KyStickbow X2. The shots I miss from a stand are always high: hence my handle. Just can't seem to get that "bend at the waist" through my head. So, to compensate for that, I always aim low. Another plus for aiming low is that if the animal "drops" at the shot, you have a much better chance of connecting with a vitals shot. The highest stand from which I hunt is 15' max.

Do not under any circumstance eat the yellow snow.

Try sliding your hips rearward, bending your forward leg towards the target, cant the bow a lot and shoot as normal.

Climb down and hunt from the ground.

Shorten your point-on distance if you're planning on hunting.

I will certainly hunt from the ground some as well.

aim low

I know we hear this advice so much that it gets over looked, but "PICK A SPOT"!  I have not killed a whole lot of animals with a trad bow and I have missed a few. I credit my missed to primarily 1 thing, not picking a SPOT!  I may have picked an area, but I did not pick a spot.  

There is just something about your heart pounding, trying to film, trying to keep an eye on the animal to be sure to don't get busted, etc that I just forget to pick a spot!          

But I did come to a conclusion last year, even a miss on film is good!  

Take a few shots at 10 yards from the base of the tree to your target and pay attention to the gap between your arrow tip and the target.  When you shoot from the tree, try to keep that gap about the same.  You don't have to shoot a dedicated gap like this all the time but it is a useful reference to make sure you maintain good form when shooting from a tree stand.

To expand on what mparks posted, remember that gravity only affects the arrow along the horizontal distance to the target, so shooting 10 yds is the same trajectory whether you are flat on the ground or 20 feet up. I agree also that 17 feet up at 10 yds. is a pretty steep angle and a tough shot. The steeper the angle, the less chance of a double-lung hit.

ok so I took some advice and shot about 12 shots. I did a little better but I wouldn't say I feel good enough to hunt if I had the option to today. this will be a work in progress for me. but I WILL get it before I hunt. bending at the waist is certainly the # 1 first thing to do. hitting my anchor and keeping my elbow and arm inline is also a biggie. I will keep you g forward guys. thanks again

Haven't seen it mentioned yet, but are you shooting a comfortable bow weight? My experience has been that being 'over bowed' causes a lot of issues. Stay after it - you'll do fine.

I'll add a little to what Daniel said.  Don't underestimate the power of deep breaths.  Calms down the heart pounding and nerves.  It seems simple, but just remember it.  I promise it will help.

Jake

Wear a safety harness ! If you forget to bring it out with you hunt on the ground and don't chance it !

yeh I think so. I have been shooting 48# for about 9 months. it doesn't seem to be strenuous. I don't get tired.

Nothing new here.But learn good technique and practice religiously.You will have to practice a lot to become a good shot.Learn good habits and how to execute them.Practice,pracite practice.An archer/hunter really needs to devlop good technique/skill.

You don't want to practice poor technique too much.It can become ingrained and its hard to break bad habits.

Not always easy to find a mentor or qualified coach/teacher.That would be great if you could though.

Anyways thier is a Shooters forum on Tradgang.You might want to hang out their a bit.You can do searches on things about technique that your interested in and see some good videos of guys who have been around the block a few timesThe videos can be helpful.Seeing someone else do it and explain it.

Yaa bending at the waist is essential from a tree stand and get to full draw.An archers draw can have a tendancy to become shorter from a tree stand.Depth perception can change.Pick a spot.You will have to aim lower as mentioned.

You may think this is too much movement, but I feel pretty confident out of a stand, and I've never had a problem getting drawn...

I draw level, and then bend at the waist to pick my spot.

I'm a big fan of minimizing the analysis of technique and just getting out there and learning as you go, as long as you're doing it in a safe and ethical manner. But I will share one tip for elevated shooting almost nobody ever does.

Just like your more common practice on a level shooting range where you progressively back up as your consistency improves, you can do the same thing with elevation..move a step up the ladder and shoot from that elevation until you have a better feel for the angles and arrow trajectory versus your "normal"line of sight, then move up another step ,and continue this way until you are well-practiced and confident at all different elevations. Along the way, you will learn that there almost never a predictable shooting position when you're in a stand and you will get more comfortable with the twists and contortions that you have to  with your legs and lower body to get your shoulders into good alignment for the shot...those dang animals just wont follow the script and hit their marks!  As others have mentioned, a 10 yard shot from 16 feet up is a steep angle, but veteran tree stand hunters do it all the time.

I'm much more critical of my stand setup with a trad bow.  Just getting in the right area is not enough.  I have to have a setup that is 8 to 12 yards off the trail or pinch point and allows a good shooting lane in both directions.  If you set up an easy shot your much more likely to make it.

Practice from all kinds of positions. Crouched kneeling twisted weird sitting in the dirt anything you can imagin. Its like throwing a ball you practice all the different ways you may need to be throwing from. And not all of them will fit the textbook form.