dog passing a peach pitt) I only hunted out of it a few times after that. My big problem these days, is that my back starts to nag me, after about an hour of sitting. On the ground, I can get up and stretch and move around if I have to. It helps to keep me in one "spot" longer. If you're in a good spot, I don't think it matters if you're on the ground, or in a tree, or how high you are.
Just one old farts opinion...

[texbow2]

I usually only use 3 of the 4 section in my ladder stands so my foot platform is usually about 10 and that seem to get me out of line of sight. Also have several tripods where the seat is only 8 or 9 feet. But they set nicely back into small oaks and persimmon bushes.

[olddogrib]

I'm not the "squirrel" that I used to be, nor willing to take the "straight down" chip shots that were possible when I used wheelie bows and sights.  I'm lucky to hunt the Blue Ridge mountains of N.C., where you have mountain laurel cover that you can "nest" a stand in and disappear as long as you're still.  If I'm hunting at 10-15 ft. I do have to be more conscious of prevailing winds which is an oxymoron, as in the mountains they swirl and eddy and never "prevail" from the same direction for more than about 5 mins., lol.  Placement is everything and on a side-hill you could be 15 ft. off the ground and exactly at eyeball level with a deer 10 yds away!

[Brock]

Cover to break up yourself is more important than height....there is NO MINIMUM if you can do it on the ground.  Higher stands also increase the shot angle and gives the hunter a decreased visible kill zone on most animals.

Most of my hanging or ladder stands are in the 8-12 foot range but I make sure the trunk is wide or there is good season long cover like hollies, tupelo, magnolia, wax myrtle or live oaks to break up my outline.  

Find a comfortable height and then just make sure it is broken up enough to keep you hidden...

You can use natural vegetation but it dies or leaves/needles fall off.  Instead you can buy the fake vegetation from craft stores that represent deciduous and evergreens and attach them to your stands and the tree trunk.  Tie them on with zip ties on foot platform, seat rails, and even in the belt/chain of the hanging device.  Or if you want specific bowhunting instead of DIY...go here.  

[ChuckC]

It depends on everything.  

If ground cover makes an elevated platform more efficient, and low lying cover allows, a 5-10 foot stand is for sure doable.  I did it in my favorite marsh for years.

If you are hunting a stand of poplars or fast growing oaks with little understory you may need to be twenty or more feet up to fit in.

[Shadowhnter]

Less then 10 ft...just hunt the ground. Too much chance of getting busted under average conditions.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

The cover, wind  and terrain dictate everything.  I have put stands 2 or 3 feet off the ground in the past. I don't like being over 15 feet if I don't have to.. Sometimes some situations sitting on the ground will be better. Keep your options open and be creative.

[Chain2]

I hunt a lot of lower stand locations. Terrain and canopy dictate how high. Sometimes the higher you go in pines or hemlocks your visibility decreases. I never hunt very high. I just don't like the angle of penetration. I never hunt a stand two days in a row unless conditions are optimal.

[scrub-buster]

I killed my 3 biggest bucks out of a 10' ladder stand with a white metal deck chair on top.  I didn't have any cover near the tree.  It was in a natural funnel that had a few trails close by.  Starting around Halloween each year the bucks started cruising these trails looking for does.

[RedShaft]

I hunt low allot.
Like 7-12ft. Sometimes I go to 14-15. But not often.
A climbing stand will screw you most times. Think limbs.

A hang on is where it's at for hunting low and tucking yourself into neat little spots with cover below you..

It best to set up so the come quartering past you n then shoot. On set up so the truck in kinda between you n them
Somewhat. Or there is another tree there to hid you that close to the one your in. I have little trouble and I hunt heavily hunted pa public lands.

[Steve D]

Effective method if done correctly. Common sense and woods wiseness when and where to use.

[Clint B.]

I hunt higher, but I could see the advantage of being only 5-10 feet up the right tree and opposed to being on the ground. It would allow me a better chance of seeing the deer before he sees me, so I could get ready. The right tree would be off to the side of the trail with other trees to screen me.  A split trunk tree would work great.