What kind of grouping should a half decent archer being making at 20 yards with a compound bow? I can do about 3 group at 20. But my bow isn't great and my arrows aren't matched. 20 is my max hunting distance right now. A kill zone on a wild hog is about a 6 inch circle right?
If I shot groups at 20 yds I wouldn't have any arrows...... but to better answer your question I'd say a 3" group is plenty lethal
A 3 inch group is good enough to kill, but if you want to be accurate farther out I highly suggest getting matching arrows.
First off, I like that you seem to be an honest and realistic person. I hunted with older/outdated bows for years and still got the job done, and so will you. Under stress, if you can pick up your bow, aim, and hit your target within a 4 inch group at 20 yards, you are good. A lot of people can sit around and lob arrows in a 2-3 inch group at 20 yads, but under stress they fall apart.
Agreed. Sometimes there is a big deference between an archer and a hunter. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I have seen people which could knock the eye out of a gnat in a target situation but badly miss a chip shot at a deer. I guy I know I have personally helped him track 4 different deer that he shot and that he said he "smoked". We never recovered any of them after hours and hours of searching but when target shooting this guy is lights out. I advised him to get some meds to calm himself down. I would not worry about 2 - 3 inch groupings as they will suffice for nearly any game you tackle.
I usually like the 1 inch per 10 yards rule. When I was a kid the standard was as long as you could consistently hit a 9 inch pie pan you were good. Thats how many determined there max effective range. Personally I like 40 yards or less so around 4 to 5 inches. Good luck!
Just keep doing what your doing making every arrow count. If you start slapping arrows together, you've got as tight a group as you'll ever need.
Groups are nice to verify form and consitency but for hunting practice if I can walk out to my range (pick a random distance) with one arrow and ALWAYS put that first shot in the vitals I am good to go. Even one miss and I don't consider myself effective at that range. I don't practice this way only. But once or twice a week I do my one arrow test. I've known guys who say it takes them a shot or two to warm up. Well that is ok in a target setting, but not on wild game.
Yes exactly! I do the same thing but my first arrow out of my practice session I'll pick a random spot in the yard and not even range it then from there I will go to my generic yard markers.
This is why I don't shoot groups at 20 anymore. But, as most have mentioned, 1" for every 10 yards seems to be the answer. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
