Your Lowest Stand height

[shadow]

I read recently about a guy sitting in a stand 6-feet off the ground and not being seen or scented while deer moved around him.
Can this be possible?
What is the lowest stand height that you hunt from regularly and are you able to have deer sighting's?
I am usually at 12-15 feet, and have gone up to about 20' my last two times out.
 

[Gafrage]

I go about 6 feet up during the gun season, but I go about 10 feet up during the archery season out of one stand, about 15 out of the other two stands.  One of my stands is on a small ridge that is about a 10 foot difference so 10 feet is plenty as I'm 20 feet up on one side of the ridge.  Do I think that it's possible to only be 6 feet up in the stand without being winded or spotted?  I suppose, but I think the guy might have his distances mixed up.

[Patriot]

One of my statistically best archery stands is only 7 feet off the ground.  It is right on the edge of an open field.  I do have pretty good cover behind me to break up my outline.  I've also added some camo burlap around the edges.
 
I would prefer to go higher of course, but my area is not blessed with tall, big, or straight trees.  I take what I can get.

[paulie]

If you can hunt from the ground,and be successful, then why would'nt be able to hunt from a few feet up? I have a box blind that sits eight feet high(to the floor). Being that it was built for bow hunting, it's fairly open, deer regularly travel within feet of it. I think, in some situations 6 foot up would work fine. It all depends on your surroundings.

[PrairieShadow]

I agree that you can still kill deer from 6ft but higher is certainly better.

[DeerCamp]

Yikes..I dont know about that.. When I was young I had a 12' ladder stand and it seemed that deer always saw me. But then again I use to shoot standing up. I now go about 26' up. I do however hunt a low blind right out side of the city limits here. The deer are use to people and see us but dont see to be to botherd by our movements. That stand is about 14' up right in the open.

[buckhunter21]

When I first started hunting, I'd put my stand up about 10-12 feet.  When my friends would hunt with me they'd always say how low they were, etc, so since then I've put all my stands 20 feet +.  I think it does depend on the situation and tree, but higher is better...At least up to 25 feet I think.  Any higher than that and I really don't think you're gaining a whole lot.

[passin through]

Very possible depending on how you set it and where.  My favorite stand used to be a little home made ladder stand that only had about 5 ft of ground clearance.  It was my grandmothers stand and she really used it to good effect over the years.  I don't hunt it in exactly the same spot she did since loggers have altered the area a bit but the way she had it was right in the center of a large honey suckle growth that she kept pruned and fertilized over the years.  The tops of the hedge came up to your lap and went out from you about 6 ft and over looked a log set that was right on the edge of a hardwood bottom.  She had a tunnel cut through the vines to get in and out .  Over the years she shot several mature bucks from that stand which was set up to be a shotgun only stand (30 yd max shot)  I have several other short ladders scattered around now and love hunting them.  You just have to camo it right or use the terrain to your advantage.

[stormshooter4]

Years ago I made wooden ladder stands that I found the pattern in one of the outdoor mags. They were 11-12 ft. off the ground. One time I had a 6 point come between the stand and the tree. So I guess my answer would be, get up high enough so they can pass thru w/o hitting their antlers! [:D]

[ranwin33]

Our best stand is at 10 feet.  We've got some others at 15.  I start to get uncomfortable at that height so I know I won't be going any higher.