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Talk about your realistic practice.

DroptineKrazy

DroptineKrazy

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Oct 30, 2019
Messages
3,076
Location
Brunswick, Maine
I couldn't believe it. Not 15 minutes ago I was perched 18 ft. up in a tree about 20 yards off my lawn trying to hit my monster buck target at 23 yards. This is the first time for me to shoot from hunting height in my new Trophyline Lite. Could barely hit the target at all much less kill the damn thing when all of a sudden after my second shot I hear a deer blow. What the heck was that? Sure enough it blows 2 more times and I see a big fat doe skirting around me in the gully behind me. Tried to draw on her for really realistic practice but she wouldn't stop long enough for me to get on her. No arrow on the bow of course. Made my heart race just a little though. Fun practice. Now I have to go see how many arrows I ruined. Darn. I used to be a pretty good shot too.
 
So what was the problem? Have you never hunted from height b4? Were you ever a tree stand hunter? Took me one day to get used to the saddle, but Iv'e hunted from stands for 50 yrs. Why were you missing? Not tryna slam you just curious why so much trouble!
 
I also thought shooting from the saddle took no time at all to get used to. I have some judo points coming and plan on taking those out in the woods behind my house and shooting stumps. I also may bring my saddle and rope along and practice climbing as well. That should be as realistic a practice as i can come up with. Yours is pretty good too though.
 
@Drslyr I don't really know what the problem was. Iv'e been hunting from tree stands for 43 years and never had a problem hitting the kill zone before. As a matter of fact Iv'e only lost 1 deer in my hunting career that I can remember. The other 70 or 80 weren't so lucky. I'm actually a lot better shot on game than I am on the backyard target. Like I said it was my first time shooting from my new sling and platform and I don't think I am fully comfortable in trusting my gear yet, therefor it may be throwing my form off. There is also the fact that I wasn't shooting to my strong side I was shooting to the opposite side of the tree. Should have started out with shooting on my strong side. Duh :rolleyes:
 
Could be grip torque. I know when I first started shooting from a saddle I would torque the bow a little different and notice it with my iq sight. But cool experience and good practice! Now you got a spot to fill a doe tag lol
Hope you get yourself zeroed in!

Sent from parts unknown
 
Yeah they come out on my lawn at night as proven by my Cuddebak. I always try to whack I or 2 does first then hunt for a nice buck.
 
You might be right about the torque though cause I usually shoot with my hand pretty open and I don't recall whether I was gripping my bow tight or not. More practice tomorrow should help.
 
Your right about that for sure but that has never been a problem before and like I said I've been hunting out of trees for over 40 years. It just feels a little strange being supported from the front by my tether as opposed to being supported from the back by the full body harness I'm used too all these years. Kinda feels like I'm falling over backwards where as compared to before it felt more like someone had you by the belt in the back of your pants. I've made a few shots on deer over the years where I was leaning way out over the rail of my Summit climber to shoot almost straight down and never lost my form.I am going to go over my bow and sight and shoot a few rounds in the backyard to make sure nothings been knocked out of whack before I give it another go but I'm pretty sure it's me and not my equipment. Probably, like anything else new, it will come to me in time but feels strange shooting like this after doing it the other way for so long. It became automatic for me when a shot presented itself before. I never used to even have to think about my form then.
 
you could sit in your saddle at just above ground level while getting adjusted to shooting from it before exerting the energy to climb 18 ft up each time you want to shoot. Its a trip to get adjusted to sitting and shooting from a saddle at first.
 
Good idea Jay. I was also practicing with my new Hawk Heliums since I've never used climbing sticks before this year either. Probably trying to do too much at once isn't helping the situation.
 
slow and steady, i would recommend doing everything at ground level before even attempting to get to doing it at height. it only takes one mistake to change your life forever.
 
Once you master there fundamentals, then
Jay_Disarray said:
slow and steady, i would recommend doing everything at ground level before even attempting to get to doing it at height. it only takes one mistake to change your life forever.
Click to expand...
Perfect answer! Most of my off season is spent practicing with the platform just off the ground or practicing stick placement with just one stick.
 
Move your target in to 15 yards for some shots until you get comfortable hanging from the rope.

If you were “leaning” when shooting, maybe try burying your knee into the tree for an extra anchor point to help stabilize yourself at draw.

Awesome to have a live experience like that while practicing. I never heard of anyone needing to add scent control to their practice regimen :)
 
ofor said:
Move your target in to 15 yards for some shots until you get comfortable hanging from the rope.

If you were “leaning” when shooting, maybe try burying your knee into the tree for an extra anchor point to help stabilize yourself at draw.

Awesome to have a live experience like that while practicing. I never heard of anyone needing to add scent control to their practice regimen :)
Click to expand...

Knee anchor is good, and if the shot allows I anchor my back elbow against the tree. Just dont let that back elbow anchor cause you to lower your bow to make the shot, lead arm needs to maintain the T


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Thanks for all the advice guys. That's why I love this site. Always someone who's been there done that giving great advice. I just shot a couple of rounds from ground level at my bag target from 20 yard and busted a nock so there is no doubt that it's me now:laughing:. That's what I get for trying to "flatten" the learning curve by skipping steps. I'll give it another go from about 7 ft. That's where the top of my first stick is. I did however practice with my saddle,linesman's and tether at ground level about a dozen times but yesterday was the first time I tried shooting from it. Should have tried shooting from ground level first like I've read on here about a hundred times. Lesson learned I guess.
 
I hang my tether from this giant support beam in my basement, put a 4x4 at the base of it to act like my platform. That way I shoot from the saddle in my 10 yard basement range. Looks hilarious in full leafy suit and mask, swing out from behind a pole to shoot my foam target, but it works wonders for getting comfy with it. But, you need to practice in full gear at least a little bit. Masks, gloves, stands, all that stuff + OMG ITS A BUCK = wierd bad things happening to good moments.
 
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