Pat Curtis

We have a couple stands where on one side we're nearly 30' above the ground..but the land is so randomly hilly it's only 15' or so a couple yards from the back side of thetree.

davidmil

True story. The first time I took Len hunting at "The Zoo" I walked him in this nice trail. Walked off the trail 40 yards and showed him the tree for his climber. I said I'd climb up to that spot and the deer will come from there. He said, you'll come back and get me at dark,... RIGHT? I said just walk to the trail and walk out. He said come and get me. So I went about 400 yards away and climbed up. I got down in the last few minutes of light(I no longer sit until I can't see the ground). It's nice to have some light to see getting down and out. Anyway, I decided to go by the truck, drop my stuff and go get Len if he hadn't come out. He hadn't so I walked in.... IT"S NOW PITCH BLACK. When I got 75 yards or so away I turned on a flashlight. I figured I'd never hunted with this yahoo and didn't want to catch an arrow.[8D] I walk to the tree and the moon is coming up. I look up... NO LEN. I shine the light around the base of the tree... NO STAND. I looke around the most prevalent trail... NO blood. I'm hard of hearing and hear something. I look up and see what appears to be a 747 on final approach to Baltimore Washington International. It suddenly seems to stand still and wiggle back and forth. It's Len. If there were cloud cover he'd have been hidden from the ground. I'm serious, the boy was at least 40 but probably closer to 45 feet up. In 5 years I've seen the boy at 35 more than I've seen him at 25. Me, I stop half way up according to his standards. Beyond 22 feet I start to get squirrlly. 25 is my max. I like to be at least 18.

BowHuntingFool

I go up until I feel I'm concealed enough, which is usually 20 feet or so!

FroMan

It gets you really high. You can see a long ways and are above deer noses. However, at 25+ feet (a buddy and me had our stands last year at 32 ft) the angle is steep enough to where you can't have a "double-lung" shot unlessyou're shooting at a deer at a considerable distance with your bow (30+ yards). Anything really close is a single lunger which isn't the best choice. Not to mention the angle messes up your yardage. Using a rangefinder from the tree is a bit more helpful...

But at that high, if you fall you die.

I think this year I'll probably hunt 18-22 feet. It's high enough and takes alot of the variables away (extra yardage due to height, questionable shots, etc.). I hope I helped.

neb

When you hunt in open country like plains and breaks you need to get out there at 40 and 50. I know what you are thinking it is to far to shoot. I always practice at 40 to 50 yards. If you get a shot at 20 or 30 yards it is a chip shoot. It seems if you practice at that range any way with me I have become a better shooter.

nodog

LOL

Predator19

I think they are discussing treestand height, not shooting distances.[&:]

PABuck_HNTR

20 feet is high enough for me. No real need to get any higher