If you wish to slay large bucks, you higher draw a 70-pound bow and hold your treestand at the least 25 ft up.
Or, possibly not. There are a handful of articles and movies on the market about choosing the right treestand top. Most of them point out the 20-foot mark as a kind of commonplace. Then there are hunters who argue for climbing even greater so that you’ll be much less simple to identify and fewer prone to be smelled. On the flip facet, some hunters argue for hanging decrease, so that you’ve got a greater shot angle at close-range deer.
So who’s proper? I made a decision to truly take a look at these theories to assist illustrate the professionals and cons of bowhunting and taking pictures at completely different heights. Right here’s how I did this yard take a look at and what I discovered.
The Take a look at
Photograph by Jake Dahlke
I hung 4 treestands in my yard, all in the identical tree. I hung them at heights of 10 ft, 15 ft, 20 ft, and 25 ft. I then positioned a 3D deer goal at 18 yards from the tree, measured the angle from every top (with my Bushnell R5 Series Rangefinder) after which did some taking pictures. I performed this take a look at on a day with 10 mph winds, that gusted possibly to fifteen mph.
After taking pictures I evaluated entry and exit factors within the goal and checked out how the completely different heights allowed for vertical margin of error on a double-lung shot. The chest of my 3D goal measures 14 inches, or about the identical measurement as a small whitetail.
At every top I additionally used a wind checker to judge how scent may drift all the way down to deer, or above them.
Variables to Take into account
Concealment
Typically, the upper you’re, the tougher will probably be for a deer to identify you. Nevertheless top isn’t the one think about a sneaky good stand, in truth, it may not even be an important. The quantity of canopy you’ve gotten behind and round you is the actual key. In a super state of affairs, you’ll be looking in a tree that’s wider than your shoulders and has limbs branching out round you, to interrupt up your profile. On this case you will get away with looking decrease.
Shot Angle & Presentation
Photograph by Jake Dahlke
The upper you hunt, the harder the shot. Do not forget that the typical distance for a bow shot is about 20 yards. The upper you climb the steeper that shot angle turns into. These are the approximate shot angles measured from every top with the Bushnell R5 rangefinder:
- 10 Toes: 15 levels
- 15 Toes: 20 levels
- 20 Toes: 25 levels
- 25 Toes: 30 levels
Steep shot angles are difficult for a pair causes. First, very steep goal displays supply much less margin for error vertically. In different phrases, in case your shot is basically steep, it’s tougher to hit each lungs. On a high-angle shot, it’s worthwhile to hit greater on the deer in order that the arrow exits the underside of the offside lung. However if you happen to hit too excessive, you’ll miss the frontside lung.
Second, it’s merely tougher to shoot a bow effectively at a steep angle. I skilled this primary hand whereas taking pictures from the 25-foot mark. At that top the tree was swaying extra within the breeze (a serious problem when making an attempt to shoot precisely). Plus, the downward angle was so excessive that it was tougher for me to maintain constant type. I simply didn’t really feel snug.
Scent
The hunt-higher camp will say that if you’re 25-plus-feet up, your scent will catch thermals and blow excessive of deer, as a substitute of all the way down to them. Whereas utilizing my wind checker 25 ft up, I did discover that it was blowing away and never all the way down to the bottom. I do imagine that if a deer had been 15 or 20 yards downwind of me, my scent would have blown excessive of it.
Nevertheless, the scent would drift all the way down to deer top finally. Deer that had been possibly 100 yards away would definitely scent me. Looking greater isn’t going to make you undetectable to a whitetail’s nostril, but it surely may provide you with a slight benefit on close-range deer.
Treestand Top Takeaways
Photograph by Jake Dahlke
After taking pictures numerous arrows and evaluating my hits, I settled on just a few particular takeaways. The primary and most essential level is to at all times use a safety harness and a lifeline when looking and hanging treestands. If you’ll fall out of a stand, it’s almost definitely going to be if you’re climbing into it or out of it, so being harnessed up solely whereas within the stand isn’t sufficient. You have to be related to a security system from the second you permit the bottom.
You’re Not As Excessive As You Suppose
One of many issues I seen straight away is that only a few hunters are literally climbing to twenty ft or greater (measured from the bottom of the stand to the bottom). And an sincere 25 ft was shockingly excessive.
For instance, to hit the 20-foot mark, a long-legged hunter would want at the least 4 climbing sticks, if he spaced them out very aggressively. However most of us would want 5 or 6 climbing sticks to hit that top comfortably.
Even the treestand gear isn’t marketed precisely in relation to heights. For instance, the lifeline system I used on this video says it was good for looking as much as 30 ft. Nevertheless it wouldn’t even attain our 25-foot top (once more, measured to the bottom of the stand). I had to make use of two tethers to rise up to 25 ft.
Many of the stands that I’ve seen hung by different hunters on public land or on outfitted properties are about 15 ft and decrease. The hang-and-hunt guys are unlikely to be climbing greater than 15 ft in the event that they’re solely packing in three to 4 sticks.
Shot Angle Isn’t a Drawback at 10 to twenty Toes
Photograph by Jake Dahlke
At common archery ranges taking pictures from from 10 to twenty ft up in a tree needs to be comparatively simple for a practiced archer. At any of those angles, if you happen to shoot the buck by means of the highest of the center (entry) the arrow will come by means of the underside of the center (exit) and also you’ll have a brief blood path.
Nevertheless a really shut 10-yard shot from 20 ft up will create a super-steep shot angle and a marginal shot presentation.
Shot Angle Turns into a Drawback at 25 Toes and Larger
At common archery ranges, you’re making your shot rather more difficult if you happen to hunt greater than 20 ft. The margin of error is much less and the taking pictures itself is harder. I feel most hunters can be sensible to hunt at 20 ft or decrease (once more, measured from the underside of the stand).
15 Toes Is the Candy Spot (for Me)
Photograph by Jake Dah
For me, a super treestand top is about 15 ft to 18 ft and a super taking pictures vary is 15 to twenty yards. This presents an excellent quantity of concealment and cheap shot angles. In case you can hunt decrease whereas nonetheless hiding effectively, go for it.
However the actual takeaway right here is to not get obsessive about treestand top. Realizing the best way to conceal your stand in a tree and when to maneuver on a deer is extra essential than the peak at which you’re looking. There’s no shortcut to fooling a mature buck. You’ve bought to do all of the little issues proper, not simply hold your stand an additional 5 ft greater.
