What Is One Advantage Of Hunting From An Elevated Stand?

The main advantage of hunting from an elevated stand is that you will be out of the peripheral vision of the deer. This is a common technique. The peripheral vision of a deer is roughly 16 feet when they are walking by.

Not only are you going to be above their peripheral vision; also, your scent is going to be off the ground as well. At least for a short way downwind, maybe about ten yards or so if the wind is blowing light and steady. 

I know what you are thinking. That’s not the main reason why you would hunt from an elevated stand. The main thing is, when you are hunting, you want to have a good shot angle.

You will be in a position where you will get a good shot angle on a passing dear. You won’t be very high up where it becomes too difficult to get proper shot angles.

For a clean kill, you will need to get a good shot at both of the lungs of a deer. The higher you get, the more difficult the shot angle is. You have to go through a lot of heavier tissues to reach the lungs.

Understanding Deer Vision

You must learn the key characteristics of the animal you are hunting. Whatever you do, you won’t be able to hide yourself and your scent in the stand completely. There are a lot of things that you can do to make yourself invisible to the white-tailed deer. And the most important one is to understand deer vision.

Deer see differently than humans. They see better in 2D than 3D because of their dichromatic vision. They don’t even see the same colors in nature that we see. They see more in the blue range, in the yellow range, and the green range than any other color ranges.

So, is this info helpful to you as a hunter? Well, not that much. What you need to understand is that deer have a very acute vision of seeing distances and movement.

How many times have you been sitting out in a stand and a deer comes out to feed? And all sudden, that deer stops and picks his head up and starts looking, and it is looking across a forty acres field.

Do you think it heard something over there? Probably not. It probably saw something, and this is what you need to understand about deer vision. The vision of a deer gives them the opportunity to see danger or see another deer coming. 

The more you understand about deer vision and how it works, the better you’re going to be when you’re out in your tree stand.

How Do A Deer’s Eyes Work?

Okay, now we need to understand how a deer’s eyes work or kind of how they work. We have to put ourselves in a better position from being seen. There’s a lot of things you can do as a hunter to make yourself unseen to a deer.

For example, brushing in your tree stand and brushing in your ground blinds and making sure that it’s going to break up your outline, especially when you’re up in a stand.  Does camouflage matter?

Yes, camouflage matters, but what’s more important is how you’re tucked into that environment and how you’re in that tree stand. It’s not going to matter what color I’m wearing or what pattern I’m wearing.

This is about breaking up my human silhouette. When they see the human silhouette, they know that it’s dangerous. Whether you’re on the ground or whether you’re up in a tree, they know something’s not right.

That is why you need to understand how to fool a deer’s eye through natural camouflage, through what I’m wearing, and especially where I have my stand place or my blind placed.

Stand Placement

You know, something else a lot of people don’t think about is stand placement and the line of sight where it is in relation to where a deer might be coming your way. There is no magical number. It can be 20 feet above the ground, 25 feet above the ground.

It does not matter where it is in relation to the deer’s eyesight. If the deer is coming off a ridge and your stand is 20 feet up, it’s almost eye level with the deer. The deer is going to see you.

If a deer were coming down the edge of a field and you’re in the corner in your ground blind sitting right there, it doesn’t matter how well you have it brushed; the deer will still see you if you have that window open.

In a nutshell, it’s about the line of sight and where the deer are coming from, and where I’m in relation to that.

Advantage Of Hunting From An Elevated Stand

So, the main advantage here is that you are getting a wider field of vision. This allows you to plan your next move cautiously and spot your game better compared to hunting on the ground.

This is just one of the advantages of hunting from an elevated stand. You will be able to spot the deer earlier and get into the right position to shoot. This way, you will have more time to prepare and don’t always have to keep the bow in a nocked position.

Another advantage of hunting from a tree stand is that the deer won’t be able to smell your scent or see. This is possible if you placed the tree stand in a proper position.

You are less likely to get detected by the game when you are on an elevated stand. And if you use a box stand, you will be able to protect your hunting gears and other accessories from rain and cold weather.

When it comes to tree stands, there are different varieties that you can choose from. There is the climbing stand, ladder stand, hanging stand, and also the tripod box stand.

Tips For Hunting From An Elevated Stand

Tree stands are risky. While they have plenty of advantages, one wrong move and you will fall down hard and possibly injure yourself. Make sure to follow these steps to avoid any possible injuries.

1. Use a strong tree stand to avoid accidents
2. Always stay alert. There are huge chances of falling, and it is not a good idea to use a tree stand during nighttime.
3. Always climb on an elevated stand during the daytime
4. It is time-consuming and difficult to carry and install a tree stand. Plan ahead and find the perfect location before you go out hunting.
5. Check the tree and make sure it can hold the weight of your stand. Also, check the surroundings and see if other trees are not blocking your line of sight.
6. Wear proper hunting clothes to protect yourself from heavy wind and cold weather. Take all the gears you need with you to the stand.
7. Keep a first aid kit with you at all times.
8. From the moment you climb up the tree, make sure to keep wearing your hunting safety equipment.
9. The safest device to wear when you are going up in a tree stand is a full-body harness. You can also wear a fall-arrest system.
10. Tree stands don’t allow too much space for moving around. Keep that in mind when you are getting up there.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, now you the one advantage of hunting from an elevated stand. I won’t say it is better than ground blinds, but if you plan ahead and choose the right spot, you will be able to hunt better and more easily.

It is all about the right tree stand placement and finding the right tree to install your elevated stand. Plan it out first and check the surroundings. Happy hunting.