Whitetail Hunting 101: 3 Tips for Choosing the Right Treestand Height

Some whitetail hunters always climb at least 20 feet in a tree, while others rarely go more than 15. Is higher always better?

Whitetail Hunting 101: 3 Tips for Choosing the Right Treestand Height

What the right treestand height for deer hunting? This likely won’t surprise you — my answer is “it depends.” In the following paragraphs I’ll do my best to explain my reasoning behind how high I climb to ambush whitetails.

Okay, first things first: You should know that I have a healthy respect for heights. Does that mean I’m afraid of heights? Kinda sorta. I’ll climb a 12-foot step ladder to clear leaves from my gutters, provided the roofline is about 10 feet high. Am I walking across the peak of the roof to clean gutters on the opposite side of my house, where the roofline is nearly 30 feet? Nope.

When it comes to treestands, I don’t mind climbing 15 to 17 feet, provided I have stable climbing sticks or a steady ladder. Of course, a full-body harness matched with a Hunter Safety System Lifeline (or similar product) provides peace of mind, too. For some reason, I really start gripping the ladder rungs and climbing sticks a lot tighter when the height gets close to 20 feet. Do I ever go 25 feet? No.

A Hunter Safety System Lifeline allows a hunter to stay safely connected while ascending and descending a tree.
A Hunter Safety System Lifeline allows a hunter to stay safely connected while ascending and descending a tree.

Even if skydiving were one of my hobbies, I doubt I’d climb higher than 25 feet for whitetails. In the following three paragraphs, I’ll explain my reasoning when it comes to choosing the right treestand height.

1. Look for Cover

Whenever possible, I place hang-on portables in single trees with a good number of branches at the final treestand height, in a tree that forks, or in a tree that has another tree or two very close by (within arm’s length at treestand height). The reason is you want cover to break up your silhouette against the sky, regardless of whether you’re sitting or standing. An ideal setup for bowhunting is two trees of at least 20 inches in diameter that grow straight and close together (3 or 4 feet apart). Even without branches, two trees growing in this manner work well for a deer hunter. I’ll place my portable stand in one tree, pointing toward the other tree, so I’m positioned between the trunks. I’ll often hang my bow in front of me, on the tree that doesn’t hold the treestand. When standing, it’s easy for me to blend into one of the two tree trunks, and depending on the direction of deer travel, I can draw my bow when a deer is passing behind one of the trunks. I also feel much safer 17 feet in the air if I have a large tree trunk or strong branches nearby in front of me or to the sides.

Clusters of large trees are ideal for placing hang-on portables and ladder stands. The cover provided by nearby tree trunks helps hide elevated hunters from whitetails.
Clusters of large trees are ideal for placing hang-on portables and ladder stands. The cover provided by nearby tree trunks helps hide elevated hunters from whitetails.

2. Use Elevation to Your Advantage

In hilly country, it’s best to pick treestand trees that are on higher ground than deer trails, scrapes, food sources, etc. For example, let’s say you’re trying to ambush river-bottom whitetails that walk a primary deer trail parallel to a creek, on the half hill, up from the creek by 50 yards. You can choose a treestand tree 15 yards above the deer trail (farther from the creek, higher on the hillside), or a tree 15 yards below the deer trail (closer to the creek, lower on the hillside). In almost every case, you’re better picking a tree on the uphill side of the deer trail. Why? Because whitetails have an uncanny ability to pick you off when you’re roughly at their eyeball height, which will be the case if you climb a tree with a base that’s lower on the hill. Depending on the terrain steepness, you might have to climb at least 30 feet to get above the deer trail if the tree is lower on hill; however, if the tree is higher on the hill, you’ll probably need to climb only 6 to 10 feet to be positioned well above the trail. Note: Even when choosing a tree higher on the hillside, don’t forget tip No. 1; cover is critical.

 

3. Think About Arrow Impact

Ideally, you want your arrow to penetrate both lungs of a whitetail for a quick kill and an easy-to-follow blood trail. Fact: Your chance for a double-lung hit goes down the higher you climb in a tree. Example: Let’s say you’re 25 feet in a treestand, and a deer is broadside at 25 feet (8.3 yards). The terrain is flat. Your arrow will be flying toward the deer at a 45 degree angle (see triangle diagram). In order to penetrate both lungs of a whitetail, your arrow would need to catch the very top of the near lung, then it would catch the very bottom of the far lung. Your margin for error is small; hit a bit too high and you’ll spine the deer; hit a bit too low and your arrow will miss the far lung (too low). The arrow angle would be less severe if you were only 15 feet in the treestand, making it much easier to hit both lungs.

The author was joined by one of his buddies in his favorite treestand tree. The forked oak with numerous large branches holds two hang-on portables, one at 14 feet, and one at 16 feet. Paul (shown) is in the lower stand while the author snapped a pic from the higher one. Can you see the single deer in the background? Although this river-bottom is flat, and whitetails often walk on all sides of the forked oak, the deer never spot the hunters because of the outstanding cover provided at treestand height.
The author was joined by one of his buddies in his favorite treestand tree. The forked oak with numerous large branches holds two hang-on portables, one at 14 feet, and one at 16 feet. Paul (shown) is in the lower stand while the author snapped a pic from the higher one. Can you see the single deer in the background? Although this river-bottom is flat, and whitetails often walk on all sides of the forked oak, the deer never spot the hunters because of the outstanding cover provided at treestand height.

Final Thoughts

Does climbing higher increase your chance of whitetails not smelling you? Maybe. But in most instances, if the wind isn’t ideal for your setup, I don’t think it matters much whether you’re 17 feet high vs. 25. And in my experience, deer are often alerted to ground odor (where you walked) as much as they are to you in the tree. Deer probably smell where you grabbed ladder rungs and climbing sticks, too, especially if you climbed with bare hands.

If the wind is in your favor, you have decent cover at treestand height, and you don’t move at the wrong time, it’s likely that whitetails won’t bust you.

I’ll end with this fact: I currently have at least two dozen treestands in the field (hang-on portables and ladders) in Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. On a couple treestands placed on steep hillsides (my shot will be down the hill), I can reach the platform while standing on solid ground. Most of my treestands are 12 to 16 feet high, and a couple sturdy ladders are 20-footers.

You don’t have to climb to the clouds to kill whitetails.



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