I know that ground shooting my bow is different than shooting from a tree stand. I have read reviews on this question and thought that this would be the best place to ask it also. If you have a distance of 25' and your up in your tree stand 15', what is the correct range of the shot? Is the shot 2-4 feet higher or lower. So say lower and some say higher. Can I get some feed back on this question please. Thanks all, and bow hunt or die... Have a great day.
What Ive found is my arrows impact nearly the same from a treestand and from the ground at any given distance. I make it simple. If the deer is at 20 yds Im using my 20 yd pin. I dont take into account anything, even a deer on alert. I am exactly where I want to hit. It has served me well.
Thanks for your reply. Shooting close up, like with the deer under your stand clearly is different than shooting 20 yards. I have missed a few deer shooting at a distance, like 27 yards and in the tree at 20', and the arrow is always short. I am just trying to understand why I have been coming up short, that's all. I thank you for your input.
People need to practice like they hunt. Practice shooting from a tree stand, practice with you're hunting clothes on, practice in positions you might shoot in, etc.
Shoot the ground distance not the tree-stand distance. If you aren't using one already... get a peep. Bending at the waste is crucial because if you don't, as you drop your bow arm the distance from your eye to the pin changes which changes the point of impact. A peep forces you to maintain your form. I went five for five last year until I removed my peep... I then shot twice at the same deer at easy range from my tree stand and went under both times.
I personally don't think there's too much difference in which pin I use. I think a few different things come into play, lending themselves to a missed opportunity. 1. I think as a general rule, if you don't have a range finder, a hunter can easily mis-judge the distance. 2. Hunters should practice with the broadhead they're using. 3. Personally, I'll try to shoot low so that I don't spine the animal. I think a lot of other people do as well. 4. The adrenaline of the moment. Add all of these things up, and you're looking at a arrow stuck in the dirt, 2 ft in front of the deer. Like the others have said, you've gotta practice like you hunt.
Thats a big one! Even seasoned hunters can get the jitters! (like slapping your arm with the bow string and hitting a buck in the neck!) lol
The discrepancy is because of how gravity's force is always perpendicular to the earth. So you need to used a pythagorean theorem. A squared + B squared = C squared Hunter is sitting in his tree at the corner of B & C. Deer is at the corner of C & A. Hunter ranges deer at C yards, but gravity only alters the arrow flight over the distance of A. This is how rangefinders with built in adjustments generally work. In most scenarios however, the difference is negligible. For instance, Hunter is sitting 15' (B=5 yards) up a tree, Deer walks out and is ranged at 30 yards (C). A^2 + B^2 = C^2 A^2 + 5^2 = 30^2 A^2 + 25 = 900 A^2 = 900 - 25 A^2 = 875 A = 28.58 yards So in reality, instead of shooting like the deer was at 30 yards, you "should" shoot for 28.58 yards. I don't know about you, but if I was standing on the ground and ranged something at 28.58 yards, I'm using my 30 yards pin. In most cases, the difference doesn't matter. Your form does matter though. As others stated, be sure to bend at the waist when shooting at a downward direction instead of simply dropping your bow arm. all else fails, you should be practicing shooting from heights anyway
So the range finders with the arc are some what of a joke. If I range a deer with a regular range finder and get thirty yards from b to c. I can just use my thirty and shoot a little low. I have been fearing my shot from a stand for some time not having an arc range finder. I have a range finder but never brought it with me thinking I would be wrong. I shot from my stand and did good with out my range finder. I am glad you posted that.
No in all situations. Steep inclines and/or in situations with longer distances (like mountain hunting, or spot and stalk western hunts) can cause that hypotenuse (or line of sight) distance to be drastically different than actual distance. It's in those situations where the ARC technology is beneficial.
Its call the Pythagorean Theorem. Here's a link to help you brush up on your geometry. https://www.khanacademy.org/math/geometry/right_triangles_topic/pyth_theor/v/pythagorean-theorem
Next time you are on stand with your regular rangefinder, pick a tree roughly thirty yards away and range it to its base. Then range to it on level with you. You'll see the difference. Keep doing that at different distances. You'll quickly get a feel for how much difference there is between the hypotenuse and the level horizontal distance.
Fitz and MGH_PA already said what I was going to say. Just shoot for the horizontal distance. If you're really worried, hold your pin an inch or two low or on the heart and you'll be right on if your range is slightly off or if the deer drops to run.
