Ok, I am old school, and don't own a rangefinder...yet.

My pace is 13 average steps = 10 yeads. When I hang my stand, I pick a few "key" spots that I hope a deer will come out, and make a mental note, or hang a piece of cotton with attractant on it, to mark out a certain yardages. Most of these average 20 yards.

For the bowhunter, is a range finder really necessary if you are shooting under 30 yards?

Anyone else pace out their stand or hunting blind?

I use to until I started using a pendulum sight. I may use a range finder from the tree I'm in to range a few spots. I never range deer as I don't want to be fumbling around with it and then have the deer catch me. When the deer is close enough, then its show time.

Swill, I'm like you still old school myself. What I've done in the past is pace off from my tree 20-yards and put a stick in the ground in two spots, then the same at 30-yards, it especially helps out in those low-light minutes of the day. I won't try to arrow a deer much past 30-yards, I've skinned too many deer with broadheads in them and have found too many dead one's in the woods with arrows in them in my years of hunting.

I will usually kind of eyeball it from the ground before I set up the stand. If there is somewhere that I am worried about walking to, I scope it out when I climb up the stand. The technique that I use is; I stare at the bottom of the tree that I am in...and look out in 10 yard increments. It has worked good for me. It also helps having a fast bow...it allows me to be off a few yards.

I am also an eyeballer. It helps to pass the time by picking out objects and estimating distances....

When I set up my stand I have a rope that I lay out. On this rope I have four marks on it one is at ten yards, one at twenty, thirty, and fourty.I put the rope at the base of my tree that I hung my stand. I lay out the rope and mark the yardage by sticking sticks in the ground. I do this all the way around my stand. So when a deer walks in I can tell exacly how far it is by looking at the sticks that I have stuck in the ground.

Most of my set ups only allow a 20(+/-) yard clear shot and the longest I've ever taken is 18. I have a four pin sight and practice at all yardages, but when it comes to huntin it's one pin and dont need to worry about the exact yards or pendulum sights.

The Pendulum sight will help with you not hitting high on a very close shot. It adjusts for the degree of angle. Has not cost me a deer at very close range with a high hit since I installed it. This type sight is very helpful with the close deer and being very high in a tree.

Harvey, whats the brand name of the pendulum site that you use? Been thinking about getting one.

I also don't have a range finder. If I go out west again I would think about getting one but all my shots here in MN will be 30 yards or less. Shooting carbons at 60 pounds, you don't have much drop, if your estimate is within five yards. And I also practice range estimation, I'll go for a walk, stop and estimate, then pace it off. A little practice and pretty soon you can 'guess' right on.

I also don't worry about yards, I set up according to my paces, meaning my 20/30/40 yard pins are actually 20/30/40 pace pins. Same when I'm out in the field or practicing estimation, I'm estimating paces. I've never sat down and measured my paces, 20 paces might be 20 yards but I really don't care, my bow and my estimation are set up on paces. Make sense?

I borrow my Dad's range finder, go out in my stands and pick specific trees that I think are a certain distance and mentally mark them. I do this for all of my stands. My stand locations haven't moved alot in the past couple of years so every year I do a little refreshing and thats all I really need to do. I don't like walking around and pacing things off, the less scent I leave the better. I'll carry the finder with me the first time I'm in each tree stand and thats about all I'll need.

I have found that fast bows pretty much eliminate the need to account for distance. I practice out to 50 yards and go farther for fun, but I keep my shots under 30 and only adjust half a distance between my pins normally. I can judge pretty well from the tree and practice alot from the roof of a house at different distances and hieghts on the roof. I try to pace them off when setting a stand a if I have a large shooting lane and feel confident I can make the shot at a longer then typical distance.

I walk mine out when the stands go up. I know which tree is the 'end of effective range' tree on one stand, and which row number in the soybeans is the end of effective range. Helps to do it early so I'm not stinking the place up.

I want to get a rangefinder some time in the future for the big trip to Colorado. But for the number of times I would use it, I would rather spend Xhundred dollars on something I could get more utility out of.

Scott, I purchased one approx. 5 years ago and hardly ever use it. I thought I would really use the thing but nope. Not on the top of my need to have list.

I bought a range finder from a friend when I lived in CO to use while elk hunting. I will tell you it's priceless for those situations (elevation, size of animal and open spaces) when your eyes can play tricks on you. It rarely, if ever, comes out in the MN/MI woods with me unless I am hunting a new stand (a friends or my dads) so I can mark some trees quickly. Scott, let me know if you ever want to try mine out before you purchase one.