This isn't meant to turn into a chest-beating competition, but how far out do you feel you can take high percentage shots at game (deer-sized)?
I haven't shot a traditional bow enough to get proficient at it. I'm just wondering, once I do, what my distance limitations may be.
Coming from compounds and extensive 3D shooting, I was very comfortable taking open shots out to 50 yards. Obviously, that isn't going to happen with traditional gear.
Here in Alabama, unless you're hunting on a planted field, most shots are 20 yards or less anyway because of how thick the woods are. I was just curious.
high percentage 10-15 yards 20 if i feel good about it
very high percentage 10 - 15 yards....if ALL is right I will take a 20 yard shot........
I'd say in anyone of the western states.
QuoteOriginally posted by snag:
I'd say in anyone of the western states.
:biglaugh: :biglaugh:
That was funny right there. I don't care who you are.
Back to the question: about 18 - 20 yards for me.
IF I CAN, I like to set up for a 15-18 yard shot. I like that range because of the angle to the vitals I have hunting from a treestand about 18-20' up. Closer than 10 yards and the angle is getting steep and hence the vitals smaller, longer than that and the deer needs to be very relaxed for me to shoot. Having said that, I'd take a 20-25 yard shot without hesitation on a calm deer.
BTW, it may be just me, but I DON'T like a deer getting between 10 and 15 yards of me if I can help it .... too many things go wrong in that range. If he is in this range I will let him either get closer or further if I have a chance WITHOUT MOVING A MUSCLE. I won't even look at a deer in this range except for a vary quick glance. Closer than 10 yards and I feel more comfortable that they will not see me in the tree (but it's a worst angle). IMO that 10-15 yard range has cost a lot of people a lot of deer.
My outside edge that I feel I can hit a deer with near 100% confidence would be about 30 yards, but I doubt I'd test it unless it was the last option.
About 15-20 yards is always a nice for me on deer sized game.
Im pretty deadly at 5. Longest so far has been about 7.
X2 on 15 - 20 yards
My effective kill shot range is 20 yards and under. I keep a log and for the last ten years, all of my kill shots have been between 12-17 yards.
20 and under is ideal...in the real world. 3D I'm pretty comfortable out to 30-35 yards but I would not take a shot on any of GOD's critter's that I wasn't pretty certain of!
Jason
10. I feel ok out to 20, but inside 10 is much better.
25 yds max on a calm deer and the situation is perfect.
I'd say 95% of my shots on animals are 15yds or less. I won't hesitate to take a shot a bit longer (say out to 30yds) on a big critter like an elk. It all has to feel "right". I have taken a few shots well over 20 because everything felt right but also have passed a couple well under 15 because something did not feel right.
Bisch
3 to 27 yds so far depends on the situation perfect for me around 10 to 15 yds!
In a hunting situation i hav'nt needed to shoot more than about 18yds in the last 25+ years of hunting. Practice on the other hand, anything goes :D
Steve
I prefer 15yds. but I will go to 20 maybe 25 if everything is perfect. I dont need the meat to survive so I dont mind letting a few walk away
20 yards currently, a preference for 15. I'm going to work on getting comfortable out to 25 to 30 yards this summer for caribou in the fall.
I don't think I'd take a long shot on a deer even if I get that comfortable though - smaller target and a jumpier animal.
Usually about 15 yards is the distance that I have taken Deer at;however, I feel quite comforetable at 25 yards. I shot a turkey at 35 yards but some how it seemed closer. Would not have shot at it if I knew that it was 35Yards. I measured it after the shot. It was my first turkey with a bow and I was amazed how well the two blade zwickey did the trick.
15 to 20 yards, out to 25 if everything is just right,calm deer,quartering away, etc.
I like 15-18 yds at this distance in most cases for me this is a slam dunk.also correct angle.when they are close my confidance level goes up I will not shoot out of my comfort range to do so would be selfish.this is a game of gettin close.you have to be honest about your ability when taking the life of an animal.
Here's the actual yards of my bowkills taken from my notes. When you average them out you can see it's about 17 yds. but when I first started it was shoot...period. The later years it all came down to comfort and confidence.
35 - 1969
75
6
8
45
6
27
3
25
15
15
9
20
14
14
35
12
12
14
25
19
14
16
23
4
9
14
12
12
10
18
9
11
20
10
4
13
15
17
28 - 2011
average 17 yds.
right now about 10 yards. by mid summer 20 yards.
Depends on my Testosterone level
All on the animals behavior. Although i'm accurate out to 40 yards, I'd never shoot at that distance. (Not that no one should, this is my own choice...not looking for trouble here) Too great a chance the animal will move after the arrow is released. I love those 12 to 20 yard setups, which is easy to set up for around here. Plenty of cover.
