I was wondering if you guys and gals look at a shot as if you can make it and take the shot, or do you look at the shot in yards and go from there? I've noticed folks saying this deer or elk is at 23 yards and I shot her for 20 and missed.
I personally don't look at the yards anymore, either I can make the shot and take it or I'm not comy with it and don't. What's your take on this?
I'm with you. I look at the shot and I just "know" that is a shot I will take or not.
I'm with ya'll I purdy much know when it's to far but, when I relay the story to friends it's seems to alway's be in yardage! gotta speak thier language! HA! Jason
Same here, If i am confident with the shot, I'll take it. Of course within my range of confidence in making a lethal shot.
Never think distance at the shot,but when ya tell yer buddies,ya gotta do so to complete the tale....
haven't paid any attention to yardage in years, just go with my gut.
Ya I gave up the yardage thing long ago, I just reach out and touch 'em.
enjoy
I look at both. I have predetermined yardages that I won't shoot beyond depending on the species, terrain and time of year, regardless of whether or not I think I can make the shot. Within that range it becomes a yes or no situation.
kinda the same as most.. ya can usually feel if its a makeable shot, i couldnt judge distances if my life depended on it.. its either close enough or to far..
If time and contitions permit I pace off the distance to a few prominent features in front of my stand, such as a rock or tree. when I set my target at home I also pace off the distance insted of using a measuring tape so I get used to shooting at 20 or 30 paces instead of so many yards. I have short legs so my pace isnt even close to a full yard
When I'm on the ground, I just go by my gut, but up in a tree, I use a range finder on several trees/rocks/bushes to find the actual distance so when whatever I'm hunting is within those objects, I know the range is in my comfort zone. I've just never been able to judge distance well when up in a tree as opposed to being on the ground, so I went the electronic route to be sure.
I know what the 25 yard circle is around my stands and anything within that there is no thought. Out side of that I will see them another time.
QuoteOriginally posted by Covey:
I'm with ya'll I purdy much know when it's to far but, when I relay the story to friends it's seems to alway's be in yardage! gotta speak thier language! HA! Jason
Ditto!!
That sounds like a wheel bow shooter,I look and focus on a spot that I'm shooting for.I don't really think of yardages when I'm shooting.But I look around a judge yardages of different objects.
I also just reach out and touch them. I tried using a range finder and it just screwed me up. I just look at the shot and do a go/nogo......
It actually has nothing to do with being a wheel bow shooter. It is gap shooting or stringwalking. Many of the best shots in the game are gap shooters. To gap effectively you need to know how far the shot is.
I shoot instinctively, I think.
Mike
I am in the can i make the shot boat. there are many varieables. In some cases 20 may be to far with the wind and such. As others have said though I usually tell the story in terms of yardage. :)
I stopped thinking about the distance years ago. I miss a heckofa lot less now.
Its kind of like a green light goes off in my head, lets me know when to shoot. It is different for different species and tends to be on the close side.
I guess I have what I call my "zone" and when a deer comes within it and offers a shot I take it. I honestly don't know the yardage of that "zone" but I can feel it when the deer comes in. I have shot deer out of that "zone" before but each one of them required way too much thought to the shot and I haven't done that for over 20 years.
I hunt mostly from the ground, if I start to play the yardage game I,ll miss every time. If I just let my shot process take over naturally I do alot better.
Exactly what Dan said, if I think about the shot too much I screw myself up. I go into a different mode when I am about to shoot at a live animal, I really focus on a spot and let my "instinctive" shooting process take over.
shotting at game is way different than targets. i heart shot a rabbit at 15 yards the other day. i couldnt usally make that shot at my target. if it feels right then i will take the shot
When I hunt from a stand I usually know the distance of the shooting lanes so I know when I can shoot.When still hunting or stalking I have no time,no will to take misurements,this was one of the reason I quit using wheels so I go with sensations and experience.
I never think of yardage. If I know I can make the shot I take it. If it does not feel right I do not. Once I draw and hit anchor my mind knows what the site picture should look like. Do not know how else to explain it.
I have killed critters out to 30 yards but only know the yardage after I pace it off when I get on the trail.
I dont pay no nevermind to yardage either.
When I set up a ground blind or a ladder stand, I do look around and figure what my shooting limits will be. It is kind of mental thing that lets me know when a critter is within my shooting limits. When it is time for a shot, I never think yardage. If it is within my earlier set limits, I pick a spot (a very small small spot)and that is all I am thinking about.
QuoteOriginally posted by FerretWYO:
I am in the can i make the shot boat. there are many varieables.
Ok...so I'm reading along intrigued by the responses and I read that this Ferret guy is tellin us he's in the can.
