swing and a miss
 

flung an arrow at a doe tonight, misjudged and shot low.
smh... i really need a range finder
i think the darkness messed with my depth perception
any tips on field judging distance?

let em get really close and broadside before shooting............and a rangefinder helps too.........good luck and keep after em'

The Reality of Hunting
 

Unlike no child left behind, the reality is a hunter can be left behind. The less one practices, the less one achieves the purpose of archery -accuracy.
It's not only practicing known distances; it's practicing unknown distances. And sometimes the deer won't stay around while you use a rangefinder.

I remember years ago at a 3D event. I was watching a very good form archery shooter, shoot his practices at the fixed ranges. He was accurate and he had his sights set for the right fixed distances.
Then I watched him move to the first 3D target, a standing bear.
He aimed at the chest target; the arrow struck the bear -right in the nose.

Practice, practice, practice. They give failing grades to archers.

Get a life-sized deer-shaped archery target and practice with the target set at different distances. This will help. If nothing else, it will help in good shot placement and confidence. And practice from the same type of seat/stand you use when hunting.

yeah, i been under and over before on hogs....after the range finder, never have made a bad shot.
i got one i'll let go of, cause i got a chuck adams that has arc on it. it's usually only 1 yard off way up in a tree, but flat ground it is dead on.
its a bushnell laser yardage pro trophy ....it does 5-999 yards..its in real tree ap.and in the box..make me an offer. make sure ya add postage.

what ranges do you practice at?
you should have a baseline that your familiar with
i practice at 20 yds,(indoor range am limited to 20 yds)
so my hunting is based on that
i know 20 yds is about 16 of my footsteps
when am hunting a new spot i will walk 15 paces and check a 20 yd point, now have a baseline of whats around at 20 yds,
with that 20 yd baseline can get pretty close to estimating 20-30-40 yds distance

i have had an arrow go right over the back usin my 30 yard pin..the deer was 25 yards...last time i left the range finder behind lol

I practice at 20 to 30 consistantly and have come to understand that my 20 yard pin is good for any distance below that with a slight adjustment when up high say 15 to 20 feet up. I aim a little low to compinsate for the deer droping and the harder angle when they are 10 yards from the base of my tree or less. If I can't keep my form when I bend I choose not to take the shot if they are simply to close. I shot a Doe at between 25 and 30 yards last year using my 30 yard pin,it entered a little high but exited perfect taking out the liver first then the left lung I was 15 feet up. If this is not good advice feel free to correct me some of you that have better skills than myself. I have a range finder and I shoot distances before I settle in for my hunt,this is because as has been said you don't always have time to use it.

thanks for the replies guys
im a big natural blind ground hunter and i practice as such
i set up false limb blinds at 30 and 40 yards, my twenty i just practice as standing because there is less chance of error and it gives me space for those 30s and 40s which are usually practiced on my knees
i think this was a simple case of inexperience, i put the 30 on her and after pacing it out i found it to be at about 38. my heart was pumping after getting skunked on this certain piece of property since the beginning of the MD archery season (Mt. Nebo WMA, western MD) they seem to be coming out of bedding just after proper shooting light as well, i have the tru glo lighted pins but i feel i laid too much trust in my equipment and not enough in myself. the darkness, im sure, led me to misjudge. but i found my spot last night. there is alot of good doe action there... hmm.. from what ive read does this mean big buck action during our rut??