Ranging while crawling/stalking

[jpcoll01]

Made a fantastic stalk, if I do say so myself, and spent an hour staring intently at velvet antler tips. I was in the open, there were no bushes to range and all I could get was the closest blade of grass that the laser hit. I did try to range something that seemed to me to be about the same distance past the deer as I was and came up with 55ish yards per my goofball high heart rate math. So after an hour it was getting dark and I decided I should get a little closer so I pulled my release and quietly scooted about 3 inches when the deer busted out. No chance for a shot anyway but if he had stood calmly I wouldn’t have been able to range him and still draw my bow. Give me some tips on how to be better at this.

 

[cgasner1]

Patience kills. If you had sat till dark you wouldn’t have got a shot by pushing forward you didn’t get a shot. If im in a effective range I’ll wait now has multiple pins for a reason

 

[Flatbrimmer]

Did the same thing the other weekend on a pronghorn.. snuck in so perfect, antelope in a perfect little crevasse… could see their backs feeding in the cut and I’d peek up to range, only getting the laser to hit the grass between us. I knew they were decently close but I didn’t want to just send an arrow I wanted a slam dunk. By the time I crouched up enough to clear the grass, the doe lifted her head and had me pinned. Finally, a clear range as she bolts off taking the others with her… 18 yards. Dangit!!!!!

There’s a good bit of balance in using the tools we have at our disposal, and knowing your weapon so intimately that perhaps instinct is going to be the driving force for success…

 

[Sheltowee]

Rule of thumb I try to live by: if I have time to shoot, I have time to range. If I don't have time to range, I don't have time to shoot.

 

[Northwoods]

I’ve been trying to decide for about 10 minutes if I should respond to this cause my response might not be popular. Range finders are great tools but a hunter should be able to judge distances very well, especially inside of 50 yards. If there is an animal near by that I might want to shoot, my range finder is the last thing I’m thinking about. I often use my range finder to quiz myself out in the field. Pick an object, judge the distance and then use my range finder to see how close I am. If an archery hunter has been practicing throughout the summer you should instinctively know how far something is when it’s inside of your own effective range. My killing range isn’t that far, 40 yards. I practice up to 60 but I’m not good enough to shoot that far at an animal with a bow. Plus animals move, my target doesn’t. My draw weight is 62 pounds and I can easily use a 30 yard pin for anything that is 15-32 yards away without much thought besides aiming a tad low if something is close. Judging distances can be hard in open country but good duck hunters (which I am not) can instinctively judge the distance of a fast moving duck with nothing but sky in the background.

 

[Northwoods]

I guess what I’m saying in my post above is trust yourself. Western hunters can learn a few things from those of us used to hunting spooky whitetails. When it’s time, draw your bow, settle your pin, and take your shot. Sometimes that sequence is fast and you gotta have confidence.

 

[R.K.]

Practice judging.

Then look into the “trick pin” method of shooting. Essentially, you hold a longer range pin low (elbow of the deer, or a few inches below the keel), and the arrow will impact ~15” high for a certain distance of its trajectory. I use the 50yd from 11-42 to maintain a 15” +\-3” high impact.

It’s kinda like MPBR a rifle, or more like gap shooting /holdover for a bare bow.

Quick diagram.

 

[Wild Bill]

Practice judging.

Then look into the “trick pin” method of shooting. Essentially, you hold a longer range pin low (elbow of the deer, or a few inches below the keel), and the arrow will impact ~15” high for a certain distance of its trajectory. I use the 50yd from 11-42 to maintain a 15” +\-3” high impact.

It’s kinda like MPBR a rifle, or more like gap shooting /holdover for a bare bow.

Quick diagram.

 

[R.K.]

View attachment 339241

Sorry… The arrow initially rises from launch, then falls back towards your line of sight. Stays pretty “flat” through a decent portion of that.

Take a piece of cardboard. Put a 24” piece of tape on it vertically. Make a T or cross with another horizontal piece of tape towards the bottom.

Shoot at the cross, every 5 yards from 10 out to 50. Use your 50 yard pin every single time. Mark every shot with the range.

Find the highest impact point. You’re looking for the top of the trajectory- the highest arrow impact. Record that distance.

Pick a tolerance- I like +/-3”. Which is a 6” window (half the vitals on a deer). Measure the center of this tolerance to the aim point (bottom cross). That’s your holdover. Diagram below

Basically you do all this so you can: figure the animal is between 10-40 yards, put the 50 on the elbow, and send an arrow through the lungs. It’s a bit of extra work during the summer but you get to avoid screwing with a rangefinder in the field.

 

[Wild Bill]

Thanks for explaining the process you work through. Might have to give this a try some off season.

 

[2rocky]

Many times my range is a.....range. OK he's under 35 but over 28...gonna hold my 30 yard pin lower 1/4..

 

[Bob-WY]

At close ranges you shouldn't need a range finder, at longer they are priceless.

If you can stalk inside 25 yards fire away.

 

[GrantK]

If you just have antler tips sticking up, or really any animal in a flat spot where it's hard to hit with the rangefinder a lot of the time you can use the scan function of the rangefinder and get a range, scan past and see the number drop from 85 to 55 and that's likely your range, try coming in from multiple sides to confirm.

 

[Ckidd_21]

If you just have antler tips sticking up, or really any animal in a flat spot where it's hard to hit with the rangefinder a lot of the time you can use the scan function of the rangefinder and get a range, scan past and see the number drop from 85 to 55 and that's likely your range, try coming in from multiple sides to confirm.

Was going to say this ^^ just used this method on an antelope hunt. Went from 5-10 yards then 60 then back to 5 yards