Now why would he share that...???
Then he says to "shoot the boat..."
So I just figure he's in the egg-nog early this holiday...
S-o-w-l-y it all comes into focus!
:knothead: :bigsmyl:
FWIW, I had some experiences where past certain yardage, tiny unseen twigs have deflected arrows. I won't shoot beyond a range I KNOW I'm consistent at, unless it's wide open.
So I guess I do rather drill into my surroundings and estimate what "tolerance" or 'holes' I have to shoot through...and as light fades, that yardage shrinks to compensate.
Years ago when I shot competitive field archery figuring distance and aiming accordingly was pretty much second nature to most of us back then. When 3D came along and replaced the old field archery I found that I lost my ability to judge distance accurately and now I rely more on visualizing the trajectory of my arrow. Reading Jay Kidwell's book (Instinctive Archery Insights) is a good idea for bare bow shooters.
Good stuff guys! I thought I was alone on this! I do understand the explaining it to friends etc that don't understand it, and doin so in yardage!
I think yardage only as mental mechanics prior to draw. Ex; I might approximate 30 yards, then draw & " + " the spot in my mind. I never think exact yardage.
I never really think about yardage I try anticipate where the animal will pass through a good opening. Then its just a matter of picking a spot and letting it fly.
Beeb shooting for over 60 years. Never have thought yardage. I just focus and shoot.
When it feels right, it is time to take the shot. I like to step it off afterwards, though.
I just tell them it was under fifty yards. Let'm wonder! lol
If it's in my comfort zone and everything else is also a go, then it's launch time.
God bless,Mudd
Like Wingnut said; I shoot instinctivley, I think.
Pick a spot, and if everything feels right, loose the arrow.
I decide if I can make the shot or not by judging the yardage. I know what my effective range is based on lots of shooting rather than "gut feeling". Inside of 20yds is pretty much an automatic decision since that distance does not require aiming adjustments for me. Beyond 20yds requires a much closer estimate of the yardage in order to hit where I want to.
I just "pick a spot" also, think about yardage after the shot
To me, it's all the same, if you break it down; yardage is really just numbers we've assigned to distances...and these distances are, through repetitious practice, memorized in our minds (twenty yards to one might be twenty-seven to the next). The difference lies in the fact that some have repetitiously mastered the Zen of knowing the arrow's trajectory by "feeling" it, they can just look and know. This is (my opinion) one of the lines of separation between old-school trad and wheelers. You shoot enough basketballs at a hoop, and you no longer need to pause to judge how to send the ball through the rim...of course, in either case, there's always room for error...many of the animals I've shot at could verify that. The gadget is no substitute for practice.
Never think of yardage. I just know when it's in my effective range.
I have three distinct distances: To Far, close enough, and OH ****!!, I can hear it breathing.
I use yardage because I gap shoot. I know my hold-on distance is 33 yards. I have never taken that long of a shot, but it is my reference point. From that distance I use the gap to manipulate where my shots are. It works for me very well!
I always do a mental note of the percieved yardage. I never consciously use it as I shoot off the sight picture. I can't see how knowing the yardage can possibly cause misses?
I never worry about yardage. If it feels right I shoot then I step off the yardage afterwards just like centaur said.
Being a gap shooter, I make an approximation of the yardage to my spot.
I have talked to a lot of people that tell me that yardage approximation fades after time into a sight picture that looks right.
When I started shooting trad I stopped counting yards practice let's you know what you can and can't hit.
I can't judge distance to save my butt so I just look at the target and decide weather I can hit it.
That being said after pacing off where deer have been after they leave I realize they were much closer than thought.
If it don't feel right I won't shoot. Some days feel better than others.
I too no longer estimate yardage. Anything twenty yards or under i am confident. Its just waiting for the opportunity and point and shoot. Although i can shoot pretty well further. I can visualize the the hit at this range. Almost a dead zone if anything steps in and i am not spotted or winded its all over. I passed on some outside the zone and been rewarded w three for three inside the zone. I am more confident w the recurve than i ever was with wheels and sights provided i am hunting in the zone not shooting outside it.
Never think about yardage, I just know that for the most part I'm good to about 20 to 25 yards if everything is perfect. Not saying I would take a 20 or 25 or even 10 yard shot everytime. Sometimes it just doesn't feel right no matter the yardage.
BOB
I never think of yardage if it feels right I turn it loose!
I never worry about yardage anymore! Its Great! I can "feel" it before the arrow leaves the string. My mind id the best rangefinder for me, plus it doesnt take batteries. :bigsmyl:
Don't really look at yardage my eye just knows when I can make the shot I like to go stumping and shoot at diffrent yardages to sight myself in I find that is the best way for me v/s looking for yardage
It took me a long, long time but now I understand what "become the arrow" means. Don't think about yardage before or during a shot (at both game and targets). My effective range when deer hunting is very close by choice. Targets have no limit.
