It’s time for the hunt. You’ve got all your gear together and are ready to take down that giant buck. You’ve probably thought about where you should put your deer stand, but what about how far away it should be from your house? This little detail is often overlooked by skilled and amateur hunters alike.
A deer stand should be placed at least 1,000 feet from any occupied residence. There is also, no set distance you need to be from a public road. Whether you’re hunting on your own property, or your best buddy is letting you hunt on his, it’s always a good idea to know how far your deer stand should be placed from the house. Picture this, you hear a rustling in the woods and you just know it’s that huge buck with the eight-point rack that you’ve been going at for months. Now’s you’re chance, you’re finally going to nail that trophy! That’s when tragedy strikes. Your kids are outside making all kinds of racket and scare your trophy right back into the woods. What a shame. When you put your deer stand too close to the house it’s probably going to really screw up your hunt. This obviously isn’t the main problem with putting your stand too close to the house. It’s just not safe! You could shoot a hole through your window or something much worse. The bottom line is, put the stand far far away. A dumb deer is not worth the price of causing an accident that could have been avoided. Keep your stand at least a thousand feet away, and you should be good to go!
How Many Acres Needed to Legally Hunt
Have you ever thought about how big your land needs to be to hunt? A lot of hunters overlook this little detail as well!
If you are hunting with any type of shotgun, bow, or air gun, your land must be at least ten acres. The size limit only goes up from here. If you’re shooting with a pistol or rifle, your land must be at least fifty acres.
These laws are according to the state of Texas. Any other state might have different rules and regulations. If you are reading from another state, please check your state’s hunting laws. Now, keep in mind that these laws are only if you are wanting to hunt on your land or if you want to lease your land for others to hunt on. These laws are for if you are actually hunting game. The state of Texas allows you to shoot your firearm if you or your family happens to be in danger no matter how many acres you have.
How Far to Place Target from House
We’ve talked about how far away you should put your deer stand from a house when hunting game, but what if you are just shooting a target. This answer is much different from the previous.
Shooting a target is a completely different story. When you are wanting to shoot a target, you only need to be 450 feet from your house. Obviously, when shooting a target, the environment is much more controlled; therefore, you do not have to be as far away as if you were hunting. Keep in mind that all the land rules from the previous sections apply. You still must have the proper amount of acreage to even shoot a target on your property.
How Far Deer Stand Should Be from feeder
Now that we’ve covered how far the deer stand should be from your house. Let’s talk about how far the stand should be from the feeder.
A lot of hunters use deer feeders to attract deer to their property. This is a great way to leer the deer to your home base without much effort. All you need is a feeder, some corn, and about five minutes to fill it up.
After you’ve got the deer eating out of the palm of your hand, it’s time to decide where you should put your stand. Typically, the deer pass 15-20 feet from your feeder. The answer to this question depends heavily on what you are shooting with. If you’re shooting with a bow, you will definitely need to be closer than if you are shooting with a rifle. Keep this in mind when choosing a good spot for your deer stand. Based on this, you could put your stand anywhere from 75 yards to 160 yards away. It all depends on your weapon and skill.
Recap
Let’s sum up all the topics covered in this post. Remember to put your deer stand at least 1,000 feet from a house or any occupied residence at all times. You must have at least 10 acres to shoot any weapon on your property in Texas–unless you or your family is in danger of course. There must be at least 50 acres of land if you want to shoot a rifle or pistol. When shooting a target, it must be placed at least 450 feet from the house. Your deer stand could go anywhere from 75 to 160 yards from your deer feeder. Place it according to your weapon and skill level. I hope you’ve learned some valuable tips for your next hunt. Now get out there, stay safe, and have some fun!
