Only started shooting again a few months ago after being away for almost 20 years. Got my groups under 10 inches at 20 yds with the occational flyer. Not fantastic but good enough that I felt I had a high probability of a clean kill from my tree stands. I have 3/4 of a year to tighten up that group before next season. Should I be holding myself to a specific group size to dictate my hunting range? What size is everyone comfortable with?

I would say yes you should hold yourself to a specific group size. If I am in the vital area 4 out of 5 times I feel very comfortable, also I try to take no shots over 20 yrds. Shoot out to whatever yardage you are confident at though

Shot this one the other night.  25 yds in my basement.



No, I don't always shoot like this......  

It seems the rule of thumb for most trad shooters is the size of a pie plate.  Say around a 7" group.  At whatever distance you can hold your group to the size of a pie plate, this would be your range.

thats a BIG basement  

barn door.    LOL.

i'm as good as otto but at about 5m.

with good concentration i can group a saucer  with the occasional "otto" group + fliers out to 15m, which is my max so far.

great shooting otto, bet that group felt goooood!

Very nice group Otto. What kind of house has a 25 yd basement? I'm jealous of both.

With my Morrison ILF riser I can consistently put 5 arrows into a baseball sized group at 20 yards.  I've only had one other bow I shot that well with and it was a 62" RER takedown recurve.  I've got another RER but I'd have to put the Morrison down for a while to see if I can match it, and putting the Morrison down ain't easy.

I kinda hate to say this but It's been on my mind for a while now. I won a bunch of big 3D shoots this past summer and can stand out behind my barn or in my garage and bust nocks off my arrows. Ive also had a pretty good hunting season, one(my first trad) bear, 2 does, and 3 pigs. Even though I got all these animals I was not very satisfied with my shooting. All but two of the shots were about 4 inches left of where I was looking. I think I hurried the shots and did'nt get to full draw.( I shoot right handed). I think shooting a tight group is great, but what Ive been doing latley is this. When I get ready to leave for work in the morning I shoot one arrow at my target(15yds). I leave it. when I get home I shoot another. and so on. ONE COLD SHOT TWICE A DAY.It's alot differant than shooting 50 shots in a row and then shooting a group. I may be headed in the wrong direction, but I think not. Don

I agree with batman. Its the first shot that counts. Nothing wrong with shooting alot though. Its to much fun. I know a few great hunters who only shoot 3 arrows per day. I think stumpin helps alot if you ground hunt and if one hunts out of a tree stand it is better to practice out of a elevated platform some. I think repetitive shooting burns the mechanics into ones brain. As soon as my groups start to get wide I quit shooting.

i never shoot more than 2 arrows at a time, like batman i try to shoot one arrow pick it up go to a different position then shoot again.

Does it count if you shoot 1 arrow out of 10 different bows!lol

Here a some of the first arrows I put through my Bruin that I got this fall, at 25 yds.  I like to practice at 25-30 yrds, it makes 15 all that more easy.

My one shot groups are outstanding.  

FANTASTIC question but I don't trust everyone to be honest.

I'm working hard to keep my arrows in about a 5in (across) circle. I feel it represents a good heart/lung shot. Which is what you should be going for. I'd be lying if I said all of them were in it but most of them are. I shoot with that accuracy out to about 15-17 yds. Between  that and 23yds my groups open up a few more inches.

For hunting I only shoot below 17 yds because I feel even with a less than perfect shot my groups are still good enough for a vital shot. I do still occasionally experience a wild shot which is why I keep it so close.

I also agree with batman that is good advice.

Most of us can shoot very good groups,"SOMETIMES." The thing is that being human we tend to forget the fliers.It's the archer that is the most consistent that will bring home more animals and awards.

Here is a game a world class archer told me to try.Make yourself a circle on your target whatever size you want.Let's just say softball size.Start at 5 yards and shoot three arrows into your target.Don't move back any farther untill you can shoot 10 three arrow groups into the spot without a single arrow out.Then go to 10 yards and do the same thing.Then 15 and so forth.If at any time you miss even one arrow,start all over.See how long it takes you to get to 20 yards.Give it a try,it's a humbling experience.

A little more than a Pie plate at 20 with occaisional flyers.I try to stay around 15 or so if possible, been a tuff year,Jesse.

All 6 on my 10" blue target at 23 yards for a dozen or so groups, with the ocassional flyer as it got later in the day. Most were near one handed groups.

All 6 on it in the center ONCE at 35 yards (lucky).

It was a good day. Good enough to have scored an 8 or better on a 3/d target, or take home bambi's dad.

The Kid

i belive a good goal for hunting would be a base ball 5 arows at 10 13 17 20 22 yards, if i cant do that every other time im not comfy shooting criters.

I usually shoot 4-arrow groups & I'm satisfied if I can get a 3-4" group at 20yds & under/5" at 25yds & over.

This my first shot group today at 30yds (VERY happy with this one!)...