Aim point at steep angle

huntFX4

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870
My boy missed a 40 yard shot today steep downhill. I have a Nikon prostaff 7i which has angle angle declination and we double checked it's accuracy. He shoots 5-6 inch groups at 40 in practice but shot over this deer's back. There isn't any need to aim lower when shooting steep angles is there?
I think it was bad form because he was in a crouch and hadn't practiced that much from crouch.

Thanks in advance.
 
I'm not familiar with the Nikon rangefinders, however it sounds like it has standard angle compensation. If so, you should be good to go and there is no need to aim lower for those shots. Range the deer then use the right pin and release.

If he does not practice from positions other than standing, then that could be the reason. Couple that with adrenaline/excitement and it will just add to the difficulty.

One very important thing to check are the axis adjustments of your son's bow sight. All three are important, however pay special attention to the 3rd axis. If it is not level then he will be accurate with straight shots but all angled shots will be off the mark.
 
Not sure I understand your question about the rangefinder, but you always aim lower on angled shots, either up or down. Just google it.

proper 3rd axis setting and watching your bubble level are also critically important when shooting at angles.
 
>Not sure I understand your question
>about the rangefinder, but you
>always aim lower on angled
>shots, either up or down.
> Just google it.
>
>proper 3rd axis setting and watching
>your bubble level are also
>critically important when shooting at
>angles.

No question about the range finder. Just put that out there that it has angle compensation. I've checked YouTube and they all say no need to aim differently if you get the true horizontal distance.
I remember years ago before range finders I always had been taught to aim low because the perceived distance was longer than actual distance.
 
3rd axis effects left and right, but wouldn't have your son shooting over the deer's back. Not that 3rd axis isn't important, it just wouldn't be the reason for this miss. On steep downhill shots people tend to miss high. The vitals are smaller from that angle and I'm sure the crouching position your son was in didn't help. Not to mention the extra adrenaline from shooting at a real animal and the kid just missed it happens.

You are correct that you do NOT need to adjust any extra if your rangefinder has angle compensation. Shoot for the adjusted yardage, but some people forget that while you are aiming at that shorter distance, you still have to execute a shot that would be good at the longer line of sight distance. The arrow is still traveling through the air the full line of sight distance, even though you are only aiming for the horizontal distance. You said 5-6 inch groups at 40 yards, but what size groups does he shoot at the horizontal distance of the shot? If it was very steep I'm guessing horizontal was closer to 50 yards and if your sons groups open up at that distance, it could explain the miss.

I missed a buck this week on a chip shot I haven't missed in practice in a long time, and I wasn't even crouched in a weird position. It happens and part of archery is just learning to shake it off and put your next one on the money. My shot too was steep downhill and I shot right over his back. From my experience, I rarely if ever miss low on a downhill shot. Everything about shooting the shot lends itself to shooting high, so I don't think it hurts to hold a little low. Now if I could have just reminded myself of that before that shot I might not have missed!

I would give a listen to Remi Warren's new cutting the distance podcast. They are short and his first episode talks about this topic. It's a pretty good explanation if you ask me.
 

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