judgeing yardage
02-17-2003, 07:54 PM
#2
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: wolford va. USA
Posts: 21
RE: judgeing yardage
Well I don' t really know the best way to judge yardage, but what works for me is just looking at the target and going by the size of the target at different yardages,and looking off the ground helps to. You really have to know where your 20,30,and 40yds are or where you think they are. Get you a good rangefinder and just go through your yard picking out trees or rocks or just anything and guess how far it is and check it with the rangefinder. It all boils down to practice makes perfect.
02-18-2003, 07:27 AM
#3
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Columbus, Ga
Posts: 60
RE: judgeing yardage
If you are going to be competitive in 3D you have to have a laser range finder. I take mine everywhere.
I make 3 columns on a sheet of paper. The left column is my guess the center is what the range finder says and the right column is the difference between the two. I also usually make notes on what type of lane I judged in (uphill & open, flat & tunnel etc).
Yesterday I wrote 20 on the left side of the page 5 times. Judged 5 items that looked like they were 20 yards away. Then had 5-25' s, 5-30' s and 5-35' s. Lately I have been doing a lot of 40 to 50 yard judging also. That seems to be where everyone gets the most trouble.
If you don' t have a range finder I would recommend a couple of things. Put stakes in the ground in your yard or at the park and measure them off in ten yard increments. Get to know what 10,20 and 30 look like. George Dixon had a post once on some web page that said he used to tie a ribbon to a string about 20 yards away from him (he would add length to that to compensate for the distance from his belt to the ground). He would walk through the woods up and down hill and then turn around and look at the ribbon. That would let him know where 20 yards was.
Hope this helps. But again save up for a range find if you don' t have one.
I make 3 columns on a sheet of paper. The left column is my guess the center is what the range finder says and the right column is the difference between the two. I also usually make notes on what type of lane I judged in (uphill & open, flat & tunnel etc).
Yesterday I wrote 20 on the left side of the page 5 times. Judged 5 items that looked like they were 20 yards away. Then had 5-25' s, 5-30' s and 5-35' s. Lately I have been doing a lot of 40 to 50 yard judging also. That seems to be where everyone gets the most trouble.
If you don' t have a range finder I would recommend a couple of things. Put stakes in the ground in your yard or at the park and measure them off in ten yard increments. Get to know what 10,20 and 30 look like. George Dixon had a post once on some web page that said he used to tie a ribbon to a string about 20 yards away from him (he would add length to that to compensate for the distance from his belt to the ground). He would walk through the woods up and down hill and then turn around and look at the ribbon. That would let him know where 20 yards was.
Hope this helps. But again save up for a range find if you don' t have one.
02-24-2003, 10:47 AM
#5
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Winnipeg Manitoba Canada
Posts: 56
RE: judgeing yardage
Krisken- Brian is saying that he needs a rangefinder to practice with, not to cheet with.
The way that I judge yardage is I find my 30 then my 40 and so on until I get to the target. if the target lies in between lets say 30-40, I will find my 30 and then my 40, and from there I will see wether it is closer to 30 or 40. Is it in the middle? How much closer is it to 30? is it under the half way from 30-35?
I must stress that you get a ragefinder to practice with, I go out every day from May until sept practicing my yardage. I bring a clipboard,pencil and a rangefinder, I do all sorts of ranging uphil, downhill, across the hill etc..... Try and practice ranging every possible shot that they could hit you with, and also carry a block around with you and shoot them. Write down how far you guessed, the actual didstance, the angle of elevation, the terrain,and the lighting eg. light to dark. Also include the time of day that you started, and the date on the paper. I tend to judge at night because i can' t in the morning and this is most like the morning when I am going to be shooting a 3D.
The only problem I find with finding the half way mark is that if you don' t get the exact halfway point you get into trouble fast. if you judge perfectly to the half way mark but you guessed 2yds to close or to far this means that you are now out by 4yds because your mistake has been doubled, and what if you don' t judge exactly to where you think the half way mark is, then take that mistake and double it to. I say stick to finding your 30 and practice every day, Practice, Practice, Practice. It might take some time to get used to finding your 30 but it will be valuble on the 3D trail.
The way that I judge yardage is I find my 30 then my 40 and so on until I get to the target. if the target lies in between lets say 30-40, I will find my 30 and then my 40, and from there I will see wether it is closer to 30 or 40. Is it in the middle? How much closer is it to 30? is it under the half way from 30-35?
