Most of my stands are 8 to maybe 14 feet above the ground. I like the better shot angles present at lower heights and feel much safer, which results in better shooting on my part. It's also safer in climbing shorter stands and putting them in the first time.
You might also find that sometimes if you put in 12-15 of steps to get 25' up, you are more reluctant to move your stand to a better tree due to all the work you have invested in the erection of the first stand. At least that was the case for me when I was young and hunted higher. A lower stand has less of that involved (and also requires less brush cut for shooting lanes), so I'm more likely to pull up stakes and move over a few trees if the deer traffic is telling me to do so.
If one is careful about foreground and background, you can actually be better camouflaged at lower heights in some environments than 15-25' up due to being skylighted against bare trees and the sky. Often times, one trick I'll use is to place a deadfall (old, small cedars work good) under my tree to keep deer from getting too close, which can be a problem if you're only 8-10' up.
Topic: How high do you place your stand? (Read 930 times)
