I'm curious how some of you guys determine your shot range. What determines too far for you?
My personal limit is 25 steps with trad gear. You have to get an "eye" for when your arrow starts to drop. Effective range for trad gear is normally around 20-30 steps/yards. Any further than that is just guesstimation.
I practice almost every day thru the season and if my shooting is spot on and I feel confident then I'm good out to 30 yards if my practicing is spot on at 30. If my shooting is shady at 25 yars I stay under 20 where I'mconfident and spot on.
I rarely actually shoot at animals farther than 20 tthough as 10-18 is my always preferred zone.
QuoteOriginally posted by Douglas Martin:
I'm curious how some of you guys determine your shot range. What determines too far for you?
Practice, Practice, Practice... I shoot at different ranges everyday and sometimes I'm spot on and other times I'm not.
I have taken deer out to 30 yards, but I like them under 20 the best.
I shoot all different ranges like most. My hunting distance (with few exceptions) is out to 25 yards. I practice from 10 to 45 /50 yards. With my Sunset hill, I can routinely hit the vitals of my deer target at 50 yards, and it still hits with authority. However, even if my shot is accurate, I am not comfortable taking that shot as I do not know if the target ( deer) will move while the arrow is on its way. In this way, I could shoot true but still have a "poor" shot. Therefore, I do my best to limit my hunting shots to 25 yards.
Bob.
My usual distance I do most of my shooting from during almost daily practice is around 25 to 30yds.
However, I noticed something yesterday while in the woods looking a spot over for a good tree to climb. I always want a tree that's located about 10 to 15yds from where I expect the shot and the weird thing is, in the real setups anything farther than that seems like it would be a long shot. But when practicing, a 20yd shot looks like a chip shot to me. I don't quite understand why that is, but it came clear to me yesterday for some reason.
20 yards is my max. I've gotten pretty good eyeballing it and being able to determine if the shot is in range or not. That's one the great benefits of shooting instinctively, doesn't matter how far it is as long as it's in your comfort zone.
I prefer 20 paces or less but would possibly shoot out to 30 if it felt right. It all depends on if the shoot feels right for me. Last year I passed on a doe at about 12 paces because it did not feel right.
I don't like them inside of 15 yards but to answer your question, If I know I can make the shot, it's on the way. Any doubt I pass. In fact I passed a nice buck last year at about 15 yards. I needed to slide the arrow through an hole of about 6". 99% of the time no problem but I had been spraying arrows all week. I took a doe 2 years ago at 40.
I figure the range out after I make the shot or pass on it.
I am the same way as Trumpkin. If the green light is on, the green light is on...
If not, then I pass on the shot. It is instinctual with little concious thought about whether to take the shot or not.
I've had 20 yard shots at game that felt like chip shots and loosed the arrow, and the next time in a different stand location, the same exact shot in a different environment felt too long to shoot.
effective range is 30 to 32 on my target range. But 30 yards in the woods is a lot longer than 30 yards in your back yard if you know what I mean.
It depends on how i'm shooting. With my palmer I am good on the pratice range to 30 - 35 yards so I will hunt up to 25 yards. I just started shooting my predator recurve and i'm only good to 25 yards so i will hunt at 20 yards. I'd say 90% of my stands are set up for under 20 yard shooting anyway.
I'm glad to hear that some of you that practice a lot can still spray them on some days. I have been working at it for a few years and feel that I have gotten reasonable good - very comfortable out to 20-22 yards. For several weeks this summer, I could stack them right in there (4-5 arrows, fletches touching or nearly touching each other) then one day I'm only putting 3 out of 5 in a pie plate. Two days later, I'm back to where I was. I can't really account for it.
I used to use a range finder when I practiced to get a feel for what yarddage 'feels right'. When you get that mental picture for yardage, you can determine how far is right, and where you should pass.
same deal as others.. its just a muscle memory type deal, to me a shot is either close, average or far..LOL i have always sucked at range estimation and never really think about it. Just try to shoot basicly the same set up alot and it will be like throwing a baseball in that you dont guess range you just chunk it and it magically hits where you want it to...
Where I hunt in the national forests of California, it is far too thick to usually get off a shot further than 20-25 yards, so range is usually a moot point for me anyway.
I kinda just play it by eye. I normally won't shoot over 20 but I feel confident further out to about 30.
The way you shoot scooter, better keep it to 5 yards and under :smileystooges:
While watching a deer they cross some line in my head that says "NOW"! I very seldom practice at normal hunting ranges with a couple of shots at most. 95% of my practicing is done at 30 yards and further however my deer kills show that over nearly 50 years of hunting my average shot is 18 yds. I guess you just develop that instinct over years of hunting and shooting.
I religiously practice out to 40 yds on a daily basis. Roving and stumpshooting at any target at unknown distances will sharpen your skills on how to judge distances.
