Certainly I know whether a deer is at 15, 25 or 35 yards, but I don't have to think 'He's 29.273 yards away and I have to hold this 30 yard pin exactly .237" low to hit that spot.' Takes too long, takes concentration away from where it should be, the deer. When the shot 'feels right' I dump the string. That's also the way I shoot 3D, as practice for hunting. Field archery, I use a hard gap system. Totally different.
One summer, I won 3D tournaments in 5 different classes; compound release, compound fingers, compound barebow, recurve and longbow. (Shooting my heavy logs against the speedy little pultruded knitting needle carbons, by the way.) Who else do you know that can say that? The only style I have never competed in is the open/freestyle unlimited classes. So, I've got a pretty good grasp of the various problems, limitations and advantages of MOST of the various rigs.
IMO, the longbow has fewer problems and limitations than any other setup. It is the perfect bowhunting tool for someone with the time and guts to learn how to use it, and if it weren't for my medical limitations, I'd still be hunting with a longbow, EXCLUSIVELY.
Accuracy... People saying you have to have your anchor within 1/64 th of an inch to shoot accurately makes it sound like you have to shoot consistent 1/2" groups at 30 yards to have a prayer of taking a deer. The way some folks have been going on about this stuff, one would begin thinking that only Olympic Gold Medalists should be hunting. Hunting is not target shooting... even though, IMO, most folks are trying to hunt with 3D target bows....
If you can hit a 9" circle, every time, UNDER HUNTING CONDITIONS, then yes, you can be an effective hunter. If you're talking about standing in front of a target butt, then I agree with you. What ever distance you can hit a 4" circle, MAX, every time, that is your maximum effective range.
But how the hell any of this post ties in to low light visibility is beyond me.
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Edited by - Arthur P on 09/10/2002 07:54:36