Saddle hunting height

[Pilk64]

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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40 feet?...Ive yet to see very many trees thar alliw for that ...

 

[bfriendly]

40 feet?...Ive yet to see very many trees thar alliw for that ...

That’s a long way up for sure! I’m trying to find trees with better cover lately. I do like to get high as i feel it helps with my movement, but hiding my silhouette is more important. I haven’t climbed less than maybe 15’ though.

 

[LtMoe66]

I posted this in another section about getting busted from behind but thought it my be relevant to this question also. I shot my biggest deer ever this year at about 13 ft sitting just high enough above the thick understory with only 3 shooting lanes.
Getting busted from time to time is all part of the game. You learn new things each time. If we were all perfect at setting up there would be no deer left to hunt! I usually try to set up in trees that provide as much cover as possible(i.e-double trucked, trees with cedars next to them, set up amongst the branches of trees that allow movement, sometimes being up high is not always the answer. Setting low with a lot of brush and over growth to hide your outline with sometimes just a couple of lanes, is better than standing out like a sore thumb high in a tree, etc.) This year I used 2 squirrel steps set about 6-8 inches higher than my platform or one stick depending what I was using. It allows you to straddle the tree and keep your body close to the trunk while being extremely comfortable plus allowing you to slightly step down onto you platform with less movement and you are able to use them to maneuver more easily around the tree if necessary. Good luck. Hope this helps!!!

This buck was shot at 7 yards and never knew I was there. Dropped less than 20 yards away!

 

[JDHoosier]

I posted this in another section about getting busted from behind but thought it my be relevant to this question also. I shot my biggest deer ever this year at about 13 ft sitting just high enough above the thick understory with only 3 shooting lanes.
Getting busted from time to time is all part of the game. You learn new things each time. If we were all perfect at setting up there would be no deer left to hunt! I usually try to set up in trees that provide as much cover as possible(i.e-double trucked, trees with cedars next to them, set up amongst the branches of trees that allow movement, sometimes being up high is not always the answer. Setting low with a lot of brush and over growth to hide your outline with sometimes just a couple of lanes, is better than standing out like a sore thumb high in a tree, etc.) This year I used 2 squirrel steps set about 6-8 inches higher than my platform or one stick depending what I was using. It allows you to straddle the tree and keep your body close to the trunk while being extremely comfortable plus allowing you to slightly step down onto you platform with less movement and you are able to use them to maneuver more easily around the tree if necessary. Good luck. Hope this helps!!!

This buck was shot at 7 yards and never knew I was there. Dropped less than 20 yards away!

This year was the first time I used a double trunk tree. Similar situation as you but I was roughly 18 feet above the ground at my tree but where the buck was standing was 4 feet higher. I used the double trunk to get my first stick higher and was able to hide better. He was within 25 yards for 10 minutes and never knew I was there. He milled around directly to my left at 25 yards then moved over to the shooting lane that I was set up for. It was about 10 yards away but that was the only tree where I had decent shooting lanes. If you look carefully you can see my platform behind the left trunk.

 

[Nutterbuster]

40 feet?...Ive yet to see very many trees thar alliw for that ...

They exist and I've climbed them. International Paper and the other timber and pulpwood land has lots of areas where you can climb a literal "telephone pole tree" that high before you start hitting limbs.

That said, I don't like climbing past 30ft. And I have put several people, who said they didn't mind heights and climbed high, in presets that were a true 30ft and had them reveal that they had never climbed 30ft. 40 is a bugger bear. People who say they aren't afraid of heights usually mean they can walk around on a single story house with a flat roof or get in a lock on. Not that they want to stand on a 2x3 platform swaying 2ft every time the wind blows at a height that will definitely kill you if you fall.

Nowadays I rarely get more than 15ft off the ground. But used to I would max out a 30ft pull rope if I could.

 

[WISCO]

I've shot most of my deer on the ground. Cover plus the right wind and they don't know you are there. I don't buy into the whole you got to be 30' in the air to not get busted theory. IMO get high enough to get some cover and you are good.

 

[1simplemann]

This year was the first time I used a double trunk tree. Similar situation as you but I was roughly 18 feet above the ground at my tree but where the buck was standing was 4 feet higher. I used the double trunk to get my first stick higher and was able to hide better. He was within 25 yards for 10 minutes and never knew I was there. He milled around directly to my left at 25 yards then moved over to the shooting lane that I was set up for. It was about 10 yards away but that was the only tree where I had decent shooting lanes. If you look carefully you can see my platform behind the left trunk.

Excellent tree. One of my favorite type of setups. Use the front tree as cover and the back tree for back cover. Being 22' over the deer didn't hurt you either. You can get away with alot w/ a set up like yours.