fourty feet!!!!!!!!!!! now that is scary, if i go much past 20 i get a little weak in the knees. And one of my hunting buddies won't go higher than 10. It is actually pretty funny, i was helping him one day and i decided to climb up. And vs climbing down i just jumped. Didnt hurt one bit.

 

usually about 25'

 

Usually 20-25 feet. Unless there aren't trees that allow that. You can only use what you have.

 

25' is really getting up there. I would say that is about the clearance in most gymnasiums. I can't imagine going any higher than that.
L & O

 

I'll stick around the 15-16' mark, sometimes even lower if the cover is good. I hate heights, no nose bleed stands for me. If I'm not comfortable, I won't enjoy the hunt. They have to be easy to get in and out of too, I'm not a gymnast. Actually I arrowed a mature buck this year from a stand that was just a measly 12 feet off the ground. There is no room for error at that height though, I can tell you that!.

 

The guys I hunt with in Illinois strongly believe that you must hunt high to maximize your chances to take big bucks. They rarely hang stands less than 30' high. I hunted out of one of their lofty stands in 2001 that was no less than 50' off the ground. These guys are construction workers and they are in top condition. They typically only screw in a couple steps around the stand to hang stuff from, and just shimmy up the tree like monkeys. We argue about stand height all the time, however they have definitely killed more big bucks than I have. Also, the only time they have had a stand stolen was when the thief cut down the tree.

 

I don't know, seems to me a better question is how far do you want to fall.

 

50'!!! Now that is high. I would need some binoculars to see the ground. I guess that one benefit for me would be that I would be warm, from peeing my pants. 30 foot is plenty high for me.

 

I think anything over 25-30 feet is insane!!! I guess you can't argue with success but...... On most trees in the areas I hunt, the tree wouldn't be nearly strong enough to hold me up!! And if there's even the slightest breeze forget about it. At 50', the shot angle has to be pretty severe, I assume they set up for shots in the 30-40 yard range or more.

 

My normal height is 17 feet (measured with a tape measure). I do go to 20' on occassion. Over the years I've asked guys who have seen and sat in my stands how high they were and the vast majority say anywhere from 20-25 feet. It seems that many bowhunters, experienced or not seem to think that 17' is much higher than it really is.

Maybe it's modern math!!.......LOL!

 

There is alot of truth to that Whit, some of my friends that have been in my stands swear that they are 35' up. I always use 24' of rope so it's simple for me to tell how high I am

 

I sometimes wonder if the guys that claim to hunt 30ft up have ever actually measured their stand height. Heck, in most woodlots, unless they were very mature, 30ft heights would have you shooting downward through a lot of limbs. And if the woods are that mature, the hunting usually sucks anyway.

No offense intended to you guys that hunt at those heights and have measured it.

And 50ft? Ridiculous. Way too steep a shooting angle at the vitals, too small a margin for error.

 

Usually 20-25 ft.

 

I find 15-20 ft more than adequate in most situations except near the top side of a ridge, where you need more height to carry scent over the top to prevent spooking ridgerunners and acquire more visability.

 

Originally posted by farmlegend
I sometimes wonder if the guys that claim to hunt 30ft up have ever actually measured their stand height.

I am going to pick on you with my answer Dan because I know you can take it.

The stand I shot both of my deer from last season has a platform "measured" height of 27`. That makes eye level about 30`.

I think this is one of those polls that should be either archery or firearm specific. I think 30-40 feet is too high for a bow due to the angle. But those heights are fine for rifle hunting. The second deer I shot was only about 25-30 feet in front of me. At the height that I was above her it was a real easy shot between the shoulders. She never knew what hit her. That would not have been a good shot to take with a bow.

 

Good point Bob about gun vs. bow. From above 30ft, I sure wouldn't want to even attempt a close-in bow shot, unless the deer was a good 15 yards away.

I don't think I've ever hunted with a platform height of more than 25ft, and my stands average probably 18-20ft to the platform.

My lowest stand location is a ladder stand wedged into and wonderfully concealed within a Red Cedar, with a platform height of about 8 feet. This location is nicknamed "Chubby Checker" (as in , "how low can you go?"). It faces a vista of higher ground, and the deer I see from it are nearly at eyeball level. Because of the exacting wind conditions necessary to hunt this location, I only sit in it one or two times per season, and some years not at all. In my only sit in CC this past season, I double-lunged a young doe at a distance of about 12 yards. She was right in front of me for several minutes, and it was really exciting to watch her, in close and at my elevation level, and never get spotted, before finally getting my chance to draw. That hunt was probably to highlight of my 2002 season.

 

My normal height is 17 feet (measured with a tape measure). I do go to 20' on occassion. Over the years I've asked guys who have seen and sat in my stands how high they were and the vast majority say anywhere from 20-25 feet. It seems that many bowhunters, experienced or not seem to think that 17' is much higher than it really is.

I like what Whit said.

Mine ranges btw. 16 and 21 ft (platform to ground) for bow. I'll hunt a little higher with the gun if I think I need to, but haven't neede to so far. I hunt the farm belt and it's pretty flat and I pretty much know their routine by gun season.

 

around 25 feet with the bow and as high as i can get with the gun but alot depends on the tree or the area im hunting.

 

Originally posted by farmlegend
Because of the exacting wind conditions necessary to hunt this location, I only sit in it one or two times per season, and some years not at all.

This is perhaps the most vital lesson of deer hunting, whether it be with a gun or bow. Learn the proper winds for each stand location and DON'T HUNT IT UNLESS THE WIND IS RIGHT. Yes, it takes some discipline. Like FL says, there are years when he can't hunt that particular stand, but to do might ruin it for several days afterwards, if not the entire season if there is a buster buck in the area.

 

Great points farmlegend and Whit 1. How many hunters continually hunt the same spot over and over and then when they don`t see deer by November, it is the DNR`s fault?

 

I typically like 15 to 20 ft. depending on the amount of cover around my tree stand.

 

Bob,
The first two days of the '02 firearms season may be a case in point about the wind. The breezes continued from the NE for that period, as you know, direction not typical here in Michigan. I recall reading posts on this site saying something like, "I hunted my favorite stand for two days, one from which I always saw deer in the past, and never saw a deer." This seemed to be a common lament in the post hunt/season analysis of hunters.

While I am one who questions the DNR data, I have to chuckle at the futility of hunting a stand in the wrong winds.

 

i agree on the wind. i would rather stay home and rent a hunting video then to wreck a good stand no matter how high in the tree you are. i have hunted from 7' to 32' off the ground. i would rather hunt 15' to 20' off the ground because of the angle to the deers vital. but i have had good success at less then 10' if you have a good wind and good cover. i would much rather sit close to the ground then be skylined by passing deer.

 

Yes, Whit, it was a stiff NE breeze the first couple days of the '02 gun season. I wonder how many guys just had their mind up to sit in their favorite stand on the morning of the 15th, regardless of the wind direction.

I would always recommend that hunters have a stand location or two in their rotation for the days when the wind blows from the east (I know, when the fish bite the least).

I enjoy hunting with a NE wind, it seems to throw a "wild card" into the equation. Interestingly, I never saw a single deer all day on 11/15/02.

 

FL,
Take a look at the various threads centering on Opening Day '02 experiences. You'll see just what we're talking about, guys sitting in the "Honey Hole Stand", despite the winds.

I call the Manistee airport before I go off deer hunting. They have an automated weather report that gives up to the minute wind direction. It is an invaluable tool to get a steady wind direction, devoid of swirling, at least at the airport.