Monster Raxx Trophy Minerals

Stand Height

A common question people ask on many hunting forums is, “How high does everyone hang their stands?" Some people answer the questions vaguely from 12'-30’.  Some people believe the higher the better.  They hang their stands 20 feet high or more, believing, “Deer cannot see you as well," and “That high in the air means you're getting your scent further away from the trail."
 
When I am asked this question, I do not have a standard answer.  I have about 20 stands that I hunt throughout the deer season.  All of them vary in height. 

 
When I find an area I want to hang a stand, I first look for the right tree.  My tree needs to be in the right location.  I  take into account wind directions and times of day I feel the deer will be traveling by it.  I also look at the characteristics of the tree. I look for limbs; the more the better.   I like a branchy/bushy tree to hide my silhouette.  If I cannot find a bushy tree, I want neighboring trees to have at least one or two branches to place my stand close to.
 
Comfort is everything when sitting long periods of time in a tree. I do not want to place the stand on a tree that will make me lean forward or sit crooked.  This causes much discomfort and stress while sitting for long periods and hinders the ability to sit still.
 
I also look for a tree with ease of shooting in mind.   I am right handed, so I look for a way, if possible, to set the stand facing where I expect the deer to be coming in on my left side.  This is effective in order to limit the amount of movement while drawing my bow or raising my gun.  If the traveling area of the deer is on my right, it will cause me to rotate in the stand, 180 degrees, to make a comfortable shot.  Less movement is better.

Now that I have taken all this into account and chosen my location and tree, I look at what type of stand fits the best.  If all I have are slick trees (no branches),  I will use my climber.   With a climber,  I can get 25+ feet in the air.  With no break-up available, at the lower level, I choose to go higher in order to better hide my silhouette.

I like to use a climbing stick with most of my stands, however, some trees are difficult to climb with climbing sticks.  In this situation, I use a ladder stand.  When using ladder stands, you can only go as high as the ladder. My wife hunts successfully in a ladder stand that is only 10 feet off of the ground. You are limited by lack of height, however I compensate for this limitation by adding additional branches and vegetation to break up my profile.

In some areas, there are no trees and a ground blind may not be a viable option. I may opt to use a Summit Quad Pod free standing stand or a tripod stand.  I put these stands above the browse line and brush them in accordingly.

After taking all of this in to account, stand height is usually determined by the area and the characteristics of the tree.  There is no standard height to hang a stand.  An observant hunter must look closely at the environment and determine what the environmental needs are in order to hang a stand that will encourage favorable hunting conditions.