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Saddle hunting height

Ztuts213

New Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2022
Messages
15
I see a lot of people on YouTube. Climbing to 15-20ft is this really high enough I was always told the higher the better to the point where I used to use my climber and get 30-40 feet up usually 40.


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I see a lot of people on YouTube. Climbing to 15-20ft is this really high enough I was always told the higher the better to the point where I used to use my climber and get 30-40 feet up usually 40.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Climb to cover. Could be 5 feet could be 25 feet. Be prepared. Height doesnt matter. Cover and being hidden matters
 
height can help reduce scent in certain setups. it matters.
Nah. It really doesnt.
Hunt wind in your face and know your thermals for thst spot or area and you can hunt on the ground.
but you can keep on thinking that its fine with me. Your opinion like i have mine.
It Does matter if (again) you consider the wind.
 
I typically hunt about 18 feet. Since most of my hunting is with a bow, I am concerned about shot angle. But I have also hunter much lower depending on cover.
In KY, we get alot of mornings with lite and variable wind for the first two hours or so. In this situation higher is better. But I have never hunted above 20 feet
 
I used to believe in higher=better for scent
No more.
Was hunting 30’ last year (25 to platform)
Wind was light and variable but in my favor...initially. I suddenly felt the wind softly hit the other side of my face so I dropped some milkweed. As I watched the milkweed drift off the opposite way it had been blowing all day, I noticed a doe approaching crosswind. She was headed directly toward my milkweed (downwind). She made it to 40yds hit my scent stream, and stopped on a dime. Looked my way but couldn’t see me, she hooked a sharp left and walked out of sight.
Had I been LOWER in the tree or on the ground, that light breeze would have probably fizzled out and my scent cone would have not been so broad—hitting the ground very close to me.
I’ve enjoyed not killing my self to reach skyscraper heights this year and have enjoyed every minute of it.
Hunted between 12 and 18 feet this year all year long. Killed a good 8 on public 12 yds from my tree from 12’ to platform. Had deer bed down 3yds from my tree, walk right under my platform, and never acted like they knew I was in the world—12’ in the air.
There may be time and a place for higher stand, but in my experience, hunting low and in cover is better—better shot angles and smaller scent cone.
 
The wind is unpredictable. I had the wind in my face on a kansas hunt and a big buck at 10 o'clock busted me Two things a man cannot predicte. What the wind will do and what a women will do next!
Thats just hunting bro. And relationships lol
 
Prrsonally, I think there are alot factors that come in to play with where you are actually hunting and the terrain you hunt. Im in the deep south and when our season opens, its extremely hot and humid. I find that I get busted alot more in the early part of the season as opposed to later in the season when bow hunting. In the latter part of the season when the temps drop, I can get away with hunting a few feet off the ground. Tough for me to do in the early part of the season. I think of it in terms of sports; My son and his foortball uniform smell totally different in August then they do in November - Hot and muggy vs cold and crisp. Also, if you are getting in to thick low canpoy it can often times pool your scent since the canopy may be so thick and low to the ground. Have to find areas with features that help pull your thermals away as best you can. I see a lot of guys up North that use two sticks, but their seasons start when the temps have already started to drop and the wether is cooler.
 
I used to believe in higher=better for scent
No more.
Was hunting 30’ last year (25 to platform)
Wind was light and variable but in my favor...initially. I suddenly felt the wind softly hit the other side of my face so I dropped some milkweed. As I watched the milkweed drift off the opposite way it had been blowing all day, I noticed a doe approaching crosswind. She was headed directly toward my milkweed (downwind). She made it to 40yds hit my scent stream, and stopped on a dime. Looked my way but couldn’t see me, she hooked a sharp left and walked out of sight.
Had I been LOWER in the tree or on the ground, that light breeze would have probably fizzled out and my scent cone would have not been so broad—hitting the ground very close to me.
I’ve enjoyed not killing my self to reach skyscraper heights this year and have enjoyed every minute of it.
Hunted between 12 and 18 feet this year all year long. Killed a good 8 on public 12 yds from my tree from 12’ to platform. Had deer bed down 3yds from my tree, walk right under my platform, and never acted like they knew I was in the world—12’ in the air.
There may be time and a place for higher stand, but in my experience, hunting low and in cover is better—better shot angles and smaller scent cone.
Yeah but if that doe had been 10 yards from your tree then your scent probably would have gone right over her head and you would have killed her. It's all relative.
 