But even at 20...a very alert deer who is really skittish....I'm not taking a 20 yard shot at it. Unless I'm really hungry. :bigsmyl:
QuoteOriginally posted by snag:
I'd say in anyone of the western states.
:laughing:
Yeah, that's funny. They say you have to be prepared to stretch your arrows on mule deer, but I've killed some and never had to shoot more than 20 yards. I'd take a 25 yard shot if everything was perfect but I've never seen that kind of perfect yet. I practice every day out to 45 (and it's not pretty but it makes me laugh), and I'll shoot at a grouse or quail to 30 (maybe) figuring its either a kill or miss. And just to throw in I've missed every elk I've ever shot at and two of them were so close I had to violate the laws of trigonometry in order to miss.
17.3 yards.
They say elk will do that to a man Paddy.
I guess its something less than 7 yds, thats how far the shot I missed last year elk hunting was.
10 to 15 yards is my comfortable range
about 18 yards
A suggestion based on some very good firearms training I recieved thoughout my career - do a couple brisk laps around the house, set of pushups, etc. anything to get the heart racing. This will simulate andrenaline dump and then target shoot. Our effective range under calm conditions is often quite different than under the knee knocking influence of adrenaline. Good practice & good hunting! Todd
150-250 yards no problem. :rolleyes: 18 to 20 maybe. Try to get them as close as posible.
i'm a living god up to 6 yards
:laughing: :laughing: :laughing:
I used to try to get as close as possible to every deer I stalked..Then..as the years went by..I got more and more accurate at longer ranges..better at stalking..and found..my sweet spot at 30-35 yards..I've killed them further...much further..but much prefer them closer in some...I want to get close..and have killed several at 20 yards and under..but..my best range is still 30-35 yards..The deer aren't as wary..the sounds aren't as loud..since they can't hear my heart trying to jump out of my chest...
Mac
15-20 yards, average shot under 10 yards.
20 or under. Prefer 15 or less.
I have a rule of inside 20 yards for comfortzone but train regulary out to 60 yards for follow up shots if I need it. But inside 20 I fell comfortable.
20 yards or under.
18 to 22 for me
35 and in for me, but most of the deer Ive taken have been inside 25
I won't take a shot over 30.
Nothing over 20 and I can usually stalk closer.
I set up in my area where a 20 yard shot is very rare. All my shooting is 15 and under.
Surprises me they get that close as loud as my heart is banging.
After 18 yards things can go south pretty quick for me
Between 6 and 10 feet , I don't miss a lot.
God bless you all, Steve
I am very comfortable within 17 yards...past that and I start to doubt myself, so I keep my shots within that. Even in my wheelie days I still kept the shots short.
Funny you should mention that Steve! Made me think back to a 3-D shoot where we shared the coruse with the compounders. The full strut turkey was just off the creek bank at about 5 feet. That shot gave the compounders fits because they didn't have a pin set that close!! They had no idea how to aim that close. Heck some of them could almost touch the 12 ring with their stabilizers but they still couldn't hit the kill!! The trad guys got plenty of grins out of that one! Mike
I feel good out to 20yds but the closer the better!
Up to 20 yards
Mainly 10 to 15 yards. Will make a 20 yard shot if I fell good about it.
The trick with me is to just not think about it and make the shot. Most times when I have done that the sixth sense kicks in and everthing goes great. The worst I have ever done was in second guessing myself and talking myself into missing. In my older age I have pretty much learned to not do that but just take the shot.
Shooting a stick bow I never think about distance. I put the bow up burn a hole in a spot and shoot it.
God bless you all, Steve
QuoteOriginally posted by Sixby:
Shooting a stick bow I never think about distance. I put the bow up burn a hole in a spot and shoot it.
^^this ;)
20 and less for me
I only take slam dunk shots on game. I know my accurate range is out to 25 yards on 3D targets, but I severly restrict myself in the field.I haven't missed a deer in years....coincidently I haven't taken a shot beyond 12 yards in years.
Originally posted by Sixby:
Shooting a stick bow I never think about distance. I put the bow up burn a hole in a spot and shoot it.
X3
I never think in terms of how many yds. even when practicing. So I guess my effective hunting range is when the deer is out there far enough to make a move forward before the arrow will get to it.
Using the bow I'm shooting now, that would probably be right at 25yds.
Surveys by record keeping organizations indicate that recurve kill shots average 14 yards. Compound kills are only 3-4 yards further on average.