I must stress that you get a ragefinder to practice with, I go out every day from May until sept practicing my yardage. I bring a clipboard,pencil and a rangefinder, I do all sorts of ranging uphil, downhill, across the hill etc..... Try and practice ranging every possible shot that they could hit you with, and also carry a block around with you and shoot them. Write down how far you guessed, the actual didstance, the angle of elevation, the terrain,and the lighting eg. light to dark. Also include the time of day that you started, and the date on the paper. I tend to judge at night because i can' t in the morning and this is most like the morning when I am going to be shooting a 3D.
The only problem I find with finding the half way mark is that if you don' t get the exact halfway point you get into trouble fast. if you judge perfectly to the half way mark but you guessed 2yds to close or to far this means that you are now out by 4yds because your mistake has been doubled, and what if you don' t judge exactly to where you think the half way mark is, then take that mistake and double it to. I say stick to finding your 30 and practice every day, Practice, Practice, Practice. It might take some time to get used to finding your 30 but it will be valuble on the 3D trail.
02-26-2003, 09:54 AM
#6
Spike
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: College Station Texas USA
Posts: 84
RE: judgeing yardage
Practice, practice, perfect practice.
I really struggled with it until I followed my friend' s advice. I set out a marker, measured out 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. I used a tape measure to measure my stride for 3 feet. I stood at each distance and studied it, telling myself the correct yardage. Then I stepped it off. The next day, I judged distance to everything - fence posts, trees, mail boxes, etc. Within 2 or 3 days, I was accurately judging distance within 2 yards, most within a yard. At tournements, I step off to the target to pull arrows. (Note - I do not do this when another group is watching.)
Positives - By using markers, I don' t confuse myself with target size. I mean, is that a small deer or a large deer? I don' t care to spend money on range finders, they are rarely accurate to 2 yards and most have to be calibrated offen.
Negatives - If the ground is uneven, you cannot step it off. If you change your stride, you will lose confidence. You cannot walk on water. ( I was at a retreiver hunt test in which the judge used a range finder to measure the mark over a pond. He said it was 43 yards. I argued that it was 60. I can' t walk on water, so I gave up the fight.)
Practice judging distance to everything. By this weekend, you will be amazed.
I really struggled with it until I followed my friend' s advice. I set out a marker, measured out 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. I used a tape measure to measure my stride for 3 feet. I stood at each distance and studied it, telling myself the correct yardage. Then I stepped it off. The next day, I judged distance to everything - fence posts, trees, mail boxes, etc. Within 2 or 3 days, I was accurately judging distance within 2 yards, most within a yard. At tournements, I step off to the target to pull arrows. (Note - I do not do this when another group is watching.)
Positives - By using markers, I don' t confuse myself with target size. I mean, is that a small deer or a large deer? I don' t care to spend money on range finders, they are rarely accurate to 2 yards and most have to be calibrated offen.
Negatives - If the ground is uneven, you cannot step it off. If you change your stride, you will lose confidence. You cannot walk on water. ( I was at a retreiver hunt test in which the judge used a range finder to measure the mark over a pond. He said it was 43 yards. I argued that it was 60. I can' t walk on water, so I gave up the fight.)
Practice judging distance to everything. By this weekend, you will be amazed.
03-01-2003, 10:11 AM
#8
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: centerville pa. USA
Posts: 105
RE: judgeing yardage
The ' magic method' is practice, practice, practice. If you can' t set up a target range in your back yard go to a local club, most have butts set at 20,30,40,50,and some 60 yards. Shoot a lot of arrows, get to know what that distance looks like.
A laser range finder is worth its weight in gold for practicing ranging when you can' t shoot.
A laser range finder is worth its weight in gold for practicing ranging when you can' t shoot.
03-04-2003, 11:46 AM
#9
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Eagle Mountain Lake, Texas
Posts: 113
RE: judgeing yardage
I used to judge from the stake to the target, but had a pro tell me what worked best for him was to judges from the target back to where you are. I began judging this way and it improved my judging. I was missing from 2 to 5 yards before and now am usually within 2 yards or less everytime.
I then will check by halfing the distance to double check myself.
Good luck.
Mark
I then will check by halfing the distance to double check myself.
Good luck.
Mark