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How high?

3K views 29 replies 22 participants last post by  Toxopholite 
#1 ·
Guys I stink,so how high should I go to get above the scent thermals. I have two twenty ft. Ladder stands and still get winded ! I use scent blocking clothes, shower twice a day and still get busted. I use scent control soap,laundry products. Any and all hints will help.
 
#3 ·
Yep. You've gotta be ridiculously high to get above thermals. Probably hundreds of feet. Have several setups for each wind direction. Prevailing winds in my area are from the west, and northwest. Most of pa is that way. For that reason, most of my sets are setup for that. Terrain can also dictate wind currents as it moves around and up and down terrain features. I take that into account as well. Be flexible with your sets, don't think you have to keep it there all season. If you're getting winded, move. Period.
 
#5 ·
I haven't been winded all year to my knowledge. I try to hunt the wind, but very hard to here, always changing on the mtn. I shower with dove unscented soap, use unscented deodorant spray, wash clothes in sportwash. Leave outside in totes that I cut the sides out of and put in screen, so they can stay dry, but air out. I also use the fresh earth hss wafers. I gave up on the scentlock scam long ago. As far as height, depending on terrain, could be anywhere from 8-25'.
 
#6 ·
I always try to locate my stands with the wind in my favor, but like GRock said thats not always possible with the ever changeing and swirling winds in steep terrain. I have been more successful by going high, my bow pull up ropes are 35 feet long and most of the time i will climb until my bow comes off the ground. Sounds crazy high but i feel comfortable at that height and far less deer will smell you and almost never see you. People will argue shoot angle at that height but i think it is irrelavant. No matter how high you go in a tree or the distance a deer is from your tree you always pick a spot on the deer and visualize your arrow exiting the opposite shoulder area. Obviously the higher you go in a tree and the closer a deer is to you the higher that aim point will be. I also gather up a bucket of acorns in the fall and crush them, dump them in the bottom of a plastic tote and lay a vapor barrier on top of them because they will mold over time. Keep your clothes in the tote and you will smell like an acorn all year.
 
#7 ·
You can't get high enough. I use a LW climber and like to be in that 30 ft. area, sometimes higher. Not so much because of the wind as the fact that, with a climber, it's like being on a telephone pole, and they will definately see you at times. Always play the wind and, if you can't or it switches during the day, cross your fingers.
 
#8 ·
I will be a guy who argues shot angle if you go too high. A deer is only so wide. So the higher you go the higher you have to aim like Pa.Bone said. The problem is if the deer is really close and you aim really high you have a higher percentage chance of only getting one lung because of the angle.

I hunt at 20ft and almost never get busted using my LoneWolf handclimber. You have to watch the wind and you have to look for cover, either on the tree you climb or behind you. Climbing a telephone straight pole with no other trees anywhere near it will greatly increase your chance of getting busted. I like to climb split trunk trees or trees that 'Y' higher up. Then I climb to that 'Y' and I have a nice backdrop. I have done this and only been 12-15ft and still had deer at 10 yards.
 
#9 ·
How you approach your stand is very important also. I will go to the extremes to make sure I approach my stand properly. Most of that will come from scouting and knowing how your deer travel. My favorite is approaching from a water source if possible. I found stands where they were set up facing the direction one would have to approach from.
 
#11 ·
My platform is almost always at 25ft. I pay attention to rising and falling thermals. The swirling winds can be a real crapshoot at times even on ridgetops. Regardless of how crazy you are with scent control, they're going to smell you if your scent gets to their nose. Whether they spook or not is another story.
 
