Gettin close to opening day and pretty much all day I catch myself day dreaming about being out in the woods. So in the spirit of opening day approaching,what is the longest shot you guys have killed a big game animal? And maybe a little story about the hunt.
Mine was only 27 yards, I was in a groundblind i made out of sticks and logs on the side of a hill with a deer path 20 yards below me. Two does and three fawns came up the trail towards my blind and they all around 15 yards but couldnt get a clean shot on one of the does cause they were huddled together. Finally one of the does wanders away from the group and stands broadside, I put the arrow right behind the shoulder center punching the heart. Normally I dont take shots that far out (like to keep it under 20) but I guess I was in predator mode and everything just felt perfect when I dropped the string.
This thread isnt to start anything about ethics, just peoples different experinces. :archer:
With a traditional bow...13 yards :D :D ...I've only killed one deer and one turkey...so far :archer:
David
I've shot alot of deer--most inside of 15 yards. Twenty two yards was my longest. I've shot several pigs at 30 yds.
With trad gear 8' from my tree. I've only killed one with trad gear. I did hit a nice buck at 14 yards but it was never recovered. I'm convinced he lived. Pat
I center-punched a gray squirrel at 48 paces one time--oh, you said big game...but it was a big squirrel. :bigsmyl:
I got a 6X5 bull elk in 2002 with a 23 yard shot to the liver as it walked by. I was so excited I forgot to make him stop, but I followed him up an hour later after he only went 100 yards.
last year I took my first deer on the ground with long bow, it was 30 yards.Under 20 is my norm. Will I take another 30 yards shot? Maybe, not now any time soon.
My limit is about 25 yards. I prefer 12 to 15 yards. I doubt I would take another shot at 8'. Straight down is not a good shot angle and it is a difficult shot. Pat
47 yards on a fork-horn buck standing broadside feeding. The buck took 20 steps after the shot and keeled over dead. All this after a 3 hour stalk.
Brett
Longest so far is 17 yards on a javalina.
118 yards on a coyote, witnessed, hail mary should have been at the counter buying lottery tickets type of shot. 65 yards on a whitetail that I misjudged the distance on by about twice + a little. I was in a tree, he was downhill in a cutblock across a small wash. The wash was way wider than I gave credit for due to its makeup, steep bank on one side, shallow on the other. The instinctive part kicked in and I was dragging a deer home luckily. I remember thinking that the arrow is taking a long time to cross the 25-30 yards I figured it was. Trotting Caribou at about 45 yards that was to be a practice draw and swing as more caribou were coming, next thing I was locked in on a patch behind his leg and the arrow is arcing into his ribs. He went about 100 yards. I don't estimate yardage for shot making, just to identify my comfort zone if that makes sense. If I draw and it doesn't click, I let down and wait. Most of the other animals have been inside 15 yards which is way better.
Terry
I was walking through a pine thicket last year and shot a button buck in an opening at around 35yds.
First deer I shot was 22 yards with a recurve , missed it the first shot at 10 yards and it came back so i got to redeem myself on that one . After that first deer all of my kills have been 12 to 17 yards .
Mike
My most recent trad kill data :
2005 Whitetail Buck 10 yards shot, heart shot, 40 yards recovery
2006 Black bear 12 yards shot, heart shot, 20 yards recovery
2006 Bull Elk 43 yards shot, heart shot, 80 yards recovery
2006 Whitetail Buck 18 yards shot, double lung, 100 yards recovery
2008 Jackrabbit 30 yards shot, gut shot, pinned to ground, 1yard recovery (shot under him clean miss first shot)
2008 Hog 40 yards shot, heart shot, 10 ft recovery
2008 Black bear 25 yards shot, heart shot, 15 yard recovery
Most other shots prior years are under 20 yards.
Deer 35, elk 55. After missing him closer.
Took my first whitetail around 30 yards. I had been sitting between trail A and B but betting on activity on A. Of course, a couple came down B and I had no shot. Figuring there were more to come, I moved to a spot where I could cover B better (standing next to a tree).
