So the bow I bought from my friend has a draw weight of 60 lbs and a draw length of 29" (which is way to short for me). So I looked it up and figured that it shoots around 270 fps. I can shoot a 2-3" group at 40 yards, is that a safe shot to take at a deer? I see people pass 40 yard shots on here and was wondering why? Is there enough force to penetrate or should I not take this shot?
I personally think you should get a bow that fits you correctly before worrying about shooting a deer.
This. Get a bow that fits you, then find out how far you can shoot. To me, 40 yards is when a small shift in hand placement or form could change the point of impact in a big way. Also, deer can turn or dip, making a good shot look like a bad shot.
I bought the bow for this season only, and after this deer season I am getting a Hoyt. I will take the comments as shooting 40 yards is not a good idea. Thanks guys!
If this is the bow you will hunt with for this season I would figure out the max distance that you can effectively group arrows in an area the size of a pie plate on a target. This is roughly the size of a deer's vitals. In a hunting scenario cut that distance in half. That is your max range. This accounts for frayed nerves and deer movement. For example, I can consistently group on a pie plate at 60. But I will not shoot a deer past 30. I have found, the hard way, that however good I may be on a target I am only that good at half the distance when shooting a deer, especially if it is a good buck.
I think cantexan was saying if you shoot tight at 40 then you should shoot 20. Could be wrong though.
This is exactly what I was saying. Your max shooting distance should be based upon some kind of deliberate method of determining accuracy. This is the method I use. With my old bow and in my first couple years of bow hunting, I used this method to shoot 40 in practice and 20 hunting. With a new bow and more years of PRACTICE, I have increased that to 60/30 as I originally mentioned. Personally, I would not take a 40 yard shot at a deer until I could consistently group a pie plate at 80 yards on a target. That is my goal for next season.
Can you shoot 2-3" groups at 40 yards with broadheads? If I can, I feel good about taking that shot at a deer.
I've never shot any of my bread heads into a target, since I use mechanical. I shoot the practice tips that come with the them, as they say they shoot the same.
Alright, I'll have to do some shooting at a pie plate and see how it goes. I wasn't planning on shooting 40 yards this year, I was just wondering if there would be enough penetration to kill it. I had set myself to a 30 yard limit for my first year.
My first kill with my compound was yesterday and I was lucky enough for it to be at 6 yards. Thanks for the advice
The problem is deer can move a lot in that span, especially if alert. So it's not so much of an issue of penetration as opposed where is your arrow going to hit when it gets there. Your first year you should probably stick to close range shots because you cannot account for how much your nerves will affect your shot compared to shooting targets at home.
