How important is ARC?

[new2xbow]

If it doesn't have it, you can range different landmarks while on the ground. Or at eye level while in stand and use them as a reference. That will be the range you use.

[j.krug]

Perhaps for rifle hunting it may make more of a difference. For the shorter yardages the we bow hunt the difference is very minimal and I'm not going to worry about it. I just bought a new Bushnell rangefinder that doesn't have it.

I just drew it up on a cad program at work and this is what I got. A 25 yard shot from the ground would be a 26 yard 12" shot from 25 feet up in the tree. A difference of a bit over 48" or 1 yard 12".

Not enough to worry about in my opinion.

[sumner4991]

I agree . . .not a big deal at bow range. The POI difference in most cases is less than an inch.

[DuckHunt]

As many have said, it is nice to have but you can live without it at bow ranges. If you don't hunt over 15 feet, then its a not issue. As the vertical distance between you and the deer gets way up there, it does become an issue.

I hunt in the mountains. Imagine being 25 feet up a tree that is on the side of a steep hill (~45 degrees). If a deer is 25 yards downhill from the base of my tree, its not a 25 yard shot. I'm 25 feet up. Doing the math in my head, a rangefinder without ARC would say something like 35 yards. The true horizontal distance is actually something like 22 yards. Your shot would be 13 yards off.

Again, this problem really only manifests itself when you are significantly higher than your target. If you routinely hunt 25 feet up or higher, or shoot downhill from an elevated stand, then you probably should look into an ARC rangefinder.

If you are in the vast numbers that seldom travel up to 20 feet and hunt on relatively level terrain, ARC may not be worth the investment.

DuckHunt

[sumner4991]

Duckhunt . . .correct me if I'm wrong, but, just a ground sitter thinking here . . .your yardage estimate would be 13 yards off in your example . . .however, how far off would your POI be? With my shooting of the Exomax and the trajectory my set-up gets. . .I would hit an inch or so high, right?

[vh64]

I'm not very fond of math but at 40-45 yards the range I feel comfortable I would really like to know exactly the distance to my target. Also when shooting at an animal the whole ball game is different for some as well as natural variances....odd winds, my own bad judgment. I wouldn't like, if given the option to be any yards off on my ranging.

[vh64]

Forgive me but I wanted to add a little more. I had a situation like duckhunt described. I would give 100.00 dollars for that inch looking back. The deer looks so much more narrower at steep angles and being off a little seems to magnlfy. I'll probably keep my rangfinder for 15 years or more and if you divide 80 - 100.00 dollars by 15 I'm paying 5-6 dollars a season for that luxury.

[DuckHunt]

Duckhunt . . .correct me if I'm wrong, but, just a ground sitter thinking here . . .your yardage estimate would be 13 yards off in your example . . .however, how far off would your POI be? With my shooting of the Exomax and the trajectory my set-up gets. . .I would hit an inch or so high, right?

If you are shooting a 375 grain arrow 350 fps at a 35 yard target sighted dead on at 35 yards, the arrow would be 4.2 inches high at 22 yards. Considering the angle, you have a small target anyway. The sight distance would be 22 yards, but you have to remember that the arrow will actually be traveling 35 yards. Any ducking by the deer just adds to the 4.2 inch difference in POI. Being 13 yards off is very bad.

Again, in this example you are over 40 feet higher than the deer. Most will never have to deal with extreme height differences so its a non-issue.

I have a rangefinder with ARC today, but I would buy one without it in a minute. Their both good tools.

DuckHunt

[sumner4991]

Looks like I am going to need to stay on level ground.

OK . . .not sure who that was typing for me. There is certainly a bigger drop from 22-35 yards . . .I had 13 yards stuck in my head. From 0-13 yards . . .not much drop there.

I do like the broadside look from the ground . . .lot more room for error. Not sure how I ever shot those squirrels with my Bear Whitetail Hunter back in the 70's from a tree. Oh yeah, I wasn't 20 feet up, only 10. But, I had no rangefinder, no harness, barely had a piece of plywood to stand on . . .it's a wonder I'm here at all.

[GaryM]

Looks like I am going to need to stay on level ground.

Oh yeah, I wasn't 20 feet up, only 10. But, I had no rangefinder, no harness, barely had a piece of plywood to stand on . . .it's a wonder I'm here at all.

You and me both. I hunted out of an original Baker Climbing Stand in the early 70's. I still have that antique. It's a death trap. Gary

[Cossack]

My hunting partner just had his third knee replacements, two of them from a 20 fall, spend most of the time since last Sept in a medical institution of one kind or another, total cost $ 3/4 M. I'm staying on the ground, ranging deer that way much safer. Don't bounce as well at 71.

[sumner4991]

Don't bounce as well at 71.

Ain't that a fact. Reminds me of the story of a guy that survived a fall, but, broke most every bone in his body . . .as they wheeled him into the emergency room, the doctor asked him if he was alergic to anything . . .he said . . . ."gravity".