How high up do you hunt?

[PEEJAY]

I try not to get too high. Or i forget to tie on my pull down rope...

 

[2cthetruth]

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.

I don’t use face masks or gloves. If you use the tree, the deer will not see your face. Deer don’t know what hands are, so if you are still while it looks your way, they aren’t nothing for them to take notice of. Just use the tree and peek with one eye....it works. Draw when it is feeding or looking away.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

I don’t use face masks or gloves. If you use the tree, the deer will not see your face. Deer don’t know what hands are, so if you are still while it looks your way, they aren’t nothing for them to take notice of. Just use the tree and peek with one eye....it works. Draw when it is feeding or looking away.

Don't know what kind of deer your hunting but if the deer around here catch any movement or see the shine of your face or hands they will lock on you and you will most likely not have to worry about drawing your bow.

 

[2cthetruth]

Don't know what kind of deer your hunting but if the deer around here catch any movement or see the shine of your face or hands they will lock on you and you will most likely not have to worry about drawing your bow.

Your hands and face are shiny? Mine are not. Just re read what I wrote again. Use the tree to hide your face. Keep still. Your hands and arms most likely look like branches to them. They dont know what hands are, so just keep still and you’ll be ok.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

Your hands and face are shiny? Mine are not. Just re read what I wrote again. Use the tree to hide your face. Keep still. Your hands and arms most likely look like branches to them. They dont know what hands are, so just keep still and you’ll be ok.

Face and hands stand out against the predominately dark colors of the woods. Why else would facemasks/face paint be on the market. There's a reason the indians and soldiers paint their faces.You have to move your hands in order to draw and shoot and you can't always wait until the deer is not looking. I've been bowhunting for more than 40 years and never leave home without my gloves and head cover.

 

[2cthetruth]

Face and hands stand out against the predominately dark colors of the woods. Why else would facemasks/face paint be on the market. There's a reason the indians and soldiers paint their faces.You have to move your hands in order to draw and shoot and you can't always wait until the deer is not looking. I've been bowhunting for more than 40 years and never leave home without my gloves and head cover.

By that logic, If you look at hunting clothes these days...especially anything “whitetail”, they have the color white, which is supposed to blend in with the sky. Your hands I assume are not much different contrast against the trees. If you have Camo on, I’m sure your arms look like branches. Just sit still. Deer always look away at some point. Whether they walk into a shot opportunity, that’s another story, but if they do, there is no reason you couldn’t draw unnoticed. If the deer is staring into your tree, it sees you because you either moved and it caught you, or you smell and it’s on to you. Deer are deer where ever you go. Some are more wary than others I agree. My logic is if you sit still and dont smell, the deer will have no reason to be wary at all...because to it...you aren’t even there.

 

[DroptineKrazy]

By that logic, If you look at hunting clothes these days...especially anything “whitetail”, they have the color white, which is supposed to blend in with the sky. Your hands I assume are not much different contrast against the trees. If you have Camo on, I’m sure your arms look like branches. Just sit still. Deer always look away at some point. Whether they walk into a shot opportunity, that’s another story, but if they do, there is no reason you couldn’t draw unnoticed. If the deer is staring into your tree, it sees you because you either moved and it caught you, or you smell and it’s on to you. Deer are deer where ever you go. Some are more wary than others I agree. My logic is if you sit still and dont smell, the deer will have no reason to be wary at all...because to it...you aren’t even there.

Never saw the logic in those patterns of camo either. They would be fine imo during full daylight but most of your deer movement around here is right around daylight or dusk when the sky is quite dark. I only wear drab colored camo with the brown or darker green color schemes. I also see a lot of pics online of bucks in the open fields during full light. Heck, the does around here don't even do that. I also don't agree that deer are deer where ever you go. Have you never seen pics or videos of deer laying in someone's yard while the person is walking down their driveway to check the mail and the deer don't even look over at them. Deer that aren't hunted are more like farm animals.

 

[2cthetruth]

Never saw the logic in those patterns of camo either. They would be fine imo during full daylight but most of your deer movement around here is right around daylight or dusk when the sky is quite dark. I only wear drab colored camo with the brown or darker green color schemes. I also see a lot of pics online of bucks in the open fields during full light. Heck, the does around here don't even do that. I also don't agree that deer are deer where ever you go. Have you never seen pics or videos of deer laying in someone's yard while the person is walking down their driveway to check the mail and the deer don't even look over at them. Deer that aren't hunted are more like farm animals.

