khawk

I just wanted to get some thoughts and or practice tips from shooting from a tree stand. I have heard that when taking a shot from an elevated position that your point of impact will be higher. If you use a range finder, which I will be, I am courious as to why. I had a friend tell me to step off my distance from the base of my tree in all directions. Call me crazy but I dont want to spread my scent all over the place. Any tips or suggestions?

kwilson16

I would suggest this:

Climb safely to your desired hunting height
Range several trees by pointing the range finder at the tree at your level
This will give you the horizontal distance to these trees which become landmarks for range estimation
Unless you hunt really high, your best bet is to keep good form, bend at the waist and shoot the range finder distance. It's just not that BIG of a factor for an average deer hunter at medium heights fromreasonably level ground shooting a modern compound

Bottom line: Find a place where you can climb a tree and shoot your bow without scenting up your stand sites. It will releive your anxiety.

TFOX

You will not see enough of a difference in most hunting situations on flat ground to ever worry about the slight difference.

If you have stands setup on steep hills where you might be shooting downhill,then learning how to get the yardage will be a huge help.kwilson gave you a good pointer,range the trees straight out and that will get youreal close.

OHbowhntr

+1 to this. A slightly higher POI isn't such a bad thing really when you are considering that the angle of entry may require your POI to be higher for a "good" hit on the vitals. And if you're really concerned, the ranging trees at eye level and then considering what the distance is to help you shoot is helpful.

Practicing from a treestand IS important if you've never shot from one, or don't really feel comfortable shooting from one, but the yardages aren't really going to come into play in most situations.

BGfisher

Good advice about ranging to other trees, especially if the ground is fairly steep. But if it is level then ther isn't going to be that much difference. Maybe a yard or two at 20, depending on how high you are.

The real trick to shooting from an elevation is to draw the bow as you would on the ground (level), anchor, and then bend at the waist to aim and make the shot. Too many guys just drop their bow arm down and this changes the whole upper body position, drawlength, and how the target is viewed through a peep. It might not seem so, but it is. That's why most shoot high and miss.

Think about it. If you range on a level and the target is 20 yards and then you range directly to the target on an angle it might range 22 yards. That might mean an inch or two difference. Guys who shoot high enough to miss are shooting a foot high. You figure it out. There is not a foot difference between 20 and 22 yards----even 25 yards.

Dryridge

What they said. Bottomline....just be sure you are at full draw and against the wall.

ijimmy

As stated range trees at your height , then practice allot , also practice seated shots , I've killed allot of animals while seated , try it first , if you cant pull it off during practice seasons dont try on an animal .

tennhunter

Khawk,

Gravity only works on the horizonal distance. For instance,suppose the horizonal distance from your treestand to your target is 30 yards and the diagonal distance is 33 yards. Although the actual shot will travel 33 yards, gravity will only act on your arrow over the horizonal distance of 30 yards traveled.

In this example if aimed at your target as if it were 33 yards away, you would hit slightly high of your target.


Hope this helps.