Silly Question RE: Optical Illusions

[AshleyWY]

Aloha!

Yesterday I had the pleasure of hunting on private property for axis deer here in Hawa'i. I'm a very novice hunter and had a question regarding scopes: Am I losing my mind, or does an animal look larger in a scope than in reality? Or does it generally depend on how your scope is set up (what level of magnification you're using and whatnot)? I ask this because I shot a doe at a little under 200 yards yesterday, and when I came upon the deer in the field in order to begin field dressing it, I honestly didn't realize I'd shot such a small animal (it was either a young doe or an older fawn). Is this to be expected?

Thanks in advance for helping this newb to understand...

 

[Antares]

This is referred to as "ground shrinkage."

Judging animals in the field can be challenging, especially if you're new to it.

 

[glennjones]

Judging the size of an animal just comes through practice and experience. Binoculars and scopes do make critters look bigger than they are. There have been a lot of buttons heads mistaken for does for that reason. The term "ground shrinkage" is just what you are describing happens to everyone at some point. Keep hunting and you will get better at it.

 

[AshleyWY]

This is referred to as "ground shrinkage."

Judging animals in the field can be challenging, especially if you're new to it.

Ahh...there's even a term for it! Thank you so much for helping me to understand the situation! I appreciate it!

 

[AshleyWY]

Judging the size of an animal just comes through practice and experience. Binoculars and scopes do make critters look bigger than they are. There have been a lot of buttons heads mistaken for does for that reason. The term "ground shrinkage" is just what you are describing happens to everyone at some point. Keep hunting and you will get better at it.

Thank you so much for your explanation. That really helps!

 

[wesfromky]

One thing that you can do is to look at anatomical features vs just size - ie, head shape, body shape, etc. There are some guides out there that can help.

Here is one -

 

[AshleyWY]

One thing that you can do is to look at anatomical features vs just size - ie, head shape, body shape, etc. There are some guides out there that can help.

Here is one -

Thanks for the guidance and your response!