depending on how high you are, the point of impact should about the same as on the ground. i don't like to mess around moving my pins for hunting season so i just leave them, i just have to aim a few inches low for shots from elevated positions, same for shooting uphill. the best thing to do is get out and see how your bow shoots. later, goosie.

 

the physics say that you will hit a little high when shooting either downhill or uphill... the amount you will be high will depend on how much of an angle you are shooting on and how fast your arrow is... but yes you will absolutely hit high shooting at an angle... a little higher going downhill then uphil...again for some bows the amount is so neglibigle that they do not even need to compensate... but a lot of bows require compensation, especially at 30 yards at a 45 degree angle

 

Sorry to burst your bubble, but that first part of your answer doesn't have to do with physics. It is trigonometry. Physics deals with the difference between shooting uphill and downhill and how uphill shots at angle a will not drop as much as shots at angle 180+a. Of course, you have to shoot at a pretty good angle pretty far to notice much.

 

But this can be a good thing if your shooting a deer at that much of an angle you need a high shot to catch both lungs.

 

the only problem is that if you are aiming higher to hit both lungs you will hit even higher, maybe just wounding the animal.. you should always know that where you are aiming is where you are hitting, know what your adjusted drop is and adjust for it, unless your drop is so minimal as to not matter.. hopefully everything goes right and it works out that way....

 

Black Bear....15-20 yds. Max....sitting 12-15 ft. Max

 

You won’t notice a difference at those measurements with most bows.

 

what is your speed?? if you are 15 feet up shooting out 45 feet (15 yards).. you are at a 33% downhill angle..

just for a referrence, I am shooting 317 fps... at 20 yards and a 20% angle, I will shoot as if I am at 18.1 yards, which will put me about 1/2 high, no big deal, but if you slow down the arrow it can make a bigger difference..

 

You do not aim higher from an elevated position, if anything aim a bit lower if talking about arrow flight/drop.
Depending on your bow, the height, and distance to target, it can vary on how much. It is so minimal with my bow, I don't worry about arrow flight much, but more on where the arrow is going to pass through the animal. If that's your thinking, in some cases you may want to hit a bit higher than normal. Just imagine the path that you want to make sure it passes/hits both lungs for example.
Did that help or confuse?

I meant to add that to see how much of a difference in drop/flight you can practice from your stand. My partner and me used to take turns with one in the tree, and one on the ground. We marked the yardage out and took a portable target to shoot at. One would move and gather the arrows from the target to send back up with a rope while the other shot. It was also fun just to practice, moving the target around to unmarked distances and weird positions to see if we were up to snuff, ha ha.

 

You do not aim higher from an elevated position, if anything aim a bit lower if talking about arrow flight/drop.

QUOTE]

Just making sure, but I think that is what everyone else has said so far as well... you will HIT high from a treestand so you have to AIM a little lower.. again this depends entirely on your arrow speed, your bow setup will only affect is as a function of speed... gravity doesnt care whether or not you have a drop away or a fixed rest but it does care how fast the object leaving the bow is...

 

take a dime & lay it on the ground 2yds out,(shoot it) did you hit 6" under? its the same shot if a deer is 5yds out no matter how high you are.....:darkbeer:

 

you guys are missing some laws of physics... you will always HIT high shooting at an angle...

 

Your bow will hit high from a treestand always unless you are shooting at a deer on a hill across from you and level with you.


There is more to this though than the physics. Most people don't use the same shooting form that they do standing on level ground that they do sitting or even standing shooting downward from a treestand. The best thing to do is to sit in a stand and actually try it---then you will know.

Regarding form, if you can do it without being seen the best thing to do is stand and draw straight out level like you always do on the ground, then lock your form and then bend at the waist. This helps greatly and helps with accuracy too.

I use ground blinds frequently and I have proven to myself that I always hit higher sitting in a chair on level ground than I do standing. Not sure why.....but, I set my pin for it if I know I'll be doing it and have the time before a ground blind hunt. You may or may not experience this problem.

Deer jumping the string. This is was more of a problem ten years ago when bows were louder (notice I did not say slower) , but it can still happen easy. I have made it a practice to shoot "low kill" on a deer. If he jumps (ducks really) then I get a double lung and if he does'nt I still get a heart shot. Either way...dead deer.

Now here is where it get's tricky for me. I prefer to shoot from my stand sitting to minimize movement. I've never been one to enjoy 25 foot stands, which makes it easier to stand and not get busted, and I'm normally closer to 18 feet in a little cover. Shooting down while sitting at a buck that is not totally relaxed can be problematic. I have learned that for me in the case of nervous deer and with all the other factors mentioned, taking a low kill aim is the best way to go most of the time.

Most folks spend their time shooting bullseyes in the back yard and that is fine to get your form second nature, but nothing beats practice under field conditions. And if you hunt in cold weather and wear a coat you better practice that way or you might be in for a nasty surprise.