You are missing what is said. I said, “Deer are deer where ever you go. Some are more wary than others I agree. My logic is if you sit still and dont smell, the deer will have no reason to be wary at all...because to it...you aren’t even there.”

Also, your skin only reflects as much light as is shed on it....takes on the same hue in the am/dusk too. Those Camo patterns work as if it didn’t, they wouldn’t sell it. Remember, when you are in a tree, the deer has to look up to see you.

 

[PEEJAY]

That sucks you have super einstein deer that only a certain drab camo with no white and absolutely no hands or face showing works. Glad you figured it all out though.

 

[bj139]

Yesterday, I was hunting at 25 feet.

 

[Buckkillr]

My platform is about 14-15' as that's how far I get with my ladder but I would never hunt a bare tree at that height. Either a split trunk or heavy branches only.

I hunt alot without gloves and mask and wear short sleeve shirt especially lately because it's been so hot but I'm like a statue and have a beard so there's some break up but my son on the other hand has very pale skin and he almost glows in the dark woods LOL

 

[Apex7]

I normally hunt 20 to 25 feet high. But I been trying to hunt lower around 14 to 16 feet and it works pretty good. I always try to find good back ground cover.

 

[EricS]

I usually hunt around 25’ up. When hunting overgrown clear cuts with a rifle I’ll get as high as I can(35-40 feet). T t so weeks ago in some hilly country I hunted a few spots where it just didn’t make sense to leave the ground. @Nutterbuster I don’t have a pack seat but a saddle works well from the ground as long as there is a tree.

 

[splatek]

This post makes me think i really need to get higher, in the tree that is. Been listening to D'Aquisto podcasts and they talk about going 2 sticks high (~12-14feet) and I use the LWHC method. I hunt mainly big woods of southern Appalachians/North GA mountains and I have seen deer the last few times out, but they either didn't stroll down the trail I was setup on or like last night they got spooked a little. I don't think they scent busted me, because the wind was blowing in my face, but I don't think they liked the look of me in the tree. They came over the small finger ridge and were just below my hunting height.

 

[raisins]

I'm guessing a lot of this is determined by your climbing method. I would usually hunt higher when I was using a climbing tree stand because it was so easy to gain height with no weight penalty (and hardly any time penalty). Now, I went to the saddle and use 12 polymer steps and each step takes 1 minute to attach (and each step gives me 2 feet of vert dist). I often to get 18 feet with cover around me and call it good!

 

[2cthetruth]

I use one muddy climbing stick, a six step aider, and a platform. Can get up about 8.5’ with that in one move. I can get almost 14’ with two moves, but don’t see the need to. I’ve had deer go right under me feeding on acorns with me only being 8.5’ up. Never knew I was there. I always try to set up with at least two trees in close proximity though.

 

[raisins]

I use one muddy climbing stick, a six step aider, and a platform. Can get up about 8.5’ with that in one move. I can get almost 14’ with two moves, but don’t see the need to. I’ve had deer go right under me feeding on acorns with me only being 8.5’ up. Never knew I was there. I always try to set up with at least two trees in close proximity though.

Eberhart (spelling?) had a post here where he said this has to do with hunting pressure. In areas where deer haven't seen as many hunters in trees, then you don't have to go as high up. Is your area very pressured?

 

[DroptineKrazy]

That sucks you have super einstein deer that only a certain drab camo with no white and absolutely no hands or face showing works. Glad you figured it all out though.

I'm just saying it's a lot easier to wear gloves and a face mask so that you don't have to be so careful with your movement. It helps to put the odds in your favor. When are you most likely to get picked off by deer? When your moving to get in position for a shot and drawing on them. Correct? Oh, I also live and hunt in Maine so both the head wear and gloves keep you from freezing your ass off during hunting season.

 

[tree_ghost]

Hunted 28’ to my feet on Monday. Today I was 8’ to my feet. I hunt as high as I need to to kill...

 

[7mmremmag]

I look more for cover and shooting lanes than height. Depends on what kind of tree is where I need to be