Stand placement

[timberghost]

Welcome to the site Hoggaphobia, glad to have you here. About movement, use your eyes to scan the area and move your head slowly. If possible position your stand to see the trail or trails/field, food plot etc. It's easier to look 360 when you stand upright in a stand and move slowly and smoothly without any sudden motion.

[Hunting Man]

Depending on how your stand is set, you normally don't have a shot behind you. I always sit in my stand moving only my head and scanning with my eyes. I shoot from a sitting position also. I try to get into a nice pine with a lot of back drop. I also grab a few small branches and crush the needles then rub them on my outside clothes. This is scent that is common and does not alarm the deer. I then hang a few larger branches around me to break up any pattern that the deer might see. You don't have to see the deer out far if you are quiet and not moving like you have a bee in your shirt. The deer will move into your field of view and you will pick up movement prior to them being in range. If its raining or the woods are very quiet you may not ever see them untill you look down and there they are like ghosts. That's the game enjoy!

[muleskinner]

I agree with several of the other postings that are telling you to break up your silouette. I was picked off last year at 20 feet high because the tree wasn't big enough to break up my outline. I will never waist my time in this type of set up again. They will see you. I think the higher you go the better chance you have of your scent dispersing or driffting away from or shot zone. It is usally your smell that draws the deer to pin point your location and then they verify what they smell by sight.

[Buckshot]

Originally Posted by Hoggaphobia

I, too, am a new hunter in Arkansas. This is my first season and I have certainly scared off a few deer this year. My problem is movement. This may sound like a rather juvenile question, but how am I supposed to look around if I don't move? Two other quesitons: First, by moving farther up the tree, am I not shortening the circumference of my shooting range? My father (God love him) tried to tell me that 20 yds is the same from the ground or 20 ft. up in a tree. Second, he someone also told me that arrows tend to rise a little during the shot. This seems rather counterintuitive to me. I've never shots consistently rise during targets...why should they when hunting from elevation?

How much you move has a lot to do with how much cover you have around you. I have never been busted moving my head around. What you have to watch for is movement that is outside your outline. If you move your hands close to your body deer won't see that but if you raise your hand above your head or hold it straight out they will see it.

I always try to have something solid behind me and something around that breaks up the outline. How high depends on the site but I generally like 20-25feet.

And about the 20 yards being the same as on the ground as 20 feet up a tree? I wish I had a dollar for every discussion I have had on that one. Bottom line is your father is correct. The actual distance on a straight line may be farther but the shot placement is the same. Gravity will have the same effect on the arrow from the ground or from the stand at a fixed distance.

If and arrow rises during the shot It could a mechanical problem like a broad head that is skipping. Some guys think the arrows hit higher on the deer when shooting from a stand when usually it's because they don't bend at the waist and keep their form.

[TA HYBRIDS]

Originally Posted by Arrowslinga

Hey everybody, I'm new to this forum and wanted to introduce myself.I hunt in Arkansas and wanted to know how high does everyone get in the tree while bowhunting.

I try to stay in between 18 to 20 feet provided I have good cover. Sometimes I have to go in between 20 to 25 depending on the terrain. Any higher than that and you're really messing with your shot angle and that could present a problem. Welcome to the site. TA HYBRIDS