#12 ·
randy1953 said:
Guys I stink,so how high should I go to get above the scent thermals. I have two twenty ft. Ladder stands and still get winded ! I use scent blocking clothes, shower twice a day and still get busted. I use scent control soap,laundry products. Any and all hints will help.
I agree with hunting the wind, but I have a suspicion you are missing something in your prep. or in your clothes, equipment prep. as well. My feeling is personal preparation of yourself, your clothes, and your equipment is about 20%-30%. If the wind is good, you can get away with more. If the wind is bad, you are going to get busted 8 times out of 10 no matter how good you are. You might get lucky 2 times with a bad wind, but usually not, and in late archery, you usually only get 1 chance. My problem this season is most of the property I have to hunt needs a W-NW-N wind. I can't count the number of S-SE-SW wind days we had in Tioga county. Even the last day of gun season- December 8- was a S-SSW wind. Usually by then it out of the N-NW and blowing hard and cold.

Some general tips--hunting boots- use for hunting only, don't wear until you are walking in- change to drive home as well.
Stands, bows, etc. - spray them down with scent elimination spray as well.
Clothes- don't get dressed until you get to the hunting area- I got a 24x36 rubber kitchen mat from Walmart to stand on getting dressed at the back of my truck.
Underwear- wash a couple pair with your scent free soap and keep them for hunting only.
Outer wear to drive in- I keep a pair of old pants or sweats- washed in scent free soap- this is what I wear to drive to my spot- then get dressed in my scent free hunting clothes- change when you get back to the vehicle.
Try different body washes- my wife says the green stuff makes me smell like carbon, and DDW doesn't cover body odor- I use Wildlife research scent killer.
Deoderants- best one I've found is Arm and Hammer unscented- again- gotta see what works best for you.
Bath towels- I have 2 I wash with scent free soap to use when I shower to hunt so I'm not picking up the smell of fabric softner as I dry off.
One last thing I do- and it's probably overkill, but starting 1 full week before archery starts AND CONTINUE until the last day of gun season, I only shower with scent free body wash and shampoo, only use scent free soap, only use scent free deoderant, and NO AFTERSHAVES OR COLOGNE. I even have scent free soap and body wash in my locker at work so I can shower after teaching my classes in scent free soap.

I hunt 18-25 feet with my climber, depending on the tree, the canopy, and the terrain around me. My pullup rope is 20'- when it is tight, my summit top is 20 feet from the ground, my feet are 18.5'- If I go higher, I judge by how much of my bow is suspended or off the ground.
 
#13 ·
Squirrel said:
I will be a guy who argues shot angle if you go too high. A deer is only so wide. So the higher you go the higher you have to aim like Pa.Bone said. The problem is if the deer is really close and you aim really high you have a higher percentage chance of only getting one lung because of the angle.

I hunt at 20ft and almost never get busted using my LoneWolf handclimber. You have to watch the wind and you have to look for cover, either on the tree you climb or behind you. Climbing a telephone straight pole with no other trees anywhere near it will greatly increase your chance of getting busted. I like to climb split trunk trees or trees that 'Y' higher up. Then I climb to that 'Y' and I have a nice backdrop. I have done this and only been 12-15ft and still had deer at 10 yards.
Squirrel i think high angle shots are not much of an issue with modern compounds because of the penetration. I think it is a very high percentage shot and try to angle my arrow down thru the heart area. I'll take a shot at a deer directly under my tree versus 40 yards away any day.
 
#14 ·
Thanks guys,where I hunt is in a swampy bottom and the wind swirls constantly. Being almost 60 getting higher than 20 ft is unnerving. I guess I'm looking for a magic bullet and there aren't any of those lying around. I've done most of the things that have been discussed here. Thanks for the imput.
 
#15 ·
It is tough but you need to identify an access route and wind drection to hunt that area and then find a stand location marginal location with good access and wind direction with make for better hunting than great sign and poor access or wind
 
#17 ·
One can do all the crazy prep we all do and it helps a lot, but we can still get winded on occasion. However the prep as well as the approach, exit, number of trips in your hunting location, noise, movement and wind direction can all give one away....And it only take one of these things to ruin a great hunt.

It is said a whitetail deer can pick up the scent of a human at 1,000 yards in open country.....Perhaps less in the woods or uneven terrain. I but I bet we would all be astonished at just how many deer pick up on our location and we do not hear or see them. They simply and quietly go around us. However, when they come into our area causally we think we are a master....Me included.

