How high should you climb with a climbing treestand?

Question

At what point will you be high enough to limit the deer seeing or smelling you?

Answer 1

A minimum of 15 feet or more depending on the location of your set up.*

Answer 2

me and my dad's buddy stand is 20ft. its about the deer's sightline and they can't smell all the way up there.

Answer 3

Here's the deal- If you have good background cover, you don't need to get very high at all- but if you don't, the higher the better- in my area the deer are so used to hunters in trees, you have to keep getting higher and higher to keep them from spotting you. I'm up to 25 feet as my normal climbing height due to extreme hunting pressure from hunters causing the deer to become extremely wary.

Answer 4

I agree with the others; 15 to 20 feet is good. I have been in some permanent tree stands 30 feet up and more; when the wind came up the stand was swaying back and forth. So the higher you go, you may be able to see farther but there can be more movement from wind.

In conclusion if you can’t see the ground from the cloud layer and have a hard time breathing due to the thin high altitude air; you just may be too high! lol

Answer 5

15 ft.off the ground is above the deers smell!*

Answer 6

15-20 feet is fine . .. much higher than that and you take the chance of making a bad shot Shooting down on a deer is a risky business, its hard to get a good shot on the vital organs, nothing worse than spending your weekend treacking down an injured deer.

Answer 7

Sure, height might help with smell but don't count on it.  Use something to eliminate scent regardless of where you are.  Plus, if you stink and then walk to your stand the deer will smell you anyways.

Answer 8

I would agree that 15-20 feet is plenty. Often I think people go as high as they can they do it only to brag to their friends.

It just depends on the tree (there may be a big knot at 15 feet and all you can do is go 12feet) and more importantly the cover (you can get away with being 10 feet up in a tree if there is a wall of leaves or a cedar blocking you). Also shooting lanes --- 20 foot might be prefered but you may not have a shot there.

Remember to that climbers like smaller trees. So that tree could be getting too narrow (or at least it will make you super nervous) up at around 20 feet.

Answer 9

The best rule of thumb, is the higher the better.  The more that you get above the line of sight of the deer is going to make you less noticeable.  If you are using a bow, don't go to high or you will be making your shot longer than it could be.

Answer 10

Go as high as you feel comforable...within reason.  I usually get up around 20', and I don't have any trouble with the deer spotting me or smelling me....make sure you hunt with the wind.  Remember, you want to have your arrow pass through both lungs for a humane kill.  If you get up too high, you'll probably only get one lung.  If possible, practice some shots at a 3D deer target out of your tree stand, at your chosen height, and distance.   When I'm climbing a tree, I tie my bow to my tree stand with a 20' lenght of parachute cord.  When my bow starts coming off of the ground, I know I'm at the height that I feel most comfortable and have practiced from.