 

Regarding form, if you can do it without being seen the best thing to do is stand and draw straight out level like you always do on the ground, then lock your form and then bend at the waist. This helps greatly and helps with accuracy too.

I've read this from others, but don't quite understand the reason. Can you explain the effect of bending at the waist and what force this counteracts? Thanks very much as I want to be prepared for my first Ohio Whitetail hunt this Novemeber.

Kingtroller

 

I tend to shoot high from a tree stand, particularly if the shot is close - say inside 12 yds.
If you bend at the waist you can minimize this tendency to shoot high.
I think it's ok to shoot an inch or two high on deer from a tree-stand if it's inside 12 yds, but at 15 yards or more you should shoot normally.

If you aim a couple of inches high, and also have poor form so the arrow hits 2-3 inches higher yet, you can figure on missing or spineing deer.

 

You have to aim a bit low. If you use your range finder and measure from up in your tree to a spot on the ground 20 yards away and then use your 20 yd pin, you will hit a tiny bit high (how much depends on your arrow velocity). If you are ~15' off the ground, the arrow will drop the equivalent of a 19 yd shot. The distance along the ground (base of triangle), not the distance from you to the target (hypotenuse of triangle) is the distance gravity acts on the arrow. If you are higher, or the shot is closer, the greater the difference. Practice from your stand and you'll know for sure how your technique and how you measure your target ranges all factor in. I aim low about one pin spot width (not much).

 

thats right... if you take the inverse of the hypotenuse it will give you the degree of the angle you need to adjust your shot....:wink: :wink:

 

I cant stutter when I am typing, your post insinuated that your shot will not be altered when you are shooting at an angle, it will...

 

it's tough enough up there as it is to think about aiming higher or lower.

Get your pins shooting dead on from various distances. My advice, set out a target and get up a tree. Zero that thing in from up there at 10, 20, 30 yds. Set the distances at the same height that you would hunt from. Having someone to move the target would go along ways from wearing you out also.

When a deer comes within any of those distances, put the correct yardage behind the shoulder and squeeze off a great shot.

Now, if the deer is nervous and you are concerned about the deer jumping the string, then by all means aim a little lower.

 

You must practice from the height you hunt to see for yourself. I don't have as much of a difference at high, low, as I used to with slower bows of the past.

 

Silmple terms

It's like a T.V. screen, you may have a 32" T.V. but that's from corner to corner, if you measure straight across horizontally it will be roughly 2/3 the distance. So if you are 15' up, shooting 15 yds. actual horizontal distance the arrow has to travel and be effected by gravity will only be 11 or 12 yds. The higher you go the more effect there is, like wise the further out you go the less effect, it's like Ajensen83 said, it has to do with degrees of angle, the less angle the less effect.

 

It's both physics and trig. The arrow accelerates downward at 32ft/sec2 (physics) and it does so over a distance (actually converted to time using arrow velocity) determined by trig (range to target along ground). It's all math. personally, I can't do math when aiming at a deer, that's why I just put the pin a wee bit below (1"-2") where I want to hit when hunting from a treestand.

 

Just a little hint. If you are in woods and like me, pre-range many different trees to use as reference, don't range to the base of the tree from your stand. Range the tree eye level with your stand(or from base of stand to base of tree). That way you will know the exact horizontal distance to the target and use that pin.

You will want to practice shooting from the stand because if you don't bend at the waist, your anchor points may change thus affecting the zero of your pins. Good luck!!

 

Just a little hint. If you are in woods and like me, pre-range many different trees to use as reference, don't range to the base of the tree from your stand. Range the tree eye level with your stand(or from base of stand to base of tree). That way you will know the exact horizontal distance to the target and use that pin.

That's exactly what I do whenever possible. Yet another way to eliminate math in the woods.

 

that works fairly well... I like the new rangefinders that show your compensated range... I really like the leupold..

 

I practice from a tree stand in my back yard year round and I don't see any real difference in aiming point. My pins set on 20, 30 and 40 yard shots work the same from the ground or the tree stand.

 

I'm going with this post. I took my bow and block target to my stand last year and tried it out. Shooting from a 15' stand at distances from 10 to 30 yards (I didn't try the really close stuff, like under the stand), with my arrow moving at a smokin' 236 fps:wink: I hit right on my pins. Test your setup in hunting conditions and go from there.

 

Seems like something unexpected happens when you shoot down from zero to five yards making it actually a very difficult shot....anybody know what I'm refering to? I can't seem to remember, but it's not intuitive as I recall.

 

I always sight my bow in at my hunting height using my Nikon range finders to check the yardages . But as stated in an earlier post , if the deer acts nervous just aim a little lower ..

 

all of these are outastanding responses. Thanks

 

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

Check out this link and drive yourself nuts, ha ha. :darkbeer:
Actually it is pretty cool.
If the link won't work, then copy and paste to your browser window.
Have fun.

 

The simple solution is to take some practice shots (both sitting and standing) from a tree stand...problem solved.