Regarding the height I plan with the back drop cover, the terrain and the wind like everyone else. My pull rope is about 24 feet. I tie it onto climbing standing platform and do not exceed that height. The higher one goes the smaller the kill zone due to extreme angle. If you must hunt low use a tree stand which you can hide behind your tree and still make a shot or chose a cluster of trees when possible.

Above the scent level? Who knows at any given moment...terminals, terrain, gusts, leaves on the trees/bare trees etc. Maybe if there is a constant wind (If there is such a thing) it might just blow over the deer detection zone. However, go out on any given day any build a small fire, use lots of leaves to create a good smoke screen (Be careful) and just watch how many times the wind changes. On a calm day the scent goes straight to the ground and hovers often blamed as the six sense. The deer panicked for no reason.

Where there are several trails intersecting or a feeding location they can approach from ANY direction...into the wind cross wind or up or down wind. Often when they are called in or rattled in they will approach from down wind....All to be considered with "How High."
 
#19 ·
Hittingguru said:
randy1953 said:
Guys I stink,so how high should I go to get above the scent thermals. I have two twenty ft. Ladder stands and still get winded ! I use scent blocking clothes, shower twice a day and still get busted. I use scent control soap,laundry products. Any and all hints will help.
I agree with hunting the wind, but I have a suspicion you are missing something in your prep. or in your clothes, equipment prep. as well. My feeling is personal preparation of yourself, your clothes, and your equipment is about 20%-30%. If the wind is good, you can get away with more. If the wind is bad, you are going to get busted 8 times out of 10 no matter how good you are. You might get lucky 2 times with a bad wind, but usually not, and in late archery, you usually only get 1 chance. My problem this season is most of the property I have to hunt needs a W-NW-N wind. I can't count the number of S-SE-SW wind days we had in Tioga county. Even the last day of gun season- December 8- was a S-SSW wind. Usually by then it out of the N-NW and blowing hard and cold.

Some general tips--hunting boots- use for hunting only, don't wear until you are walking in- change to drive home as well.
Stands, bows, etc. - spray them down with scent elimination spray as well.
Clothes- don't get dressed until you get to the hunting area- I got a 24x36 rubber kitchen mat from Walmart to stand on getting dressed at the back of my truck.
Underwear- wash a couple pair with your scent free soap and keep them for hunting only.
Outer wear to drive in- I keep a pair of old pants or sweats- washed in scent free soap- this is what I wear to drive to my spot- then get dressed in my scent free hunting clothes- change when you get back to the vehicle.
Try different body washes- my wife says the green stuff makes me smell like carbon, and DDW doesn't cover body odor- I use Wildlife research scent killer.
Deoderants- best one I've found is Arm and Hammer unscented- again- gotta see what works best for you.
Bath towels- I have 2 I wash with scent free soap to use when I shower to hunt so I'm not picking up the smell of fabric softner as I dry off.
One last thing I do- and it's probably overkill, but starting 1 full week before archery starts AND CONTINUE until the last day of gun season, I only shower with scent free body wash and shampoo, only use scent free soap, only use scent free deoderant, and NO AFTERSHAVES OR COLOGNE. I even have scent free soap and body wash in my locker at work so I can shower after teaching my classes in scent free soap.

I hunt 18-25 feet with my climber, depending on the tree, the canopy, and the terrain around me. My pullup rope is 20'- when it is tight, my summit top is 20 feet from the ground, my feet are 18.5'- If I go higher, I judge by how much of my bow is suspended or off the ground.
Great minds think alike wayne because you do all the same things i do with scent control, only i use scentaway products instead of wildlife research. Its a pain in the butt but it works. My friends think im nuts for wearing a different set of boots and clothes while driving in the truck, but thats why i consistantly kill nice bucks and they dont. I started washing my towels in scent free soap and keeping them outside this year. I also prohibit my wife from using any scented detergent in our washing machine before or during hunting season. All my hunting clothes and boots are kept in totes outside as well. As far as treestand height is concerned, i go as high as necessary or as high as im able to. Ive got one stand that i hunt in the rut occasionally that im only like 12' off the ground. There are very few trees in this area and i was forced to place a stand in a small locust tree. This year i had a nice 8 walk directly under me, i let him pass and as far as i know, i was undetected. Most of the time, with enough cover, i try to get to 15' minimum though with my hang ons and im ususually in the 18-25' range with my climber. Playing the wind is paramount though, especially with mature deer.
 
