hitting high

[jeck]

Ment to add this to my last post but got carried away...anyway,from my tree stand(20 feet) I am grouping great at hunting distances BUT arrows are 8" high all the time!  I know this is a form issue but don't know what to address.....please help.

[JimB]

Make sure you bend at the waist rather than just lowering your bow arm.You want to keep your torso perpendicular to your target,just like when on the ground.I don't know if that will completely solve your problem.There is a tendency to shoot high out of elevated stands and 20' is pretty high.You may just have to consciously hold a little lower when in that stand.

[MSwickard]

Shooting at extreme angles requires you to aim lower.

[Uncle Buck]

because the force of gravity is constant you must aim lower than you normaly would at 20yards- although the line of site distsnce between you and the target. the target may only be 15 yards from the base of your tree. the effect of gravity on your arrow would be the same as a 15 yard shot on level ground. it works the same way if you are on the ground shooting at a squirrel in a tree. Also as JimB said bend at the waist to keep your form right.

[jeck]

I shoot instinctive and am not aware i "aim". so how do i corect this fault?  look 8" under where i want to hit?

[Encino Man]

Yes.

At a distance of 15 yards which the brain perceives as 16 is not a lot. But add not bending at the waist, will cause a longer draw length and in turn a flatter trajectory.

I missed my first 3 deer from a 15' tripod. All were 3 to 6 inches over the shoulders. I now shoot from the roof for several weeks before going on a hunt that I will use an elevated stand.

[jeck]

great advice but if I tried that here i would get arrested as bowhunting in scotland is illegal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bowwild]

Huh?
Are you saying you can't practice like a bowhunter in Scotland? Where is the treestand in your post?  The fellows above provided fantastic advice. Look lower and bend that waist which will help prevent "heeling" the bowhand causing high arrows. You should question whether you "aim" or are "instinctive" -- you need to know to get better. Try this, change distances by 5 yards is your arrow point moving lower on the target or higher?  I'll bet the "gap" narrows (gets closer to what you are trying to hit). If so, you are like most of us who shoot without sights a gap shooter. In such a case you should simply cut to the chase and see the point of the arrow and reference it on your target at various ranges. Your groups will decrease because in archery if your mind wanders, so will your arrow. At 20 yards on the ground (assuming your shooting 40 pounds plus) your arrow point will be below (4-8 inches depending upon whether you are split or three finger under shooter. Somewhere, maybe at 40 yards you can put the point of the arrow right on your target and hit it.

[jeck]

thanks for the advice BOWWILD.    it is illegal to bowhunt but i have a tree stand that i use for shooting deer with mt .243.  use a 3D deer target and practice a lot.  when i loose the arrow,i am not aware of the bow let alone the arrow.

[Bowwild]

Jeck,
That's too bad about no bowhunting!  The folks in charge of the regulations just don't understand the effectiveness of archery equipment or the gunners don't want the competition. A shaving-sharp broadhead in the lungs of a deer (elk, moose, etc.) is extremely effective. I've seen many of the critters I've shot with bows drop in less than 70 yards. I've had heart-shot deer run 200 yards (although most of the lung/heart shot deer drop in less than 50).

[jeck]

once shot a deer in the snow and after i fired it ran the lenght of a field(250 yards),jumped a fence and vanished,I thought i had missed but on inspection,found the heart lying in the snow and the deer was laying dead just over the fence...bit of an eye opener!!

[bshunter]

Bend at the waist and you will shoot the same as you do on the ground. Tip from Bob Folkrod I saw once on a TV show..."aim/look where you want the arrow to come out...not where you want it to go in." that applies to your elevation, not your angle, (quartering away, etc.). For the bending at the waist, start by drawing like you were shooting straight and then bend to the target...this is too much movement for hunting, but with practice, you will get a feel for how far to bend when prepping for a shot on live game.

[Earthdog]

Shooting at steep down hill angles "does not" mean you should aim lower.
Introducing a new fault "will not" fix the old one,,it will just add to your list of faults.
As already stated,you need to bend at the waist to maintain your correct alignment.
Even doing this,you may still have a tendancy to short draw,so practice at the hight you intend to shoot at,,,and get your alignment sorted there.
Personaly I always aim for the exact place I want to hit,if I couldn't do that,I'd want to know why "and I'd fix it when I found it.