Tree Stand Placement: Why Going Higher Isn't Always Better

As one might imagine, I’ve learned more than just a little about mature buck behavior during my many years of involvement in the sport of deer hunting. But perhaps the most important thing I’ve discovered is that mature buck behavior definitely does not remain consistent from one specific region to another.

For instance, I’ve been on a few hunts where it wasn’t all that difficult to figure out the patterns of resident mature bucks. However, I need to quickly add that I’ve been on far more hunts where it appeared that taking a mature buck would be an almost impossible task. This is especially true when you consider that I had only a short time to get the job done.

The reason I bring this up is to help illustrate the topic of this particular article. That topic has to do with tree stand placement. More specifically, it has to do with tree stand height, and if higher stand placement is always better like is often the argument. Before continuing, I’d like to state that I refuse to take a hard stand on this particular subject — no pun intended — and I feel it’s only right to admit that I did initially drink the Kool Aid regarding the "higher is always better" philosophy.

Believe it or not, several hunting partners and I didn’t feel right unless our tree stands were placed at least 20 feet off the ground. In many instances, they were placed at 25 feet — or even higher!

While this approach may sound a bit radical — and more than a little risky — we honestly didn’t give it much thought. That’s because the vast majority of our hunts, especially those that took place in Wisconsin’s north woods, came with a special challenge.

Put simply, the trees in which we were forced to place our portable stands consisted of tall and very straight mature poplars and maples. In our part of the country, those trees have virtually no limbs along the first 20 to 30 feet of their trunks. Bottom line, those who aspired to be successful big-buck hunters in this environment couldn’t be squeamish regarding heights.

Truth be told, I initially didn't relish the thought of being perched on a portable tree stand placed at what I referred to as "nose bleed heights," especially when considering that there were no commercially-produced safety harnesses back then. Talk about rolling the dice — and it happened on many more occasions than I care to think about now!

But believe it or not, I did eventually feel somewhat comfortable while hunting from extreme heights. It proved to be a major factor in my being able to rack up a fairly impressive success rate during my early deer hunts in Wisconsin’s north woods. As one might imagine, those successes did get me to thinking that perhaps higher was better.

Embracing a Major Change

Eventually, a time came when I was forced to abandon my old philosophy. This change came about when I began hunting trophy whitetails in areas where placing tree stands at extreme heights either wasn't an option or wasn't necessary.

In some instances, the mature trees in places I was now hunting didn’t grow to heights — or circumferences — that offered the option of going higher. And in other environments, the local whitetails had never been subjected to any form of predatory threats from above — most notably, the human variety.

This meant that I was suddenly forced to adopt a whole new approach to tree stand hunting for mature whitetails. Put simply, my old philosophy was no longer relevant, nor was it even the slightest bit practical in many of the areas where I was now hunting.

Before proceeding, I feel the need to be very honest about something here. Adopting a totally different approach to tree stand placement proved to be a very serious test of my patience. It also proved to be a bit of a slam to my ego. After all, I’d long preached the gospel regarding the ‘higher is always better’ thought process.

But now, here I was publicly stating that higher tree stand placement wasn’t necessarily the best approach. Looking back, I can only imagine what some of my fellow hunters were thinking and/or saying about this sudden and dramatic shift from my prior opinion on the subject.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to say or do much to justify my newfound approach regarding tree stand height. That’s because most of my hunts were now being captured on film. So, I had the luxury of letting the footage we’d captured from some of my "low-altitude hunts" do the talking. I’m convinced this approach went a long way toward getting other hunters to reconsider their own beliefs on the subject of tree stand height.

A Couple Cases In Point

Some years back I was extended an invitation to bowhunt a large chunk of ground in north central Oklahoma. Initially I was quite excited about the opportunity, but enthusiasm began to wane just a bit during the 16 hour drive to my destination.

To begin with, I wouldn’t have the luxury to do much in the way of pre-scouting the area where I’d be hunting. I also didn’t know much about the caliber of the mature bucks that supposedly resided in the immediate area. And I certainly wasn’t familiar with the movement patterns those deer might be displaying. It was the ultimate crap shoot!

Now, I will readily admit that I did spin my wheels the first couple days of the hunt, but then I got a huge break on day three. That’s when the wind finally switched to a direction that would allow me to hunt a great looking spot I’d found earlier. However, hunting that particular location did come with a major concern.

