Vertical Shooting with PCPs

[lbc_PSI]

If you don't have an angle adjusting rangefinder, then range from you to the tree. You shoot for the horizontal distance of the shot...not the distance up in the tree. Gravity only affects trajectory over the horizontal distance to the target.

For ultra-close shots, most of the time you will be doing a hold-over..as if you were shooting 80, 90, or 100yds/M. Strelock and Chairgun should give the hold-overs you need when shooting close shots. I make a disk that fits in my flip-up scope cover with reticle dope.

 

[JimD]

Nice picture Ezana4CE. Glad you got it working. I should try a shot like that sometime. You must see them and then walk over to the tree to get a shot. It could happen to me sometime.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Nice picture Ezana4CE. Glad you got it working. I should try a shot like that sometime. You must see them and then walk over to the tree to get a shot. It could happen to me sometime.

@JimD When walking into the woods I can hear acorns falling this time of year. That’s normal. They fall at rather random intermittent intervals between wind gusts. When I hear stuff falling at a faster rate in particular spots I begin to listen for gnawing and crunching sounds. Usually that’s a strong indicator that a squirrel is eating in a nearby tree. What I tend to see is pieces of pine cones, acorns, and bark falling. Usually when they’re eating pine cones they are up towards the top of a pine tree. I learned some of this from some things @Vetmx communicated to me.

Once I know they’re in a particular tree. I spend time glassing that tree to locate them. This is actually a skill I’m still honing. Next I look for a clear shot if they aren’t startled by my movement. I haven’t had too many bark at me so far. It seems as if they’re are fattening themselves up for the winter. In doing so they appear to be very preoccupied with eating. When I cleaned the last squirrel I killed I saw where it had fat deposits forming. Once I have a clear shot, I brace or steady myself as best I can and take it when the wind’s calm.

 

[JimD]

Thanks for the explanation. We are just now hitting peak acorn dropping here in SC. Oaks have barely started to loose leaves. I have a bunch of oaks in my yard and it is only in the last week or so the squirrels have become interested in the acorns. So I think you may be a bit further north. In any event, I will look for opportunities to use the same strategy. October is usually a tough month for me. It gets better as the weather gets cooler.

 

[PumaCarl]

It looks like chairgun will not let you input an angle greater than 75 degrees. But for much of the pellet's path, the POI would high as Ted said. For my P35-177 at a 75 degree angle my POI would be low out to less than 20 yards (versus 25 at 0 incline), 2 inches high at about 33 yards and 4 inches high at about 50 yards. So if the OP was really shooting at a very steep angle, he probably needs to hold under.

I've shot several dozen squirrels out of trees, some were an estimated 30 to 50 feet up. But they were also at least 20 yards away horizontally. So the angle was not super steep. Under 45 degrees. Almost all have been 1 shot kills. I just hold based upon the horizontal distance to the tree they are in. If the tree is 20 yards away as it typically has been, I just hold where I want to hit. The fact that the height makes the distance to the target greater doesn't matter. The drop is a function of the horizontal distance. If I ever get a shot above 45 degrees, I guess I'd better hold a little low. I doubt I'll be shooting up into a tree 100-150 feet tall. But if I do, the hold under would be 2-4 inches. Probably a bit less for my P35-22. For a more typical 50 foot tree the hold under would be less than half an inch.

For me, the key think to remember is the drop is a function of the horizontal distance. I guess I need to add to that something like "at really steep angles hold a little low".

Strelok Pro will let you go all the way up and give you the correction info you need, no guessing, no pulling out a drone. For starlings or squirrels straight up in the tree tops Strelok Pro is the way to go. Chairgun isn't supported anymore, no improvements are coming. Check out 68Whiskey's video on Strelok Pro on YT and don't look back.