guessing distance to target?

[BowmanMike]

So, I am wondering how everybody deals with getting the distance to the deer right.

Are you marking spots with tape for your stands or does everybody use rangefinders? Do some of you just guess? 

What is the best way in your humble opinions?

[moog5050]

Use RF to determine yardage to various trees in the 20 - 40 yd range where you might shoot when there is sufficient light in the AM.  In a pinch - try to estimate by looking at 10yd increments.  Tape will work too.  I have only actually ranged one buck from the stand, the one I killed last year but he was running away at 68yds when I ranged him so it didn't really help.  Luckily he came back to some grunts.

[wooly]

I can pick 10yds with very little error so that's where I start.

That makes it easy for me to double it from that point to get my 20yds. I don't worry much about dissecting it into smaller increments within that range and I haven't shot at a deer beyond that in some time.

[NFA-ADK]

I range a few trees in the area while on stand, when still hunting I use the 10 yard estimate and try to keep the shots under 30.  If I stop I will estimate and range a few trees.  The more you estimate with the range finder the better you will get at judging distance so I try to do it often. 

[turkeyfeathers]

I only gun hunt so I guess I can say ranging isn't as important as say bow hunting. Have played competitive golf all my life so yardage comes fairly easy. "That looks like a full sandwedge so 100 yards. Stock pitching wedge for that one so 135"  I do however use rangefinder to scan trees if I set my climber up in a new spot.

[genesee_mohican]

I invested in a good range finder years ago and use it on every hunt. First thing I do when I get into place is to range landmarks and get a feel for the distances.

[DirtyNailz]

Before I bought a range finder I took a roll of string. Rolled it out and marked 10 20 30 with a black mark. Then from the base of my tree I would unroll it and tie a small piece of twine to a branch at each yard marking. This was done a couple months in advance...it worked for me. Honestly I stared to be able to see or guess my marks after a couple years.... but who wants to guess when you have a big boy or doe coming in.... I have since bought a range finder only to find out I'm fairly good at picking out my distances..... better to be safe...

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[Big John]

My rifle has a built in range finder called a Mil-Dot. I practice with my bow enough to be able to size the deer with my 3 pin loop.

[philoshop]

"Guessing" is not good. With some practice and experience you can learn to "estimate" quite accurately, but it takes some work. You don't need to know the exact distance, just that you can hit the target at whatever distance it happens to be.

I spent a lot of time just walking around shooting at specific leaves or dirt clumps with judo points when I first got into archery 45+ years ago. Whether the target was ten yards or fifty yards didn't really matter. That I could either hit that target consistently or not was what mattered.

[Bowguy 1]

rangefinder is how most folks do it but keep your shots close n its a moot point

[Tughill Tamer]

I mark trees in each possible shooting direction at 20, 30 and 40 yards then in the heat of the moment theres no guess work.

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[Buckmaster7600]

Inside of 40 I rarely use my rangefinder although I always have it. 40-60 I use it. I have only ranged 2or 3 deer I have shot in the 10+ years of always carrying one.


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[DirtTime]

I don't have a range finder, but I almost always have my spots picked out while scouting before the season. I will pick a few trees and pace them off to get close, sometimes I will use tape, but that's usually more to keep track of wind changes.

[growalot]

Because I shoot instinctive (no sights) I have made a point over the years of practicing at set points then switching to random placement the last month...I will even, in low light walk away from my 3D at different angles turn and shoot...But I also have and advantage...I trained young as a softball, fast pitcher, and I was a soccer goalie. I learned to operate heavy equipment starting at age 12...You have to develop and eye for distance and grade...

[Bowguy 1]

Guys lets be clear cause we know not who is reading. The overwhelming number of deer are shot under 20 yards n ego aside most guys cannot make the shot especially excited at 40 yards. Not saying no one can I just feel most for ethical reasons shouldnt. The animal can move, tree can sway, it can just be windy. Yes long range shots are great for practice but most guys taking such shots would be wounding deer. I'm not referring to anyone who posted above, never seen them shoot. Just stating cause imo it's generally a bad idea and shouldn't be spoken about lightly. 

[wolc123]

For many years, I would estimate the yardage and I got pretty good at it after lots of practice on the range with my bow and a full-size 3D deer target.   That method works well if you have a lot of spare time.   Lacking that these days, mostly due to family responsibilities and work, I now use a laser rangefinder.   I bought it last season, after hitting a buck about 6" lower than the hair I intended to hit, due to underestimating the range by 9 yards, the year prior.  Fortunately, he only made it 40 yards after taking the arrow thru the heart. 

