Gents..... I've missed 2 does on my past two hunts. The kicker is, I missed the doe 3 times one evening and on the second evening missed another doe twice. 20 and 30 yard shots. This is my second year bow hunting but have been hunting deer for a looooong time. I will admit I need more practice from elevated positions but when I do practice I do well. I'm satisfied with my grouping. I'm actually ruining arrows here and there from shooting to tight of groups. Either I am miss judging my range although this last hunt I took the time to use my range finder to be sure before taking the shot. This particular stand is 16.5 feet tall plus I'm over 6 foot tall. I have only shot elevated from 12-14 feet and see no real difference in accuracy at this height. Could the extra few feet in the stand be causing a difference in range? I do not have an ARC range finger. Before my next hunt I plan on taking the 3D target to my stand and try to figure out what is going wrong. Other than more practice what can I check and maybe do differently?
i am being humble,[ i have missed many] it could be a matter of the stand height ,sure a few feet dose add up to a mile at times,question i have r u shooting high or low on yer missed shots? normally shooting from a elevated position most folks aim high above the point of impact ,in which yer shot will be high , normal trend is on any elevated plane rule of thumb weather its up or down aim low below yer point of impact at that height u have mentioned i would shoot about a inch or two low ,yer whole trajectory changes from the stand, practice practice,
Something has changed and it's not just height. Your form, nerves, anchor, grip... something is up. Be sure to figure it out before you take another shot at an animal. Are you wearing a mask or gloves when hunting? Do you practice with them. In the stand you should bend at the waist so that your upper body keeps good form. You can practice buy drawing while aiming parallel to the ground, then tilt you waist to aim down wards. I hope all these were clean misses...
Check your form (ie. bend at the waist instead of dropping your arm, etc.). The extra height shouldn't be a problem, at these distances. The target practice, from your stand, is a good idea, not sure I'd do it in the actual spot I was going to hunt though.
The first miss I was wearing gloves and a mask and yes.....That played a factor. I had trouble feeling my kisser button and getting a comfortable anchor point. I will not shoot again until I fix my problem and yes they were clean misses. I appreciate the tips fellas.
I find this to be the biggest reason people miss from an elevated position. By dropping your arm, your form collapses, especially if your draw length is too long to begin with. Be sure to bend at the waist and keep your form together. I keep the draw on my hunting rigs 1/2" shorter than my target bows to help deal with both this and bulky clothing in cold weather.
I applaud you for wanting to first figure out the issue and resolve it before hunting again... many wouldn't...
With the lack of an ARC range finder range trees at the level you are sitting. This will give you a more accurate reading for shooting distance then ranging the target itself. The lack of ARC measure the true distance which will be longer if you aim at the target from a height. Imagine A is the height of your stand and B is the shooting distance to the target. Your range finder is giving you C which is going to be longer than B so your distance and shot will be off. With your range finder range trees and the such at the same level you are to get a true reading on the distance you shold be shooting.
Don't worry about it. A = 7 in this case. That's not a height that's big enough to effect the true distance (B) vs. ranged distance (C) by more than a yard. ARC rangefinders are seriously over-hyped for treestand hunting.
I always shoot a draw length 1/2'' shorter than needed , been doing it for many years and it helps alot on your accuracy and bulky clothes , bend your waist and bring your whole body down in the line of sight , never tip your bow or drop your bow arm , and watch torquing your bow in the heat of the moment , just relax calm down and enjoy the moment , your probally shooting over there backs , with a combonation of shooting form from the stand and them possibly ducking your arrow ..........JMO
Well today I took the 3D target to the stand. This particular stand is on the edge of a field. There are no trees to range and I have no shot opportunities in the woods directly behind me, to many leaves still on the trees. I shot the target at 20, 25, 30 and 40 yards. I found no difference in shot placement from target practicing on the level ground. My comfort level at this stage of my bow hunting "career" (2nd year) is 30 yard shots tops. my shots are ok at 40yards I'm just not comfortable with the speed of the arrow with my current setup at 40 yards. So at least at this point the problem lies with me. My bow is on target at this tree height. I either judged the range wrong or a combination of nerves, sight picture, torquing etc. I even placed out little markers in the field to help me judge the different ranges better.
Placing yardage markers is a good idea , they will dial ya right in next time , remember a deer will jump your string , so at 30 yards and depending on the speed of your bow and loudness , your pins perfectly placed in the kill zone could lead to a spine shot or a complete miss , aiming alittle low at that yardage will not hurt.............for instance last year on a Doe at 48 yards i pit my i put my 50 yard pin right on the white if her belly and when she droped the arrow layed right in there for a perfect shot. Good Luck to Ya !!!
Everytime I see a deer my heart starts racing and nerves on max level. Sometimes i will calm down sometimes i won't. No matter if it is a fawn or a world record buck. Last year i missed a doe due to nerves and shot to quickly, after that i was a wreck. Until i told my buddy and he told me when i am practicing to get my heart beating good, just like it would when i would draw back on a deer. Month after i downed a doe at 36 yards. So i would try to get my blood flowing real good when i practice shooting, do some push-up or just run in place. Just a thought. Goodluck next time though and keep your head up bud!
Yea I try and remember these quirks. Here I am thinking I'm making progress and you remind me of yet "other factors" that can come into play