At that point a mature doe led her troup down A. Whatever - I took a shot longer than I probably should have but ended up with a freezer full of good venison. That's her in my avatar.
:-D
I shot alot of animals around 40. I like shooting a little far at a calm animal then close at a jumpy one.
32 yards, whitetail buck. most opportunities are under 20 though
happened very fast. turned saw buck moving through opening and before i knew it the arrow was in his chest. very instinctive but effective
My longest shot at big game that I made was 28 yards on a running whitetail doe! I have know idea why I swung up and shot after she started running (kinda went into autopilot) but it worked out very well. Average shot distance is around 16 yards for everything else that is big. Now gophers and prairie dogs are a different story. I have shot at and hit many of them at 40-60 yards! Joseph
I have taken 6 shots over 30 with the longest at 35yds over the last 30 years.I ate all 6 animals.:)5 were after switching to longbows and recurves and the first was in the 20 years I hunted with wheel bows.
I have shot a deer and he was about 19 yards away and i hit both lungs and he only went 30 to 40 yard be for hr crash and died.
I have seen studies by bow clubs that record kill distances and recovery distances. They show the closer the shot; the shorter the recovery.
I personally think that study is flawed.The farther the shot the less reaction the animal has from the noise of the bow and is less likely to pick up on movement from the archer dureing and after the shot.I know my farthest blood trails are always on a close to the tree shot where the deer is alerted from sound above his head.jmho
31 yards, the buck was the largest bodied deer I have ever shot. Rattled him in from the ground. He came in bristled up and walking like a pitbull. Thought he was going to finish me off at one point! Shot him with a Groves Spitfire T/D recurve with a sight and peep-site. I was just coming off that other equipment :thumbsup: I thought I missed because he disappeared. Hit him high shoulder, deflected up and severed his spine. Dropped right there. Most are 12-15 yards though, some at 4.
4ft cotton mouth snake, 8 yards in the head, i know its not big game, but its all i have under my belt this year will be my second season.
141 steps.....
Back in the early 70's we were camped in a woodlot on my GrandDad's farm.
Next to the woodlot was a fresh mown hayfield.....in the middle of the hayfield was a woodchuck den,complete with main entrance,2nd entrance,and 3 or 4 "peek-holes".....On the other side of the hayfield was a pasture field with many small trees and scrub bushes.
I had a 50# Bear Alaskan and a bunch of cedar arrows with field points and I spent the better part of a day picking a tree or bush in the pasrure and seeing how close I could get to the woodchuck den. There was one small thornapple tree,that if I drew back and put the tip of my field point on it,I could drop the arrow about 3-4 feet from the main hole.
The next morning,my cousin came down for breakfast.....
After we ate,we walked out to the edge of the hayfield and we both saw the woodchuck about the same time. The conversation went like this.....
Cousin, "Hey look,there's a woodchuck"
Me, "I'm gonna go get my bow and shoot it"
Cousin, "You couldn't hit him with a .22, He's over 150 yards!!!!!"
I took my bow and nocked an arrow. Then I drew back,anchored,and placed the tip of my arrow on the little thornapple tree. The string slipped from my fingers.....The arrow flies through the air.....It starts to drop.....and then it hits.....PINNING THE WOODCHUCK TO THE GROUND. :archer:
All my shots have been under 18 yards except for one. 15 years ago, a five point running full speed in a cut corn field at 45 yards. It was more of a reaction than anything else, deer running, me drawing my Custom Kodiak Takedown and arrow in the air. It seemed like it took forever but when the arrow hit it was a perfect double lung. That's the only deer I have ever shot at over 18 yards and I did it without thinking.
44yards. Whitetail doe.
Longest on a deer was 22yds--closest was 10ft.Longest shot on a critter was about 37-38yds on a groundhog
I've made a few, and I have no problem with long shots on gophers and such. But on big game, I always view a long shot as a stalking failure, even when I kill the animal. Just my opinion. Don
:thumbsup: