Outdoor tips with Jack Morris
BY JACK MORRIS
Sunday, September 30, 2012
10/01/12 at 1:14 AM
Listen to a conversation about preseason
scouting for deer with Jack Morris.
With archery deer season opening Monday, someone is bound to experience one of the biggest downfalls for archery - taking a shot from an elevated platform after preparing for the season by shooting on the ground at targets on the same level.
Some hunters place tree stands 20 feet off the ground, and that makes a big difference in shooting stance, the arrow's trajectory and how a shooter needs to aim.
The cure for this is to practice out of a tree stand or ladder stand, preferably the very one or very model you will hunt from. Even archers hunting from a ground blind need to have practiced shooting out of a chair and through the opening of a blind before the season starts. It's not the same as walking your favorite 3D course or flinging arrows 30 yards across your backyard.
Getting together with a friend or two to practice platform shooting is a good idea from a convenience standpoint and for safety. Shooting from a platform alone means you'll have to climb down to retrieve your arrows, climb back up, and down, and up and down.
Tulsa Gun Club recently erected an elevated platform at its archery range. If you have access to that range, or if your local club has something similar, that can help as well.
I've heard a lot of people say that when the moment came to shoot, they just didn't feel comfortable or stable on the platform. Often they blow the shot because they never really practice that particular kind of shot and had the time to get familiar with their tree stand.
Learning to aim from an elevated position can be tricky. High-tech rangefinders can help, but stance and aim point still need to be practiced.
Once you're comfortable with shooting from an elevated position and have an established tree-stand site, reflective markers or bits of flagging tape can be placed on trees or brush to help you estimate distance and make the shot you've worked so hard to set up.
Jack Morris is a professional guide and host of Outdoor Trails Thursday nights at 6 p.m. on KTBZ am1430. Contact him at 918-691-3840, jackswildlife@cox.net or see tulsaworld.com/jackmorris
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