How high do y’all like to hang your stands whether it’s for bow hunting or rifle hunting?

The most productive tree stand I have is about 10-11 feet high, I’ve shot at least 25 deer from it, and it’s my go too ladder stand I take with me just about anywhere.

My second most is on a steep hill, and is 14ft up on the low side, and 10 feet up on the hill side of the tree, I’ve shot close to 20 deer from that one.

So 10 feet seems plenty

Prefer on the ground actually. Better shot angles. Just enjoy being on the same level.

That said most of our tripods were about 10 feet max. Rarely did we have or use 12 plus feet. Often ladders were 8 feet. Just glad I realized how much fun hunting eye level can be.

A few of the places I hunt have a lot of growth close to ground, you can't see 10 yards. Get 15 feet up a tree and it opens on up, you can get a shot out to about 70 yards or so. Caught a coyote moving through one of those areas last year and as he got close to semi-open area through the branches, I "woofed" him.

He stopped and got shot.....I simply substituted "woof" for "bleat".

In woods? Whatever height offers the best visibility for gun hunting. Whichever height offers the best shot angles without giving up concealment, for bow hunting. So, I’ve hunted 10-25’ or more in climbers. For shooting houses on fields, whatever works....ground to ?. It’s all just terrain and cover..... ground level can be out of their noses and give a vies near the crest of a ridge. 25’ may not be high enough in a swamp hollow.

This. I like ground level....sometimes I need nosebleed....sometimes I have to use what's available.

Most of my bow kills have been from down wind ground level to get the best shot angle. If I told you how high the "penthouse" rifle seat was, you would call BS. My palms just broke out in a sweat thinking about it. That was in a big white pine on the edge of a regenerating logged over poplar growth. Food and security for a deer where you couldn't see 20 yards into that tangle from ground level. Those darn poplar saplings grew about 2' a year and you had to get above them to see down into them. My best rifle bucks have come from one stand at about 35'. That got me above their scent line and below most of the surrounding tree canopy. As I've gotten older, self preservation is more important than another deer and I'm becoming grounded.

This🔝

It's about me being able to see, not being invisible or above their noses. Deers' peripheral vision will pick up movement almost anywhere in their "circle". Seeing them first lets you adjust your position before they get close. I like to have my rifle pointed towards them to reduce my silhouette as I raise it.

Got busted last year by a buck at about 50 yards because he spotted the movement when I stiffened a bit at the sound he made.

A ground position above the expected deer travel route is better and more comfortable than a stand, just hard to come by is some places. On my current hunting area, I'm close to 50/50 on ground shots vs shots from treestands; exactly that with the four I've taken with my xbow so far.

If I'm exposed, I prefer to be high and fully camo'd up. If I'm in a blind, having it a few feet off the ground is fine, provided I have the windows done up with layered burlap for concealment. I hunt with my kids a lot and you don't need big open windows with 2-3 faces in the stand.
Generally leave holes in the wrap for viewing and shooting. A 24" diameter roll of burlap on Amazon was cheap and I've been using the same roll for probably 6-7 years.

No higher than 10-12 ft., I always wear a camo headnet and gloves.

Permanent house blinds from 5’ to 8’ off the ground. I’m getting old.

Usually 12-20 feet - depends on ground cover and shooting lanes.

I probably average 12-15 feet, for bow hunting.

35 feet with a tree lounge Glad those days are over .

For me never higher than 20' 95% of the time I'm between 15 and 18' bow or rifle.

up high to get the scent above them.

So what do you do early and late in the day as the air is cooler or cooling and scent always sinks at the best time to hunt for the most part?

I've had thermals bust me enough to know that the only game to play is wind direction. Even if that direction is veritcal

I used to be a nosebleed cowboy, but for the past 20 or so years, I've gotten considerably more conservative.

I have a buddy stand at 15 feet (4 sections), 8 feet (2 sections) and 12 feet (3 sections), but probably better than half the deer at our camp are taken at ground level.

The reason I ask is because I drew out on a hunt in northeast Texas and I m trying to be prepared. From everything I’ve read that I could find, the area is heavily wooded. It is a rifle hunt. I’ve bow hunted from a stand that was 14’ above the ground before, but that was in the hill country.

