Bastid Yards

I have had quite a few people asking me recently about my pin gap on my hunting rig.  I get questioned a lot about my 33 yard pin. I wrote an article last season about this so I am going to repost it here for those that missed it.

I have changed a few things since I wrote the article. Mainly the distance I am practicing out to this season.

I am shooting the same pin gap but am able to move my bottom pin down my scale to 80 yards and I shot a ton this season with a longer bar and a single, moveable pin out to 100 yards... Shooting that distance WILL make you focus on the issues a lot more and make your closer shots so much easier.

Here is a good 90 yard group... You can see where I have the sight dialed to 90. On the shorter bar hunting set up I have my 4th pin down set to 40 and I can move it to 80

See what happens when you move a little closer...

Anyway,  Here is the article...

“Bastid” Yards

I will never forget my first trip to the IBO worlds. It was the first trip I had ever had to travel and stay away from home to participate in and I was excited. Tom Jarels and I had been tearing up the local 3D courses in our respective classes. Tom was shooting MBO. (Who knew he would go on to be a the IBO World Camp and Triple Crown Champ a few years later.) I was shooting MBR and my bow was basically set up the same as my hunting rig.  We were nervous but riding high because of our recent successes. I wouldn’t say that I had any aspirations of winning the thing but I had no clue the butt kicking I was about to receive.

We had no idea what to expect as we pulled up in the fog that morning. Walking from the car to the practice butts we were blown away by the amount of shooters. Just about every bow you could imagine with every class of shooter. We found an empty spot and picked a dot to fling a few arrows before start time. I was shooting like a champ and Tom was too. We even remarked to each other about some of the pitiful groups we were seeing on either side of us. We even picked out a few of the big names and watched them for a while. Some were just as incredible as we had heard while others had Tom and I scratching our heads. I had an immediate rush of confidence as Tom and I wished each other luck and parted company for the start of the shoot.

My confidence quickly turned to a severe case of pucker factor as I made my way to the target I had been assigned. I stepped to the first stake and gazed at the McKenzie Whitetail that seemed to be 50 plus yards. I kept pondering the max yardage rule as I introduced myself to the competitors in my foursome.  After all the introductions and handshakes were out of the way it was time to draw cards for shooting order. Guess who was picked first? Unbelievable, my luck.

Knowing that there was a 50 yard max rule in the IBO I already knew which pin I was going to use. I had a 20, 30, 40, 50 yard pin to choose from…No brainer. I remember thinking something that has helped me through a ton of tough shots. “With all these people watching, it would be a bad time to look like a chump so remember your form.” I drew the bow, settled in, placed the pin on the 10 ring and squeezed… Pinwheel!!! I think my eyes were closed when I heard a couple of my new friends say “great shot” and “center10!!!”  They were saying how I must have not been nervous and looked like I had been doing this a while. They had no idea. I was a complete disaster inside but had somehow just pulled off a flawless shot.

That shot was not the only good one I made throughout the next few days, but it definitely wasn’t the norm. I chalked a lot of the poor showing on my part up to the excitement of the tournament experience. After all, it was my first time at a major. There was one thing that was brought to light during the weekend though. If you already have an issue or flaw in your setup or your form, It WILL be magnified by excitement or nervousness.

One of the major issues I had seen through my time in smaller tournaments or a lazy afternoon shoot around with friends had been my pin gap.  I am not the tallest guy on the range so that leaves me in a bind right off the bat. Unless you have monkey arms, being short leaves you with a short draw length and that typically means a slower bow.

I had always set my pins, as Im sure most archers do with the typical 20, 30, 40, and 50 yard pins. Not having the speediest of bows meant that the gaps between the pins are pretty wide. Couple that with the fact that I am not the best judge of yardages and I was in deep doo doo. When you are judging a small deer target at 37 yards in your mind and put a 30 and 40 yard split on the body with a wide gap you may have one close to the top and the other close to the bottom of the animal. This is not the best feeling if you are already unsure of the yardage you have chosen. After some iffy shots and the discussions of yardages with my competitors afterward I was asked about my pin setting by one of the guys.

I cannot remember the guys name but he gave me a tip that has stuck with me for all these years. He showed me his sight, which happened to be the same as mine, but his gaps were a lot smaller. He told me it wasn’t totally due to speed but just the way he set them. He said I should pick my strongest yards and maybe play the averages on shots that I would encounter.  His yardages were something like 23, 35, 42, and 51 if I remember right. He asked me how many times do you actually shoot a target at exactly 20 or 30? He had a point. I picked his brain a little more as we shot and was starting to see the benefits. Always one to try and better my shooting, I could not wait to get back on the practice range at home. I finished that tournament pretty low in the standings. I was happy that I had not blanked any targets at least because of how difficult it was compared to anything I had ever encountered, but I also had a new plan to get better for future tourneys and maybe even the deer woods.

Up until this season I have used this method only for target archery. I was pretty confident in the fact that I would be able to use my rangefinder under hunting situations and would not encounter this “doubt” in my yardages. That was until I missed the biggest deer I had ever shot at last season on opening day.  I have never been one to make excuses and I have no intentions on starting now. I take full responsibility for the miss. It wasn’t the bow. The deer didn’t jump. There was no wind or rain. I just plain blew it. The big boy came out like he was supposed to. I had him pegged and we knew it. I was calm and cool even asking Jeff if he was steady on the cam and was he ready for me to shoot. Everything was perfect but this one little thought in my head.

I had changed to a heavier arrow just a few weeks before the season opener. The change did not seem drastic. Just a few tweaks to the sight here and there and I was back in business. The main difference was the extra gap in the pins. No biggee right? I had a range finder and the bow was grouping fantastically. My brain was not so sure. I honestly just did not like the sight picture. I convinced myself it was because I was just to used to the tight pin gaps I had been looking at all season with my faster hunting bow.

I pulled my bow back on the deer that I thought was at my 28 yard marker. Pretty easy right? Put the 30 yard pin on his heart and let her eat!!! Wrong…the key word in that last statement was “thought” I was not sure. It happened so fast I second guessed my self. I thought, “maybe I should just give it a little more”, and I eased the 30 up toward center body. Bad move! As I released I watched the arrow skip off of the bucks back sending him away in a hurry and me into a deep depression.

Im 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 center body 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”!!!  I may be different for anyone else, but I am going to explain how I cam 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 to 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. Its not only fatser than any 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 love it. I actually just shot fantastic round of 3D with the bow and all I will do is put broadheads on the arrows to step into the deer woods.

Im 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.