Treestand Shooting

[fairchase]

I'm gonna try hunting out of a treestand for the first time this year and I have a question. What should I be aware of when shooting down at normal treestand angles, at say 20-30 yards? Will my arrows fly differently than they would shooting level? Is there any standard rules that apply? I just have a standard multi-pin sight, not a pendulm sight. Thanks.

Greg

[Backcountry]

Yes, arrows fly the same and standard rules apply.

Standard rule #1 is that gravity acts on the arrow the same way regardless of whether it's shot uphill or downhill. For example (an extreme example to illustrate my point), if you are 40 yards up in a tree and a buck is 15 yards from the base of the tree, it's effectively a 15 yard shot, not a 40 yard shot, even though the flight path of the arrow (along the hypotenuse of a right triangle) is more like 43 yards. The same hold true for steep uphill shots. If you don’t believe me, set the shot up and try it. Or better yet, read this;

http://www.kingsmountainarchers.org/tips/angle-shots.html

Standard rule 1.5 is to make sure your 3rd axis is set plumb. If that's off, which you may not notice on flat ground shots, you can miss by several inches on uphill and downhill shots. More info on third axis here;

http://www.spot-hogg.com/newsletter_19.htm

Standard rule #2 is to practice any and all shots that you anticipate you might have from your treestand.

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/archer.gif Backcountry

[BuckFinder]

Backcountry, Thanks for posting the first link. Nice to know the math we took back in high school is actually being utilized.

[fairchase]

Backcountry- thanks.

To keep things simple with rule #1, I would be a lot closer to hitting my mark if I ranged the shot yardage off the base of my tree to the target, rather than using the distance out of my treestand to the target?

[Backcountry]

Ack! http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/afraid_face.gif I just went through all that basic math and find that I erred above when I implied that uphill and downhill shots are the same... in fact there is velocity difference, although slight, due to vector addition. For most back of the envelope (i.e., no envelope) shots, it&#39;s sufficient to just pin gap for the horizontal range component. If you want to get real fancy, then you&#39;ll want to create distance vs. shot-angle chart for a specific bow&#39;s V(o).

Sorry for the confusion. http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif Backcountry

[Backcountry]

Originally posted by fairchase@Feb 15 2005, 11:34 AM
To keep things simple with rule #1, I would be a lot closer to hitting my mark if I ranged the shot yardage off the base of my tree to the target, rather than using the distance out of my treestand to the target?
Absolutely true!

In my club we have a couple pro freestyle shooters that carry a little inclinometer to determine the line-of-sight angle to a target. Once they know that, and line-of-sight distance to a target (using a laser rangefinder), they plug those numbers into their Palm Pilots (which already has their respective bow&#39;s V(o) entered as a contant) and it calculates the distance setting for their freestyle sight.

I wonder what Ishi would think about all this?

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-hitting-self.gif Backcountry

[BDB]

Rule 2: Bend at the waist !! This is key. You need to keep the same angle with your arm, head and torso or your impact point will change. It&#39;s realy easy on a shot under the stand to not bend at your waist.

[Mr.Redneck]

As a treestand hunter, the best advice you could get is get up and practice. Shoot from your roof, get a ladder stand, and shoot from it, but don&#39;t think it is the same, because it ain&#39;t. No book or website can teach you how to shoot from a stand, you have to practice to be good. I have a nice raised deck, so I have plenty of good practice area. Getting up in the air, presents a few different scenarios that ground hunting doesn&#39;t. You absolutely have to scout well, or you may never be successful. You also have to have a comfortable sturdy stand, and be patient. Once you get practiced up for shooting from a stand, and get a good site to hunt from, tree stand hunting can often times be as rewarding or more than stalk hunting. Good Luck!!! http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif

[archer55]

A computer program (forget which one, offhand... probably an age thing) gives the simple trajectory readout of a treestand shot. If the deer is twenty yards from the tree and you are 20 feet up in the tree, the yardage to shoot for is something like 19.277 yards, which is a negligable difference in point of impact. The more important point that I have found is in understanding the angle at which the arrow is passing through the deer. To pass through the vital areas, an arrow should enter higher and exit lower than when shot from the ground... yeah, I know.. just common sense. But something to think about when that buck walks by and you are so nervous that you can&#39;t remember your name... LOL

[Mr.Redneck]

Originally posted by archer55@Feb 15 2005, 10:55 PM
The more important point that I have found is in understanding the angle at which the arrow is passing through the deer. To pass through the vital areas, an arrow should enter higher and exit lower than when shot from the ground... yeah, I know.. just common sense. But something to think about when that buck walks by and you are so nervous that you can&#39;t remember your name... LOL
Too true Archer, that angle thing has burnt many a hunter by making a mere fleshwound. Thankfully I learned that from a good buddy several years ago, and I always try to come in high when shooting from the stand, esp. on short yardage shots!!!! http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-faces-toast-beers.gif

[nmarco]

http://www.jesseshunting.com/forums/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smiley-laugh-point-up-yellow.gif rule number 2 as stated above is the most important.
Also, and very important too is to know your ranges. Things look different from above (closer). I invested in a rage finder after a few misjudgements. There&#39;s nothing worse than sitting in a tree for 8 hrs to get one good encounter and then misjudge the yardge by a few yards. Practice from an elevated position to get a good feel for the differnce in arrow flight (there is a slight diffence and don&#39;t let anyone else tell you otherwise). Good luck