Last year I was comfortable at 30 yds, backed myself up to about 45 yds this year. (I just got into archery last year) How much do you really shoot past that? I haven't got much room to practice too much further, and is 60-70 yds that necessary?
I've seen people accurately shoot out to 120 yards in my opinion the Max I will shoot a deer is around 35-40. The reason being is I want to be sure that I will make an ethical kill,, many people practice long distance because they believe it will make them a better archer when it comes to the closer shots. This makes sense, but I haven't tried it I just practice my tail off about 10 yards farther then I'm comfortable shooting a deer at.. I hope that somewhat helps you out.
I would practice as far as you can consistently hit your target, and every other range and angle and height you can. If you can bump out 5 more yards then I would do it. The main thing is shooting at any distance whether it's 10 or 60. I shoot in my garage sometimes. 7 yds. Even then I'm still working my shoulder, back, and form.
I practice at the longest yardage that I can consistently hit my mark. When I get comfortable with that yardage , I back up some more and repeat the same process. BI may practice out to 80-90 yds , but rarely shoot a live target past 40 yards. When you practice at long ranges , it does make the shorter shots like chip shots. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Shoot what you are comfortable with. Remember this is a game of how close not how far. If you leave in the eastern parts 45 yards is perfect. Out west you might need a few more yards but its all about what you can do consistently.
I've shot well past 100 yards practicing because I think it's fun and the biggest reason to shoot long distances is to make the shorter ones seem like chip shots. My rule of thumb is half of whatever my longest accurate distance is during practice is the longest I would consider shooting a deer in the perfect scenario
Same as what everyone else said pretty much. Though at this point I'm working my form as much as possible.
My max range when hunting is about 30 yards. Now if I get a shooter that is not alert, feeding, broadside at 35 yards I'll probably still take it but that rarely happens. Since my range is about 30 yards I typically will practice out to 40 to make that closer shots easier. Whats funny, sometimes i'll shoot better at 40 than I do at 30
Ok now all good advice but in one year your likely to not be consistant under pressure over 20 yards or a tad more but even if possible Chuck Adams neurosurgeon tested a deer reaction and anything over 18-20 yards you need basically a gun to beat them. No bow or crossbow made is fast enough. Now a relaxed animal is less likely to jump the string but are you willing to be you've read em right in one year hunting? No dis just something to think about. As stated far shots are real fun and make closer ones chip shots but don't do long range on deer. Always tomo
I practice to 40 yards. Once in a while I'll step back a few more steps. I only practice shots that I would take in a real situation. Since 40 is the max distance I would consider taking at a game animal and it's also the max distance in the 3D class I shoot, that's the maximum I practice.
I target shoot at 80 every once in a while just for the fun of it. Max range on a live target is 45 yards for me.
2016 will be my 40th archery season and my longest shot thus far was 33 yards. Back in the late 1970's I shot FITA target archery with olympic style recurves out to 90m (100 yards), so my self-limitation is not based on lack of skill as some modern bowhunters might contend. Extending the length of time an arrows is in flight with long shots also allows the game animal to react, step,twist, turn, or drop. Thus the skill of the archer in pin-pointing a given arrow is negated by the fact that the aiming spot is no longer where the pin was when they released the arrow. There is an old bowhunter saying that the goal of an experienced bowhunter is not to see how far they can shoot a game animal, but to see how close they can get and make short shots count. I take a measure of pride that the 3 deer I killed last year TOTALLED a bit over 50 yards (7, 21, 24)
