When shooting from a tree stand at 12ft. but can't practice from one , how do you know how for to shoot from.. My bait pilesare 20 yds and 35 ydsfrom the tree???

Welcome to the board!You need to try and figure out someway to get a little practice but,I'm gonna let more experienced guys than me answer your question. Good luck.

It depends on if you are on level ground or not. If there is a slope you are shooting into, the distance will be more true. If you are shooting down a slope, the distance will get a little farther. Generally speaking though, you are going to shoot high out of a treestand if you are on level terrain. That 20 yard shot is going to be a 20 yard shot. Remember, "a" squared + "b" squared= "c" squared. That 35 yard shot will be about 35.3 yards. 12 feet in a tree doesn't mess with the distance too much. Just remember this can be greater if shooting down a slope because your elevationfrom the deer will increase. In most cases though, the distance will not change that much. Remember to bend at the waist when shooting for better accuracy as well. Good luck!

If your bow is reasonably fast and you are only 12' up, it is not going to matter that much at those ranges. Specially 20 yds, you will not notice any diff at all. At 35 yards, I would doubt you could tell much either. It is when you get higher and shoot longer distances that you will notice the effects.

But your shot placement on the animal will be affected! At 20 yards you will need to aim higher on the animal to get your arrow to pass thru the largest part of the vitals. Visualize where you want the arrow to come out on the oppisite side and pick your aiming spot accordingly. The closer the animal is the higher up on its body you will need to aim.

At only 12',shot placement won't changeMUCH either.


Shoot the distance from the base of the tree,that will be so close to the actuall yardage that you won't be able to see a difference.


They key is to bend at the waist.If you don't and just point the bow down hill,your manchor will change and if you do that,you will definately need to be practicing from a tree.There again,at 12',it won't change much.

The single most important factor to understand when shooting from an elevated position, whether it's 12' or 120', is to bend at the waist and NOT drop your bow arm to get on target. Draw your bow just as you would if you were shooting on level ground, anchor, then without changing that T form, bend your waist to settle on target.

Like jm said, at those distances it won't matter as far as what distance to use, but don't drop your bow arm.......

For 12 feet, maintain your form and aim dead on. It would still be good to get some elevated practice to increase your confidence.

Do you have a ladder or a patio deck you could use?