ORIGINAL: NavyDeerHunter
Thanks for the feedback ya'll. I'm glad to hear that you have had productive seasons.
Doc-- I have considered a pendulum sight, but hear that it's worthless on level ground. Is that true? If not, I'll certainly consider getting one.
NY-- Yep, I practice from stands using my hunting clothes in various conditions and am usually pretty consistant. The first and second bow misses came less than 5 minutes apart. I misjudged the first and shot over her and then was so pissed that I flubbed the chance at the second doe that came in a few minutes later. The bow miss last night I'm convinced was an anchor point problem. It was windy and cold and I neglected to move my face mask out of the way and therefore did not get my kisser button into the corner of my mouth. Stupid rookie mistake and I deserve the miss. I'm just grateful that it was a "clean" miss and I did not wound the deer. The other miss really befuddles me. I had lasered the yardage, was not nervous, conditions right and it just missed. Who knows sometimes.
Again, thanks for the feedback.
Craig
I had a good season, buck with a bow, buck with a gun and three turkeys, one spring and two fall. I took five shots and got five animals, I can't complain.
I'm not trying to start any arguments here, but I just don't like sights that move and hinge on my bow. Too many moving parts leads to more problems. Over the years I've learned a few tricks for shooting out of tree stands. First of all, when shooting out of a tree stand, you must keep your form in tact. You must bend at the waist and keep your form at full draw just like you are when standing on the ground. Do NOT lower your bow arm to aim, it changes your sight angle and you will shoot high.
Another important thing to consider is the yardage you are shooting for. Once you get about 20 feet and higher in the tree, you have to subtract yardage from what your range finder tells you. This is because you are ranging the hypotenuse ( long side ) of a right triangle. The correct yardage to shoot for is the yardage from your target to the base of your tree. For example, when I ranged to a trail from 25 feet in my tree stand, it told me the distance was 23 yards. It just didn't seem right, so when I got down, I ranged it from the ground and it was 20 yards. For stands 27 feet or higher, I subtract 4 yards from distances ranged from the tree stand. These differences may seem small, but in the right situation it can mean the difference between a hit and a miss or worse yet, a wounded animal.
In short, if you bend at the waist and know the correct yardage you should be ok with your fixed pin sight. Excitement, buck fever - that's a whole nother thing, pick a spot the size of a quarter and focus on it until your arrow hits the target!