I will need a cripple deer with a hearing problem.

[Baim]

After this weekend..looks like I will need a slow moving deaf animal...

So we spent the weekend target practicing from 15 feet up a tree..3D targets placed here and there.  Now, Ive been practicing for a while at ground level and thought I was doing pretty good..15-20 foot distances..pretty satisfied most days...but this was a whole new game here.  The guys even built me a stand with a bigger platform since I cock my foot out to the side when I shoot..ain't they sweet??  So here I go, up the stand, I look down and they are all standing around looking up at me as I get settled..like proud fathers..patting each other on the back, smiling. I admit it was a proud moment..then reality set it. I draw, shoot..missed my target altogether. Draw, shoot, gut shot..all afternoon I am trying to get this right. Trying to account for the height and the distance..the limbs and leaves and the cold. Finally got the hang of it sort of... by the time it was too dark to shoot anymore i had lost half my arrows...not to mention my all my patience.  Anyway, some of you wanted me to keep you posted on my progress..there ya have it.

So I learned that at 15 feet up..my shots are going to have to be shorter to make up for the drop. Is this one of those "Duh" moments? Any suggestions other than practice?

Steph~

[wapiti]

As you practice from an elevated platform it will become the same as shooting on the flat. Happens to a lot of hunters when they hit the STEEP mnts of western MT. Not so much from treestands for whitetails though. Don't have to climb so high we need an O2 tank to breath! Not as many WT looking up for death from above.

[John D]

Baim, just a suggestion, find a fairly steep hill, set a 3-D target at the bottom, start at 15 yards, try to watch were you hold the point of the arrow  on the target. I hold on the bottom of the chest to hit dead center, you may be higher or lower, but this will give you an idea were to hold, on the target. Once you get the hang of that, go back to the stand, there may be a little adustment, but I think you will get better results. Someone showed me this and it worked very well for me. I hope I explained this that you can understand I'am not good at this.

[ChuckC]

Steph...there are no "duh" moments if you don't know the answer.  Only if you don't try and seek it.  Treestand shooting, as you found out, is different than from flat ground.  There are a few variables that change and you need to know about them.  

First...the "drop".  Technically, your arrow drops from the forces of gravity, which are exerted along a plane horizontal to the earth (wow...did I actually say that ?)  What that means is, by shooting upward, or downward, you are shooting at an angle to the horizontal.  In short terms, this means that the distance you are shooting is actually less, in terms of horizontal, than if you measure straight to the target, AND, because of that, your arrow will actually tend to fly a little higher than you expected.   Don't worry why, just know that it does.  

On top of that, and this one, I believe is more important for you, when shooting down, especially at a close target, we tend to just point with the bow arm and not bend at the waist.  Remember, we practiced on the level and did OK, but when you shoot down and DON'T bend at the waist, your draw shortens, sometimes by several inches (that WILL make your arrows fall short) and also, your aiming, anchoring scheme is all screwed up.

When shooting from above,  bend at the waist so that your bow arm and arrow arm are at the same angles to your torso as they always were in practice.......aim a bit lower on the target because of that gravity thing, and also learn where to aim on a target like this as the kill zone is a bit different in view.  And always pick a small spot to hit.  Wow....a mouthful !
Good shooting
Chuck

[OKCtradguy]

ChuckC is right on the money.  You need to keep your torso in the same relative position to the bow as when you are shooting on flat ground.  If it helps, draw your bow the same way you would while you are on the ground (horizontal) and then start bending at the waist to bring the arrow on target.  

The other thing mentioned that bears remembering is that when you are shooting either up or down, your arrow will always shoot high.  The caveats are that you are still pulling the same distance and the elevation difference is significant.  For the technically minded, I think it is a function of the cosine of the angle.

[Baim]

The bending at the waist part..I am pretty sure I wasnt doing that.  My arrows were falling short for the most part..shorter draw if I dont bend..yeah, this makes sense.  We did move the targets closer..they were all shooting with compounds..totally eating my lunch on the distance shots. Closer targets for me made for cleaner shots but I still have trouble gauging the kill zone from up there. Definately will have to work on that.

Steph

[Chortdraw]

Always shoot where you would think the exit wound would be. This will usually get you in the ball park

[cajunbowhntr]

If your arrows were falling short then I'd say you were not comimng to full draw due to not maintaining the same form.Most people shoot high from a treestand because the don't bend at the waist and actually over draw.Or since you are 15ft up the line of eyesight is farther away from the target(hypotenuse)and you shoot high.You should allways shoot the horizontal distance from the base of the tree.Also if you are "gap" shooting,conscious or subconsciuosly the gap changes from an elevated sight pitcure due to the angle.try an experiment.Put a cup or can on the ground in front of your target to act as an aiming point for the tip of your arrow.Adjust it so that when aiming at the cup your arrow hits dead center from the ground.Now get up in the stand and see what happens.


CB


      .

[NightHawk]

I like things simple, so here goes Bend at the waist- cant the bow and aim low  

[buckracks7]

The tendancy is to shoot high at short distances. I like Nighthawk's answer, and I might add to only shoot at really big deer.

[Sneakypete]

Those survival-challenged deer -- blind, deaf, plugged nostrils, just plain dumb -- are out there. You just have to keep hunting for them!

[doctorbrady]

I once knew a guy who saw a deer walking in circles in his field when dropping the kids off at the bus stop.  The deer was a big nontypical buck, so he ran home and got his bow.  When he returned the buck was walking circles half in the woods, half in the woods.  He drove to the opposite end of the field and the deer actually made a circle and hit his truck.  It turned around and again began walking circles.  He stood in its projected path and stuck an arrow through the chest.  When he recovered the deer, he noticed a growth on its head that turned out to be a big abscess of the brain.  It had probably happened before the antlers starting growing as they were abnormal on that side.  True story.  I knew the guy well and saw the pictures.  Just goes to show, that if you hunt long enough, Steph, you may just find that deer.....or you could practice a lot from the stand and shoot a regular one     .  My advice for what its worth.  Keep focusing on the spot and let your brain figure out how to shoot from the treestand.  It will eventually become second nature.  I never think about distance or height, my brain just compensates for where I've placed my body.  That's how instinctive shooting is supposed to work.  Keep it simple.  Best of luck.  Brady