Video: Testing the Best Treestand Height for Bowhunting

If you wish to slay huge bucks, you higher draw a 70-pound bow and dangle your treestand a minimum of 25 ft up. 

Or, possibly not. There are a handful of articles and movies on the market about choosing the proper treestand peak. Most of them point out the 20-foot mark as a kind of commonplace. Then there are hunters who argue for climbing even increased so that you’ll be much less simple to identify and fewer prone to be smelled. On the flip aspect, some hunters argue for hanging decrease, so that you’ve a greater shot angle at close-range deer. 

So who’s proper? I made a decision to truly check these theories to assist illustrate the professionals and cons of bowhunting and capturing at totally different heights. Right here’s how I did this yard check and what I discovered. 

The Take a look at

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 peak (with my Bushnell R5 Series Rangefinder) after which did some capturing. I performed this check on a day with 10 mph winds, that gusted possibly to fifteen mph. 

After capturing I evaluated entry and exit factors within the goal and checked out how the totally 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 dimension as a small whitetail. 

At every peak I additionally used a wind checker to judge how scent may drift right down to deer, or above them. 

Variables to Take into account

Concealment

Generally, the upper you might be, the more durable will probably be for a deer to identify you. Nonetheless peak just isn’t the one consider a sneaky good stand, in actual fact, it won’t even be a very powerful. The quantity of canopy you may have behind and round you is the true key. In an excellent situation, 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 may get away with looking decrease. 

Shot Angle & Presentation

The upper you hunt, the harder the shot. Do not forget that the common 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 peak with the Bushnell R5 rangefinder:

• 10 Ft: 15 levels
• 15 Ft: 20 levels
• 20 Ft: 25 levels
• 25 Ft: 30 levels

Steep shot angles are difficult for a pair causes. First, very steep goal shows supply much less margin for error vertically. In different phrases, in case your shot is actually steep, it’s more durable to hit each lungs. On a high-angle shot, it is advisable to hit increased on the deer in order that the arrow exits the underside of the offside lung. However in the event you hit too excessive, you’ll miss the frontside lung.

Second, it’s merely more durable to shoot a bow nicely at a steep angle. I skilled this primary hand whereas capturing from the 25-foot mark. At that peak the tree was swaying extra within the breeze (a significant problem when making an attempt to shoot precisely). Plus, the downward angle was so excessive that it was more durable for me to maintain constant kind. I simply didn’t really feel snug. 

Scent

The hunt-higher camp will say that while you’re 25-plus-feet up, your scent will catch thermals and blow excessive of deer, as an alternative of right down to them. Whereas utilizing my wind checker 25 ft up, I did discover that it was blowing away and never right 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. 

Nonetheless, the scent would drift right down to deer peak finally. Deer that have been possibly 100 yards away would definitely scent me. Searching increased isn’t going to make you undetectable to a whitetail’s nostril, but it surely may offer you a slight benefit on close-range deer. 

Treestand Top Takeaways

After capturing numerous arrows and evaluating my hits, I settled on a number of particular takeaways. The primary and most vital level is to at all times use a safety harness and a lifeline when looking and hanging treestands. If you’re going to fall out of a stand, it’s more than likely going to be while you’re climbing into it or out of it, so being harnessed up solely whereas within the stand just isn’t sufficient. You have to be linked to a security system from the second you permit the bottom. 

You’re Not As Excessive As You Suppose

One of many issues I observed instantly is that only a few hunters are literally climbing to twenty ft or increased (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 wish a minimum of 4 climbing sticks, if he spaced them out very aggressively. However most of us would wish 5 – 6 climbing sticks to hit that peak comfortably. 

Even the treestand gear isn’t marketed precisely in the case of heights. For instance, the lifeline system I used on this video says it was good for looking as much as 30 ft. Nonetheless it wouldn’t even attain our 25-foot peak (once more, measured to the bottom of the stand). I had to make use of two tethers to rise up to 25 ft. 

A lot 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 increased than 15 ft in the event that they’re solely packing in three to 4 sticks. 

Shot Angle Isn’t a Downside at 10 to twenty Ft

At common archery ranges capturing from from 10 to twenty ft up in a tree must be comparatively simple for a practiced archer. At any of those angles, in the event you shoot the buck by way of the highest of the guts (entry) the arrow will come by way of the underside of the guts (exit) and also you’ll have a brief blood path. 

Nonetheless 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 Downside at 25 Ft and Larger

At common archery ranges, you’re making your shot far more difficult in the event you hunt increased than 20 ft. The margin of error is much less and the capturing itself is harder. I feel most hunters can be clever to hunt at 20 ft or decrease (once more, measured from the underside of the stand). 

15 Ft Is the Candy Spot (for Me)

For me, an excellent treestand peak is about 15 ft to 18 ft and an excellent capturing vary is 15 to twenty yards. This gives an excellent quantity of concealment and cheap shot angles. In the event you can hunt decrease whereas nonetheless hiding nicely, go for it. 

However the true takeaway right here is to not get obsessive about treestand peak. Figuring out the way to conceal your stand in a tree and when to maneuver on a deer is extra vital than the peak at which you’re looking. There’s no shortcut to fooling a mature buck. You’ve acquired to do all of the little issues proper, not simply dangle your stand an additional 5 ft increased.