Hello all! A couple weeks ago I was out hunting in the evening. I was set up close to where I had seen deer feed under some oaks. Around 6 p.m. , a buck came up towards me. After waiting a few minutes to make sure he wouldn't see my movements, I pulled back my bow for a shot and settled the 20 yard pin right behind his shoulder. The distance from me to the buck was longer than I thought, because the shot went right under his belly. He came back, and gave me another shot. I misjudged again...twice...but I got very close on the thirty yard shot. Anyway, the point of the story is: know how to estimate yardages correctly. Now I know where to aim when I go back to that spot, I just wish I would have the first time.
How do you learn to estimate yardages correctly? Practice at varying ranges. Get good at it. If you have a life size deer (elk, bear, coyote) target, all the better, because you can see what that animal looks like at 17, 24, 32 etc. yards. When you see that in the wild and remember what it looked like in target practice it helps a lot. For example, I see a deer come out in front of me, and it looks about as big as the target I have at home when I shoot from 28 yards, I aim for 28.
