Ask A Pro by Tony Tazza

How Do You Practice Yardage Judging?

When I asked Senior Pro, 2002 IBO National Champion, Derry Null to help me answer this question he was very eager with a reply.
Derry Null: Judging yardage, in my opinion is the most demanding aspect of 3-D archery. There are no shortcuts to success, just dedication and hard work. I' ve found that judging the target itself it what works the best for me. I don' t judge using the ground at all because I feel like it can fool you much more often than the target can. I don' t judge using trees, clumps of grass, logs or anything else on the range simply because I have no idea how large these objects are. Not knowing the size of these objects, I can' t make a true judgment of their distance.
Not owning the 3-D targets to practice on really doesn' t put you at a huge disadvantage, because we all have local clubs that have shoots every week. Instead of shooting for score at your local archery club, take advantage of a golden opportunity to have a really good practice session. Take your range finder (a laser range finder is a must!) with you to the shoot and judge every target as often as possible from different spots. Once at the shooting stake, judge the target then zap the target with the range finder. Now that you know the exact yardage, make a perfect shot. If you misjudge a target, make sure you find out why and how you made the mistake. I will also go back and walk around the course armed only with my range finder and notebook. I will make notes on the targets and situations that fooled me and why.
At a national shoot, foolish archers shoot a five on a target and then allow their temper and emotions to cause them to continue to make other mistakes because of it. I highly recommend that if you shoot a five, you should immediately put the score behind you and spend every second you can rejudging the target to arrive at the proper yardage and figure out why it fooled you.
When you have arrived at your yardage, judge for the target you are shooting. That is the yardage! Do not second guess yourself from that point on. Just make your very best shot at the spot you want to hit.
High or low....let her go.

My practice and judging methods are similar to Derry' s in some aspects, but also differ in others. One thing I have found out by asking other top-ranked archers is what works for one may not always work for the other. I would recommend trying new methods and sorting through them and finding what works best for you.
When practicing judging yardage, I know that the best way for me is by using 3-D targets. I own eight Rinehart targets and the same number of McKenzie targets. These are the targets I practice on. I will use the Rineharts when my next shoot is an ASA tournament and the McKenzies when an IBO tournament is next on the shoot list. I will set the targets in an area that is as close to the same terrain as I am heading for at the next shoot. Once set, I will shoot and judge the targets at known distances just trying to memorize what the target looks like at that distance. Once I have spent ample time at known distances, I will wander around to as many spots as I can to see the targets and judge them on my own. Every estimate gets recorded in a notebook, then compared to the actual yardage as ranged with my laser range finder. If I miss an estimate by more than one yard, I will not leave that spot until I know what caused the mistake.
Like Derry, when I go to a local shoot I will take my range finder and use the time as a practice session. I will, however, judge the target, make my shot, and then range it with my range finder. I have chosen this order to help me convince myself that I know the exact yardage and to make the shot. If the shot hits the mark I was aiming at, I won' t even pull the range finder out. I made the shot and hit the spot so my yardage must have been right. If I hit high or low, I will not go to the next target until I know the reason.
Unlike Derry, I will at times take walks through the woods and practice judging trees, stumps, and other terrain elements. I do this because I will often come up to a target that I don' t practice on or that I am unfamiliar with and I will need to rely on the ground to help me come up with a yardage estimate. Nowadays, when you go to a national shoot you never know what new targets will show up and catch you by surprise.
There are also many times when I will use multiple techniques on the same target just to verify that I have made the best estimate possible. Once you determine the yardage and set your sight, you must convince yourself that it is exactly correct. If you have any doubt in your mind, you won' t be able to execute a perfect shot.
Practicing yardage judging is much less fun than shooting your bow, but it will pay off. I always tell people that once their bow is tuned and sighted in and they are shooting it well, they need to get out and practice their yardage judging. Once you know you can hit a five inch circle at any yardage out to 50 yards, then you need to figure out how far that five inch circle is and hit it.
Have fun and take care.
Tony Tazza
Tony Tazza shoots for HoytUSA, Rocket Broadheads, Brownell & Company, Custom Bow Equipment, Easton Tru-Flite, Swarovski Optics, CR Archery Products, Lancaster Archery, Winners Choice Strings, Shrewd Precision Engineering and Buckwing Products.
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