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How high up do you hunt?

putt4doe

putt4doe

Active Member
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Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Messages
184
So guys, I'm curious what your normal height off the ground is that you like to be in the saddle. Obviously when a tree has a fork in it or a good split that's where you want to be, but let's say for arguments sake this is just a straight tree. What's your optimal height?
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

Down here is mostly southern pines, so the first branch is usually 30-40 feet up. That's my preferred height, although I have not found a way to reach it yet using a saddle. If I can find an oak, I go to the highest fork I can get too.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

Yes, preferably a fork or a split of a big branch. Typically find those between 20-30 feet. I always prefer to be at least 25 feet if I can. If I'm hunting a straight tree I go on the higher side towards 30. I have a few trees where I hunt a little lower but I try to avoid that.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

20 feet +- 1 foot
I am very consistent in my set ups.

Thanks,
Boswell
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

I normally try to look for cover and hunt in that - but find that my 4 LW sticks get my feet about 18 - 20 feet off the ground (depending on how tight my knee pads are!!) and that seems to work well. When I first started saddle hunting I was only using 3 sticks and I would get busted anytime the deer was close enough to see me (inside 20 yards) - obviously because I was 15 feet off the ground!!
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

I normally try to get 20 feet or over but worry about shot angles over 30 feet in the stand. To be honest if I have the cover to hunt at 18 feet I would but most places I hunt don't give me that option. I personally don't like the extreme angles that these heights create but that's just my opinion. I did a lot of still-hunting and ground hunting years ago and really liked being eye level with the deer but these days I don't have the time to do a lot of sneaking.

Roger
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

Location height should never be static and should always depend on the hunting situation.

In Kansas and other Midwestern states with little to nearly no hunting pressure, deer don't look for hunters in trees and I hunt probably 5 feet on average lower than what I would if the exact same scenario presented itself in Michigan where mature deer scan trees for hunters. The type of tree also has a huge impact in height. I was only 14 feet high in the tree where I took my Ks. buck last month. It was a cedar and was relatively short as most cedars are. The trunk also became very small beyond the 14 foot (feet height) height and offered less background cover.

No matter the state or area, conifers have lots of cover as they hold their needles all year and you can get away with much lower heights as long as you don't ring all the branches around the entire tree in the section of tree your hunting. Ringing the tree of branches will in itself make the deer look at the strange change as there will be no branches for at least 6 feet. In conifers you can hang lower, but typically will not be able to shoot the full 360 degrees as you background branches that offer cover, will be in the way.

Oaks are another tree that offer foliage in the form of leaves as background cover for a much longer time into the fall than most others so you can get away with a bit lower set-up.

If I'm preparing a tree and it has a large crotch of branches at let's say 18 to 20 feet, that's where I would set-up as opposed to going to 25 or higher if the rest of the tree above the crotch is straight trunked.

Seasonal timing for each location also has a lot to do with set-up height. Setting up near an apple tree for instance that drops all its apples by mid October will not require as high a set-up as next to an apple (fruit) tree or oak where the fruit and mast drop well into November. In a set-up for rut hunting my preference in a straight trunked tree is 25 to 35 feet.

Set-ups should always be dictated by location, tree available (from a foliage and background cover perspective), and time of season the location will be hunted.

While I hunt 25 feet or higher most of the time since most of my hunting time is spent during the rut phases, I would love to hunt at 14 feet all the time as the lower height give the hunter a much bigger advantage on angle of trajectory for the shot. The last buck I wounded was at about 10 yards and I was at 30 feet so the shot was nearly straight down and I single lunged him and never recovered him. Had I been at 15 feet, the shot would have double lunged him and he would have went less than 100 yards.

Shot trajectory should also have a huge influence on set-ups.

When hunting a very specific destination point such as at a small primary scrape area of at a fruit tree where you know the target deer is going to be within a specific 10 foot circle, you can set-up a few feet lower and hide behind the tree trunk until the shot presents itself and then just slightly lean to the side and take him. Hiding until it's time to shoot is the beauty of the saddle type systems.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

30 is my norm. I like my wind blowing to the deer. Used to hunt higher but shot angles just suck above 30. Yo many one lungers.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

Average around 25. Sometimes higher depending on the spot. My main area is all select cut so I hunt higher because there isn't much cover.


Sent from space
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

We don't have a lot of trees that allow hunting at 30 foot heights. The few cottonwoods we do have are so rough barked that hunting them is nosey at best – I usually try to stay away from them (you'p be scraping bark an inch deep to get these boys quiet). I typically have my feet at 18-20 foot and try to set up in a large crotch. The buck I killed this year was shot from 18 foot on a straight section of the tree but I had several small trees within a few feet that broke up my outline. He never saw me move to position or draw. I usually try to maneuver to a position that will allow the buck to walk past me and then take a quartering away shot - mainly due to lack of height and cover. I also choose my camo pattern I am using based on the set-up I am hunting that day. After the leaves fall I am either in scent lok horizon or predator fall grey. Before that I like ASAT and some other leafy/ghillie suits.

