"Tricks and Tactics" for low tree stands.

[Kris]

 

They will be less likely to see where you trimmed limbs to get into your tree. bw


I can't imagine a deer differentiating a tree with cut branches and it recognizing it as a place where a hunter climbs to his stand...but maybe?  Set me straight.  Certainly I respect Barry's opinion.  I've never seen a deer visually recognize cut branches or brush I have made in my shooting lanes.

Not a big issue either way and I get the point; no cost in being conservative in this regard.  

Certainly I have witnessed, as we all have, a deer detecting scent where we have climbed to our stand...absolutely.  Our bare hands on foot pegs or steps are dead giveaways.

Visual recognition seems like a human quality we may be bestowing upon Mr. White-tail.

Kris

[RedShaft]

Not to get off. But I am curious how many sticks you guys use? Or what's your setups? I mostly use lone wolf hand climber.

Also for the cut limb question, if I need to do that. I will reach into the soil grab a handful of dirt and Mash it into the end of the cut off limb. Dirt camo.  Makes me feel better.    :D

[Fletcher]

I'll hunt as low as I can get decent cover and generally add at least some cover to a stand.  Oak branches cut in summer or late fall work best and will not lose their leaves.  If setting up on a particular trail I want to be on the inside of a bend if possible or set so the deer dass from behind so deer aren't looking directly at me when coming in.  Like Barry, I try not to cut lanes any lower than necessary.

[troutbum1]

Every deer I killed with a bow, I only had the tree stand between 12' and 15' off the ground. I just make sure the stand is concealed good.

[wingnut]

I use the top section of ladder stands a lot and place them in thick cover. . .usually juniper.

They work well on deer and exceptional on pigs.

Mike

[hickstick]

I'm usually up a little higher (16-20 feet) no fear of heights - use to be a steel worker in my younger days.  but i do love a multi trunk tree as others have said.  it was one of the reasons I invested in mu leverage climbing sticks....you can get up in multi/split trunk trees that a climber can't get into.

(one of the other reasons was to prevent theft...but thats a different story).

[Gary Logsdon]

Ironically, I stumbled upon this thread as I sat working on an article titled "Hunting From Elevated Ground Blinds". The piece I'm doing concerns tips and tactics of hunting while perched in low hanging treestands, to be published in 2015.

Here's one of many deer that I've taken over the years sitting in one of my "elevated blinds". Virtually all of my stands are between 7-12 feet;  the rest of my sets are either brush blinds or well concealed popup blinds.

In ways similar to Uncle Barry's situation, I am also concerned with a mature deer's eyes following the line of a tree trunk where I have sawed off limbs to ease in climbing into the stand. To avoid getting busted I either remove the limbs from the back of the tree OR tie up brush or a fallen tree between the tree trunk and where I expect deer to approach.

 

 

 

 

[Barry Wensel]

Kris: Misconception I believe. As I said, hard to explain. To clarify, I'm not speaking about them seeing the actual cut limbs. I'm talking about hiding the opening you cut into the cedar's density/thickest part in order to climb up through the lower limbs to the platform. The suggested added brush half way to the target area is to help conceal the opening in your tree from the sweet spot where the rest of the tree is more dense. I've had them bust me visually (one last week). But I can't tell if a more open cut spot in a thick softwood caught their eye or a fat guy in a skinny tree wearing a slightly different shade of camo than the rest of the tree. bw

[SELFBOW19953]

Where I hunt, we don't have many cedars, especially large enough to hunt from.  I try to be in front of, behind, or in holly trees-we've got lots of them.  I like one that's 8 or 10' feet tall and hang my stand behind it so that most of my body is behind it when I stand up.

[olddogrib]

I don't feel penalized at all by hunting lower when my primary cover is mountain laurel. I lke to "nestle" in it so that about all that is really exposed from the deer's perspective is my head/neck when seated. I can stand when the deer's head is down to get the shot clearance that's needed. When I get a smart-elic doe with her well educated yearlings doing the head-bob thing and me standing/sitting back down it probably looks like some twisted version of whack-a-mole!

[Bowwild]

No matter how much cover the tree affords I feel too exposed to scent and movement detection if I'm lower than 12'. Most of my stands are 15-18' high.

I also love the cedar tree for my stands. I don't like cutting the tree up for shot windows but some is almost necessary. I'm a fan of using rope to pull back some limbs and tie them out of the way instead of cutting them. This way if I make a mistake I can reverse it.

I also sometimes cut cedar branches from other trees and tie them in places to increase the cover if it is lacking.

I will admit this thread and some of the well-hidden low stands pictures are compelling.

I have seen some old stands (40 years ago) that I thought were just high enough off the ground to expose the hunter more than if he was on the ground.

I have some pop-up stands that I use for turkeys. I would love to use these more with deer but if I brush them in and leave them during deer season cows find them, even when the tract isn't supposed to have cows on it!

[DaveT1963]

I envy you guys that have 40-60 foot cedars big enough to hunt in.  I was amazed at some of Barry's stands when I attended his boot camp.  I was also amazed at the size of rubs he showed us.  If I had the brutes walking around that he does I would hunt low also as I might shake so hard I would shake myself right out of the stand  

[longbowman]

Bucky,  We have the tree ladder sticks 5' long each and we have set our stands using a single stick for years.  Once we started doing that we have seen absolutely no difference in the number of close encounters with deer and it sure is nice knowing you could literally just step off the platform if you wanted to.  I shot my doe this year at 3 yds. after she came in an sniffed my ladder!  My son shot his buck at 12 yds.

[BUCKY]

Frank you have pics of your setup? 5ft, thats amazing!

[Bill Turner]

I've killed several deer out of my preferred stand, an 8 ft. aluminum tri-pod. My feet rest on a rail at 7 ft. with my butt in a boat seat about 12 to 18 inches higher. I shoot sitting down with very little movement.  I prefer to place these stands in thickets with heavy cover behind and preferably next to a tree or two. I find that cover behind consisting of briars or vines are particularly effective because you do not have to deal with falling foilage, which leaves you open during the late season. Most shots are 12 to 15 yards and the deer seldom know I'm there. Of course I only hunt these locations when the wind is in my favor.  

[longbowman]

Bucky,  I'm buck hunting this weekend, I'll get a picture for you.

[Kris]

Barry - thanks for your explanation.

BTW - I was visually busted just before the gun season here in Wisconsin through the thickest part of my Eastern Red Cedar stand at 15' up.  The wind was blowing from a small six pointer into me, as I watched him approach from 75 yards out.  

My slight movement and he was dialed in, looking straight at me.  He slowly and cautiously walked away, then ran. I was very surprised he saw anything but good for him.  Hope he grows for another three or four years!

Kris

[Overspined]

I'll tell you, regardless of height, cover is so important. But even more successful for me is not hunting the Same spots. I rarely sit the same spot, especially if I get busted.  I use either climber or usually the alpha with sticks.  After using them for years I'm pretty efficient. Still, 18+ is usually best. Wish I could go lower

[PUDDLE JUMPER]

Hands and face covered. Avoid eye contact. I always set the stand above the lowest limb. I like 5 to 10 feet but have not hunted out of a stand this year.

Another vote for using a single section of a climbing ladder. I secure a lone wolf versa button so I only have to take the strap in. The ladder section stays at the site all year.

[ChuckC]

Cedars are thick and dark.  If your camo (or face and hands) are light colored, you stand out just the same.

CHuckC