I was hoping to get some idea of what the current crop of folks here have taken in the way of long traditional archery shots.  In the old days I read about archers taking shots out to and past 40 yards all the time and I hear about compound shooters taking 70 yard shots and more.

I think everyone has the right to take the shot they feel they can make with no ridicule, so let's hear about your longest trad archery shot.

Under 20 yards.  I would push it to 25 yards but have never had a reason to using trad gear.

35 yards was the farthest. That was the only one, everything else is 20 yards and under.

1972 N. Dakota mule deer 65yards double lung 5 yard recovery. Shot a lot of NFAA rounds back then and that helped my long distance shooting.

65 yards running.

Wyoming antelope 1988. Never would have taken the shot had I thought about. When I released the arrow, there was nowhere in the world it could go but right in the pocket. Afterwards, my buddy paced it off. I was as stunned as he was.

QuoteOriginally posted by Biggie Hoffman:
65 yards running.

Wyoming antelope 1988. Never would have taken the shot had I thought about. When I released the arrow, there was nowhere in the world it could go but right in the pocket. Afterwards, my buddy paced it off. I was as stunned as he was.

 

HOLY CRAP!!  :eek:

Remember what Howard Hill wrote?  'One shouldn't take a shot longer than about 1 yard for every pound of bow weight.'  Maybe for someone with his skill that's true.  I hope that someday I'll have the skill to take long shots but have the sense not to.  Way too much to go wrong in the time it takes an arrow to fly 60 yards or even 40.  From personal experience, an elk can move a foot and a half in that time at 40 yards and that was only slow walking.

Pete,
I agree with you that a bowhunter shouldn't take a shot any longer then his/her skill allows for.  I watch a lot of bowhunting shows on TV and see a lot of bad hits at 20 yards and under by wheelie bow hunters, so I don't think it is a matter of range or tools.  The shot you can make is souly based on the skill you have developed through practice plus any level of God given talen you may have been given.

Let me qualify this by saying that my currently untested skill allows me to take shots of 15 yards or less.  Though I have a surprisingly good average on 3d's at 40 yards (my point on distance).

QuoteOriginally posted by Pete McMiller:
Remember what Howard Hill wrote?  'One shouldn't take a shot longer than about 1 yard for every pound of bow weight.'

Never really liked Howard Hill!  I don't know about that statement, and I hope this doesn't blow up in my face.  But if that were the case I can kill a deer at 40 yards with a 40# bow, and shoot 70 yards with my 70# bow???  I don't think so, lol.  This was not a dig at you Mr. McMiller, just Mr Hill.

My furthest shot on big game is 25 yards, that was with a 40# bow.  On small game, my furthest is 30 yards to the tree, and 25 yards up the tree . . . I'm too lazy to do the math, but I think that's like 33 yards or something like that?  That was with a 55# bow.

My rule of thumb is half your bow weight+5=maximum "lethal" distance.  So 40 pounds, divided in half, plus 5 is 25 yards.  That is just my theory.  Not saying you can't kill a deer at 30 yards, or saying you shouldn't.  That is just a rule that I have set for myself.

So far nothing past 13 yards. I would probably shoot out to 20 at an animal under the right circumstances.
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Chris,

I think Pete was just quoting HH not agreeing with him.  And I am sure Howard Hill was only saying that if you have the skill to shoot at that range you should have a bow that can be lethal at that range.  Though I did get the feeling that "in the olden days" they had a lower regard for the welfare of the animals they hunted then we commonly do today.

Thirty yards.  First arrow released from my Widow at a game animal.  Took out her heart and she was stone dead in just a second and still as a rock less than 20yds away.

Shortest was shorter than my 60" recurve, javie coming in to a call.  

I may have still had the arrow on the riser when it hit her!  She ran about 50-75yds.

25 yards

Around 25 yards on an animal. I did kill a blackbird at 65 yards a few months ago. Pure luck but it sure was a pretty shot, had a witness too.

A doe at 68 steps back in the 60's. I was shooting a lot of field rounds back then and was young and stupid and had a different mindset. 20yds would be a long shot for me now after taking a 40yr or so hiatus from shooting recurves.

about 35yds... and the only reason I did was because i shot a doe at 15yds. I actually thought I put a bad hit on her. I didn't after I field dressed her. That is pretty much the only time I would take far shots because it is our obligation as hunters to finish what we started.

As for all the old time stories, I dont think they were being reckless I think it was more of the norm for the time. ( My father and his friends would "indulge" in a sip of brandy on cold days. Yes that is definetly wrong but it was the norm. I think the same went for long shots. If you read T Roosevelts hunting stories, he regularly spoke of shooting at animals at long distances but not recovering it. Yes wrong, but not intentional.

bolong,
Witnesses can turn a good story into legend!          

QuoteOriginally posted by Northwest_Bowhunter:
bolong,
Witnesses can turn a good story into legend!                  

Oh yea... forgot about that aspect too.

I shot a snake, one time, that was pretty long.

I shot a mole at 150yd one time (totally by accident).

A groundhog at 38yd on purpose.

My limit on deer is 20yd but I've only ever taken shots that were less.