KansasBBD

Long time viewer, first time poster....Anyways, i have a question, but let me tell you the story first...Bare with me thisis my first bow hunt ever, and actually my first deer hunt ever. So i was hunting over my clover field in a ground blind, and as it got later in the day,a very nice and heavy doe started to walk right towards me. before she showed up, i had ranged a few stumps that were in the field so i could have atleast an idea what the distance was. So the doe walk right next to the stump that was 20yds out. I drew my bow back, but then the doe quarted towards me but i couldnt take a clean shot so i waited with my bow drawn. WHat seemed like an eternity, the doe finally turned broad side and i let the arrow fly, but with all the excitement i didnt realize i sighted her in at 20 yds and she was really about 12-15 yds out. So i shot high and could not find the blood trail. I found the fletching half of my arrow about 30 yrds out, but still could not find a blood trail.

Anyways sorry to bore you with my first hunt, but myquestion is should i change my bottom pin to 10yds middle at 20 and last a 30? im not planning on taking anyone farther than 30ish this season anyways, and most of my shots will be around 10-20yds. Or do you think i should invest in a 5 pin sight?

thanks for the help in advance!
-KansasBBD

rrviper40

what kind of bow and what pundage are you shooting? have you shot it at 10 to see how much higher it is? most bows these days shoot pretty flat out to 20. my first pin is at 20 because at 10 it is only an inch or so high.

unless your bow is on the slower side and your arrow drops quickly, it is more likely that the deer "jumped the string" causing a higher impact IMO.

some may disagree, but i always shoot low (heart area). if the deer is alert, i'll shoot even lower. if you watch slow mo's, even an un-alert deer will still drop a little in most cases. my theory is, if i shoot low and miss, the deer is uninjured as opposed to if i shoot center and it ends up going high.

it also helps a little from a tree stand since you have the downward angle... a high shot on one side of the deer will exit lower in the other side.

KansasBBD

Bear instinct. Its set around 60-63? im not for sure. I know it shoots a good amount higher at 10 yds, but that could just be human error not the bow.I thinki was just too excited and i didnt think about aiming a bit lower. Had a case of doe fever haha. Im going to shoot it tomorrow hopefully i can adjust it a bit. thanks for the help!

lungbuster12point06

Sorry to hear about the lost deer...........you stated that your bottom pin is your short range pin and your top pin is 30 yards? If this is correct, you have it set up backwards..........top pin is your shortest range ,while the bottom pin is the longest.........you should not have to use a 10 yard pin as your bow should be shooting flat enough that the difference from 10-20 should be less than 2 ".........always aim for the lower 1/3 of the animal on ground level shots.

KansasBBD

oh im an idiot i meant my top is 20 middle 30 bottom 40 haha my mistake... i think i just need some more time a the range, but ive out the problem. right before i release, i flinch a little bit and it jerks up every once in a while if i dont concentrate. All my practice just went out the window when i saw that deer so close... im jsut glad i learned this hard lesson now instead of during the rut when im going for a buck... all i can say is i absolutely LOVE the adrenaline rush when i have my pins on a deer, im hooked for LIFE!

N2A

This thread answered the question if I should have a 10 yard pin set or start with 20 yard. If I have a 5 pin sight, what would be the recommended spacing, 5 yard increments or 10 yard. I will not take a long shot at a dear. Just wondering how others have there pins incremented.

BGfisher

Seriously, the best way to figure this stuff out is to get out to a range and do it. See the results yourself. If you (anybody)are shooting any modern bow you can sight in for 20 yards and then use this pin to shoot 5, 10, and 15 yards. Even 25 yards.

You're likely to find that with a 20 yard pin the point of impact is only about 1" high at 10 yards and about 2 1/2" low at 25 yards. This is certainly not enough difference to put extra, unneeded pins on the sight and clutter up the sight picture. This will, more often than not, lead to picking the wrong pin anyway or obscuring the animal in dim light to the point you can't figure out which pin to use.

The less pins on a hunting bow the better.

KansasBBD, I'd have to say that part of your problem is that flinch. You say you flinch and hit high. Then you need to do some serious practice on form and cure that situation. I don't want to make a guess as to what is causing it, but the fact that you know it is reason enough to possibly get some coaching. The other thing to learn is that when shooting from an elevated platform you should keep the upper body in a "T" position, meaning draw the bow as you would on level ground and then bend at the waist to aim down and shoot. This is the biggest reason people shoot high. Just dropping the arm to shoot down changes shooting form. You have to keep the upper body in a "T" position.

To do all this stuff takes practice, and while practicing you have to think of what you are doing in methodical steps. Just not flinging arrows. This is what those other nine months or so of the year are for.

Hope I didn't sound too "preachy". Just trying to give a little solid advice.