Tree Stand height?

[Wolfie2nd]

Originally posted by fnshtr:
I too like lower stands... 12-14' to the platform. However, in late season with the leaves off I get busted more often at that height.

I have buddies that will never hunt lower than 25' and they hunt big bucks exclusively.

I'm a bit afraid of heights... another reason I stay lower.    

I'm a 25' kinda guy myself tend to get busted if I go lower.
When ya live in a state with  high hunting pressure deer tend to look in the trees. I wish I could get away with 12 for the better shot angle.

[broketooth]

i just got done watching a video with paul brunner , to him treestand height is not as important as picking the right tree that will offer you the best shot opportunity. of your are 25 ft high and your in the right tree than thats the right height. if the right tree only allows you to climb to 10 ft , then 10 ft is the right height. im sure other things come into play too such as wind where are the deer coming from , are they in heavy cover shooting light. i guess you have to know your hunting ground weather patterns amount of deer activity, pressured or not. lots of variables to consider. im just learning all this myself. i watched all this in a dvd called street smart bucks. very cool stuff. good luck . ruddy

[PEARL DRUMS]

I cant sit still enough to say so, I usually go up no less than 16 feet to hide my movements unless the tree or terrain demands differently.

[misfire]

16 ft is as high as I can go. Any higher and I start getting the hebegebees (sp).

A couple of years ago I decided to take a differant trail to my stand and on the way ran into a new hunter sitting in his stand. I introduced myself and was able to reach up and shake his hand. I never commented on it. I figured he had his limits as well.

[J-dog]

I am normally pretty high if I go in the climber - hang ons are 18'. Gonna buy a wallie world special ladder stand for 59$ at 15' tall.
I get busted at most any height if I screw it up, no matter what height! up in Pville all the wood ladder stands are 12 had deer walk right by me.

J

[bigbadjon]

We build our to 18Ft at the platform. That seems to put us right at the cover on suitable trees around here.

[Bill Turner]

As low as the cover will allow. Killed my first nice buck with my feet about 5 to 6 ft. off the ground. Have two tri-pods that work great in thick cover. They are 7 ft at the ft. platform. My ladder stands have three sections of which I only use two. Maybe 10 ft. at the seat. At 63 I'd rather be on the ground in my Guille, but sometimes you just need to go up for that perfect shot opportunity.

[Mint]

On Long Island the hunting pressure is so high the deer constantly look in the trees for you. When I went on a hunt in kansas i was so amazed that the deer did not look up once the whole week i hunted.

[lil jake]

welp if u get 2 high then u will have troubles with making good clean shots and kill from that angle. i ussually am about 10-15 ft.

[buckeye_hunter]

Cover is why I am going to rapid rails and a hang on combo. There are MANY times I would have liked to be in a short tree with great cover (branches) near transition areas on public land. Problem was that my climber could not get up in the tree.

This year I found a Perfect tree for most winds on the edge of a pond with acorns all around. Problem....couldn't get climber in it. Rapid rails would have gotten me into that tree. I saw no less than 15 deer within 10yds of that tree. Including a buck you might only see once in a lifetime. I would have only been 8-10 feet off the ground

My point in all this? Height doesn't mean crap, but cover does. Get in a tree that will hide you. If not possible, then height will be a factor.....

[rolltidehunter]

18-25 ft

[BobCo 1965]

15 ft max for me. I do tend to stay out of open areas however and generally key in the thicker type of stuff.

[Mr.Vic]

Depends on the farms and terrain i'm hunting. I mostly hunt from the ground in a chair, for mobility on Public hunting. But i also use two stands as well depending on the place. One a 15 foot ladder stand in open places and this my favorite go to stand when i hunt in timber. As it's easy to take down and move around. I have a extra extension but never used it. Being 8 foot up i put off the side of trails or crossings and try to put it in multiply tree clumps. Been skylined a few times but mostly in rut they never see me.    

[greyghost]

10'-15' depending on area.

[Cookus]

Fifteen to twenty feet up in a multi-trunked tree for my part of West Virginia... Deer look up in my neck of the woods!   Cross your fingers when hunting the wind... It's constantly changing in WV!

[Bowwild]

I feel too low if the platform of my stand is less than 12'. Most of the time I place stands, if the tree and terraing permit or require, 15-18' high. I can accept the lower height if I have a lot of background and even forground cover. Sometimess though, I have stands on  slight side hills that result in the uphill side being only 10 feet or less below me and 25 feet or so on the downhill side.

I almost never put a stand in a tree that is standing alone or doesn't have branches for cover (and security). My favorite stands are in branch-heavy cedar trees.

[Hatrick]

Always a lot of variables. Location and wind direction are the primary factors. After that tree configuration, cover, and terrain dictate height. For me it could be 10 feet to 18 feet but generally no higher than that.

[The Night Stalker]

18 to 23 ft depending on the hill side , cover etc. I tend to get a little higher because of the wind. It always swirls in the mountains. I never get a consistent wind and a little height might get you  a shot before you get busted.

[Darren.zesch]

The older I get, the closer to the ground I remain. The higher in the tree, the steeper the angle and the smaller the kill zone. Everybody has their personl likes and  dislikes so I say if that is the height you are successful at, do not change it. Personally 10 to 12 feet is all the higher I climb. Two feet would be fine if your silouette is blocked and sit still.

[Spinealigner]

18-20 feet to the base of my platform