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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: Lee Lobbestael on February 24, 2017, 05:16:00 AM
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What is your guys' max shot distance when hunting big game? Small game I will shoot at at any distance but deer I am only confident to 15 yards at the moment. I have been confident out to twenty or a little over but I took a couple month break from shooting and currently my max effective range is 15 yards. Seems so short
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When hunting small game, if I have to think about whether or not I can make a shot, I don't take it. If it just feels right, I take the shot without thinking about it.
I've never shot at a deer yet, but I feel confident out to 25 yards.
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As crazy as it sounds, inside 20 yards from the ground. 15 yards or less from a tree stand. I routinely practice out to 30 yards but shooting at a live creature requires you to use ethics and to be honest with YOUR effective shooting distance. Right now, these are my distances
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I shoot and practice daily at a elevated position at various ranges out to 20 yards with the occasional 30 yard shot for the possibility of a second shot on a wounded animal. I always try pushing my shooting ability and practice every hunting scenario possible. So, 20 yards is usually the max for me but as I said I would send a arrow at a wounded animal at 30 yards in a blink of an eye if need be.
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Hunting deer, my distance is 10-15 yards. Elk, I would shoot 20-25 yards (maybe).
I shoot my bows on average four to five days a week. I also shoot distances out to 50 yards during 3-d season. That said, I have wounded deer before and I feel much more comfortable getting them as close as possible.
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There seems to be a difference from western spot and stalk hunters to eastern blind and tree stand hunters for what is a viable hunting length shot. I hunt western Iowa whitetails like someone out west would spot and stalk mule deer. I practice from 'point on' in. With my current bows that is about 55 yards. Shot timing is much more critical when shooting over 25 yards. As a ground hunter, stealth is much more critical under 20 yards.
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I will take a shot that looks right if the confidence is there. My shooting method seems to allow for that. With that being said, I've yet to see a shot looks right that turned out to be 50 yards. If evaluating shots that I've taken and made, 40 yards is about tops, but less is the norm.
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Moved to PowWow
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15 or under, out to 20 would be my max but it would be a have to feel right moment.
But I just keep my setups to 15 or under, I owe it to the animal to make the shot right!
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20 yd. is max but 12 - 15 yards is preferable.
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very comfortable 20 and in, but did take one deer at 23 this year. just depends on the circumstances.
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25 yards and under .
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Somewhere around 25 yards give or take a bit
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~20ish yds for deer sized game (I can only remember 1 shot 20 or further in the last 10yrs). ~30ish yds for big critters like elk. A lot of it is feel for me. I will take a bit longer shot if everything feels right, but will not take a close shot if something does not feel right!
Bisch
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For deer, 20 yards max, but I really want them 12-15 yards.
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I am extremely confident to 25 yds but have taken animals as far as 32.
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I don't think in terms of "distance". It's a "red light/green light" kind of deal for me.
I once passed on a nice bull elk that turned out to be under 20 yards and have center punched a mule deer buck at what later gps'd to be 37 yards. Some times it just doesn't "feel right". Other times you just know it's a dead animal walking. Animal posture, lighting, and my general sense of focus all come into play in determining what trips the light.
I passed on my dream bear last spring after an hour long stalk because the light never went green. He was under 25 yards a few times, but he was always at off-angles, and moving enough or me to not be able to hold a steady focal point on him. In the end i spent 15 minutes in what would normally be "dead bear range", but he walked off.
Later in the fall, i smacked a ruffed grouse off of a log at 49 loooong paces,and i knew he was dead before i drew my bow.
FWIW, i shoot regularly all year around at distances out to 80 yards (mostly roving), so my shot indicator system is always in calibration mode.
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Most folks effective range is a lot less than they think it is. When I taught Bowhunter Education, we asked students to tell us what they thought their effective range was. Then we asked them to prove it by shooting through a vitals cut out on a deer size steel target. Most wouldn't accept the challenge, and most who did, didn't make it through the vitals at their effective range.
Shooting at targets isn't the same as shooting at a critter, which is always a high stress situation.
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10-25 is about my area of confidence. I got a goat at 30 ish once and I felt really good about the shot from beginning to end. So I am going to say no farther than 25 yards except for the exceptions.
Msturm
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My effective range varies with the complete actual situation including my own confidence level.
On whitetails, the longest shot attempted was 18 yards and on turkeys 17 yards max, which was successful yet was at the limit of my comfort zone.
Have been successful on larger quarry at extended distance.
Even a hint of lack of confidence easily prompts me to set the bow down despite the distance.
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I have only killed deer with a traditional bow and my shots have been 15 and under but like everyone else if the shot feels right and I'm confident about it I wouldn't hesitate to shoot out to 20. Am gonna try to kill a turkey with my bow this year and I hope that shot if presented will be 10 or under.
