• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Hunting Height

Many variables but most important is cover. I would prefer to be lower but more than that I would rather not be seen. Trad bows suck to shoot at severe angles.
 
I like to be 20+ feet. With my sticks I can get to 22 or 23 feet. With my spurs I can go as high as possible. With presets I'm usually right at 20 foot. The higher the better for scent control and less chance of getting spotted.

Sent from my Galaxy S8.
 
Do you find shot angles at around 30' to be too steep? Is it better to be lower as long as you can do it without getting picked off?
 
Looking horizontally a deer with 310 degree vision can see movement about 16 or 18 feet vertically. So I understand. Without cover a deer can easily see your movement at less than 16 feet unless you are behind a tree. Of course if a deer looks up you better be 30 feet or more like John E likes to hunt.

Just stuff I have read from scientific literature

Remember too a deer can almost see movement directly behind them with 310 degree vision
That said I rarely hunt over 23 feet and often much lower
If I am high say 23 feet I aim for the upper side of the bread basket. I want to hit the deer not miss
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
PtotheC said:
Do you find shot angles at around 30' to be too steep? Is it better to be lower as long as you can do it without getting picked off?
Click to expand...
I wouldn't say that I hunt at 30 often, but 25 is normal for me. You have to know your angles when you are hunting higher. Many of the double lung shots I take enter through the top of one lung and exit through the bottom of the other. I do not often get one just lung, but I do often hit them too far back (that is my personal problem). Too far back is my big miss. So is lower better? Well it does give you more room to work with. I really just set up off the available cover, usually in a crotch or around some branches. If I am hunting a perfectly straight tree with no branches, that is when I end up going higher.
 
Higher you go the more likely you will have a one lung shot in a lot of cases. I like to settle in around 16-18 foot in multi branched trees. I don't find it hard at all to shoot trad from a saddle - in fact I shoot better out of a saddle then on a conventional stand in most instances - think a saddle just promotes better alignment?
 
BTW - Barry Wensel now hunts a lot from ladder stands, usually set up in cedar with great back cover - a lot of his stands are ridiculously low - like 6-8 foot. He smoked another giant this year.
 
DaveT1963 said:
BTW - Barry Wensel now hunts a lot from ladder stands, usually set up in cedar with great back cover - a lot of his stands are ridiculously low - like 6-8 foot. He smoked another giant this year.
Click to expand...
In that situation would he simply remove or tie back one branch from a cedar for a shot. Cedars provide great cover and I can see how a deer may not see you if you are that low but shot obstruction seems to be a problem. Any idea what he does? Removes one branch and leaves the rest?
 
He trims branches to allow for shooting and ties in branches behind stand (mostly ladder stands now) and even old Christmas tree branches.
 
DaveT1963 said:
He trims branches to allow for shooting and ties in branches behind stand (mostly ladder stands now) and even old Christmas tree branches.
Click to expand...
I am sure that height can work with good cover. However shot obstruction is not the only problem but movement around branches surrounding you in a saddle. I bet that might work best with a hang on stand or maybe of course a platform. I have used ameristeps all fall but I can certainly see where a saddle platform would be best in this case. Another thing to try next year. I have lots of cedar where I hunt.
 
That's one of the benefits I keep stressing, 360 shooting even with branches. I do not hunt telephone poles trees if I can help it... im usually set up at least in a fork, multi branches better.
 
It depends on cover but I like to be between 20 and 30 feet but sometimes you can hunt alot lower.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top