Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Need for holdover

When shooting from an elevated blind is there a need for holdover when shooting down at 200 yards? My blind is on a 10 foot tower stand, with a 4x8 box. When sitting in the blind I am up about 14 feet. The longest shot I will have to most likely make is 200 yards. This is the first year I have hunted from such an elevate position and mainly curious. Thanks in advance....Stroker

From just 14ft I wouldn't worry about it, there won't be enough difference to notice it.

However, any time you're shooting uphill or downhill the bullet will hit higher than if you had taken the same shot over level ground. I wrote up a page about this on my GeoCities site which you can see at http://www.geocities.com/squirrelsniper/angles.html

We do all our deer shooting from elevated blinds 10 to 14 feet up. If there is any need to hold low, I've never seen it.

Many balistics tables address the issue of shooting uphill or downhill, I would summarize the issue in saying that holdover should be equivelent to the horizontal distance from you to the target. ( not exact to the last 1/100 of an inch but close enough for this pupose).

In your example the target is 100 to 200 yds away. If you dismount your stand and lase the target again from the ground, it is still the same 100 to 200 yds away. You do not have to worry about the elevation of your stand at all. Your point of aim should be the same as if you were shooting from the ground.

Now picture a 300 foot cliff with a hunter at the top and a target out 100 yds from the vertical base. If you check the distance with a range finder the target will measure about 141 yds away, but the horizontal distance (from the base of the cliff) is only 100 Yds and you would want to hold for the shot just as if it were a 100 yd shot.

Thanks for the info, I didnt really didnt think I would have a problem, I am not shooting into a canyon or up a hill, just from an elevated position. Its 200 yards sitting in the blind or standing underneath it. To me, 200 yards is 200 yards in that manner.

Yea but you may want to know where the bullet strikes if the deer is 20 yards infront of you....

At 20 yards I can take him with the 4inch Model 629. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

While you didn't say what caliber you're shooting, I'd sight the rifle in to be about 2� inches high at 100 yards. This should give you a "point-blank-range" (a range at which your bullet never goes more than 3-inches higher or lower than your line-of-sight) of about �250 yards enabling you to hold "dead on" your point of aim from the rifle's muzzle out to 250 yards without concern.





Strength & Honor...



Ron T.

Ron, shooting either 7mm-08 or 30-06 depending what mood I am in. 7mm-08 if the son is with me.