The spot consisted of a group of three fairly large cottonwood trees that had grown about four feet apart in a “V” pattern. While the tree that stood in the back part of this “V” did afford an excellent view of a lush food plot, the presence of some rather large branches meant tree stand height would be limited to only eight feet. This was even more concerning due to the fact that a videographer would be filming the hunt.

As any seasoned trophy whitetail hunter can attest, it’s hard enough keeping your presence a secret when you’re hunting solo. However, the potential for possible problems is doubled when two people are involved. But after getting our stands in place and taking a good look at the setup, I did feel just a bit better.

Long story short, on the third evening of my hunt I ended up arrowing a dandy 8-point that followed a few does into the food plot. Making the encounter even more priceless was the fact that the sun hadn’t yet slipped below the western horizon when the buck made his appearance. As a result, the footage my videographer captured of the encounter turned out to be absolutely stellar.

Six Feet Was High Enough

Yes, you read the above heading correctly. I took one of my better South Dakota bow-killed whitetails while hunting from a portable tree stand I’d placed no more than six feet off the ground. Even more unbelievably, my good friend and long time videographer, Matt Tande, was perched on another portable stand we’d placed only about a foot higher than mine. So, I’m sure you can understand why this remains one of my more memorable hunts.

Now, before going any further I need to explain some of the more important factors regarding this particular hunt. To begin with, the hunt occurred in early September, which meant the native foliage in the area was still very green and lush. In addition, the resident whitetails were still displaying somewhat active daylight feeding patterns. And lastly, but most importantly, the area where we’d be hunting afforded us the opportunity to do some very productive long-range observations during the final 30 minutes of evening daylight.

As it went, Matt and I spent a couple evenings observing a targeted area from a safe distance. Our goal was to attempt to figure out the evening travel patterns of some of the resident whitetails.

Admittedly, we were both pleased — and just a little surprised — to see that deer movement was almost identical both evenings. Even more interesting, however, was the fact that several mature bucks, including a very impressive 9-point, were utilizing that pattern.

The pattern I’m talking about here involved a dozen or so whitetails that exited a stretch of thick river bottom cover approximately 15 minutes before sunset. Those deer would then make their way across a 50-yard stretch of low, brushy cover. At this point the deer would then enter a 30-yard wide shelter belt that bordered a gravel town road. The alfalfa field was located on the other side of that road.

Judging from what Matt and I had witnessed, the most effective strategy obviously would be to wait to ambush somewhere within the shelter belt. That’s where we ran into a major snag in our plan.

While the trees in these shelter belts typically are very straight, and do sport fairly thick foliage, they also happen to be quite small in diameter. When I say that, I’m referring to the fact that the largest of those were only a little over 30 inches in diameter near the bases of their trunks. On a positive note, those trees were still sporting very thick and lush green summer foliage. I personally remain convinced that above all else, this particular factor proved to be our saving grace on that South Dakota bow hunt.

Now for what I consider to be the most unbelievable part of this story. After getting our stands placed in the small tree we’d chosen, I could actually reach up from the ground and grab the platform on my stand. And Matt’s stand was only about a foot and a half higher than mine. I can’t ever recall being more paranoid about our chances of not getting picked off by any deer that came close.

But as it turned out, my trepidations regarding the height of our stands was unwarranted. We watched in total amazement as close to a dozen antlerless deer and smaller bucks walked within 20 to 30 yards of our position during our first evening sit. Not a single one of those deer even glanced in our direction, which eventually proved to be a very good thing.

The sun was just slipping below the western horizon when a mature 9-point made an appearance. Just as the many deer that preceded him had done, the buck walked well within bow range on his trek to the alfalfa. It proved to be a fatal mistake for the old deer.

Without a doubt, that South Dakota bow hunt remains one of my most memorable of all. While I had taken a fair share of larger bucks during my career, I’d never been presented the opportunity to take one while hunting from a tree stand placed just six feet from the ground — and with a videographer in the same tree! The experience will forever remain priceless to me.

Conclusion

In closing, I’d like to state that several important factors must be considered when deciding if higher really is better. The most important of these factors has to do with the amount of pressure the resident whitetails have been subjected to from tree stand hunters and/or tree climbing predators (i.e, bobcats, cougars, etc.).

Just as importantly, however, is the maximum height each of us feels comfortable hunting from. For instance, when I was younger I had zero fears about placing my tree stands as much as 30 feet from the ground. But for the past 15 years or so I doubt I’ve occupied a stand that was more than 12 feet up. And I can honestly state without hesitation that my success rate on mature bucks hasn’t dropped off a bit.

So, is true that higher is always better? I now have plenty of reasons to believe that is not the case.

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