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Anyone sight their bow from elevation?

Lcoop

Member
Joined
Aug 9, 2021
Messages
48
Location
South Ga
If so why, if not why not? How much does height actually effect POI shift over flat ground?
 
If so why, if not why not? How much does height actually effect POI shift over flat ground?
Sight in wont change from flat ground to elevated but shooter form will. The other thing that can come into play shooting from elevated positions is cut depending on distance and angle. No reason to overly complicate the sight in process with that issue.
 
I sight in from the ground, use a range finder with angle compensation to show the approximate horizontal distance, and then check that this works okay from the tree (shooting the horizontal)

even if you don't compensate for the angle, if your bow is fast enough then it makes very little difference (edit: except for longer shots and/or steeper angles...I'm sure TAC guys shooting 60 yards down a steep hill have to account for these things)

do you have a rangefinder with angle correction? try this all out from the ground and tree and see how it works with your setup
 
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Sight in wont change from flat ground to elevated but shooter form will. The other thing that can come into play shooting from elevated positions is cut depending on distance and angle. No reason to overly complicate the sight in process with that issue.

yep, no reason to sight in from elevation in part because your angles are going to change from depending upon tree and terrain

you're right that sight in won't change (much....yet to derive this on my own or see it proven....rather than take the word of others) if you sight in using horizontal distance and then shoot the horizontal from the tree

if you shoot the straight from the bow to the deer distance, then it can affect things for slower bows even if your form is perfect
 
I sight in from elevation because my yard is a hill. Before I got my new range finder with angle compensation, my deck to target was 50yrds. The new angle corrected distance is 45 yards. I’m sure if I hunted from the ground with my old rangefinder, I probably would have shot right over top of everything.
 
If your poi changes from elevation you have a form problem.
If this were true there would be no need for angle compensation in a rangefinder. Gravity plays a small roll in this. If you hunt 8-10 feet up you won’t see a difference, but in a steep hill at long distances you will.
 
Sight in from the ground and practice at height is your best bet. Everyone mentioning a range finder with angle adjustment for bow are spot on. I see most of my shots within a yard with my range finder doing the work for me at my elevated shots. If you sight in elevated and end up having a shot on the walk in or out you will be off. It’s better to be sighted in not elevated and make the adjustment once elevated where you have time to mentally mark distances. Elevation and angle will change with every spot, level will not.
 
Nope, i practice 100% from the ground. Why? Because in 32 seasons of hunting i’ve had zero problems shooting at deer from treestands when i only practice from the ground.

Practicing from hunting height is absolutely not necessary.
 
I put a piece of ribbon on the deer trail at different places each time I go out and fling an arrow at it as soon as I get set up. Usually pretty close but if it misses much it allows me to adjust for that spot. I've never noticed it affecting the deer when they come through, and it is good for my confidence.
 
If your poi changes from elevation you have a form problem.

Are you assuming that he is sighted in for the horizontal and also shooting the horizontal distance from the tree?


For instance, if you are 30 feet up and the deer is 10 feet from the tree base, then your straight line distance is a touch over 10 yards and if you shoot your 10 yard pin then you'll be off. You should shoot for 10 feet.
 
Are you assuming that he is sighted in for the horizontal and also shooting the horizontal distance from the tree?


For instance, if you are 30 feet up and the deer is 10 feet from the tree base, then your straight line distance is a touch over 10 yards and if you shoot your 10 yard pin then you'll be off. You should shoot for 10 feet.
That's why I have been using a pendulum sight for thirty years.
 
Are you assuming that he is sighted in for the horizontal and also shooting the horizontal distance from the tree?


For instance, if you are 30 feet up and the deer is 10 feet from the tree base, then your straight line distance is a touch over 10 yards and if you shoot your 10 yard pin then you'll be off. You should shoot for 10 feet.

The amount you’ll be off with your 10 yard pin from 10 yards out to the base of the tree is negligible to the point of insignificant. Let’s say you aim for center mass in the vitals, you miss 1-2 inches either way around where you’re aiming that deer is dead.

Put your 10 yard pin on the vitals and shoot. If you are making adjustments on where you’re placing your pin on a deer under 10 yards you’re WAY overthinking things.
 
The amount you’ll be off with your 10 yard pin from 10 yards out to the base of the tree is negligible to the point of insignificant. Let’s say you aim for center mass in the vitals, you miss 1-2 inches either way around where you’re aiming that deer is dead.

Put your 10 yard pin on the vitals and shoot. If you are making adjustments on where you’re placing your pin on a deer under 10 yards you’re WAY overthinking things.

You're right for that example.

If I had created another toy example with longer distances and steeper angles, then we'd be talking a clean miss.

10 yards was just the first thing I thought of but was not the best to demonstrate the angles here.
 
If a deer is 10 FEET from the base of your tree and you are 30 feet up that tree then you are 30 feet from that deer not 10. That's why my pendulum sight works so good. I don't have to think about the distance out to about 30 yards. Well 25 now that I'm shooting heavy arrows.
 
You're right for that example.

If I had created another toy example with longer distances and steeper angles, then we'd be talking a clean miss.

10 yards was just the first thing I thought of but was not the best to demonstrate the angles here.

Fair enough
 
If a deer is 10 FEET from the base of your tree and you are 30 feet up that tree then you are 30 feet from that deer not 10. That's why my pendulum sight works so good. I don't have to think about the distance out to about 30 yards. Well 25 now that I'm shooting heavy arrows.

31.62ft.

effective gravity on arrow = 10 feet. It's like shooting a 10 foot shot, not 30ft. Pendulum is designed to compensate for that maybe?
 
Nope. Never have. I’m not shooting anything through the spine from an acute angle. My Garmin sight gives me angle correction.

For my other bow with a HHA sight on it, I already have ranged the shooting lanes and know the corrected distances.


Semper Fi,
Mike
 
31.62ft.

effective gravity on arrow = 10 feet. It's like shooting a 10 foot shot, not 30ft. Pendulum is designed to compensate for that maybe?

Yeah, the reason I'm thinking the standard method is a rule of thumb is because your arrow's horizontal velocity is now chrono output divided by square root of 2 is aiming down at a 45. So, if you shoot for 10 feet then your arrow you think goes 300 fps is not travelling horizontally at that velocity.

I'm gonna try my hand at seeing if things cancel out mathematically. It might be exact but my gut isn't confirming it.
 
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If your new to saddle hunting, shooting your bow from it may make you do something different. I was shooting high when I practiced. Not because my sight was off, but because I adjusted my anchor. If you arrows are flying true, they should be close. I recommend you practice both. How ever you plan to hunt practice that way. I use a normal range finder, and that distance matches in the tree or on the ground.
The biggest thing to remember is where is your arrow going thru the deer. If it is close and your point of entry is low, your exit can be supper low. So think about shooting the center of the deer. Not the entry hole.
 
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