guessing distance to target?

[Doc]

I use a rangefinder for certain trees around my stands. Unless there are some strange features of the trees I will use blaze marks on the trees along my shooting lanes to identify them. I go out to 25 or 30 yards (my maximum hunting shot distance). I have a lot of confidence in my sight-pins, and adding the confidence of a rangefinder takes a lot of guess-work out of the success or failure of the shot.

 

[growalot]

I have a range finder...but I do not use it just before a shot...I will scan the area around me...A good example was last years bow buck I hadn't been in the swamp for 3 years...so I spotted the areas I thought they would travel..it's pretty dense down there..He came in at a good pace. I knew from point of sight to where he'd disappear what the yardage may be and if I could do it...he hit the 35 yrd area just as he gave me the best shot and I center punched his heart...So Yes rangefinders are very useful...but NOTHING beats training ahead of it and along with it....

[Adkhunter1590]

I haven't hunted with a range finder since I started bow hunting 13 years ago. My dad has had one and we've used it for practice but other than that it's all off hand judgement. You get used to it after awhile. But that being said...I did just buy myself a new range finder lol. There's the Halo XRT7 and it was on sale for $99. Has the angle compensation for bow hunting so I figured I'd get one for the hell of it. I will just range a few things around me when I get into a stand and most likely put it away after that. It's not a 100% necessary tool but it's a helpful one for sure


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[fasteddie]

20 yard marker with a Honeysuckle Smoke Stick .

[Nomad]

Never owned a range finder in my close to 30 years of bow, used to mark a few trees , don't anymore .

Longest shot I ever took was 25 yards, most I'd say are 10-15 yards .

My top pin is pretty much good out to 30.

Anybody that walks can learn to estimate bow ranges, well I guess they also would need to be able to count  . When I worked on a shipping dock, we'd do,it often, " that I beam is 25 yards" then count as we walked to it and so on.

Today I still do it walking the dog, in parking lots, walking in the store . perhaps one could do,it walking into and out from their stand..... Maybe even stump shoot.

[biggamefish]

I count my steps in my sleep it's sad to say but when you work as a surveyor you are always pacing something off.  That being said you have to keep doing it all the time to be good at it just like anything. Practice makes prefect or at least you closer.

[crappyice]

I normally hunt tight woods with 20 yard shots being about the max. However I recently sat on a field edge and found judging distance was much more difficult without having any other things to judge against. I have a rangefinder and was guesstimating yardage to random places and was short more than long. Strange but a good lesson for hunting fields for me


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