Now... AFTER a shot when talking with friends I can't help but add estimated yardage to the story. More detail makes it interesting, I guess.
... mike ... :archer: ...
It's either you can or you can't I figured that out this season a buck came in out in front of me and in my head I diden't calculate yardage like I used to (this is my first year hunting trad) I just pulled picked a spot and shot I showed him the wood at 30 yds I later stepped it off it dident look that far when there was a deer their
I decide if it's a shot I'm comfortable taking or not..I don't think about the yardage..Mike
I just look and figure if I can make it or not. That can take a lot of things into account, such as how alert the critter is, lighting, etc. But I don't think about it too much. Just decide and shoot or not. That being said, I do a lot of practice standing on a step ladder and I always take a judo shot or two before leaving the stand, so I actually shoot better from a stand than on the ground, it seems. Weird.
I have never taken a shot past 9 of my paces, so about 18 or 20 yards, but I've passed several a lot closer than that for whatever reason.
I've never owned a range finder. I don't think it would make much difference if I did. I pick a spot and if it looks right, I shoot. I have shot over some, thinking they were farther than they were. 15-25 yards seems to be my sweet spot, but I don't think much about it until after. As others have said, it makes it easier to tell the story in yards. Most others wouldn't know what just right means to me, so yardage helps explain it.
I always think of yardage. All those years of compound bow shooting it is second nature. I like to keep my shots at 20 yards and it. I know that if it is 20 and in I can make the shot. I think it starts to get hard to pick a spot further than that. Just my personal opinion.
I tried the range finder thing when I started shooting trad but figured out pretty quick that it didnt work. Now I just shoot when the shot feels right I dont practice at known distances and I dont hunt at known distances. When the animal is close enough and turned right and relaxed and I feel it is time to shoot the bow comes up the string comes back and when I reach the right spot on my face I let go and then ......
I can pretty much just look and tell if its within my shooting distance.
Never think about the yardage. Just know I can either make the shot or not. After the shot I check the distance. Shot a doe at twenty-two yards this year. This was the farthest shot I've ever taken at a deer in 30 years of archery hunting. The last 18 have been traditional.
Al
under 20 is focus and shoot.after that i try to judge to figure how much higher to focus to allow for drop.havent had to shoot at animal with higher focus point yet.just wait til they are closer..chris
depends on the situation for me
depends on a lot of things
sometime yes sometimes no
i have three yardages Close, Far .. to far :D
I only use my range finder for setting up bow targets for the wheel buds or rifle sighting in.No more yardage guessing for me.I know what's outside my comfort zone and what's inside.
One of the many benefits of trad archery.Tossing the yardage shackles. :thumbsup:
I will measure the shot afterwards just to relay the whole story to buddies who are wheel shooters.
there is something in your brain ,that just tells you ,i really dont do yards.i just pull anchor and release.
My practice sessions include long range shooting out to 40 yds. When stumpshooting, we also fling some arrows 50 and beyond at targets(stumps or logs).
This type of practice has taught me to look at my target, make a quick evaluation of the distance and then make my shot. Twenty five yards and under I don't even think about yardage. Beyond that, I make my guesstimate, aim accordingly and drop the string.
look at the shot and if it looks good take it dont care about the yards one of the best parts of trad shooting and hunting. Widow
If i tried to estimate distance would get it wrong anyway...too much thinking always screws up my shot...pick a spot, focus, let it happen.
My personal process is "can I make that shot or not." NOT 'how far is it?'. I've passed on a 15 yard shot this year (it just did not look doable) and successfully took a couple of 25 yard shots. "Can I make this shot or not?"
Joe
If on stand, I try to estimate distances to certain posts, like that tree is 25 yards, I can shoot to there. This way if that animal is within my "area" I know I can do it. I do not try to estimate yardage to the animal or other target aftertaht, just point and shoot.
ChuckC
The light is either green or red......any more thought than that things seem to go the wrong way!
If I feel comfortable with the shot I will take it. I don't think about how many yards it might be, just have confidence in my tools and preparation.
It has to do with confidence at reasonable hunting distances. Certainly I would not feel comfortable at 40 yards but I do practice at that and further ranges and find it helps confidence immensely at shorter actual distances. That said, when a critter comes along that I want to shoot, yardage is never considered. My pea brain could not hold that information when I really need to concentrate on the spot I want to hit and if the animal is walking, quartering, etc. When it is time to shoot, you got to take the shot that you can make. Love it when they are close though!