Considering only going up 15-17 ft instead of usual 20+, any real benefits or might as well stay on ground?

[gcr0003]

For late season hunting on a food source, it may be beneficial to setup off the food and catch them before they get into that "Oh crap something is going to get us" circle. Couldnt put a pct on it but a dang bunch of the times I have gotten picked in a tree was late season on a food source because they are generally more skittish and usually grouped back up so more eyes and ears.

I mostly hunt pinch points and travel routes so another problem I had was trying to get a shot off with them moving. When there are 3-8 deer in a line there’s a lot ways to get picked off. I’m hoping to get tucked back in some branches for a couple stealth kills early season.

 

[Iron_llama]

I don't think I've ever measured how high I climb, or set a target height. I might say, "I want my feet at that branch, so I can take advantage of cover" or "I want to keep my head below that ridgeline, because there's an occupied box blind on the other side and I don't want to get shot", but I don't pin an altitude number to either scenario.

 

[BTaylor]

I mostly hunt pinch points and travel routes so another problem I had was trying to get a shot off with them moving. When there are 3-8 deer in a line there’s a lot ways to get picked off. I’m hoping to get tucked back in some branches for a couple stealth kills early season.

Wouldnt be my first course of action but if times got hard, I would setup giving the deer the wind in a good shooting lane for me and they are going to stop for a second and you have to be prepared to shoot right then. I have shot a fair number walking too in the right circumstances but I practice that.

 

[katiesmom]

B

Where I hunt there a lot of large oak trees with not much for branches until 20-25 ft. In the late season last year cover was scarce and I found myself climbing at least 25ft to get up out of the deers eyesight. Somehow I would still get somewhat picked off, even some times without movement and wind in my favor. I definitely see now why lower height is preferable for trad shooters as far as shot angle is concerned, but I struggle to keep myself concealed before and during the shot. I am going to try and take advantage of the early season cover this year and hopefully have some better success at staying hidden. Downside to early season is it so stinking hot I hardly want to be out there in the first place. Can’t have my cake and eat it too.

Boy that's no lie, and I'm further south than you. I may find myself doing the " hiding behind the tree at ground level" routine in early season. Both in the saddle and out.

 

[2Sloe]

I used to hunt 25-30’ because you can get away with a lot of movement up that high. But, I have gradually settled on 20’, which I think is the sweet spot. However, I have come to realize that you should never go higher than you have to, which is different from as high as you want to so now I actively look for opportunities to hunt lower.

 

[Horn]

I got my ( yes very small) deer from probably 12', seen deer two days in a row there within 25 yards. Good cover in a multi trunk with branches from a very nearby tree covering my legs.

Closest encounter I bet I was 4' or less up, that doe was probably only 10-12 feet from me and I didn't get busted.

 

[Weldabeast]

It took a couple drinks to build up the nerves but I went ahead and cut my rappel rope. I didn't measure except a rough wing span and I guess 22-24 foot....maybe 25 being real generous. If I remember I check back in after hunting season and let y'all know if there any regrets.....I've used the muddy rope for a linesman for my whole hunting career and kinda sad to see it go but my new rope is way nicer.....hahaha

 

[OSUTodd]

I think background cover is the most important thing you can have. If you're on a tree like a pole in the middle of a field, you can be 50 feet up and they're going to see you from a half mile. If that tree has leaves and branches, even if you're between the trunk and the deer, you are harder to pick out.

When you're walking through the woods after the leaves drop, pay attention to how much sky you see through the tree tops. It changes depending on how close you are to a tree.

Where I hunt, at 12 feet up, they aren't going to see me at all from more than 50 yards. Between that and 15 yards is kind of the critical range where my movement and silhouette is most likely to get picked up, so I better be careful. Inside 15, I'm at a high enough angle above them that I can move again, unless something like noise makes them look up.

 

[kbetts]

I'm going to bet that I have more kills out of a 6' corn stalker ladder than I will my saddle this coming season.

 

[Nutterbuster]

I'm going to bet that I have more kills out of a 6' corn stalker ladder than I will my saddle this coming season.

I've killed a fair few with just 3 mini sticks. Place the top one as high as I can reach, the bottom one as high as I can step, and the 2nd one in the middle. Shimmy up 8ft and tether on and hunt. Takes maybe 5 minutes top to setup and in thick cover is high enough to get you out of line of site.

I've also hunted by putting a 6ft ladder on my jon boat, motoring down the creek to a feed tree, setting the ladder up in the boat, and sitting on top of it. Gets you just high enough to peak over the palmettos at deer paralleling the river bank.

 

[Jammintree]

I'm going to bet that I have more kills out of a 6' corn stalker ladder than I will my saddle this coming season.

I’d never heard of a corn stalker till your post. I bet that’s a great tool for folks that hunt a lot of Ag fields.

 

[thedutchtouch]

I got my ( yes very small) deer from probably 12', seen deer two days in a row there within 25 yards. Good cover in a multi trunk with branches from a very nearby tree covering my legs.

Closest encounter I bet I was 4' or less up, that doe was probably only 10-12 feet from me and I didn't get busted.

Quit it with that small labeling. Ive been guilty of that as well, but I'm eating venison and so are you. Sure tastes better than tag soup.

 

[Jammintree]

Quit it with that small labeling. Ive been guilty of that as well, but I'm eating venison and so are you. Sure tastes better than tag soup.

That’s right. In 2020 I shot a monster buck. In 2021 I passed on a couple spikes early season and a basket rack mid season, figuring that I’d get a crack at some big ones or at least would be able to harvest a smaller buck late season. Despite numerous close calls, I ate tag soup that year. This past season my girlfriend gave me some good council that with two tags from my home state I should shoot the first legal deer I could. So early November I killed a spike (from 6’ off the ground) and a basket rack in our first and only snow of December. I’d rather eat good meat all year than spend a whole year wishing I had venison.

 

[Maverick1]

Go up high enough to be just under the canopy, however high that is. Too far above the canopy and you have to content with shooting through it; too low and you’ll stick out and spotted easily. Good luck!

 

[ricky racer]

When I went from a compound bow to traditional tackle, I found it easier to hunt from a lower height. 15-17 feet is plenty.