What is the most important thing...

[nybuckboy]

In your opinion, what is the most important thing you do or feel everyone should do, to prepare for each upcoming bow seasons?

[Fantail]

Top 5 or 10 most important things is more like it. But I'd have to say practice is right up there. I think a bow hunter should know where his mark should be.

[fasteddie]

Practice and practice from the distance and positions that you would while hunting . If you hunt from a blind , practice shooting from a chair . The same for a treestand . Nothing worse than practicing from the ground and then hunting from a 20' high treestand !

[Geno C]

i have an aray of things i do for prep and daily messures i do for hunting season... some guys take more steps then others.

i think practice is high on the list, safety - checking stands prior to season, clearing shooting lanes, trail cams, scent control, hunting gear in order, SHARP KNIFE. very important, all tags inorder.

theres alot of things i do, tomuch to list.

[Doc]

For me the most important thing is to practice shooting with heavier clothes and broadheads. It never fails to effect my shooting ...... and not in a nice way either.

Doc

[sweet old bill]

shoot all year long to make sure you are the best you can be.

Make sure you only take good clear shots, that will not wound a deer, but make a killing shot.

If you shoot a deer and can not find it, make sure you continue to hunt for the deer.

( nothing worst thatn a gun hunter or farmer finding a deer with a arrow in it that was not recovered)

Join a archery club

shoot 3D targets or indoors to sharpen your skill level

[Doewhacker]

yea what they said, Practice! and also make sure you have a well tuned bow/equipment.

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Practice with clothing and positon you will use

[crappyice]

Im concerned that all my practice (25 arrows daily (usually) for the last month or so) is "wasted" since I am practicing from the ground and not the climber in will be in come opening day.  I live in westchestr and to drive to land to legally shoot from a climber is annoying. Then to shoot 5 arrows, un-climb, retrieve arrows, re-climb and repeat is a full day and exhausting experience. Just what the wife needs to hear BEFORE the season begins.  I am hoping that ground shooting is bter than no shootin at all.

[Bleitten04]

All ive have done this year is ground shoot.  I don't really have a place where I can properly set up a stand and shoot out of it without having to drive at least a half hour.  I really feel like if you can target shoot from a stand you are greatly increasing your odds of putting a good shot on a deer.  I did however take a tape measure and placed it in my stand and marked off places where I predict a shot.  I feel that it is better than nothing.  Also just a fun fact is that you could use A squared + B squared = C squared to find how far your shots are if you measure from your stand to where you want to shoot and if you know how far up your seat is.  LOL!!!

[nybuckboy]

I did however take a tape measure and placed it in my stand and marked off places where I predict a shot.  I feel that it is better than nothing.  Also just a fun fact is that you could use A squared + B squared = C squared to find how far your shots are if you measure from your stand to where you want to shoot and if you know how far up your seat is.  LOL!!!

This where a range finder is swell. Last week, I placed small markers on branches, golden rod, etc, at several spots around my stands, all at 25 yards. This way I know my distances and any deer inside these marks are dead if I decide to take them. 

[sweet old bill]

I have a roller yardage that I use to get the 25 yards and then mark it with orange tape. The tape breaks down in about 3 months with rain and snow. Inside the 25 yards is my killer zone. I just use the one fiber optic scope that is pre set at 25 yards. The sight is a slider that I also have marked for 35 and 45 yards as well as the 25 yards. But in over 15 years I never have had to adjust. I like seeing them eye ball to eye ball...

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Bleit---I wish it wa that simple...lol Pythagorean's theorem doesn't take into consideration gravity. the steeper the angle (up or down) the less effect gravity has on the drop of a projectile. It really does get more minimal the faster the arrow is going, especially at the ranges most of us shoot. That is the science behind the new range finders that compensate for angle for true ballistic distance. Say you are 200 yards away and at a 45 degree down angle to the target. The ballistic range will be less...not sure but maybe 150. so you hold over like you are shooting 150....not the 200 that a normal rangefinder would tell you.

and here is the kicker-----up hill is the same as down hill.....you shoot high.

Sitting back and waiting...lol

[Larry]

the three P's; Practice Practice and more Practice

[20ftupatree]

I did however take a tape measure and placed it in my stand and marked off places where I predict a shot.  I feel that it is better than nothing.  Also just a fun fact is that you could use A squared + B squared = C squared to find how far your shots are if you measure from your stand to where you want to shoot and if you know how far up your seat is.  LOL!!!

