I know that you need to be as accurate as possible to hunt if for no other reason than to ensure a humane kill.  The question is how accurate is accurate?  Should you have a 3" group or be able to hit a paper plate?

George

Ive always been told the paper plate was good enough to hit the woods, but to me(especially to me since im new) ya need to shoot that 3 inch group to have that confidence.  Id always want to be as sure as possible.

are we talking 20 yards ...10 yards ?

somewhere between the 2 . I'm happy with 3 incches at 15yds anf 5-6 inch groups at 25

in my book ; that would definitely be "good enough" to go huntin'...I shot a nice 5x5 muley at four yards (my closest ever)..I think that was harder than a twenty yard shot...above timberline but in the willows...scared both of us equally , I think !!!

I shoot 3" groups at 15-20 yards most days.  I have shot the same at 30 yards but not consistantly enough for me to take that shot at an animal.  I shoot 4 or 5 arrows at a time and always seem to get one flyer that throws off the group.  Shooting at a target is sure different from shooting at an animal. I recently shot over the top of a deer and probably like all of us am second guessing my ability.

I think you can answer that your self and stay with in your set limits.I myself don't feel I should shoot beyond twenty yards, but some other person might shoot thirty yards.

Yea, I have never taken a shot at an animal beyond 20 yards.  If anyone cares I shoot a 54# Jim Belcher Patriot with SSR limbs with Cabela's extreme stalker carbon arrows with weight tubes brass inserts and Wensel Woodsmans 150 grain.  Total weight 600 grains.

Take the shots that you know you can make.  Every person is different.  One guy it might only be 15 yds max.  The next guy it might be 50yds.  If you are only cofindent in shots 20 yds and under than those are the shots you should take.  Lots of animals have been killed at 15 yds and under.  Set your own limits and stick to them.  Work on extending your range in the off season.  I'm sure you have heard this before but remember to pick a spot.  Seems simple but when taking a shot at an animal it seems to get forgotten.  Pick a hair, and put an arrow there.

QuoteOriginally posted by fedora:
I shoot 3" groups at 15-20 yards most days.  

A lot of people say this but if you shot an indoor 300 round indoors you would discover this isn't the case we tend to remember the good shots and blank out the fliers.

3" group at 20 yards would likely give max score and as nobody with Longbow or Trad Recuve has done this yet I would suggest most only remember the good shots, this is why I think the 300 round is a good test of not only accuracy but consistency, if you can shoot over 200 then you're doing good, 250+ is world class shooting form.

Forget the groups.  Shoot one arrow at various hunting distances and if you can hit within a few inches you should do OK.  Don't forget to shoot from a tree if that's how you hunt or a stool if from the ground.

hey if you can hit your target with confidence then you're good. PRACTICE AT LONGER DISTANCES THAN YOU ARE GOING OT HUNT!

At a certain distance I can just shoot them in there all day but add 5 yd. and it is all different.  I try to shoot at distances well past my hunting practice range.  I find that helps me more than just shooting a lot of arrows inside or on the edge of my max hunting range.  I don't personally think you have to be able to shoot groups or a certain target score to set your range.  I have never shot a 300 round and don't even know how many arrows that is.  I do know I don't shoot 50 arrows all well.  Hunting is not shooting a lot of arrows.  For me anyway, it is shooting just one very well.  Shoot your first arrow of the day at different distance and types of shoots.  The distance I put every arrow in 6" kill area is my max range.  I know under some hunting conditions I will not shoot as well as shooting targets, but 6" consistence should give me a little room for error.  I also try to be conservative on my hunting shot range, shot angle and other things that can effect shot quality.

I knew that this was not going to be a black and white answer.  I don't even know where or how I would shoot a 300 range? I have tried the first arrow of the day shooting and am good at 20 yards.  I tend to get less accurate the more I shoot.  Thanks for the imput.