I practice at 30 yards but keep my hunting shots at 20 yards or less (give or take a tad). Last three kills; 21, 16, and 8 yards.
My favorite distance is 13 yards -- the distance I practice all winter and on bad-weather days on my downstairs range. Inside 10 yards makes very nervous that my breath molecules will slam into one another and the deer will hear it!
Thanks for all the replies, fellas. I've been reading them the past couple of days and it appears that 20 yards is about the limit for the average traditional shooter. That's a little shorter than I expected but not shocking.
I like 20 yards or less......I have made shots out to 30 but everything has to be PERFECT....calm animal, wide open shot..etc
I'm usually covered in ticks and blood when I take shots 10-18 yards. 18-25 is a mixed bag. For some reason (PANIC) I've lost several large boars that I've hit at under 5 yards. Go figure.
15 to 17 is pretty sure for me. Anything farther is just a Potshot or a Hail Mary.
I echo get as close as you can and burn a hole and don't think about anything else, but my dead nutz zone is probably between 10-25 yds. I've taken shots further, but only when not thinking about the shot cause everything was right. Only pacing it out after did I realize how far it was. Still the longest shot I can remember taking was at a squirrel in my youth, paced out to 38-39yds. As a rule, I never think about yardage before I release, only after, I like to keep track for my personal knowledge. J
I practice almost exclusively from 17 to about 45 yards. My sweet spot in my back yard is about 20-25 yards. The very bad thing is that I shoot better groups at 20 yards than at 10. Must be a focus/sight window thing, I guess. So I've decided to practice more the 5-20 yard shots.
I would be very comfortable shooting out to about 25 yards in a hunting situation. In a situation where any hit would be a kill (birds, rabbits, gophers) I would take much longer shots. I killed a gopher at 28 yards once!
Properly assessing and acknowledging the situation including the animals behavior and my own immediate confidence commonly varies that effective range significantly.
Range is but one variable in taking a shot.
I like 20 and under, but I took a whitetail doe once at 37 or so that seemed a lot closer.
Under twenty, preferably under fifteen. Perfect conditions though I would probably take a shot at twenty five. No further for me unless it's a follow us shot on an already hit deer.
With a fast stick bow I do not think range is a real factor if you are shooting good. 30 yards and under if you shoot good should be very doable. The rest is in the shooters self limitations due to confidence. I have killed some animals stupid close. One cow elk probably 4 ft. others at 30 yards but most between 20 and 30 yards. Right now I would drop my outside limit to under 20 because I have not had time to practice. But when I'm on I honestly do not think about distance unless the shot is over 30 yards.
God bless you all, Steve
What guys say and what they do? I say 20 and under but I have taken shots at 80 yards in a field. Hit a deer running a couple times, once in the hart at 45 yards. Luck or just being too confident and have missed lots. Sometimes under 10, I had already tasted the backstraps. We just learn to live with what we do.....
I'll do 20 yards,but prefer 20 feet if possible.
If I have been accurately shooting lots of arrows nearly every day and other factors are suitable, then 30 yards is generally not a problem (and maybe farther), but 20 yards and under is always better. When I have slacked off on practicing and my consistency and accuracy have suffered, then even 20 yards may be a challenge. If you practice enough, you will know your own limitations very well.
Allan
I only shoot a maximum of 50 lb draw weight. This also limits my effective kill range in addition to how well I can hit a target at any range.
I won't shoot at an animal beyond 30 yards although I practice beyond this at times. I prefer to shoot at under 20 but as many others have said, the conditions, the animals wariness, etc. all need to be right before I will shoot.
I feel very confident out to 35 yards. In getting ready for my Wyoming Muledeer hunt I've been practicing alot out at 60+ yards and feeling better about it all the time. Saying that by average shot so far is about 12 yards.
I'm good to 30 yards right now but I set up my stands for shots for under 20 yards.
When I was 17 years old (1971) I tried a shot and missed over the shoulder at 60 yards. I learned a lesson that day. I haven't taken a shot at game with any type of archery equipment past 33 yards since then.
The worst thing I ever heard come out of a bowhunters mouth was in those first couple of years I bowhunted. A veteran bowhunter came into camp with an empty quiver. He launched and missed with all his arrows at deer across a gulley, closer to 90 yards than 50. When I asked him why, he replied, "If no arrows are flying nothing is dying." Even at 17 years old I knew that was wrong.
I even remember the fellow's nick name (PC), even though I saw him only that one time. I imagine he's long buried since.
the following was in one of the bow hunting magazines some time back.
shooting a hunting arrow at 165 feet per second:
1. at 10 yards with a deer looking at you when you shoot, the deer can "duck" 3 inches. if that same deer is not looking at you when you shoot, it can still "duck" 2 inches.
