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Trad tackle height

_Dario

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2021
Messages
500
Location
South Jersey
Curious to know how high up you guys shooting trad are getting typically and how you’re getting there?

I have 4 beast minis + versa aider and right now I can comfortably climb ~5ft per stick. I was planning on taking 3 into the woods this year.

Based on what I’m reading 15ft may even be higher than what most people shooting traditional are going up to?

I was even thinking about using two sticks. First having three step aider and 2nd with a one step aider. I think that could get me close to 12 feet. Is that a better height than 15ft shooting a trad bow assuming good cover?
 
I have yet to get a deer with trad gear but I have gotten several shots. One was from about 20 feet, 12 yard shot...miss. I was in a Lone Wolf Assault II hand climber. One was about 16 feet, 16 yards, miss, Lone Wolf again. One shot was off the ground from a Torges seat, 12 yards, miss. Seems to be a trend here, lol. Frankly I don't mind missing. I just don't like wounding.
 
I am usually 18' to my feet. I agree that the lower you are the better angle you have to hit vitals. Whatever height you are going to hunt from, I would practice a lot from an elevated position.
 
I’ve killed a number of them around 8-13 ft. I killed one at 6 ft out of a stand once and have killed several out of 8 ft tripods. I just try to find some good cover to set up in and I never cut shooting lanes so I usually try to find a place where I am shielded by natural cover until they step into my opening. Hunting low definitely limits the movement I can get away with and occasionally I will move at the wrong time and get busted.


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Usually 14-18' to platform height. I don't like the aggressive shot angles especially in Florida when the kill zone on our deer are much smaller.
 
Did any of the elevated shot angles feel too steep?
No, the angles didn't feel too steep on these occasions. However, a lot of the shots that I get end up being steep angles with the compound. I have arrowed quite a few deer successfully at 6 yards from 20 feet up to where my feet are. I always aim for the exit, visualizing where that will be on the deer and try to put the arrow on that spot. This usually puts the entrance just under the backstraps and the exit in the armpit or behind the offside shoulder.

With trad gear we are limited in our range and speed. I like a heavy arrow and want maximum penetration. All the arguments people make against heavy arrows we already have in trad. My wood arrows are between 650 to 700 grains and my carbon arrows are just over 650 grains and 30%+ FOC. I don't foresee a problem once I actually get around to hitting the deer, lol.

All that said, I really like being on the ground with trad equipment.
 
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I am usually in the 16-20' range and try to set up for shots that will be in the 15-20 yard range. That gives me a shot angle that I like. If I am up around 20 I do not really like broadside shots that are close. I prefer a quartered shot even very hard quartered for tight shots.
 
14'-18' on average but I think the question would be better phased to ask 'How high above the anticipated shot do you set up?' I rarely get to hunt flatland. I'm almost always set up on, or beside a slope. If I anticipate that the shot will be up a steep slope, it's possible that I might be 25' up the tree but still below eye level of deer.
I'm not a fan of shooting down slope. As a trad shooter, I need deer within 18 yards and shooting down slope on a deer 12 yards away creates a fairly steep shot angle.
I like to be as low as cover allows.
 
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It all depends on situation. Generally I'm 12-16 ft. This elk hunt was from +/- 12ft. Remember, elk don't look up!:tearsofjoy:


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It all depends on situation. Generally I'm 12-16 ft. This elk hunt was from +/- 12ft. Remember, elk don't look up!:tearsofjoy:


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Would be nice to find an active wallow this Sept. Found 7 wallows last year but none were active.
 
I'm with you, brother!! Active wallows are the "holy grail" for fat, lazy elk hunters.....like me!! :tearsofjoy: I'm always reminded: Don't work harder....work smarter!!!!:openmouth:
I have found that to be a laughable comment as a flatlander hunting the san juans. Every year when I get there and put eyes on those mountains my first though is this is about to suck big time but its going to be awesome. Like Yogi Berra said, it's 90% mental and the other half is physical. ;)
 
When I'm hunting whitetails, I'm usually a bit higher.....around the 15'-18' mark. This is due to the cover (as stated by many above). Trad bow hunting is a much different ball game when it comes to shot angles and distance, in my humble opinion. I'm not a crack shot, by any means, so I need to gain every advantage I can when it comes to my setup. I shot a mountain lion a few years back while it was in a tree (dogs). Just the opposite effect.....but, the angle of the shot was still very important. I had to step away from the tree to reduce the shot angle. Again, I believe it's all based on the given situation.

Good luck and have a great day!
 
I have found that to be a laughable comment as a flatlander hunting the san juans. Every year when I get there and put eyes on those mountains my first though is this is about to suck big time but its going to be awesome. Like Yogi Berra said, it's 90% mental and the other half is physical. ;)
Yogi Berra was not in "Mother Nature's Reverse Hyperbaric Chamber" when he offered those words of wisdom! ;)
 
When I am hunting with Trad gear I hunt as low as I can get away with. There are places I just don't hunt when Trad gear is in my hands.
 
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