Steep angle shots...

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
  • Advertisement

HB Store


dan
Site Owner
Posts: 41588
Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2010 6:11 am
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HuntingBeast/?ref=bookmarks
Location: S.E. Wisconsin
Contact:
Status: Offline

Steep angle shots...

Unread postby dan » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:20 am

I have issues with steep angle bow shots... I always hit high, and how high seems unpredictable... Anybody else have issues with that? How do you practice it? How do you deal with it... My recent kill was 7 yards from the tree and it was to only likely shot. I was about 23 feet up. I hit him in the spine although I was aiming at the chest cavity... But the next 3 shots hit where I was aiming as he was crawling away...


User avatar
rack addict
500 Club
Posts: 1115
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:42 am
Location: lower michigan
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby rack addict » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:30 am

I have stands on private land that I usually get setup before spring because I like to see what it looks like when all the foliage is gone. Also obviously getting done early and staying out. This was my first year having to hunt over 20 ft, 28ft to be exact. I was worried about the very same thing you are talking about. I took my 3d deer target out with me after I got my set hung and fired some arrows. So the best thing to do in my opinion is hang a stand how ever high you hunt at and shoot at a 3d deer target. You should be able to see what kind of adjustments you need to make at close range.
User avatar
Dewey
Moderator
Posts: 36725
Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:57 pm
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby Dewey » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:49 am

rack addict wrote: I took my 3d deer target out with me after I got my set hung and fired some arrows. So the best thing to do in my opinion is hang a stand how ever high you hunt at and shoot at a 3d deer target. You should be able to see what kind of adjustments you need to make at close range.

That's a great idea. I have done this as well and it is the only way to really practice for a shot like this.
User avatar
DEERSLAYER
Super Moderator
Posts: 8352
Joined: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:22 pm
Location: Western L.P. of MI
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby DEERSLAYER » Sat Nov 12, 2011 5:56 am

Practicing out of your tree stand at close ranges is the only way I know of with a fixed pin. You have to aim low. How low depends on how close you are and at what distance your sighted in for. Practice out of a tree stand at various close ranges and it won't be long before you know exactly where to aim to put the shot exactly where you want.
You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.
Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese Admiral
User avatar
Southern Man
500 Club
Posts: 3827
Joined: Sun Feb 21, 2010 7:04 am
Location: Extreme Western Kentucky
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby Southern Man » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:23 am

The buck I shot last year was at 8-10 yards and I was 26' up. Good thing was I spined him and he dropped right there. Bad thing was I was just inches away for missing him. I know to shoot low on steep angle shots but in the moment.....

I said last year I was gonna build a 20-22' shooting platform here at the shop and practice from that. But didn't get it done. That project is first on the winter list this year. It seems like you can develope a rule of thumb for yourr bow if you shot enough on shots like that. Sometimes I wonder why we sight in our bows shooting horizontal when 90% of our shots are elevated. I'd rather have to compensate on a target rather than compensate on a buck.
You Can't Argue With A Sick Mind
JV NC
500 Club
Posts: 607
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 2:25 am
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby JV NC » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:27 am

Let's use a "typical" whitetail setup bow sight........say, set with 20yd.. 30yd. and 40yd. pins.

The arrow is below your sight line. So, at some point, the line of your arrow and your sight line will intersect. After that point, your arrow will go above your line of sight and arc back to intersect with the sight line at whatever distance you have the pin set for.

The first intersection occurs on most compounds in the 5-8yd. range.

So, in Dan's case, if he was 23' up.....we'll round it off to 7yds.. Theoretically, it should be a perfect top-pin shot. But, gravity doesn't affect straight-down shots like it does shots on level ground. Theoretically, a top pin shot might impact a little LOW.

I can shoot my 20yd pin on level ground at 2yds and my POI will be 3" or so low. @ 2yds, I'd have to use my 40yd pin to hit the exact point I was aiming for. For a 5yd shot, I'd use my 20yd pin and not be off by more than an inch (if I'm 7yds up).

If you're missing by a large margin, it's a form issue. I'm not being critical of anyone's form. I'm just offering some info. on what occurs when we release an arrow. As others have said....the only way to know how to pull this off....is to practice the exact shot in the back yard.
Lateral Bowhunter
User avatar
Brandon
500 Club
Posts: 1426
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:24 am
Location: MD & VA
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby Brandon » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:35 am

I do not hunt above 20 feet because of the angle your arrow will have to travel.