I don't actually range the deer with the rangefinder, but use it from my stands, on landmarks (trees, rocks, stumps, etc.), especially spots where I think a deer might present a shot.  The one I bought works very well from 10 to 400 yards and I use it with a crossbow, ML, smooth bore and rifled bore slug-guns, and a rifle.  I know the effective range of all these weapons from time on the range, and the rangefinder allows me to stay within that with no "guesswork".  It has a feature to measure the true horizontal distance, which is a concern if you are hunting from a higher elevation than your target, such as a tree-stand or a mountain ridge.

Again, due to limited free time, and the legalization of the crossbow (for a short part of archery season anyhow) I no longer hunt with a bow.   When I did, I used a single pin and I learned where to aim on the deer's vitals based on the estimated range.  My bow shot relatively flat from 5 to 25 yards, and all of my shots were in that range.  If the deer was close, I would aim low, at the heart, if far, "high lung", just below the spine.  That usually resulted in a center-lung hit.  I don't recall ever missing low, but I did strike a couple in the shoulder blade, when they "jumped" the string after hearing the bow release.  Fortunately, they usually recover well from that injury.   A friend actually harvested one of them a month later whith a gun and his shoulder was all healed up with just a big scar to show for it.        

       

[stoneam2006]

I practice estimating distances every day from shooting off my back porch to just walking around counting paces. (1 long step is a yard) been doing it for years and have come to be pretty good at it. Still planning on buying a range finder bc when your 20 feet up stuff looks a little different

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[philoshop]

You're either capable of hitting what you shoot at, and fully confident that you can do so, or you're not. Take the shot accordingly. Measuring precise ranges, angles, and dangles become excuses if you miss. I've missed a lot of deer over the years because I'm human. It's about doing the best you can do.

[Buckmaster7600]

For any new bow hunter I would highly recommend a range finder. There are some quality rangefinders for not much more than 100$. If you will never shoot beyond 20-25yds it's not as important with modern bows but if you plan on shooting beyond that it is essential. Judging range is a learned skill that is often messed up every by the most experienced.


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[DirtTime]

One thing I have done to help get a lot better at estimating range is while I am hiking/scouting I pick something like a tree, rock, or a bush make an estimate, and then pace it off with big steps like stoneam2006 mentioned. If I was in a stand, I would have a range finder because the angle will add to the distance.

 

I also agree 100% with philoshop as far as not getting to caught up into being overly precise. Usually, when you over think something, something goes wrong.

[philoshop]

21 minutes ago, ....rob said:

One thing I have done to help get a lot better at estimating range is while I am hiking/scouting I pick something like a tree, rock, or a bush make an estimate, and then pace it off with big steps like stoneam2006 mentioned. If I was in a stand, I would have a range finder because the angle will add to the distance.

 

I also agree 100% with philoshop as far as not getting to caught up into being overly precise. Usually, when you over think something, something goes wrong.

You'll probably have a couple of seconds to make the shoot/don't shoot decision. You're either confident that you can connect with the shot or you're not. Practice builds confidence.

[DirtTime]

3 minutes ago, philoshop said:

You'll probably have a couple of seconds to make the shoot/don't shoot decision. You're either confident that you can connect with the shot or you're not. Practice builds confidence.

Agreed.

[dbHunterNY]

There's a lot to yardage estimation but hunting ranges make it easier. Setup targets or at least objects at yards that are your pins and out past where you'd take shot at an animal. Every practice you burn it into memory. Then use range finder. In field. Range objects in from stand or blind before settling in. Quiz yourself while you wait. I do both these as well as practice randomly with rangefinder throughout year.

[The_Real_TCIII]

Guys lets be clear cause we know not who is reading. The overwhelming number of deer are shot under 20 yards n ego aside most guys cannot make the shot especially excited at 40 yards. Not saying no one can I just feel most for ethical reasons shouldnt. The animal can move, tree can sway, it can just be windy. Yes long range shots are great for practice but most guys taking such shots would be wounding deer. I'm not referring to anyone who posted above, never seen them shoot. Just stating cause imo it's generally a bad idea and shouldn't be spoken about lightly. 

40 yards is so far in the woods!

[fasteddie]

Old video but the markers work 

http://vidmg.photobucket.com/albums/v313/fasteddie63004/DistanceMarker-ScentWickHolder.mp4