In my backyard I'll pick anything out on the lawn..a leaf, sunspot, worn out patch of grass, a root etc...how far? Don't know...don't care. I shoot my hunting bows with the arrows I'll be bow hunting with. So I know exactly where to aim and if I miss...my split vision method allows me to make my adjustments.
You need to learn how to judge distances, it takes time and practice. Then knowing your bowhunting setup when shooting at those distances whether it's close or far. If you can become fairly proficient at longer distances (not saying your going to shoot that far at deer), that concentration should carry over to those shots that are within your "Effective Shooting Range".
I religiously practice out to 40 yds on a daily basis. Roving and stumpshooting at any target at unknown distances will sharpen your skills on how to judge distances.
In my backyard I'll pick anything out on the lawn..a leaf, sunspot, worn out patch of grass, a root etc...how far? Don't know...don't care. I shoot my hunting bows with the arrows I'll be bow hunting with. So I know exactly where to aim and if I miss...my split vision method allows me to make my adjustments.
You need to learn how to judge distances, it takes time and practice. Then knowing your bowhunting setup when shooting at those distances whether it's close or far. If you can become fairly proficient at longer distances (not saying your going to shoot that far at deer), that concentration should carry over to those shots that are within your "Effective Shooting Range".
Some good points, Joe. Whenever I start struggling with accuracy, I take a few steps back and keep going until I start shooting well again. Being able to shoot further away really helps with the near shot.
A technique my father taught me after missing quite a few dear is to take a look at something else briefly before firing at the deer. A good example is to look at the base of a tree. Your mind knows what a tree is supposed to look like, whereas deer can be of all sizes. This technique especially helps with uphill and downhill shots. There just something about a fixed object that puts everything into perspective.
I returned to curves in 2010. That year I felt very confident to 20 yards -- killed at 21 and 16 yards that year.
Same confidence in 2011... one at 8 yards. In 2012 I didn't feel as confident at 20 so I restricted my shots to 15 and under...2 at 8 yards.
This year I practiced all summer out to 40 yards to extend my effective range to 30 yards. It worked. (I had a much bigger animal in mind but that hunt was cancelled 5 days ago.) However, I have no intention of shooting at white-tail deer past 25 yards. This morning I killed a doe at 15 yards.
Confident for me means 5-6 arrow groups that are 6" or less. I will accept one flier (outside this group)per 2 ends.
Now that I'm hunting with curves all my stand set-ups provide shots inside of 15 yards. Of course not all shot decisions are based soley upon distance. But, I won't shoot at a distance while hunting that hasn't been proven in practice.
I read on here once the proper way to determine your max yardage is to place a kill zone size target on the grill of your wifes vehicle. Then back up until you feel uncomfortable. :D
I try to stay inside of 25 yards. Usually I pace distance off to various landmarks around my stand. I used to set a green stake at 20 yards, a yellow one at 25 yards, and a red one at thirty yards. I did this on all sides of my stand and used this method for a long time, not just as a distance marker but also as a reminder to THINK about the shot before making it.
I like Joe Skips answer and my shooting mimics his.
For me, I practice out to 30 yards and shoot 3-D's when I can. My max. hunting yardage is 20 yards this year. When I began hunting traditional, my max yardage was 10 yards.
Hogs, as far as my bow will shoot :thumbsup:
Deer, 12-20yds, no closer and no further. I mark my range from each stand.
15 strides (my strides) is the limit
I try for 12
My stand is set up about 10 from the trail
So it should be a good shot.
For ground hunting I pace off a circle and make markers. This way I know if they are inside the circle Im good.
All the shots Ive missed Ive broken this rule, this year I not drawing till they are in the zone.
Thanks guys a lot of good answers I appreciate the input. Congrats on your kill this morning bowwild.
To me 20 yards paced off and 20 yards guessed are totally different. I always feel like animals are farther than they actually are. That usually puts game less than 20 yards when I shoot.
I practice out a lot farther with a lot of shots around 35-40. Some days I shoot better at 30 than 20. Hunting is not practice. A lot more can go wrong hunting. I like to keep it close with trad bows. For me most years about 20 max, and I like closer to 15 if not a little less. I guess I just like to keep bow hunting shots as close as possible. 90% of my kills with wheels were 25 and under because that was what I felt was the max ideal range for the lest to go wrong with me and what I was shooting at. Much of the time I could shoot a tennis ball 90% of the time at 60 yd, but that was not hunting conditions.
Trick I learned from Mark Baker-quit shooting groups. You (mostly) get one shot at an animal anyways, why practice shooting differently than you would in a hunting situation. 3D range I'm comfortable @ 22-25 yards. Haven't taken a shot @ an animal with my triad gear yet.
Your most proficient hunters will know their standard effective range and strive to hunt w/I that range. There may be wide significant variation in the effective ranges of proficient hunters.
An individual's own effective range may constantly be altered as circumstances and shooting opportunities unfold. Recognition and acknowledgment will go far in obtaining a successful harvest.