2. at 15 yards the comparable "ducking" numbers are 8 inches and 6 inches.
i believe i read that a deer's reaction time is at least 3 times faster than a human's reaction time.
bill
35 yards
QuoteOriginally posted by michigan bill:
the following was in one of the bow hunting magazines some time back.
shooting a hunting arrow at 165 feet per second:
1. at 10 yards with a deer looking at you when you shoot, the deer can "duck" 3 inches. if that same deer is not looking at you when you shoot, it can still "duck" 2 inches.
2. at 15 yards the comparable "ducking" numbers are 8 inches and 6 inches.
i believe i read that a deer's reaction time is at least 3 times faster than a human's reaction time.
bill
Yes, they can "jump the string" even on the fastest compound bows. That's where the quietness of traditional gear has an advantage, I would imagine. I've actually noticed more of a tendency for deer to do this at CLOSE range because the sudden sound of the bow close to them is more startling than a sound a little farther off. But, from my compound days, I've seen that the quieter the bow, the less likely they are to jump the string, and speed of the bow didn't help or hurt any noticeable amount.
In my experience quiet wins every time. Back in the two years of my target shooting with wheels and heavy a compound hunting bow, I learned how fast deer can be. I had a nice buck on the tail of a hot doe. It was standing by my 45 yard marker, very helpful for those that used sights, a simple shot that I had practiced many times. He was looking at the doe when I released.
I got a glimpse of the arrow level with the deer's back.
With that bow and with the rather heavy arrow I was shooting my target experience would drop that arrow right on the mark and the arrow had less than half its distance to go. that is also when the buck turned and looked and jumped the string.
What got me was not so much that he beat the arrow, but how he beat it. He did not duck, he did an about face and bolted which left the arrow passing under his tail with the arrow still at the perfect elevation and this with an 85 pound compound that shot way over 200 fps.
After he left, I looked at my color matched stake to my bow sight pin wondering if I could have been seeing things. I took another broadhead out took a casual aim at that orange stake and split it right where I painted it orange. That was the last day I shot a compound. I killed my buck that year with a Bear takedown with 55 pound limbs that Fred Bear autographed.
20 yards or under its dead. More "perfect" conditions and out to 30, but I am not sure I'd take that shot most of the time.
Joshua
I would say 40yrds max.90% of all my harvests have been less than 20yrds.
great info to read, and interesting too.
For me its always "close enough" or "too far"
Almost all have been well within 20 yards. However, three years ago I had a bull come in real hard, just screaming, my adrenaline was responding likewise, and stop perfect broadside in a perfect shooting lane. He got shot. To my astonshment it was 44 yards. I had no idea at the time though, had I known I probably wouldn't have let her rip. It all felt right and my confidence was 100%...
Snag, that was funny. it seems we might have some overlapping territory, they say things like that can only be settled one of two ways...maybe that was why I had to leave oregon.
Thinking about the string jumping tendancies of whitetails, I just won't shoot at all if they have already busted me. Now, they are always alert and semi-nervous, but that's not the same as staring at you and stamping a hoof. If they are relativly relaxed, I'll shoot out to 20ish(?). It has to feel right and fall under that "I can make this" category. The majority of my shots are 10 to 15 probably. Maybe some less.
QuoteOriginally posted by Sixby:
The trick with me is to just not think about it and make the shot. Most times when I have done that the sixth sense kicks in and everthing goes great. The worst I have ever done was in second guessing myself and talking myself into missing. In my older age I have pretty much learned to not do that but just take the shot.
Shooting a stick bow I never think about distance. I put the bow up burn a hole in a spot and shoot it.
God bless you all, Steve
yup! :thumbsup:
The situation will make shot selections different but having said that I like 20yds or less and less is better!! I think I have only killed a couple of deer at say 22yds and the rest closer!! :thumbsup: :archer2:
Aspire to extend my effective hunting range by a five yard average..... Believe turkeys have been employing range finders and have me locked in at that 15 yard mark. Deer sized critters must also be utilizing range finders and have me pegged at a frog hair beyond 20 yards.
Refining my hunting skills and tactics would likely manifest a prevalent harvest, thus alleviating the desire to extend my effective hunting range.
20-30 but try to get close as posible.
5-15 yds.
90% of my shots at game is around 15 yards or less. My longest was a buck mule deer during the gun season at 27 yards.
I would rather sneek close than shoot long.
17.5 :bigsmyl: