I'm kinda curious about how many folks would be confident most of the time to shoot a BH tipped arrow at a game animal.Ya know the one where a life is at stake and it's your first cold shot in several hrs......

While many of us would love to have a 30+ yrd effective range the reality is probably most of us don,t.I'd hafta pass more times than not and I'm not that bad a shot.

So in reality would you take the shot most of the time or even half the time ??

Oh yea rack size isn,t supposed to matter I've passed on a 12+pt @ 10 yrds because I didn't see the shot I needed.

if its not within 20yds there is no way, too inaccurate any further out

Hey Tom,

Like you I consider myself a pretty decent shot with an effective range close to 50 yds.  However, when it comes to hunting I'm extremely conservative.  I absolutely will not shoot unless I am 100% sure of the shot.  Most of the time my hang-up has to do with the body language I'm observing at the time.  If there is any possibility that a deer will bolt, even if he is only 10 yds away....it's a no go for me.  On the other hand, I wouldn't hesitate to take a 50 yd shot at an undisturbed deer.  Cold or not.  My longest killing shot so far has been 47 yds!!!  The buck walked 10 yds and fell over dead.

Did I answer your question correctly???

Brett

Yes...I would...but it would have to be an ideal situation...just as all the shots I take at big game animals have to be. Whether it's 5yrds. or 40yrds. I have to feel confident in the situation and my abilities.

I much rather close the distance than take the 40yrds. shot but if the right shot presents itself and I feel that it might be the only opportunity I'll get...I'll take it!

Ray  

I have shot farther then 20 yards at 3ds, but personally, I would pass.. 20 yards is my "comfort level". The closer the better. If I'm not comfortable, then I will not shoot.. We owe it to the animals we hunt. Bad shots will unfortuntaly happen, we are only human. So I do whatever I can to make sure its "right" before I take a shot... Great thread  

Not really sure if I get what your askin? but if you mean would i shoot an animal I was hunting within my effective range and the correct shot presents itself even if i havent shot an arrow in a couple hours, then the answer is of course. Thats what I set out to do when i hit the woods with bow in hand

I would and have but NOT even close to half.

Very good call on that body language Brett       They can and will move at the shot if they already suspect somethings up.Body language tells a whole bunch.

My longest shot on a whitetail was 65yrds and he never moved till the arrow got there.In hindsite I was lucky and wouldn't do it at again at this stage of my life.It takes way to long for an arrow to travel that far.

So does that mean at least half the time it's a go??For me maybe 10-20% of the time at best.I just gotta know I'm gonna make it.....of course after ya let him walk ya almost always nail the leaf that was there at his feet HAHAHAHAHAHA

I personally prefer that yardage that gets joked about so often (17.3 LOL) Maybe I,m not that good a shot I guess even though my BH's fly darn good well beyond that 30yrd mark.I'll wait till I know and most of the time thats far less than 30yrds....thats my reality and I'm okay with that

I hardly consider range anymore. If I have an opportunity and I'm confident, I kill him. If there's any doubt in my mind or I have to think about it at all, I don't shoot.
Afterwards I may try to consider how far he was.

I practice out that far... If it "felt" right then sure I would in a perfect situation. No brush in the way, animal is calm and not moving.

If all was right I would shoot the animal.


JDS III

Swampbuck, What BH are you using? Wood, carbon, allunminum arrows?

"Not really sure if I get what your askin?"

Guess I was wondering how many of us actually HAVE an effective range that hits the 30yrds mark or more.I,m not talking those hot days when ya could shoot an arrow into the sky blindfolded and still hit the bull.

I see a fella wanting an effective range of 30yrds that hasn't been shooting that long.Sure that'd be great but in reality I personally think it's a lofty goal for a beginner and a hunter in particular.Sure it can be reached and why not try for it and more but the reality is that most of us won't be there for a long time if ever.

To shorten it up is your effective range,the range at which you'll conifdently shoot at game from most of the time out to 30+ yrds?

Most of the time mine is not.

The number of yards does not matter to me, Ive pased on 10 yard shots and taken 35 yard shots but i have to be 100% sure i can stick an arrow in the vitals before i will release the arrow on any given shot. For me each one is differant.

I'd take it under good conditions.

"Swampbuck, What BH are you using? Wood, carbon, allunminum arrows?"

Not sure what that has to do with one's effective range LOL If stand hunting I use a BH of my own creation so that I know where to look for it after it blows thru.From the ground at this time I'm shooting the big 2 blade magnus with 125 steel adaptors bot on carbon arrows.I've had good success with thunderheads,satalite titans,razorbacks and wasp heads.also used all 3 types of arrows at one time or another.

Maybe I shoulda asked how often "good conditions" happen LOL Even in the wide open and broadside part of "good conditions" has to do with how we feel about it at the time.

For myself "most" of the time it's to far.I suspect that for most it's to far most of the time but thats just a guess....not always just most of the time    :D

I'd rather take a 30yd shot than a 20yd....
30 yds is a favorite distance of mine....
   And the reason I Beaver hunt is what this post is all about....
   Being cold no warm up shots and you have to make a shot....Beaver huntin is the best practic for Hunting....
   Plus you add in darkness and moving targets....

Tom I do it almost every time I shoot an animal, I know what range I'm comfortable with and I know what shots I like. I will wait for the right shot and when it comes i take it, I shoot as much as I can and even more during season, especially before I go out, most times I sit for many hours in the cold waiting for that shot, that is why I shoot lower poundage bows so when I'm cold and stiff I can still get her back. Made that mistake during my compound days when it was cold, it was a lesson I never forgot. So to answer your question if it's the right shot I take it.

No disrespect intended but the topic is "reality".
Being "100%" sure of a 50 yard shot or a 35 yard shot seems unrealistic. 99%, maybe. IMHO.
Brian  

I dont think in terms of yardage either. Every situation is different. What I do know is that every killing shot Ive made felt perfect. I know that feeling and I know the feelngs that led up to those shots. If I feel it I take it. If I dont feel it I dont take it.

Perhaps I'm just a tad too cautious LOL

I remember yr before last eyeballin a doe @ 30yrd(app)slightly quarting away with her vitals open perfecty between 2 large trees about 15 yrds out

First thought..."Man if you were foam I'd pound you"
I,m pretty dang sure I'd have made the shot and on foam it's not likely I'd have missed the kill zone....my go button didn't go off and she walked away

The plus side of being picky about shots is that if ya wait for just the right shot there's a good chance you'll hafta "hunt" longer to get it.I like the hunt more than the shot and contrary to what some think the hunt is over once ya commit to the shot...then it's shooting

LOL horatio thats funny.....There is no such thing in this game as 100% to many things can happen beyond our control

I spend way more time watching than shooting :0)