Hunting from treestands

[kaibabkiller]

Im new to the whole treestand thing. What is the lowest yet still effective height to hunt from?

[ac guy]

I haven't hunted from a TS here, but in the south we wouldn't go below 18 ft. 30 ft was preferred.

[AZP&Y]

You can probably get away with 15ft...but I recommend taking a camera up in the tree and also do a 360 of pictures on the ground. Evaluate what potentailly the animal can view. Is there enough cover? Is there a rise or slope?

 

Big Coues are smart ! I know some guys hunt 10 feet above the ground and kill bucks every year.

 

Experiment and move the tree stand around , it's easier to do with climber - oh and make sure you wear your harness.

 

 

AzP&Y

[ac guy]

Good point about the harness.

[kaibabkiller]

Thanks for all the input. I wouldnt go up without a harness.

[Coach]

I'm no expert, in fact I really don't do well in treestands - I prefer blinds whenever possible. Maybe I'm ADHD or something but I have a hard time sitting still up in a tree that long. When I used to sit in treestands, the main things I looked for were:

 

1: Sun to your back - means facing North.

2: Natural backdrop - look at the area from where you expect game to approach and see if you are skylined, or if there are branches or some other natrural backdrop that obscures your outline an masks movements.

3: Height - The higher you can get the better. Deer are looking for ground-level predators. The higher up you can get without being sky-lined the better.

4: Distance: I don't like to be too close to the area I expect the deer to be. I like to pick a tree at least 30 yards away.

 

In an ideal situation, you are located uphill from the trail/salt lick, saddle in a heavy tree with a good amount of limbs around the same level you want to sit. The sun rises behind you to the right, and stays behind you all day, preferably behind a hill or heavy timber so movement will not cast shadows on the target area and the natural updraft will carry you scent up and away from where you expect the deer to be moving.

[GWBowhunter1]

I try to place my stands between 15 to 20 feet up. any higher than that and the shot angles tend to get pretty sharp.

[bowsniper]

It's all about scent, so it really depends depends on the surrounding terrain. If you are on top of a hill, 10 feet will work. But if you are some place where the deer can approach you from above (a higher point than your treestand) they will bust you. Good luck, and ALWAYS use a good harness and anchor.

 

Mark

[tjhunt2]

I'm mostly a ground blind hunter now but would like to suggest one other thing that hasn't been mentioned. I look for a tree as big as I can. Sooner or later you will have a windy day and you don't need no rodeo.

 

TJ