This where a range finder is swell. Last week, I placed small markers on branches, golden rod, etc, at several spots around my stands, all at 25 yards. This way I know my distances and any deer inside these marks are dead if I decide to take them. 

One thing I learned last year by measuring 20 yrds on the ground is....it's a big difference than 20 yards from IN your treestand. I took a 100 yrd tape climbed up and let my buddy walk out till I had 20 yards in my hand. Last year I did from the ground starting at the base of my tree and boy was I off when I shot my first arrow at a deer then I made a slight adjustment and hit it still some high with the second arrow but it did drop and  recovered.

[Larry]

Remember when you look at a deer from a tree stand your line of site is the hypotenuse or the C side of a right triangle. What you want to know is the TRUE BALLISTIC RANGE of the deer. Let’s say the” a” side is the height of your tree stand minus the height of the center of the deer. What you need to find out is the b side is the TRUE BALLISTIC RANGE. Just use right angle trig to fine out the “b” side. So if a=6yds and c=20yds then c=19.07yds. Just do you measurements from the base of the tree or by a ballistic compositing range finder.

[Bleitten04]

very interesting!!! So if I shoot at distance of 20 yrds from the top of my tree stand to the deer I will be shooting higher then I expect to shoot?  Anyone know just how high that might be assuming that it is flat ground i'm hunting?

[burmjohn]

Judging Distances       

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/judging_distance_down.jpg[/img]

  When judging distance from a tree stand, use the horizontal distance,  not the greater diagonal distance. In this diagram you should aim for  12 yards, not 13 yards.

To calculate the horizontal distance “a” from a tree stand to a  target, with “b” being the height of your tree stand and “c” being the  diagonal distance to a target (you can establish this number using a  range finder), use this simple formula:

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/ch6_formula.gif[/img]

For example, if the treestand is 5 yards above the ground and    the diagonal distance to your target is 13 yards, then the horizontal distance    is calculated as follows:

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/judging_treestand_distance.jpg[/img]

[Bleitten04]

thats pretty good stuff there thank you very much!!!

[ELMER J. FUDD]

Ibeleive you still shoot lower than the 13 yds because you are now shooting somewhat with the gravitational pull on your arrow. But, its pretty flat shooting at less 15 yds, no?

Here are some calculator links.

http://armbrust.roider.at/cms/

http://www.outdoorsden.com/archery/archbal.asp

[steve863]

Judging Distances       

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/judging_distance_down.jpg[/img]  When judging distance from a tree stand, use the horizontal distance,  not the greater diagonal distance. In this diagram you should aim for  12 yards, not 13 yards.

To calculate the horizontal distance “a” from a tree stand to a  target, with “b” being the height of your tree stand and “c” being the  diagonal distance to a target (you can establish this number using a  range finder), use this simple formula:

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/ch6_formula.gif[/img]

For example, if the treestand is 5 yards above the ground and    the diagonal distance to your target is 13 yards, then the horizontal distance    is calculated as follows:

http://www.bowhunter-ed.com/images/graphics/judging_treestand_distance.jpg[/img]

Wow, this is good stuff.  No wonder I stunk with a bow and murdered trees, branches and leaves on the ground instead of deer.  I'm sure failing high school geometry didn't help me any either!  My teacher Mr. Carlin did warn me that it would cost me one day. 

[VenaticOutdoors]

It's certain parts of shooting that are most important to me.  I shoot almost every day, but if I don't focus on settling in on a point and taking my time, then all my practice means nothing in the stand.

[WNYBuckHunter]

How much difference is there between 12 and 13 yards with your bow? If you are missing because of 1 yard difference theres something else going on. The biggest factor why people miss from a treestand is that their anchor points change because they arent bending at the waist. Concentrate on your anchor points and youll miss alot less.

[132 eight pointer]

How much difference is there between 12 and 13 yards with your bow? If you are missing because of 1 yard difference theres something else going on. The biggest factor why people miss from a treestand is that their anchor points change because they arent bending at the waist. Concentrate on your anchor points and youll miss alot less.

          I agree. I had to remember to do that after missing a buck last year.

[fasteddie]

With today's bows a couple yards shouldn't make a difference . I think the problem is that folks forget to bend at the waste and drop their bow arm . This will certainly cause a miss .