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

Just to throw my two cents in and echo a lot of people that have said this already.
Ever since I began saddle hunting I have never left the truck thinking I'm going to hunt at a certain height. I let every situation dictate how high I climb or which tree I climb. I've never looked at a good tree and thought I can't get 15-20ft up, I better not hunt that. I tend to climb higher when I'm hunting with the gun that I do with a crossbow because I like the angle of the arrow at a lower height. I also like the amount of vision I get the higher I am when I have my rifle. I have killed deer on the ground, 5 ft off the ground and I've also climbed over 40ft and shot deer that were out in the field. The only good tree was in a river bottom bordering the field, I had to climb 25 ft just to get level with the field.
 
I agree as high as only necessary with back cover and other issues considered. If its a marginal tree in a great spot I'll climb higher if a great tree in a marginal spot I'll try to find a better spot Typically, I climb to 18 to 20'. I don't know about the rest of you guys and gals but I think we all have a natural predatory instinct in us and we just know when we need to climb higher or not. I just have a comfort feeling when it strikes me when I feel like I can be up this high in the tree and feel like I can kill effectively. I start to get hairy above 25' though especially on a side hill ridge.
 
I plan on doing a lot of 1 sticking this year and I already have a spot in mind that I want to hunt on the edge of a swamp where I'm going to be 7 ft. high to my feet. This will be just high enough so that I can shoot over the top of the alders on the edge to the trails out in the swale grass. Let the circumstance decide your hunting height. Besides, I'd bet you a hundred bucks that if I picked the trees you couldn't climb to exactly 20 ft. 10 times in a row anyways :)
 
U can always fully commit like I'm about to......I have to replace my linesman cause I did a boo boo and might have accidently nicked the sheath on the saw blade. I'm just gonna cut my rappel rope down to replace the climbing belt and cross my fingers it'll be good.....hahaha

I'll find out first real large diameter tree I climb 3 moves high... hahaha

I climbed 3 moves exactly twice last season and 1 of those times 1 missed a nice buck at 11yds. He was right under me and even though I specifically reminded myself to aim low I still shot over his back. He would have more than likely died if I had only made 2 moves and been lower.... That would have been my first buck ever and I was pretty devastated but I totally redeemed myself by shooting a doe at 30yds only 8 foot off the ground the following weekend


All that said I'll totally contradict myself and tell u this. I have a totally separate set of ropes for when gun season comes around and I'm equipped to get up there 60+ for gun hunts that have open savanna habitat or salt marshes with big tall long leaf pines u can use 80ft of rope. Hahahaha
 
I can only think of one or two times I've gotten up to 15 feet, and that was with my climber during gun or ML season. Other than those times, I don't think I've been higher than 12. Any higher than that and I can only see what's directly below me. Post oaks and blackjacks hold their leaves really late into the winter.
 
0-30’ : the situation dictates the tactics.

thanks @Plebe for the article on compensatory cyclovergence. That kind of intel kills deer.
 
I'll basically reiterate what has been said thus far. It is all situational. I have hunted from -10 (down in a creek) to 35 feet. Most elevated hunting falls into that 18 to 24 foot range for me.
 
I guess I'm the minority here. I rarely go below 20'. I don't have a set height but I find you can get away w/ so much more movement the higher you go. 22-25' is my preferred height depending on the tree. I definitely try to go as high as the cover will allow. With that said, I've killed them at 14' and at 40' but that was situational. Also some on here have mentioned shot angle. It's true that it's decreased the higher you go but it has been a problem for me. High lung entrance and low lung exit. Usually watch them fall.
 
1simplemann said:
I guess I'm the minority here. I rarely go below 20'. I don't have a set height but I find you can get away w/ so much more movement the higher you go. 22-25' is my preferred height depending on the tree. I definitely try to go as high as the cover will allow. With that said, I've killed them at 14' and at 40' but that was situational. Also some on here have mentioned shot angle. It's true that it's decreased the higher you go but it has been a problem for me. High lung entrance and low lung exit. Usually watch them fall.
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I also don’t worry about angle, so long as I can hit both lungs. It would be a concern if I was marginal on bow power (shooting long bow etc).
 
1simplemann said:
I guess I'm the minority here. I rarely go below 20'. I don't have a set height but I find you can get away w/ so much more movement the higher you go. 22-25' is my preferred height depending on the tree. I definitely try to go as high as the cover will allow. With that said, I've killed them at 14' and at 40' but that was situational. Also some on here have mentioned shot angle. It's true that it's decreased the higher you go but it has been a problem for me. High lung entrance and low lung exit. Usually watch them fall.
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There isn’t and shouldn’t be a status quo on this question. As I say in nearly every thread on tactics: across this forum there is a HUGE range of conditions and environments.
Some places I hunt there is absolutely no reason to get into a tree - all that does is make you visible for 1/4 mile in every direction. Other places the higher you get into cover the more impossible to make a clear shot due to branches. Other locations I have to get 20-30’ to be hidden and shoot over the understory. A lot of place I’m finding 5-12’ provides cover and clear shots. Etc etc.
 
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.
 
gcr0003 said:
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.
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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.
 
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