Nah. It really doesnt.
Hunt wind in your face and know your thermals for thst spot or area and you can hunt on the ground.
but you can keep on thinking that its fine with me. Your opinion like i have mine.
It Does matter if (again) you consider the wind.
Height absolutely does matter in terms of scent... Whether it's because you're scent is blowing over the deer trails before falling to the ground, catching a rising thermal earlier in the morning because the sun is hitting higher in the trees first, blowing over an obstacle (like a wall of cattails) instead of hitting that obstacle and deflecting or pooling there. There are spots where if I climb to first good cover I'm getting winded by everything... Climb up to that next crotch in the tree and I'm bulletproof.
 
I walk in a straight line until I cut deer sign. I follow that deer sign towards vegetation and terrain features that correlate with deer sightings. I look around until I find enough sign or actual deer to feel supremely confident they'll be within bow range during daylight. Then, I find an ambush. And from that ambush, I consider if I can draw my bow and kill a deer from the ground. If I can't draw without being seen, then I look up. I find a tree that offers the proper concealment. I climb it. I kill deer.

Sometimes that height is 2 feet. Sometimes its 8 feet. Sometimes its 27 feet.

My computer, SH.com, strangers' opinions, or forecasted wind direction have nothing to do with how high I climb a tree.
 
Height absolutely does matter in terms of scent... Whether it's because you're scent is blowing over the deer trails before falling to the ground, catching a rising thermal earlier in the morning because the sun is hitting higher in the trees first, blowing over an obstacle (like a wall of cattails) instead of hitting that obstacle and deflecting or pooling there. There are spots where if I climb to first good cover I'm getting winded by everything... Climb up to that next crotch in the tree and I'm bulletproof.
And thats just why i said know your thermals and the winds especially how they bounce all over.
Lol. I bet you wont hunt those spots again with those same conditions.
If you knew thst was going to happen you would have never tried there lol.
I know Winds bounce around terrain features everywhere all the time.
Thermals get sucked to open water because its warmer than the ground especially if its in the sun all day.
I agree and i said i would rather climb to cover, doesnt matter how high or low im going to cover, with that said height in my areas does not really matter when you know what's happening.
Consider I hunt flat farm country , marsh, and some swamps.
I also know hill country would be very different and im not to familiar with hills so i cant say much about that terrain.
Flat terrain is what im pretty knowledgeable about.
To be perfectly honest.
i hunt 95% public high pressured properties on the east coast, most which are easily accessible from all or most sides.
Areas which are very difficult to hunt and even see deer.
People need to learn the areas they hunt.
They need to learn How the winds and thermals work in certain conditions, Not just how the deer react , where they bed, and where they eat.
Ihunt specific bucks which can be really difficult so things are certainly a little different than just going deer hunting.
I get it **** changes but im not gonna not hunt a spot if i know its the right time to hunt it, just because im worried about a wind shift.
You should know that before you even go in woods.
thats really something thats uncontrollable.
Also i think deer ( especially bucks ) have personalities like dogs.
some are scared by a fart sound and then some are super brave.
Braver bucks die more often then scared skittish bucks.

I was a big height guy years ago then my friend Andrea taught me to climb to cover and try to learn how everything will change at the drop of a hat snd you will most likely put the odds in your favor.
this process definitely Takes a few seasons to learn about an area and even more time to learn what needs to be learned to hunt it snd be consistently successful in that specific area.
so really no one is wrong its just the lack of how things or wind/ thermals react in a certain area, the lack of knowledge is what gets us busted.
experiences over time is really only thing gonna teach that.
every time your busted note what happens, note the conditions, and dont do whatever you did again.
A fix could be as little as 5 yards to the next tree.
People want instant success and hunting deer thats just not gonna happen.
I share my knowledge of almost 30 years of killing deer of all ages not to boast or brag or say im better or know more than anyone.
im not here to argue with the egotistical know it alls that are everywhere, the my way is the only way guys who are just wear blinders to anyone elses way of doing things.
im open minded but i also know what works for me and i really know what doesnt work for me.
I share it so maybe something i experienced in the field ( not in my back yard) someone might think about and hopefully it may help them understand what needs to be done to help them be successful.
thats it.
its never just about me. Its about making, sharing , and enjoying what we love to do with others who want to improve.
 
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