Born4it Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 I know this has been discussed a bit, but I just had a question. I read a review of the Leupold rangefinder that shows the "ballistic distance" and the Bushnell with ARC to account for shooting from a treestand. One of them said that this information is useless when shooting faster bows, and that it will only matter on slow shooting bows. Is this true? Is this surefire physics? I'm thinking about getting one, but not if it doesn't necessarily work. Thanks a lot! Take care, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutchies Posted July 8, 2008 Report Share Posted July 8, 2008 The faster your bow is the less drop you will have............ That being said I did buy the Nikon Archer's choice. It will be used for myself and also my wife. Her bow is probably in the 220 range so it will make a difference. Mine is in the 270 so not so much but it is nice knowing that no matter what I click I know the exact distance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil hunter Posted July 10, 2008 Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 It really won't do much for a bowhunter. The ad for the leupold says with a 40 yard line of site, the deer is actuall just 34 yards away for your ballistic range. If you are good at math, throw that into a pythagorean theorem. You'll find that you would have to be 63 feet up in the tree. Change up the variable, do the same math assuming you are 20 feet up in a tree, with a 40 yard line of sight. The "true ballistic range" is still approx. 39 yards. Same scenario again, except at a steaper angle. If you are 20 feet up in a tree, and have a 20 yard line of sight, the "true ballistic range" is 18.6 yards. So basically, a rangefinder that can tell you the true ballistic range isn't that great of a tool for a bowhunter. Save a few bucks and just buy a regular rangefinder without that, and you'll be just as well off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born4it Posted July 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2008 The pathagorean theorum wouldn't account for gravity though. I thought that was one of the main variables that made these rangefinders helpful. I've always heard that if you're shooting up or down at an angle, you'll have to shoot for less yardage. Keep the responses coming! Thanks! Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lil hunter Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Angle shouldn't have any effect on gravity. If you shoot your bow with a 40 yard line of sight, your arrow will drop the same amount no matter what angle you are shooting. It still takes the same amount of time for the arrow to travel that distance with the same starting velocity, therefore gravity will pull it down the same distance. Gravity will not speed up your arrow as it is being shot at an angle. Unless there is something else I am missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born4it Posted July 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 Think about it this way...if you are shooting 40 yards across flat ground, with the arrow starting parallel to the ground, say your arrow drops 12 inches from where it starts. If you shoot 40 yards down at an 89 degree angle (almost straight down), your arrow isn't going to end up 12 inches "below" where it starts. That would mean that it almost went backwards or something. It would also get there faster shooting straight down, because gravity is working with it instead of against it. This is obviously an exaggerated example, but it demonstrates the theory. I'm definitely not trying to argue with you at all...I'm just thinking out loud to see if we can get on the same page :-) Thanks for your help in working this out! I'm thinking about contacting a physics professor or something! Take care, Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elkoholic Posted July 11, 2008 Report Share Posted July 11, 2008 The pull of gravity is not affected by the angle. Without getting too confusing, let's just say that if you think it is worth wasting your money on a range finder that gives the "true" distance than by all means, buy one. Unless you are hunting from extreme heights, in excess of 30 feet, there is little to be gained. Even in steep mountainous areas where you may be shooting almost straight down for 40 yards they are hard to justify. The distance over which an arrow (or bullet) is affected by gravity is measured along a line running parallel with level ground. Shooting straight down would be the same as shooting at something just off the point of your broad head and point of impact would be at six o"clock the distance between sight pin and arrow. Shooting from an elevated stand, the greater the distance from the stand, the less difference there is in line of sight and "ballistic range". Very few hunters are shooting a bow where a couple of yards will make a difference at 40 yards or less and even fewer hunters are shooting rifles where 50 to 100 yards will mean much at distances out to 400 yards. Marketing is a wonderful thing and when you see "professional" hunters like Micheal Waddell pushing this kind of product it really makes you wonder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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