Whitetail Wizard

We have antelope, bear, coyote, deer, elk, wild boar and other targets that cover a large portion of one of my wood lots. The course is open on weekends for a nominal fee, and people shoot individually but travel in small groups separated by 15-20 minutes. The course is set up so the group in front is always away from the line of fire of the next group.

This is done to prevent an accident. If an arrow is lost, there is no going back to look for it if other people are shooting the course. Which is why some hunters use old arrows, but many people are good enough shots that they use their hunting arrows. Ideally, hunters should shoot with target points on their hunting arrows.

The first shot is a long downhill opportunity at about 80 yards, and this is where knowing how your bow will shoot is very important. Some shots are at 12 to 15 yards, others are at 20, and a couple are out at 30 yards or so.

There are shots taken through the brush, at animals coming out of the timber, at barely visible animals, at deer targets framed by trees and brush. and at targets placed out in the open. One shot requires the shooter to kneel to shoot under overhanging brush.

The shooters must know their bow and how the arrow flies at various distances, and it’s critically important to be able to accurately judge distances. This is something that is necessary when hunting whitetails.

In real-life hunting circumstances, judging distances is perhaps the most difficult thing to do. Each location is different, and it may only be 20 yards but appears to be farther away. Targets that are standing on a slight hill above the hunter or targets below the hunter are easy ones to miss.

If the hunter misses the downhill or uphill targets in a 3-D course, they will probably miss an uphill or downhill deer during hunting season. It’s not difficult to judge distances.

One way to do it before shooting a 3-D course is to walk through a woods, spot a specific object such as a scrub pine tree or a fallen oak branch. Look at it and guess the distance, and then try to pace it off using yard-long steps.

If your guess is 15 yards, and you step off 30 long paces, you’ll miss every shot. Continue to guess at distances, and soon the distance to a 25-yard target may actually be guessed at 25 yards. Learning to judge distance in this manner is just one good way to do it. The use of a good range finder is another.

I know a number of people who combine guessing distances with hunting shed antlers. They may spot a shed antler at some distance, and guess “22 yards.” They pace it off, and their guess (if they are proficient at this guessing game) may turn out to be 21 or 23 yards, and some nail the exact distance every time.

It’s doubly important to how how effective your actual shooting is at various ranges. Even more important, it is vitally important to know where your ineffective range is.

Some people are excellent shots out to 20 yards, and some can easily and effectively shoot at 50 yards. The trick to determining your effective range is to shoot at different distances.

Only shooting lots of arrows at many different distances can may a person an effective shot at 15 to 50 yards. A 50-yard shot is not necessary unless a hunter may be hunting out west for antelope, elk or mule deer.

Most shots taken at whitetail deer in Michigan will be at 20 yards or less. If that is your game, shoot at nothing beyond 20 yards, and always strive for pinpoint accuracy.

A 3-D shoot can make a hunter deadly accurate at their chosen distance providing they can control their nerves, but that is a topic for another day.—The Whitetail Wizard