when in the tree, how do you judge distances?
03-20-2006, 12:14 PM
#21
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 586
RE: when in the tree, how do you judge distances?
If you can borrow a rangefinder it will help, but get some survey ribbon tape and get up in your stand and get the yardage of a tree at 10 yards, tie a blue piece of survey ribbon on a branch on the area you got marked at 10 yards, then get the yardage of anotherspot at 20 yards tie ared piece of ribbon on that branch you got marked, and get 30 yards marked and tie a orange piece of ribbon on a branch you got at 30 yards and so on. i found that this does help while bowhunting and also reduces movement in the stand.
03-20-2006, 12:47 PM
#22
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location:
Posts: 1,424
RE: when in the tree, how do you judge distances?
ORIGINAL: huntnfool11
I like all of the methods that everyone has been mentioning. I myself use a range finder. The issue of ranging a tree at it's base and at your level only affects you if you are REALLY high up. If you are twenty feet up in the stand and you range the base of a tree to be 20 yards away, your shot will not be any different that if you range a tree at your level at 20 yards. The difference will only be 1.1 yards (negligible). For instance, you are sitting in a tree 20 feet up (6.67 yards) and you range a tree at 20 yards at the base of that tree, gravity is acting on the distance of 18.9 yards on your arrow. So you really don't need to make an adjustment for that reason. When that starts to be an issue is if you are closer to 30 feet in your stand (10 yards up) then gravity acts on a distance of 17.3 yards (2.7 less than you ranged)so you do want to aim a little lower if you are that high up. Hope this helps a little.
I like all of the methods that everyone has been mentioning. I myself use a range finder. The issue of ranging a tree at it's base and at your level only affects you if you are REALLY high up. If you are twenty feet up in the stand and you range the base of a tree to be 20 yards away, your shot will not be any different that if you range a tree at your level at 20 yards. The difference will only be 1.1 yards (negligible). For instance, you are sitting in a tree 20 feet up (6.67 yards) and you range a tree at 20 yards at the base of that tree, gravity is acting on the distance of 18.9 yards on your arrow. So you really don't need to make an adjustment for that reason. When that starts to be an issue is if you are closer to 30 feet in your stand (10 yards up) then gravity acts on a distance of 17.3 yards (2.7 less than you ranged)so you do want to aim a little lower if you are that high up. Hope this helps a little.
03-20-2006, 05:00 PM
#24
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Jackson, Missouri
Posts: 7,051
RE: when in the tree, how do you judge distances?
Everyone's already handled all the range-estimation answers, so I'll throw something new in here...
I always carry a field point or two with me, and at the end of morning hunts, I always pick out a leaf and shoot at it before getting down. Do this enough times, and it'll give you a really good sense of whether you're improving your ranging skills from the tree. I still amaze myself at how many times I center the leaf I haphazardly pick out and shoot at... I think it's one of those things where the mind is a lot sharper than we give it credit for...
I always carry a field point or two with me, and at the end of morning hunts, I always pick out a leaf and shoot at it before getting down. Do this enough times, and it'll give you a really good sense of whether you're improving your ranging skills from the tree. I still amaze myself at how many times I center the leaf I haphazardly pick out and shoot at... I think it's one of those things where the mind is a lot sharper than we give it credit for...
