Your Lowest Stand height

[Sailfish]

ORIGINAL: 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.

 
I am new to the tree stand thing, but this was my first thought. If you can successfully archery hunt from the ground is 25' up necessary?

[paulie]

ORIGINAL: Sailfish

ORIGINAL: 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.

I am new to the tree stand thing, but this was my first thought. If you can successfully archery hunt from the ground is 25' up necessary?

  No, obviously not, like I said, it depends on your surroundings! I've killed deer from the ground, from stands as low as eight feet, and as high as twenty five feet! With a bow, and with a firearm.  Different heights, different situations! I think to say "you have to be so high to kill deer" is a very closed minded way of thinking! Not every tactic works for every hunter, in every situation, what works for me may not work for you. So I dont see how anyone can say that a given tactic, or a certain stand height "wont work". Again, that is very closed minded! I'm telling you what has worked for me, I'm not sayin, "you have to hunt this way", I'm saying "it works for me"!!!

[69Viking]

I think for a reason most permanent treestands you can purchase are from 12' to 16' so in reality that's all the higher you probably ever need to go.  I've watched a lot of deer and never do they look up unless you give them a reason to.  Except for humans every other predator a deer has comes from ground level. 
 
As far as smelling any scent you are giving off that is all up to the wind and temperature as it relates to thermal air movement.  If it's cold out with little wind the scent your body gives off which would be warmer than the air is going to rise out of harms way.  If it's warm and muggy with a breeze it could get taken down to where a deer catches a whiff of it and I don't think being 20' or 25' up is going to make a difference.  I prefer to use a good cover scent strategy and stay in the 15' range for safety reasons and angle of shot.  Just my opinion of course!  Good luck hunting all! 

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: Sailfish

ORIGINAL: 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.

I am new to the tree stand thing, but this was my first thought. If you can successfully archery hunt from the ground is 25' up necessary?

Probably not necessary, other than it may give you a better view and allow you to spot deer you might not normally see.  I'll never know, 15 feet is my limit, but I prefer 10-12.

[shaman]

I took back-to-back bucks from the same maple trees Opening Weekend of 1991 and 1992 in Indiana. The stand was an Amacker climber and my feet were no more than 8' off the ground-- probably more like 7, so if a guy says he got a deer at 6 feet, I'd believe it.  Remember that a lot of guys get deer from the ground -- 0 feet.

Height is not necessarily a huge factor, and I would tend to say stay as low as you can go.  I went through a phase where I was a nosebleed cowboy with a climber, but it really did not seem to improve my luck all that much.  What it did was throw the ascent/decent into the fore and turn the hunt into a tree climbing exercise with a hunt thrown in the middle.

I have been hunting out of 15 foot buddy-style ladder stands almost exclusively for 5 years now.  Yes, I get busted once in a while, but the vast majority of deer could not care less that I'm there even when they see me.

[ranwin33]

ORIGINAL: shaman

...but the vast majority of deer could not care less that I'm there even when they see me.

That's a good point.  If you don't move most times they think your just part of the tree.
 
Took my two largest deer, both from the ground, while hiding behind trees.  Archery and gun.

[paulie]

Thats true Ranwin. Two days ago, I had a six point come in just before dark, walked right to the base of my ladder stand(15'), he looked up at me,(looked me square in the eye) and didnt seem to have a clue I was even there. He just flicked his tail, and mosied across the ditch to the corn stubble behind me.

[OHhunter]

If you got the wind in your favor it shouldn't matter how high you go.  I personally like to go higher, because I feel more confident drawing my bow back. 

[Sailfish]

ORIGINAL: 69Viking
 Good luck hunting all! 

 
How is the hunting up near you? I just spent 5 days there for a wedding 2 weeks ago. Nice place. We have family there, they keep wanting me to bring my boat up to fish. I know it's great, but I'd prefer hauling my rifle or bow from Tampa rather than my boat. [8D]
 
Maybe one day, you guys have great bluewater fishing for sure.
 
{sorry for the thread derailment} 

[JOEL]

my lowest stand height is sitting on the ground[:D] sorry i couldnt resist