QuoteOriginally posted by Pruneemac:
hey if you can hit your target with confidence then you're good. PRACTICE AT LONGER DISTANCES THAN YOU ARE GOING OT HUNT!

I have to agree with this.Train hard fight easy mindset.

I'm still relatively new to shooting trad,but from my own learning-

As for group size,I was taught the pie plate rule as well.IMO at ten yards a pie plate size group is terrible.You should be close to breaking nocks and slapping arrows together at 10 yards.

IMO,at 30 if you get them in maybe HALF a pie plate then I would probably feel good hunting to 20 yards.

This is all purely IMO,as that is what would be MY standards for MYSELF.You have to only take shots YOU are confident with.And in the end that will dictate your max distance for shooting at game.

George, a "300 round" is a shooting session that's worth up to 300 points.  That's 10 ends, 3 arrows each end at 18m/20yd.  No one I know can see, let alone hit, gold at 300m.      

I've also heard that being able to hit a paper plate consistently is hunting-worthy.  NAA or FITA competitions are another beast entirely.

I agree that you practice long distance hunt short but don't forget to practice those short shots, 15 yards from a tree stand is only a 10 yard shot. I learnt the hard way at a 3d shoot last year had an almost perfect round until i missed a short shot.
But above all confidence that you will hit.

Being able to shoot tight groups on the range, is good thing to be able to do, but often,very often, does not translate into a GROUP of ONE in the kill zone ,of a LIVE animal under hunting conditions.  If you really want to get serious about increasing your skill at taking game-- practice by hunting squirrels. With squirrels you either kill em or miss em, so you need not be concerned about wounding them. Its a whole different deal, to draw and shoot accurately when you know the target has the ability to see you and move before you get the shot off.  Targets, i.e. 3D, are not so good at seeing you draw, and then running off.--You may have noticed this. There is nothing that can substitute for live targets for hunting prep.  Squirrels, are wiley, plentiful, and fine table fare.  I prep. for every deer season w/ at least 50 hrs. of squirrel hunting.  This will make most deer shots,seem like lay-ups.

I totally agree with Chuck Hoopes (from experience) the ability to be accurate shooting static targets does not translate to being accurate in hunting. I hunted deer for years with a compound, I always got the adrenaline rush but I still had no problem putting the proper pin on the deer and making the shot, so when I got into shooting the stick bow, after I had become pretty good on straw bales at various distances... I was ready to hit the woods to put some deer in the freezer, then came the reality check. After 3 clean misses and 3 wounded deer (unrecovered) all at distances of less than 20 yards I had to rethink things. It all comes down to this, picking a spot & focusing on a target is very different than doing it with a live animal, especially big game. You have to start with smaller game & train yourself pick a spot, focus, execute the shot in a small amount of time all the while maintaining control over the adrenaline that seeks to break your focus. I think that pretty well covers it    

Me thinks if you are hitting where you are aiming at release; you are doing well enough.

I had a bad case of target panic; and it still rears its ugly head once and a while. When I am shooting at a target; I know if I pull a little to the left or right; or a lot to the left or right.

As long as where the arrow goes is not a shock to me; and I can hit perfectly when I know I am shooting perfectly - I believe I am shooting good enough.

Some days are diamond; some days are stone. Some days your arrow flies right on with perfection; and other days - well nothing surprises me anymore.

The big thing about hunting game is knowing when to either let off- and not shoot when your locked in off target; or to 'pull' the shot and miss by a mile.

To me recognizing that a shot will be good before release is more important than a tight group at a target.

This spring I drew back half a dozen times on bears and let off; because I didn't feel right about the shot. Another time I pulled the shot- because I didn't feel 'locked in'. I missed three feet high- but that was OK; I prefer that to a bad hit.

I try to make my shots effortless; and if I take an animal with an effortless; smooth reaction to the shot opportunity; it sure seems worth it.

But I sure do a lot of practicing; and have shot my bows surely tens of thousands of times over the fifty years of shooting. So when I say 'effortlessly' - I kind of skip over that part ...