I was watching World Cup Archery Cup. The distance for compound is 50 meters (54.7 yds). I noticed these world class archers, under ideal conditions were shooting a lot of 7s and 8s, which led me to wonder how big those rings were. Kinda surprised me...7 ring was a whopping 12.6" - 8 ring is 9.44" - 9 ring is 6.3" - and 10 ring 3.14", under ideal range conditions by world class shooters with bows, scopes, clarifiers, sights, arrows, etc costing 1000s of dollars. That would correlate to 9.21", 6.7", 4.47", and 2.23" @ 40 yds. I figure I need to be able to keep 100% of my arrows inside a 4" circle at the distance I shoot the critter. That would currently limit my shots to about 35 yds. I have read in here about folks making 40 and 50 yard (or longer) shots at game. Given these are with hunting bows shot under far less ideal conditions, it made me wonder about how ethical these shots are. Kinda curious about the response to this will be.
@Justin won't shoot under 50, he likes the challenge. Majority on here practice at all ranges but don't shoot past 50.
I don't practice over 30 yards and won't shoot at a deer over 25 yards. I also don't shoot for a hobby though. I enjoy shooting but have been doing it since I was 8 so the thrill is long gone.
That's to bad. I've been shooting since my first Bear Polar back in 1976...I still have a thrill at shooting. I practice out to 50+ just for practice.
A few years ago I dabbled in traditional archery and shooting instinctively, and found it extremely enjoyable. Every shot was rewarding and felt like an accomplishment. I should probably switch, lol!!
I love shooting with a long bow. Even made a mollegabet that shoots like a dream, though I definitely am not anywhere near good enough to shoot at anything besides hay.
I was just practicing out to 75yds. I put 3 of 4 in a 2" group. A few things, Trad with no let off, for a round, is amazingly different than 80 or 90% let off compound. My compound has a mechanical advantage that gives me greater speed and capable of launching a heavier arrow carrying more KE and momentum. I'm not likely to take a 60 yd shot on a whitetail... I will be prepared to, if needed take that shot on an elk (bigger and a bit slower in jumping the string).
What's ethical or not is completely relative. And as it relates to long shots, that's very relative as well--what are the environmental conditions--wind, rain, etc; what is the condition of the animal--calm, head down feeding, etc; how big is the animal (elk have a much larger kill zone than a turkey); and what is the skill level of the shooter?
I do a few 3d shoots every year and practice shooting quite a bit because I just plain enjoy the process. During the summer when practicing I rarely shoot under 60 yards, I like to start at 60 and then will shoot 70-80-90 yards. I do this to practice for the long 3d "bonus" shots, to make shorter shots seem really close, because it shows very quickly when I let some part of my shot process start to break down, and the final bonus is these targets at our public range usually have no one else shooting at them. I can normally keep all arrows within 4"-5" at 60. I might shoot a 2" group one time and then turn around and have a bit of a flier the next time that makes it a 5" group. Beyond that they open up quite a bit, more like 7" at 70, 10" at 80, 12" at 90. I do not like to shoot at a whitetail beyond 30 yards. They simply are very likely to "jump the string" and a lot can go wrong. I'm pretty confident that I could put an arrow into a whitetail's lungs at 60 yards a high majority of the time, but they don't like to cooperate and stand still when they hear a bow go off. Elk rarely jump the string and those lungs are huge. I will take an unknown yardage shot on them out to 40 yards, and will shoot beyond that to 60 yards as long as I can zap them first and the shot conditions are ideal. I'd shoot a turkey to 30 yards. Bear is the same as elk.
I think many hunters take unethical shots, counting on expandable broadheads and waiting over night for retrieval to help them get that oh so important hero shot for their video. I want to vomit every time some moondick on a hunting show pumps his fist and says, "I smoked him" when the video shows a gut or liver shot.
I think the notion of ethics is a tricky subject. One man's ability, experience and knowledge doesn't port well from person to person. You do need to know your limits, and experience is a fine teacher when you f it up... If you learn from it. Have enough deer jump the string and... Well, there ya go. Mechanicals have limits, and there's probably plenty of material out there. They can leave a decent hole...better than most fixed. Many fly really well. But, there's tradeoffs. There seem to be some limits that come into play... Fps for some, density and angle to bone also (becomes an issue on larger game). Me, I'll stick to fixed for most shots, but I have that one v mechanical in the quiver of I ever need that long follow up... Shot placement and anatomy trump all. Who am I to criticize somebody who is capable and successful at a 100yd shot...it's just not a shot I'm likely to take or have confidence in...yet. So I won't take it on a game animal. If I had the space (and a different setup) I would push my practice to greater distance, as the flaws, consistency andreally small stuff really slow, as Mod mentioned.
I have seen many people shoot amazing groups at 50,60,70 yards and beyond. Watch Levi Morgan shoot and you will see a good example of that. I practice all the way out to 60 yards. It makes shooting the closer distance a lot easier. Now, under pressure, a 35 yard shot can be tricky if the deer is alert or if it is windy out. It all comes down to what you are comfortable with. Justin and Todd has spoken extensively on this subject. We even did a segment at the ATA a couple of years back asking hunting celebrities what is there max shooting distance.
This is the Internet! Bowhunters never make bad shots over 40 yards, everyone has an IQ of 140 or better, we all make 250K/year and have John Holmes genetics, if you know what I mean. It's a great place to live.
I design with intent most spots for those 25 yards or less shots. That said I practice to 50, but have zero intent or plan to ever shoot in a hunting situation on a deer over 35.
40yds-ish ... out of over 80 bow killed deer (34 yrs bowhunting), only one was 42 yds, all the rest have been under 40 yds and the majority under 30 yds ... I practice to 50 ....
watch this ... these shooters are some pretty good archers, but even they screw up ... they start close, and work their way back ... LONG DISTANCE shooting with a bow is for targets, not living game .. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