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My effective range is 20 and under. I've promised to increase it every off-season to 30, but haven't followed through...yet.
Out of my 46 years of bowhunting I've hunted with recurves 13 of those years (returned in 2010). I've taken two shots past 20 yards. One was in 1971. I missed the small buck. The other was 2010 (21 yards) I killed the doe.
For most of the areas (east) that I hunt 20 yards is more than enough. I read a survey once that in the east, even rifle hunter's kill deer on average less than 50 yards. Compounds around 17 and recurves/longbows 14. I imagine one would add 5-8 yards to those bow figures in the west.
I want to be extremely confident at my point on which is about 32 yards but I doubt very much, on deer-size kill-zones, I'd shoot past 18-22. I prove what is possible for me on my home range. I don't believe I'll shoot better in the field.
I missed my closest shot ever at 8 yards this past season. I'd killed three deer standing in the exact same spot before. The shot is steep but close. I
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I'd shoot 20 yards but most deer would kill are under 15. I rarely ever shoot one at 20 yards.
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My max is 20 yards but I try to setup for a 15 yard shot.
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20 with good conditions.
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Where I've been hunting twenty is the farthest I've shot. Ten yards is pretty normal.
Love flinging them at 40+ yards while practicing, though!
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25yd held that distance w/a wheel bow too. I practice out to 40 and 50 just for fun. I dont think I have ever made a hunting shot past 15???? in my area we are so thick by the time you get a shot they are under you.
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I never think about MAX DISTANCE as it "depends"....I try to get as close as possible to the animal...5 yds, 10 yds, 12 yds, 15 yds. Depends on animal, its demeanor, how I have been shooting lately and my confidence level, wind, etc.
My choice is 8-12 yds for avg shots...farthest I know I have shot is 18 yds...but never measure them or think about it. I get to my hunting spot and look around and pick items that appear to be in my "comfort range" and then I dont even think about shooting outside of that circle.
Sometimes depending on angle animal is giving me I still wont shoot inside that comfort range.
I prefer to challenge to HOW CLOSE CAN I GET rather than the alternative of how far.
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At this point in my short traditional career, 20 is all I want or need. I practice 4-5 days a week at that distance and feel pretty good about the shot.
We will see when the lights come on. I'm hoping for 15 or less.
Josh
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I would say out to 25 yards for me but it all depends how I'm shooting and how I feel about the shot.
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I start really thinking hard before I shoot at around 25 yards and don't shoot more the 30ish unless it's a second arrow which seems almost to be involuntary.
Honestly though I don't think in terms of yardage anymore. It's all focus, muscle memory, animal body language, and shot confidence that play into the scenario
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For me it's all about the situation. I've passed shots at 15 yds and taken and made shots at 35.
Don't limit your practice to a set distance. I've seen guys practice at 18 yds and blow up shooting 20.
Mike
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My personal max is 25 but I am limiting shots to 20 or under.
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15yds. That being said, my longest kill has been 14yds. and my closest 5yds. All from treestand on my own property. Play the wind and learn to move slowly and at the right time and this can be the norm.
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It is a feel thing for me as well, but , I don't think I've ever shot much beyond 25 yds.
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As a ground only hunter for deer. I try to set up for a 20 to 25 shot. I prefer to be shooting past the initial 's' curve of my arrow. I think deer can hear my eye balls blink when they are real close. Once I reached between two trees and touched a little 6 pointer, the little bugger almost broke my arm when it jumped, that is too close. If I was to use the guarantee to hit the heart lungs rule on small game, I would have to have the pheasant or rabbit in my one hand and a knife in the other and I would still miss it 50 percent of the time. I shot a pheasant that was way over my 58 yard point, the shot went from looking good to two feet off and then right on, when the pheasant decided to catch my arrow. This year I took a long shot at a running rabbit. It stopped when I released, I would have missed it by a wide margin, a deflection almost gave me a head shot. We can do all kinds of things to make it a guaranteed deal, but this is traditional archery, the human element and a host of variables throw out most of the guarantees.
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There are far better hunters than I who set their max distance at 20 yards for elk. I don't have that much experience hunting with a bow so I'll stick with their limits for now. For deer, I need to be within 20. For turkey, I may take a 20 but would feel much better within 15.
I practice out to 35 enough to know my probability of a good kill shot is less than 60% at that range and even then, my arrows are slow, my target is still, I am calm and the ground is flat. But from 0-20, I feel that I can own that space with a lot of confidence. Anything further and I need to just let it walk. If I can't get closer, I'll concede defeat.
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2,000 miles right now, but Alaska is high on my list
F-Manny
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20 yards max, but 15 feels alot better for me.
Deno
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How do you guys determine what distance your game is from you in a hunting situation? I know that for me personally that 20 yards in dense woodlands feels like 40 yards in an open field. I never know the yardage of anything until I pace it off.