PM Ltppowell he is from that area of Texas and will be a wealth of knowledge my understanding is there are a lot of pines

Thanks, I’ll ask him

On our property in WV my stands are 12-15ft high. When I’m on public land using my climber, I’ll often get as high as I can. Because of limitations of the tree itself or visibility or safety, that’s usually 10-20ft but I’ve shot deer as low as about 7ft.

I'm like hh4, conditions dictate where I hunt. My box stand is 12' high, it takes this height to see/shoot over the top of a small rise in the ground. Usually about 15-20 for gun hunting, but sometimes on the ground. Bow hunting- I've been busted more than once at 20' +/-, so I went to 30-35 ft. and haven't been busted so far.

Highest stand I had was in thinned timber. Had to get high to see over the regrowth. I was 50' +/- up a pine tree, looking up a logging road. For years, this was my go to stand, if I needed a deer to finish filling the freezer or only had a few days to hunt. I was a lot closer to the wood ducks flying overhead than I was to the ground.

It depends. I built a box stand 22 feet high overlooking my CRP ground the year we planted it in trees. That was 1998. We could shoot 300+ yards in the brush. Now you can't see 20 yards because of the canopy so we nailed a lower box stand onto the poles and now our feet are about 2 feet off the ground. Now we can see 200 yards in places. I investigated a good many hunting accidents and tall stands were probably involved more often than guns. I once watched a video by a Dr. McGuff about 12 things to avoid if you want to live and one of the things was ladders. Old men and ladders are a bad combination.

15 feet to platform

Edwin it will depend on the maturity of the Pine trees. New growth you will want to get above it, old growth you will want to stay under the canopy usually.
A ladder stand 14-16' with at least three sections would be versatile. When I hunted East Tx. it was mostly permanent stands in oat pastures or at the edges of open fields. None of those were over 20" in height but where you are may be very different and more heavily wooded.

Along the Trinity river the cover was so dense you had to get above it for any visibility, either a tree or a high bank. Check google earth and see what you can tell about the cover height if possible.

from 0-16'.

I go roughly 16-17ft with the climber depending out surrounding coverage, trees, branches, etc. Whichever height over 12ft that gives me the clearest lanes for archery.

I’m hunting at the White Oak Creek WMA in Omaha, TX. I’ check out google earth today.

12' always seemed fine. Just make sure you dont silowet . I think that is the most important. I like being in clumps of trees that are close together. I think it is a bit safer if I ever did start to fall I could likely grab a tree. Never happened yet thought.

I’ll be wearing a full body harness. I’ll also be connected to the tree from the time I leave the ground.

Hanging another one Sat after bowhunting an 18 footer in the creekbottom.
This one up in thorn patch up top, will be 20 ft.

Love me some EZY screw in steps.

Not many groups of trees where I hunt.
Most like telephone poles.
Most of them dead (elm).
There is one good three trunk, and I had a stand in it last yr.
Deer never busted me at 17 ft.
But it is close to the property line and I don't want to blast that close to the neighbors (they are up high).
Bowhunt it's OK, and we are all cool with recovering on each others property.

But I think it best to try and keep em down on my side.

Sure as chit, zip one with bow and it'll cross over.
Have to go knocking on the door.
Landowner is cool, doesn't mean whatever company he has on the weekend (mother in law?) will be.

Try to keep it mellow.

So I'm hunting farther in, where the trees suck.

Got pretty good winds today/tonight. Wonder how many of the dead elms will be crashing.

Buy some old 24 ft. aluminum extension ladders cheap. That gives you 2 12' ladders, enough for two permanent stands. If your platform is 12 feet, when you are sitting in it, your eyes are 4-5 feet more off the ground. With a little camo netting around it, deer won't even know you exist unless like any stand, you get a lousy down draft to their nose. I've seen 10 ft stands that were just fine because of the topography.

Funny, our landowner owns the whole bordering field too.
Got a ladder around the corner, people up top let friends hunt.
Its on our field.
Guy next door has a hunter,
Everybody drives their trucks across the field to haul the deer out.
Nobody ever asks.

Rivers Edge Bowman ladder stand looks decent, 19 ft, and on sale for 130 bucks.

My problem is trespassers.

I like to hang a stand and removed bottom 4 steps to keep people out.

So ladder stands just aint my thing.

We've got some poachers and punks doing stupid stuff where we hunt.
That's how we got it, to run them off (buddy grew up there).

He has the DNR on speedial.

Whatever height you try, if all you think about is how high you are, you're too high.