What is the ideal treestand height?

[99explorer]

What is the ideal treestand height?

[mike0714]

I try for a min of ten to 12 feet but have been as high as 40 or so feet up in a big old ponderosa. It all depends on the set up but higher is usually better.

[FirstBubba]

Between 6 and 8 feet will get you above the understory. Anything over 15 (+/-) feet is just sitting in the "nosebleed" seats at the stadium! LOL!
I'd say "ideal" would be in the 10 to 12 foot range.
The only "tree" (ladder?) stand I have is a tad over 7 feet and I haven't been busted yet.

[allegnmtn]

I have a 15ft ladder stand and a climber. I try to climb about 15ft in the climber as well. The problem with going 25, 30, 40 feet up is both distance and angle of elevation. You should practice shooting at whatever heights your planning to hunt from. If you're going to climb 40 feet, you'll need to practice at 40 feet.

Personally, I don't think you you need to climb high to disburse you scent and get out of the deer's line of sight. 12-15 feet is fine.

[Ga hunter]

I very rarely go over 12 feet, unless it's necessary for some reason! I know a lot of people go up to 15+ feet, but 12' is all you really need! I use a climber so I could go as high as I wanted, but if you get too high you start looking down on branches and small trees!

[Treestand]

5'10"...O'h 12'when seated, some come with extra 4'lader=16'. I like a 12'Two-man T-Stand for the room.

[Gary Devine]

I set up all my tree stands from fourteen to eighteen feet high.
I also shoot and practice my compound bow at a McKenzie deer target from that same height.

[scratchgolf72]

i feel like your wasting your time if your not at least 15 feet up in the tree, so thats where my stands are hung at.

[jhjimbo]

I like 10 to 12 feet, although it does seem deer are looking up more than they used to.

[buckhunter]

It becomes a lesson in geometry after 15 feet. Steep shot angles make life difficult.

[Bioguy01]

The ideal tree stand height is whatever it needs to be given the specific scenario. I have had deer walk under my stand when I was only 8 feet off the ground, and I have sat up to 35 feet high to get to a spot with adequate cover. Most times I sit between 15-25 feet.

[Pray- hunt-work]

I like being around 18 feet, but have sat at 12' and had a doe bed down at the foot of my ladder. I look for natural cover in the tree and try for that height. My fathers stand is near 40 feet up and he is much more successful than I am at not being busted. The ole bastard could smell like a sulpher mine and feed a deer out of his hand though. There's just something about him.

[buckeye]

15' to 20'

[99explorer]

According to an article in the June/July issue of Outdoor Life magazine, the higher you climb, the greater the diagonal distance to your target. As the distance increases, the physical kill zone shrinks in both depth and height, while your ability to visually resolve it decreases.
Their conclusion is that the ideal height, mathematically speaking, is somewhere between 15 and 18 feet.
That is well above my personal comfort zone.

[themadflyfisher]

I've never felt a need to be higher than 20' I usually climb 15'. I'll go up to 20' sometimes, but at 15 if you're quiet and playing the wind you won't be busted and your shot angles won't be bad.