Hi guys, im looking for others to share experience with stand height.
I typically hang low stands in thick cover but I'm hunting mature hardwood right now with straight tall trees and virtually no cover.
Yesterday every deer gave me a suspicious look and seemed uneasy as they passed by.
From my experience uneasy deer jump string.
Im contemplating going 25-30 feet but I don't know if it will help.
With no movement, thermals and wind carefully considered every deer looked right at me.... it was similar to ground hunting.
I have been hunting for 20 years, only used a longbow my entire life and never fail to fill my tag my woodsmanship is appropriate.
But the fact they see me is making me reluctant to draw, do any of you hunt high stands? Pros and cons please

By any chance are you using reflective wraps on your arrows? White to be specific

As you already know, the terrain and cover influence the height.

In my 51 years of bowhunting I've been at 10 feet (cedar trees or multi-stemmed hardwoods (cover) and nearly 30.  The 30' was a fluke, the tree I wanted to be in, near a button-bush swamp had a perfect limbs and cover at that spot.

I prefer, about 15' because the higher I go the steeper the shot angle and tighter elliptical kill zone.

I spent my early years in interior forest with straight, limbless boles like you describe. My haul line was 21' long. I climbed (Baker climber) until the line became taunt. I'm happy to report that I was very rarely spotted in those trees. Of course movement had to be limited, and the time to draw had to be picked perfectly when the deer was less likely to catch my movement.

Sometimes, I have to remind myself, when the perfect set-up isn't available, that these deer won't just drop in that spot, they will have to come and go. I then look for a better ambush point, lower to the ground with better cover.

I am almost entirely an "edge" hunter these days.

As mentioned, multi-trunked or branched trees seem to be best for me.  In Texas were I am, much over 20' would be hard to come by.

I hang my stands between 14 to 18 feet, usually in multi-trunk trees. The higher you go, the smaller the vitals get. I had the same issue several years ago but started treating all my clothes in UV-Killer. It definitely made a huge difference in deer spotting me. I use thermals to my advantage too. In the morning as the air warms, air rises. As air cools in the evening, the air lowers to the ground. As wind blows and rolls over the hills, it rolls backwards such as a eddy currents in a river. Best of luck.

This is probably going to sound strange and some wont agree im sure but in my experince it works. Hunting open timber like you discribed once the leaves fall off I switch to some type of snow camo.  Reason being without the leaves what is your back drop?  Mainly light color or gray November skies with some branches.  Your normal darker color camo sticks out against that light of a back drop.  It is kind of a mental game at first because you feel like your glowing up there.  I do like to break it up i where lighter on top and darker pants with my upper body being what is moving the most. Going higher works but as others stated kill zone gets smaller and if you dont get an exit more difficult tracking.

Good insight guys, thanks.
No reflection in my arrows, I shoot cedar and turkey.
My clothing is sitka open country, I will look into the uv detergent.
My hesitation is the angle of shot past 15-18 feet high, how far will this push my minimumshot distance for clear vitals?.
Maybe the sweet spot is in-between 20 and 25.
I'm in ohio the terrain includes some great hills and drops with a creek but the transition into bedding is a tall oak stand dotted with maple and dead ash.
This area is key to the rut activity.

Some of my stands are in areas with a lot more more thickets. Those are 12 15 feet up, but others have been about 20-25 feet up. For me, the higher stands are more difficult to shoot form, the angle is too steep at close range.

I would guess the deer are busting you based on movement or scent.

If available, you might want to consider tree's that are larger in diameter over thinner tree's. The bigger tree's will hide your outline better.

I hunt a lot in smaller jack pine stands with no limbs for 30 feet so I add limbs to my stands for cover and the deer look but don't see

Just went through a week of this.  I resorted to taking a lashing strap and sticking some dead limbs in the strap on the backside of the tree. I don't hunt many pre-hung sets so it was a constant process. While I'd love to have a lot of back cover I think if it breaks you up a little it helps.  I did use the strap to pull a smaller tree closer to my stand, this was the best setup but I didn't always have that option.

I'm sure there are plenty here that can shrink the vitals by going higher and never give it a second thought, but I'm not one of them so I had to get creative.

Quote from: IndaTimber on November 15, 2020, 12:28:06 PM
Just went through a week of this.  I resorted to taking a lashing strap and sticking some dead limbs in the strap on the backside of the tree. I don't hunt many pre-hung sets so it was a constant process. While I'd love to have a lot of back cover I think if it breaks you up a little it helps.  I did use the strap to pull a smaller tree closer to my stand, this was the best setup but I didn't always have that option.

I'm sure there are plenty here that can shrink the vitals by going higher and never give it a second thought, but I'm not one of them so I had to get creative.

Yeah I zip tie limbs to my stand when they're looking for you. Going high isn't really great with Trad.

We have lots of pin oak trees here and they keep their leaves all winter.  We put them on nearly every stand , either limbs or saplings , the more leaves the better...

Oh, our ladder platforms are 12'

Honestly you're gonna get different answers dependent on where guys are. In Illinois where I hunted the deer just didn't look up. They'd walk right by oblivious. In NY especially this time of year 20 feet might not be high enough nor might 30 and I'm not recommending that. If you hunt a place that's table top flat height of a stand might be more consistent. In rolling, mountainous terrain, this time of year opens up. They'll see you at real far away at some point you're prob eye level. Being the pressure has then skittish, they look. Trees are open they see.
One thing you didn't mention is stand type? Climbers at certain heights w most trees become unusable. All I use anymore is climbers but bear in mind trees taper.
Already mentioned was the tougher shots. I've tried practicing out of a blind. That could be a better option and one I'm just starting to consider myself. I also tried thinking of a way to hang cover in certain trees I use.
It's not what's best for me, her or him. It's what's necessary for you. You say your woodsmanship is on, this is part of your hunt right? Think through what's gonna work for best for you.

My stands are all hang on. My pre set stands are field and stream timberline w screw steps, the setup in question is a lonewolf gang on and stocks i chase the rut action with.

If they're hang on brush around em some.

I got busted on the ground a few years ago by an elk.  Felt I was well hidden and could not quite believe he saw me.  I invested in a $5 ultraviolet flashlight, and the pants I wore that morning glowed like a full moon on a dark night .  I ended up tossing several shirts and pants I had used for years as they, too, glowed like a full moon.  Might want to get a similar flashlight and check over your clothing. 

Well..... things worked out.
I appreciate the advice, I stuck with hunting low in the tree.

Congratulations, I killed my best buck from a stand probably 8 ft high , killed a doe out of the same stand.
I do believe in UV killers . Years ago when they first came out I tried them. Noticed that squirrels quit freaking out when they saw me , often completely ignoring my presence. I figured if it worked for squirrels it would work for deer.

You apparently figured it out.  My average height is 10 to 16 ft.  As important, I think is that I am usually about 14, 15 yards off the trail.