Bow Hunting Deer-how far out is that

Hello fellow hunters

I was out shooting my bow the other day and I had a problem. Can you imagine that, a problem,
tell me its not so. Actually, little problems, or obstacles if you will, crop up fairly often in some of our lives. These obstacles can either prevent us from moving forward or they can trigger our creativity. I've found that most bow hunters are quite creative. They usually find a way over, under, around or just plain through obstacles.

One particular, persistent problem that people who bow hunt deer or any other game for that matter have is that of knowing the distance from arrow to target. This brings me to my little problem I had while shooting. My 40 yard pin was broken. It most likely got that way while I was carrying my bow through some very dense undergrowth in the pacific northwest. I now use fiber optic sight pins so it took me awhile to fix my problem. I had to take the sight apart and uncoil enough fiber to string it through the end of the pin. That was about the time my grandson asked me "how do you know when you have to use that pin?".

That question of his flipped my memory into overdrive. I began thinking about how when I first started bow hunting deer, I used a bear recurve that was 45lb draw and no sights of any kind. I shot purely instinctive. I was quite accurate up to 50 yards or so. When I shot, I didn't really know how far away the target was but somehow knew where to hold the bow. Needless to say, this became far more difficult depending on the terrain and light conditions. I switched to a peep sight and sight pins after a few years of missing 'the big one' a few to many times. I wanted something more accurate. Since then I have used a wide variety of sights from cross hairs to fiber optics.

The one big factor with using sights that doesn't go away, is that you really need to know your distance. If you use the wrong pin, it can mean a complete miss or worse, a low hit. I have spent two whole days tracking a poorly hit animal. That is another story all by itself. But, like I mentioned earlier, bow hunters and our ilk are very creative. We incorporated the use of range finders. These devices have come a long way since I used my first one. It was a small green box with a see through viewer that had a graduated scale inside consisting of 2 lines. I just had to put the brisket area of the deer or elk between the lines and it gave me the approximate yardage. This device did improve my accuracy and I made some good shots with it. The rangefinder helped in many circumstances but had some drawbacks. It wasn't useful in low light conditions and due to size variations in animals, it wasn't always right on.

I started using a Bushnell yardage pro shortly after I saw them advertised in my favorite sportsman's magazine a few years ago. The digital rangefinders sort of revolutionized the distance determining obstacle. They are great but a tool just the same and as such, they have their fall-abilities. I was still-hunting in the early evening when I spotted a large black tail buck. I guessed 40 yards but I had my rangefinder hanging from my neck. This is where I used to keep my binoculars but the rangefinder was to large for my pockets. As it turned out, raising the rangefinder to my eyes and using both hands in order to get the distance, putting it back down and raising my bow after wards proved to be a bit to much. Just before I got the bow in position, the buck became nervous, turned and walked away. I didn't get another chance. Even though I moved very slow and deliberately, there was very little cover for me when I spotted the animal.

I now use a Leupold rx11 digital rangefinder . I can place it in my breast pocket and effectively use it with one hand. This particular set has a nice feature that I have used to my advantage. It calculates the correct distance when shooting up or down hill. Remind me to tell you the story of when I walked to a ledge which had me standing over a heard of bedding elk. They were all between 20 and 50 yards away but my mind told me something different. Lets just say that my instincts in that instance were not 'right on'.

A Note from Jerry G, I now use a Leupold Rx rangefinder I really like. It fits nicely in my upper vest pocket and I can use it with one hand. Have you ever tried to move your bow when a deer or elk is looking in your direction? If you move at all, it had better be very slowly or better yet if the game was feeding, don't move until it goes back to it. When you do decide to make your move you don't want to have to let go of your bow if you don't have to. When bowhunting
deer or bow hunting elk, I use my rangefinder as my monocular. The Leupold has 6x magnification which is handy. I used to always carry a monocular anyway. My brother is currently using my other rangefinder which is a Bushnell Yardage Pro which he will not go in the woods without. Check them out now in Cabela's, when you are in the field, you'll be glad you did. Keep tuned for more bow hunting tips. JG