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Determining distance takes practice and experience. Of course range finders are helpful. Strange, distance judging used to be a very important skill that bowhunters had to get good at. You don't hear so much about it anymore. I think this is mostly because of range finders removing the "guess work" and to some extent, with "other bows" shooting a bit flatter, one pin set to 30 covers all the possibilities these "other" archers will consider.
I remember my 2nd hunt to WY in 1982. My brother and I waited outside the sporting goods store for it to open in Casper. We passed the time by challenging each other on how far various street items (signs, curbs, fire hydrant, etc.) were from us. Then we paced them off (no range finder) to see. We were pretty good on distances under 40 yards.
Because of all this practice, 20 yards has become a unit of measurement for me. It does look different in cover vs. open.
I will sometimes break down distances in first 10 yard and then 15, 20, etc. I try to do this BEFORE the critter appears (if I'm in a tree or ground blind). Some folks will even push sticks in the ground or rocks at specific distances to help.
I use a range finder these days to determine such markers these days. I can't remember a time when I've actually put the range finder on an animal though, usually too close by that time to risk extra movement.
I'm pretty sure my range estimation skill has declined over the years. But it is still solid at bowhunting ranges.
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I hear a lot of guys talking about effective range and comfort zone and that is all great, but on the other hand I have shot at deer in my comfort zone at my effective range to see my arrow go over the deer’s back. Now the first time was at 17 yards, the buck jump 5 yards and gave me another shot and I harvested that buck. A couple years after that a good buck came into range as I thought at 12 yards I missed that buck on that one he jumped out to roughly 20 yards missed him again and as if he were looking back at me and laughing at me saying try it again at 25 yards, and I did. I watched that buck walk away from me looking back at me, I’m confident he was in his comfort zone laughing at me. I got him the next day.
I missed one two years ago at 20 yards standing in a scrape completely relaxed just having the time of his life, he jump out to 35 yards and I grunted him back in, he circle to an opening at 32 yards I hit him right in the heart. The best buck I have ever shot.
I started hunting with my silvertip in 2006 shot a buck every year and at least one doe up to last year, the first branch I ever killed with my bow, but didn’t get that buck.
I can remember most deer I have shot and can only recall a couple I did not recover in all this time. Luck, persistence, skill, dedication, Commitment practice, practice, and more practice.
Most deer I have harvested were on average 17 yards, so does that make this my effective range. Or comfort zone I’m not sure. I think you just have to know what you can do with you equipment and skill level you have developed. Don’t get caught up in what everyone is doing you can have more fun telling us what you are doing. I look forward to hearing your stories and your journey as an outdoorsman
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If you can after some practice put 6 arrows in the kill zone of a deer target that's great, but if the first arrow was not in, that would be outside of the zone. The first broadhead shot
I take at one of my deer targets for the year for five years in a row has gone over the back. That is at 15 or so yards. It takes me a little conditioning to pick a spot on a deer target with broadheads. Most years I am ready to go before season out to my stump shooting ranges with blunts. That first broadhead shot in late august is my wake up, reminding me that i will always have work to do.
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Inside of 30 for deer 35 if things are perfect.
Elk 40 and in
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Originally posted by forestdweller:
How do you guys determine what distance your game is from you in a hunting situation? I know that for me personally that 20 yards in dense woodlands feels like 40 yards in an open field. I never know the yardage of anything until I pace it off.
I take a rangefinder with me when I set up a stand. I use it to range different trees or rocks or other landmarks around my stand. When a critter comes in, I know pretty dang close what yardage he is at before I shoot.
Bisch
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Surely it depends on the quarry? I imagine that a grouse or rabbit is dead the momement you hit it with a broadhead. As such, it seems to me ok to take optimistic shots from upto 50 yrds at these creatures..
On large animals, where shot placement is critical for humane death I believe that one is only limited by one's own accuracy...And that's personal to the archer..
Cheers
Alex
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Like to have deer at/inside 20 yards and most kills have been in the 15 yard range. Both from trees and more recently from the ground. I did kill a red fox at 27 yds after missing at 9-go figure.
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15 yards or less.
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I will loose on rabbits at any distance they care to stop at. My heavy shafts and rabbit points will put them down. I do respect them as a game animal, but they are not tough. Big game is always under 30 yards, hopefully much less than 30.
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20-25 yds
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Originally posted by forestdweller:
How do you guys determine what distance your game is from you in a hunting situation? I know that for me personally that 20 yards in dense woodlands feels like 40 yards in an open field. I never know the yardage of anything until I pace it off.
I always measure off distance to a bush, stump, clump of grass, tree, etc. with my trusty mechanical Range finder.
Anything within that area is toast.
Max distance for me personally is 20-25 yards.
