Elkman and Dubyam,
This stand is kind of in the bottom of a big bowl shaped area. So the ground slopes up in the front and the left. In both the front and the left the slopes level out and that is where the deer come out to browse a lot - where the ground levels out on the top "rim" of the bowl. My current stand is at 20 feet and I can just see the bodies of the deer - especially on the left. I figure that a stand a couple of feet higher would give me a better view of the deer and have less chance of the bullet hitting a stray brush twig sticking up. I brush hog every year but some of the brush recovers pretty quickly. It is safe to shoot since it is my woods just behind the deer. They are NOT sky lined on an horizon.
One of my friends is a lineman for an electric company. He has access to used electric poles and a huge backhoe. He said that he would get some poles and set them for me.
I am pretty good with height as long as the ladders are strong or the surface is reasonably level. I get nervous when on a steep barn roof where I fear that my soles will slip on the surface.
To me, a 6' x 6' platform with a rail around it is much more secure feeling than a 20" square platform strapped to a tree.
