How do you judge target distance

[123.DieselBenz]

Surprised on all the typo's on the first quote!

The dowel should be in inches (") not feet (') imagine somebody trying to carry a 1/4" X 10' long dowel around out in the woods hunting! :rotf: Shame on F&S!

However it basically is a good idea, I remember a Forestry Manager back in VT who had a stick about 3/4" - 1" square that had marks on all four sides to measure trees with, both the diameter, and by standing back a certain distance, they could estimate the height of the tree, and how much lumber they could get out of it.

 

[Idaho Ron]

I use a bushnell range finder. With Antelope I ranged distances ahead of time to the water hole. With deer and elk I range the animal if I can. Ron

 

[ny griz]

:hmm: Lets see.Oh'yea,i learned like 86marine on a football field and thru archery.It helps.Griz

 

[larry wv]

Been Bow hunting since early 70s so I got good at it. I can come close. Still pace distance once in a while to keep sharp. Some things get worse with age but I think reading distance gets better. Larry

 

[tg]

If one sights the gun in at POA 90 yds or so with a good stout but not super heavy load you will usually find that from the muzzle out to 100+ yds by holding on the same spot the ball will be a couple of inches low, high or right on giving a common POA at any range mentioned and a hit in the kill zone, this makes judging range less of an issue.

 

[123.DieselBenz]

Yes, but . . . if you can't tell if it is 100 yards or 150 yards . . . then you need more practice! I'm not advocating shooting at 150 yards, but some people might shoot at 150 yards thinking that they were at 100 yards . . . which they might get lucky and have a complete miss . . . !

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you are hunting open country, particularly if you are NOT familiar with that type of terrain, using one of the new Rangefinders that throw a beam of light out and measure the distances to within a yard are an excellent, and Smart addition to the equipment you take.

I grew up in the middle of a suburban "block" where there were 6 lots from ours to the end of the street, each 50 feet wide. That's 300 ft. total, or 100 yds, exactly. I walked that walkway every day for 12 years going to both Grammar School and to High School. I can still close my eyes and see that distance in my mind.

Now, asking me to measure distances from 100 to 200 yards requires me to remember what it was like to look down the entire length of the block, containing 12, 50' lots, or 600 feet. I am not going to claim I am as good at remembering those distance today, as I am the 100 yds stretch of sidewalk. But, I can get a lot closer than I have any right to expect, and I am always amazed by that fact. :shocked2: :idunno: :hmm:

I find judging distances over bodies of water a lot more difficult to do. The water gives me no visible clues, and I can't resort to my memories to get them. I was thinking the same thing, BTW, when I first saw the movie, Dances with Wolves, in the scenes showing vast open prairies. But, even there, you have the ground, and you can estimate range by dividing it up into known lengths, or distances.

 

[tg]

Yes you do have to have some basic range judging skills but all you really need is to identify your outside limit which is prett easy after some practice and noticing the size of animal compared to barrel width, definition of eyes and ears anything closer than that just aim at the same point and you are good, if you can get your gun to work up this load it does not matter if the Deer is 35 or 75 yds away.

 

[BrownBear]

As a bow hunter I have to know all my ranges. What I used to do when I had to walk to school I would see maybe a mailbox, tree or something and guess how far it looks then I step off how many yards it was. Then I just learned by trial and error.

That's the best approach. For many years when I was a kid we "roved" with our bows, shooting at targets of opportunity at unknown ranges. Closest arrow picked the next target, and we did it again. In between sessions we were always estimating range and pacing it off. The whole crowd of us turned deadly with our bows in a hurry.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

How about this?
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Cate...=1&subId=19&styleId=91&partNum=RANGE-FINDER-B

 

[nchawkeye]

Sight in 2 inches high at 50 and you are going to be close to dead on at 75 and about 2 inches low at 100...When woods hunting, most shots come within 50-60 yards...Out to 100, hold dead on center of the chest for a killing shot...

 

[hoochiepapa]

I can already hear the yellin'. I use a range finder. Most of the time I don't use it, because I have hunted the same ground for 35 years. But there are times when I need it, I don't ever want to guess.

 

[Vtsmoker]

Ok, I don't feel so bad for considering it now. I'm not a HC\PC or die kind of guy but I do respect the sport of being traditional as much as is practical. I do like that range finder from TOW though. Think I have to have one just for the sake of having it and will try it out for sure. thanks for all the great responses. Haven't seen a discussion about this here yet and thought it would make a good topic and teach me something at the same time.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

The rangefinder in the link I posted is based on looking at a target 6 ft high. We need to transfer that to animals. Easy to figure out for elk, but how do we change it for shorter animals?

It's obviously made to look at a man. It's going to be completely thrown off to look at something under or over 6 ft high.

It might end up being more confusing than just guessing the distance.

 

[Vtsmoker]

yeah your right, but it's really cool and could be converted with a little thought. may go the electronic route :surrender: :surrender: ...at least to learn to judge distances.

 

[Jason Lewis]

it depends on the type of hunting you do. i still hunt for deer. when i get set up i pick an object no matter what it is tree, rock whatever. i then pace x distance from it and use that as a sort of guide to range a target. when i turkey hunt i place my deek at 30 paces from my setup. that way i know how far the deek is and can judge from there.

 

[Jason Lewis]

if i am shotgunning, i judge by being able to see the coloration and feet of the birds, they are probably 30-40 yrds out and in range. if i can make out those two things and texture, they are really close and definatly in range.

 

[pargent]

A lot (most) of my shooting is on a range where I am shooting at a measured distance.Met.Sil.is a good help with distances out to 200yds..When you spend a lot of time on a range judging distance becomes easy . :thumbsup:

 

[hoochiepapa]

That's right, it's easy when you can pace off the distance. But when you're in the timber, things look different.
I was with my b-law and nephew in the timber, I was the only one with a cow license. We were tip-toeing along, and this cow stepped out from a cluster of trees. I made a quick high shoulder shot, at about 30 yards. When we got up to her, we realized she was a yearling. When they're alone, there's nothing to judge size with, we all thought she was a mature cow. :idunno:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Even my crappy eyes can tell a cow from a yearling at 30 yds.