#20 ·
I keep my clothes outside after the preseason wash and I change on the back porch. My hunting clothes don't see the inside of the house until I tag out or seasons are over. The only problem is once on stand, those dang stink bugs start crawling out of my sleeves. When I tagged out the smell of stink bugs was overwhelming...maybe that covered my scent.
 
#21 ·
I've hunted in trees in the South primarily because of so much foliage so close to the ground cutting down the hunters view, and the fact that deer have the advantage in warmer weather.
Have had many sightings of deer, close in, on the ground, while hiking.
I never pick the place of the sighting. It's all up to the deer. My hiking partner and I watch for movement and come to a complete stop, when we do. We let the deer do the movement and many times they continue on. This week it was a doe, which crossed our path on a trail twenty yards away. Followed quickly by a buck tracking the doe.

You learn a lot about wildlife when you're not hunting it. By hiking you learn the wildlife picks the spots. And you learn while hiking, how close you can get to the deer, the hawk, and the great blue heron, as we did the past two weeks.
 
#23 ·
Pa.Bone said:
Squirrel i think high angle shots are not much of an issue with modern compounds because of the penetration. I think it is a very high percentage shot and try to angle my arrow down thru the heart area. I'll take a shot at a deer directly under my tree versus 40 yards away any day.
Maybe you're right. I hunted with stickbows so many years I sometimes forget I am using a different tool now.
 
#24 ·
Borrow a black light, go downstairs or somewhere dark and check your clothes for UV.

Before - my old camo, washed in sportwash:

[img:center]


New Predator Fall Woods- sportwashed:

[img:center]


I dont buy cover scents. I use scent free soap and Mitchum unscented AP. I scrape
(not a mock scrape) the ground in several areas around my stand at different yardages and shooting lanes, where the deer ALWAYS stop to smell (shot oppurtunity!) Deer LOVE fresh earth- they continually smell it for scent. I take some of the fresh earth scraped by my boots, and put it in one of those mesh camo bags for covering your arrow fletchings. Hang it above your head. That way the earth scent comes from the area you hunt. It's FREE!


Another possibility is to smoke your clothes, deer are used to burning wood smoke and are not threatened by it. It is becoming more popular as a cover year after year.

FWIW- I rarely go up past 12 feet and have taken deer at 6 yds from no more than 5 ft off the ground.
 
#25 ·
A few years back I purchased a black light and tested all my hunting clothes and I have a lot. None of them showed any sign of UV. Some are very expensive Scent Loc and a few were purchased from discount stores and retail stores that sells seconds etc.

However I do wash my hunting clothes in scent free wash. I have used different types, but not all had been washed at that time. It appears to me that more attention has been given to camo without UV in recent years; however, I would recommend the black light test and the use of UV killer type wash. On the other hand I would not recommend the use of UV killer to be a absolute fix for "How High?" Better to depend of the concealment ones stand location provides.
 
#26 ·
I have had disastrous results when experimenting with smoking clothes. I think it depends where your hunting. If there's ever smoke around or not. I almost ruined all my hunting clothes by smoking them, could not get smell out until I borrowed an ozone machine and used it to kill the smoke odor. To each their own, I hate shooting at close deer, under 10 yards. I try my best to get at least a 30 yard shot in. The fresh earth idea works good. I actually get fresh dirt and rub it all in my hair and clothes before I climb up the tree.
 
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