Always mark your field of fire/kill zone.
If anything outside of this area, let it go. There is always another day.
Hope this helps.
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20 for deer is absolute max under absolute ideal conditions(wind, deer behavior, amount of coffee I consumed that day, etc).
All the deer I have killed with my tradbows have been between 8-12yds however.
For Turkeys, I want them in my decoy spread...which I set around 5-7yds.
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mostly 20 but 25 max depending on size of game and situation.
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My closest was about 2 yards from the ground, longest was 26 yards from a tree stand on deer.
So somewhere in that range, but mostly around 12 to 15 yards.
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It is possible to extend your range, but it takes twice as many practice shots to perfect 40 as it does 20. Personally, I have more confidence and clear headed concentration when shooting a deer that is totally unaware of my position at over 30 yards and a wound up tense deer that is under 15 yards. A busy or tense and alerted deer over 30 yards is not a target for me, even if I know my accuracy is good enough at the time, which is also a bit of week to week variable for me. If the parameters were carved in stone it would not be any fun, there will always be a bit of a gamble in any shot.
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Maximum comfort 20yds, that being said furthest deer taken was 18yds and most between 12-16. Would stretch it out to 25 for elk.
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Don't have a max, just a comfort or should say, confidence zone.
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I'm pretty confident out to 20 yds, but I'm really confident at 12!
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20 usually but perhaps 25 under ideal conditions. Would rather let em walk than wound one.
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Over the last 30 years or so, my average kill shot distance on deer is about 11 yards. That being said, I have killed 2 that were 27 yards. I was shooting well at the time, was confident and the shot just happened.
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Out to 25 yards if everything was perfect, I like 10-12 better. I will admit I have had deer at 4 yards with no shot........just all part of the fun!!
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For developing long shots, it helps to have an aiming system of sorts. Another thing that helps is a February thaw and a couple of large farm groves to concentrate the area rabbits. It is easier to take long shots at a bunny, than a deer. The penalty for being a foot off at a careful 50 yards is not as much to worry about and sometimes a missed long shot quickly becomes a passing short shot, but you gotta be quick.
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The two farthest deer I have killed were about 22 yards. I don't remember shooting at anything farther. Most were in the 12 - 15 yard range, as that is what I try to set up for. I rarely consider yardage in deciding to shoot. The second the feeling is right I shoot. There are a lot of other factors that I feel are more important, such as the alertness and position of the animal, amount of brush/size of opening to shoot through, how fast the animal is moving (most of my deer were shot as they casually walked by), etc. That being said, I once missed a calm elk at 8 yards because I was thinking to much about the aiming rather than following my normal shot process.
It should be noted that I practice to feel comfortable to take shots out to about 30 yards, though I have never done it. Also I have been hunting with a recurve since 1972 and have killed animals from about 5 yards to 22 yards
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My average shot distance on big game over 33 years of serious hunting is 12 yards, closest were several at around 6ft, longest was a whitetail at 37 yards. Back in the day I hunted woodchucks a lot, killed 50 one year with my bow. When I ran out of cover on 'chucks I'd line up and shoot. I didn't shoot at many 50 yards and over, but I can truly say I hit more than I missed at those yardages... I've always been surprised how good one can shoot on game vs a target. That said, 30 yards is a looonnggg way in the deer woods...
I shoot all the time out to 50 yds and beyond in the yard, I've always believed that you should practice MUCH farther than you'll shoot game...10 careful arrows at 40 yards on a target are worth much more than 40 arrows at 10 yards. You don't have to be much of an archer to shoot well on targets close up... but you won't get away with any foolishness at 40.
I like to set up for 15ish yard hunting shots.... but when the green light goes off, I shoot.
R
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I think it depends a lot on the equipment that you shoot. Shooting my 50 pound Selfbow i'd say I wouldn't use anything over 20 yards, but with my 53-62lb recurves I can be just as deadly out to about 28-30 yards on deer sized game.
That's with carbon arrows, put wooden arrows into the equation and I lose another 5 yards for each weapon, mostly because I don't know how to make wood arrows properly
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If one has really heavy arrows and is gambling a long shot, should one hit higher up on a deer because of the steepness of the arrow as it comes down like when shooting down from a high tree stand? This past year I watched a manly man (who brags to guys his own age how tough he is, but then went and got the doctors pass so he can hunt with a cross bow,) lobbing arrows from the woods to about 150 out in a field. I was surprised how parabolic his arrow flight was, as in his arrows were coming down pretty steep. He took three shots at various positions. The closest came in about 20 yards short. Maybe he saw that pheasant, a week or so earlier, commit suicide on my arrow. I completely missed, probably by two feet to the right, but pheasant made a mistake. It is one thing to take a shot over point on at a pheasant or a rabbit, it is a completely different thing with deer.