attention bowhunters (rangefinder)
- Thread starter danastles
- Start date
I have an eight year old Bushnell Scout. Nice little unit, accurate out to about 400 yards, and when I hunt from a treestand, I just subtract a couple of yards and I am usually right on the money.
I find that incline makes more of a difference when hunting from treestands with a bow than it does hunting with a rifle.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
Mount Sweetness
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Ontario
Bushnell Scout is nice and compact, I have the Arc model and like that option, not always needed but a nice option. They go for around $300.
Sit in your 15 foot high stand. Pick a big tree straight out, horizontally from you and range it. Then range the base of the same tree. At 15 feet up and under 40 yards out, there is not enough to make a difference.
Is that all it calculates? I understood it would take the average drop of the average arrow and throw that in the mix too. An arrow doesn't drop nearly as much when shooting down at an angle. Best thing to do is practice at the height of your stand an various yardages and KNOW where to aim.
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
there was a brunton 440 on sale at ctire, $99 today
You have the right idea. You need to shoot for the (level) horizontal distance to the target. Pythagorean theorem applies. Your vertical distance from the ground is A, your range to target is C and your shooting distance is B. Basically, pretend you're on the ground level with your target and shoot for that distance. See, your actual (downward) distance to target is further than your horizontal distance, so you get more horizontal range from being higher up.
To answer the OP's question, I've got a Bushnell Yardage Pro 450 on my xbow. Made a mount so that it sits on top of the scope and works nicely. Got it at BP for $169US. I mean really, within 50 yards, it can't be that far off! At longer distances (300yds+) it gets finicky with certain surfaces like grass. It likes treelines and rocks (and deer).
- Location
- Hillbilly shack in the boonies
Or measured distance from the foot of the tree your in to the target
Ya. Thank you
I guess no one should ask me about the simplest way to drink a case of beer? Cheers brutha
40 yards is 40 yards, regardless of whether you are in a tree or on the ground. The rangefider does not know the speed of your arrow so it can not compensate for drop, it has a built inclimeter and does the math to figure out the true horizontal distance. That is the distance that counts.
No, nothing to do with your equipment. Just takes the trigonometry out of figuring out the actual range vs the effective range.
Range the tree, at eye level, and use that range to shoot at the base of it.
I just range out the area beforehand, so i have a really good idea what the ranges are. I figure that leaves me with one less thing to worry about when the deer walks into my 'zone'.
Cheers
Trev
I'm a bowhunter and I shoot a fair bit of 3D. One thing is for certain, a bowhunter who practices heavily can manage without a rangefinder at all. A bowhunter who practices an average amount needs a normal rangefinder. A bowhunter who practices very little needs an arc system. Any hunter owes the animal at least a minimum of respect to be absolutely certain of his or her shot.
Taking advice from a rifle or shotgun hunter is marginally useful as the velocity is massively different(~280fps versus ~2800fps) and the distances are also incredibly different(~30yards compared to ~200yards). The different discipline requires an adjusted approach.
I bowhunt without a rangefinder, it will limit some of my shots I'm sure. But with a grocery store on almost every corner... I don't need to drag something out, I'll be just fine to see something walk under me.
Taking advice from a rifle or shotgun hunter is marginally useful as the velocity is massively different(~280fps versus ~2800fps) and the distances are also incredibly different(~30yards compared to ~200yards). The different discipline requires an adjusted approach.
I bowhunt without a rangefinder, it will limit some of my shots I'm sure. But with a grocery store on almost every corner... I don't need to drag something out, I'll be just fine to see something walk under me.
