Why 16 foot limit on permanent deer stands?

[luckey]

Can someone shed some light on this. You can sit on a 12"X15" platform strapped 25 feet up a tree, but cannot build a permanent stand over 16 feet off the ground. How did the rule come in existance and what is the reasoning behind it?

[Ely Lake Expert]

I really don't know forsure but this is what I think. At 16 feet or less it keeps the shooting distances reasonable 400 yards or less, unless you are way out in the open. I think if you could build as high as possible people would be shooting at deer from 1000+ yards which in effect would have more bad shots and wounding more deer, resulting in wasting deer. Another part of it may be hunter safety. If you fall from 16 feet, you will probably get hurt, but hopefully not to bad. If you are 30 feet up, the chance of severe injury and even death is much higher.

Is there really no limit on height for movable stands? I always hunt from permanents so I have never looked into it.

[Swamp Scooter]

I am not sure but I believe the rule was put in quite a few years ago. I think it was a time before there were so many advances in portable stands and the only real way to get up was to build it up with a permanent. Kind of hard to get a few trees together you can build on and still be stabel in the wind much over 16'.

[Powerstroke]

Its kind of a rule to regulate something that increases risk of injury. The higher you go the more dangerous its gonna be. I would say that the majority of perm. stands do not get checked and maintained yearly. And of those who say they maintain their stands, I've seen too many people who bring a hammer and nails into the woods and call that stand maintenance.

Its obvious that the DNR can do little if you want to build a 30' stand on your private property, but the laws were written when perm stands were still allowed to be built on public lands. Now that they are getting outlawed in more areas rules like this mean less and less.