Zeroing Crossbow From Elevated Position

[CT.HNTR]

So I may be overthinking this but I am curious what others do.

I sometimes hunt from ground blinds but I do 90% of my hunting from a treestand. In the past I have zeroed my scope from ground level and then make an adjustment by aiming a little low while up in the treestand. Seeing as I do just about all of my hunting from the elevated position I am thinking about making my zero this year from 20 feet up so I can aim dead on from a tree stand.

Does anybody else do this? Does this make sense?

[xcaliber]

I set mine on the ground off the bench, and then shoot from elevated platform to verify settings, I have found little difference to 40 yards from 18' elevated platform at my local range. All of my shooting from that height is off hand, so minor variation is probable! My recommendation is to practice this yourself. Glad to read that you're considering the effects, and taking that into account.

[xcaliber]

Up close is something I also recommend checking from your stand.

[racking up points]

With proper form, you POI should not change. From a stand, don't lower your bow arm, bend at the waist to lower the bow, this keeps the geometry from your eye to the centre of the scope that same way it was when you sighted in from the bench. People that tell you you have to aim low from treestands don't use proper form and that's why their POI is high from an elevated position.

My trick is that I aim at the target as if it's on the same plane as me, as if the target is at eye level, (obviously it's not, it's on the forest floor). Then I consciously bend at the waist to lower my bow to the target. In this way, you'll never drop your bow arm again and you'll have better form and more consistent POIs from elevated stands. Practice makes perfect.

[paulaboutform]

Being from B.C., a lot of the 3D shooting will be tonnes of uphill and downhill. Sometimes almost straight up or down. Hunting of course isn't as critical as hitting a 1" X ring but you still want to know where to aim. Personally, I'd still find my zero from the horizontal plane and practice with the up and downhill angles. As R.u.p. mentioned, you always shoot your target as if it was on the horizontal plane to you. That being said, for hunting I'll always try to use my rangefinder which has the 'ARC' tilt compensating feature. That feature is awesome as it tells you the distance to shoot your target for. Secondly, and I think this is a must have, is to have a level bubble on your bow. Depending on the terrain you're hunting, shooting on side hills can be quite the optical illusion causing you to think your bow is level when in fact you'll be canted, causing either left or right hits. Even shooting on flat ground I still think the level bubble is imperative as canting even a little changes your poi.

Paul

[Pydpiper]

Zero from where you are comfortable.
I have never noticed a big enough POI shift to worry about the 18' I usually climb. It more important to visualize the exit of the arrow opposed to the entrance.
Another option is count the clicks and mark your vertical knobs with paint, one for ground, one for elevated. These scopes are not exactly repeatable, but it's an option. One thing I ALWAYS do when I make an adjustment on these scopes is exceed the clicks I want then go backwards one click to my desired adjustment. For example, if I need to adjustment just 1 click "up", I go 2 and back one. A quick tap on the side of the scope with my rope cocker handle and it settles right in.

[Perforator]

I have a place where I can sight in with a 15 foot elevation so I do even though I notice very little POI change over 30 yards between downhill and level.

[drkeenan]

You might be overthinking for hunting scenarios. Assuming you are 21 ft up a tree and applying the Pythagorean Theorum to find the arrow flight distance from 20, 30, and 40 yds:

Arrow flight Distance from 21 feet up

20 yds = 21.2 yds
30 yds = 30.8 yds
40 yds = 40.6 yds

Just hold on the pump house and enjoy the straps!!

[flinthead]

Yep... sight your bow in on a good bench rest for your distances. When you get to your stand, aim center body just behind the shoulder and get the grease hot...