One thing I have found myself doing more the last two years is using a ghillie on the ground in areas void of trees. Can't set up a pop-up and leave it as they grow legs – so I use natural cover, a home-made ghillie that fits in the local surroundings, and I made a ghillie bow blind that attaches to my bow and totally hides my drawing arm. I took two deer last year with this set up and one doe this year. Came close on a couple bucks but I usually set up for them during the rut in a tree stand. We are fortunate in the fact that we still have a lot of foliage all though Nov most years.

I envy you guys that have cedar trees you can get 20 foot up in. In my part of TX they are usually 15 foot high and 6 inches max in diameter at the base.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

I'm with John on height selection. It really depends on terrain, tree, and season. I prefer to go about 12-15' unless the leaves are down, or I'm hunting in tall hardwoods, or I'm on a slope where I need to consider deer being at eye level on the high side. The lower height gives me a better shot angle to make sure I get both lungs.

A stand of young pines is perfect. Set up on the edge where it meets timber or a thicket and watch deer skirt the edge all day. Especially if it rains. The branches are low to give you cover and the I would think the smell of pine should give a natural cover scent. I might only have to climb 10-12' in that set.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

20ft is about my max. Theres really not much need to go higher IMO. The main thing is when the leaves are gone try not to get in the direct line of travel of the deer. When the leaves are on its not that big a deal. When its bare I set up more for a 30 yard shot than a close one.

Another thing I try to do is get something in between me and them a brush pile on the ground or a tangle of vines in a tree that can buy me a few seconds for last minute movements and to get drawn.

Im a little different than some hunters. If Im hunting odds are Im going to smoke the first doe I see. Where Im hunting you shoot them or get the boot so Im not usually setting up to let other deer get by me with me undetected. If your buck hunting your set up needs to offer enough cover to let not targets by.

This next statement will probably cause some to think Im crazy but if there were no does in the woods I would never get higher than 15 feet probably. IMO bucks are stupid when they are on their feet. Its their nocturnal habits and the way they use the wind and terrain in their favor when they move that make them hard to kill. On their feet Im not worried about them seeing me in a tree its the slicks that will find you. Yes our deer in the Midwest do look up but as long as you don't get crazy with the movement you can usually do ok not being found. I believe the saddle will buy you a few extra seconds before a deer figures out what you are because your not on that platform that all the other hunters are that they have seen in trees.
 
Re: How high up do you hunt?

REALLY DEPENDS ON YOUR AREA, MOST OF MINE ARE SET AT 15 FEET, BUT I DO HAVE ONE AT 10 FEET, AND ONE AT 20 FEET. SO I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THE OTHER 2 ANSWERS, WHAT EVER YOUR AREA CALLS FOR AND WHATEVER YOUR ARE COMFORTABLE WITH.
 
Hi all, new here to this forum. I was curious as to how high most go with their saddles. I personally never go higher than 8-10’. I just move slow and use the tree to hide. Got three nice ones this year so far. Took my buck at 20 yards.
 
Usually 15 to 18 ft. Never more than about 22 ft. I always wear a face mask and gloves and can't even believe any of you guys even get away without using them and still kill deer. That just wouldn't cut it with the deer in my area. I also set up at least 15 yards or more off to the side of the trails and try to set up so the deer are not headed directly towards me. Background cover (pines, hemlocks and beech which holds it's leaves well into winter) is way more important than height imo.
 
0 - 20 feet. Prior to leaf drop I am usually 10-15. After that I am 15-20. I have never seen the benefit of climbing above 20 in woods with nomal cover.

There are situations, not terribly uncommon, where lower is better.

I've pondered hunting the canopies of some shelterwood cuts but I am a ***** about heights.

Anyone that believes in scent control, camo, and height....I have a basement full of proof from the most pressured hunting land in the US that you worship false idols.
 
elk yinzer said:
0 - 20 feet. Prior to leaf drop I am usually 10-15. After that I am 15-20. I have never seen the benefit of climbing above 20 in woods with nomal cover.

There are situations, not terribly uncommon, where lower is better.

I've pondered hunting the canopies of some shelterwood cuts but I am a ***** about heights.

Anyone that believes in scent control, camo, and height....I have a basement full of proof from the most pressured hunting land in the US that you worship false idols.
Click to expand...
Not saying your basement is wrong but you also have about a billion more deer than where I hunt.
 
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