Hard to get double lung, and we know deer and any other creature can live with only one lung.

If you spined a buck, consider youself more lucky than you thought.
The actual spinal cord on a deer that you have to break is about as thick as a pencil.
You can't kill em on the couch
User avatar
bowhunter15
Posts: 2290
Joined: Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:14 pm
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/DIY-Spor ... 3136327062
Location: Minneapolis
Contact:
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby bowhunter15 » Sat Nov 12, 2011 6:48 am

"So, in Dan's case, if he was 23' up.....we'll round it off to 7yds.. Theoretically, it should be a perfect top-pin shot. But, gravity doesn't affect straight-down shots like it does shots on level ground. Theoretically, a top pin shot might impact a little LOW."

Correct about the first insersection at 5-8 BUT Actually, gravity affects arrows equally no matter what the angle. Its due to physics. So, what actually makes us shoot high on steeply angled shot? Well, I believe that your form changes. Think about it... shooting on flat ground our bow arm makes about a 90 degree angle to our torso, and the eye looks through the peep approximately parallel to that line. Now, on a steeply angled shot, that angle between your bow arm and torso shrink considerably. This also alters the line of sight from eye to peep to pin to target. Which in turn causes shots to go high. This is why you are supposed to bent at the hip to keep the arm/torso angle relativly constant. The steeper the angle, the harder that is. So you were also correct in saying that missing by a large margin is a form issue in this case

[ Post made via Android ] Image
User avatar
Brandon
500 Club
Posts: 1426
Joined: Sat Jun 26, 2010 5:24 am
Location: MD & VA
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby Brandon » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:11 am

i think bowhunter15 is on to something...

they always say "bend at the hips" but I had a hard time doing that on extreme angles.

What I did was practice and what I found to solve my problem, and may solve yours is to really raise up your elbow as you bend as much as you can. Its hard to explain, but it made me shoot straight again....

which ever way you arm holding the bow is angled, your shooting arm must continue that same angle so your arms form 1 straight line...
You can't kill em on the couch
User avatar
BigHunt
Posts: 12159
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:50 am
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby BigHunt » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:23 am

ahh yes dan i have that same problem :? what i do is just aim alot lower than what you do and it should hit were its supost to ....like if u want the arrow to hit the chest i aim like at the heart area and it hits high in the chest

it seems that the steeper the angle the lower i aim :? :? :? this what i do and it works for me
HUNT LIKE A BEAST
User avatar
cornfedkiller
500 Club
Posts: 2419
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:56 am
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:31 am

BigHunt wrote:it seems that the steeper the angle the lower i aim :? :? :? this what i do and it works for me


Is that because of the Pythagorean theorem?



:character-burgerking:
User avatar
BigHunt
Posts: 12159
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:50 am
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby BigHunt » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:33 am

cornfedkiller wrote:
BigHunt wrote:it seems that the steeper the angle the lower i aim :? :? :? this what i do and it works for me


Is that because of the Pythagorean theorem?



well i have to adimt i dont know what that is :oops: :lol:
HUNT LIKE A BEAST
User avatar
BigHunt
Posts: 12159
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2011 9:50 am
Location: Wisconsin
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby BigHunt » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:40 am

ahh i see triangls very intersting im not that smart to understand that crap :lol: :lol:
HUNT LIKE A BEAST
User avatar
cornfedkiller
500 Club
Posts: 2419
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:56 am
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:45 am

BigHunt wrote:well i have to adimt i dont know what that is :oops: :lol:


A squared plus B squared equals C squared man.. :mrgreen:



Dan, how far away were your next shots? 7 yards is not very far away for your first shot, and gravity may not have had much of a chance to pull your arrow down much like it does when shooting further away..but at those distances, I would guess it has less to do with physics and more to do with bending at the waist rather than the shoulders like bowhunter15 said..
User avatar
cornfedkiller
500 Club
Posts: 2419
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2010 6:56 am
Location: Iowa
Status: Offline

Re: Steep angle shots...

Unread postby cornfedkiller » Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:45 am

BigHunt wrote:ahh i see triangls very intersting im not that smart to understand that crap :lol: :lol:


No worries.


:character-burgerking:


  • Advertisement

Return to “Deer Hunting”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: D1ngo_, marqum2 and 72 guests