I'm not going to go as far as to say that using this alternative yardage system would have killed that deer for me, but I need to try something new, and I know how much it helped me on the 3D course. Theoretically I would have shoved my 26 yard pin on the center body area, which would have put my 20 on his heart, and 33 on the top of his lungs. Dead critter!!!
Now it’s a new year, and I have vowed to never let this happen to me again. I am at least going to do everything in my power to keep it from happening. Now equipped with a faster bow (I know speed isn’t everything and I have never been consumed by it but I just NEED some right now) and some lighter arrows, I am changing my hunting bow sight system to “bastard yards”!!! It may be different for anyone else, but I am going to explain how I came up with my pins and why it works for me.
I always start out by picking my favorite yardage. Over the years, I have determined that my 33 yard pin is my favorite. I just seem to spend a lot of time shooting targets at this distance. It will work good in the deer woods for me as well because I generally do not shoot too many animals over 35. I then set a 20. Then I take the rest of the pins and fill in the gaps, making a nice pattern. I just want it to be even, clean, and easy to see. For years, my pins have come out like this on my 3D bow: 20, 26, 33, 38, and 43 yards. This season, with my new blazing fast Elite Pulse, I have only one difference: I noticed the 20 was shooting low. This is a really cool thing. It's not only faster than any other hunting bow I have shot, but right up there with my fastest 3D rig as well!!!
Speed may not be the end all be all, but I have a ton of confidence in this rig. What I may lack in penetration, I make up for in pinpoint accuracy. I have been shooting this set up for a month now and I love it. I actually just shot a fantastic round of 3D with the bow, and all I will do is put broadheads on the arrows to step into the deer woods.
I'm not sure if the bastard yards method will be the answer for me this season. I feel like I need to change something and shake things up a bit. The method has proven itself to me on the range, so hopefully I will get the same results in the field.
Maybe this time next year I will be writing a different story about how getting myself out of a rut helped me tag a rutting buck.