[fabsroman]

Yeah, I'm not a fan of having my treestand in the very treetop. The first time I went to strap my stand on a tree in the back yard, I had a branch break above me and come crashing down. I heard the crack, saw my dad look up, and never even wasted any time to look up. I took off running and the branch came right down beside my stand. If I hadn't taken off, I would have been in the hospital or 6 feet under.

I go up about 20 to 25 feet and when that tree starts swaying I start praying. I have seen guys up around 40 feet, and no deer is worth that to me. If they can smell me at 25 feet, they can live another day. Plus, I have seen way too many guys smoking in their stand and peeing out of their stand kill plenty of deer, and decent bucks too. So, the extra height just isn't worth it to me.

By the way, I always wear full orange coveralls during muzzleloader and firearms season and I always use a safety harness when I am in the treestand.

Safety first, venison steaks second.

Oh yeah, I live in Maryland and do most of my hunting in Maryland.