Arrow POI from 15' treestand?
 

I have heard a lot of different opinions regarding arrow trajectory and POI while shooting a crossbow from a treestand. I have shot off a 12ft ladder and didn't notice an extreme difference at low heights.

First of all my stand is about 15' off the ground.

My question is, if I mark off actual horizontal distances from the base of the tree my stand is in, say, 10 20 & 30 yrds (actual distance), will my arrow POI change enough to have to compensate?

I have heard shooting at a downward angle will cause your arrow to hit higher, therefore requiring to aim lower. This makes sense to me but I have heard varying opinions on the issue. I have searched the forums and found several different conflicting answers to this question.

Another thing is, it seems you would want to hit a little bit high on a shot with a steeper angle for proper arrow placement. It just seems to get sort of confusing.

Since the closer the target is will increase the angle of the shot, it seems there would be difference in POI between say a 10yrd shot vs. a 20yrds.

Could someone explain their experiences shooting from a stand and their arrow POI?

I have a cheap non-ARC rangefinder, but I will more than likely use it to pre-mark actual distances from the ground and mark them off with some marking tape.

I will be practicing off the ladder some more, but some advice would also be helpful. Thanks alot!

the difference people talk about is when the shot is made using the distance measured from the tree stand which will be several yards longer. As long as you measure the distance from the base of the tree to the aim point you will do well. The only other thing you need to consider is the angle you will be going through the vitals.
Hope this helps.

thanks... that makes things easier.

My rule of thumb and the way I was taught years ago is to range out several shooting points from the base of the tree and then add in the height of the stand. Example, object 20 yards from tree. Stand is fifteen ft from ground=5 yards. Target then is 25 yards from you. This seems to work fine for me. Just remember to select your aimpoint because you are shooting at a downhill angle. You want the arrow to go thru the vitals.

I have two angle corrected laser range finders they both agree using the angle corrected mode that the distance from the base of the tree to the target is right. I have never missed a shot using this system and I have been bow hunting since 1949 my dad was Boyer[made long bows] I started building my own when I was 12 years old.I took my first deer in 1957 and believe me they were had to find that was the first year they opened the season in IL.

I have found that with the blazing velocities these days, from about 20 +/- feet up, until the deer is beyond 30 yards or so, I compensate very little for arrow arc.

As far as figuring out all of the details, the physics behind the issue is a fundamental, simple geometrical calulation that is often referred to as the "3-4-5" rule (Pythagorian Theorem). I know of no one that does this calculation in the field and many more that could not do this calculation in my HS geometry class.

I would suggest that you practice from your stand or some other 15' elevated set up. The real issue has already been pointed out ... the angle that the arow will pass through the deer.

Thanks.... I fell pretty confident now.

I would also like to thank everyone else for their input as well!

Good Luck & Happy Safe Hunting to All! I hope you get the one you're after.


Chris

3-4-5 is same as 6-8-10, which is 5 squared [25] + 20 squared [400] equals square root of 425 = 20.615 yds actual.

I too, heard all the different stories, so I did a bunch of tests, much ado about very little using a crossbow.

Well I started practicing off the roof and set up my bag target at 20 & 30 actual yards. Most shots were spot on so I feel confident that I am good to go. I put on a 100gr WASP BOSS fixed blade BH just to see where it would hit. It hit about 5 inches lower than the 100gr field point. Seems like a heck of a difference to me. I wonder if I should shoot one of my MeatSeeker mechs. to make sure the POI is going to be the same or close enough as the field points? Seems like they would be especially with the way they are designed. I know the NAP Spitfires hit so close that I just take off the FP and put on a SpitFire when I'm ready to hunt.

If you do some more testing, I'll bet my rope c0cker it wasn't due to the elevation.