The farthest I would shoot at an animal would probably be around 45 yards. It isn't too often that I even get shot opportunities that far because the timber that I hunt is pretty thick. Usually I'll only get shots of 30-35 yards max.
as we used to say in the military... situation dictates... a clear day with no breeze/wind, no branches/limbs to worry about and an animal that's no alerted to my presence... I might wing it out to 50yds under perfect conditions... as any of those variables change though so does my range... and not for the longer... :D
These threads usually turn nasty pretty quick, but hopefully since we have a little different crew on this site we can keep it civil. I'd rather not share my personal max range, but what I will say is that I have an absolute max for perfect conditions, but each scenario I take as they come. I have killed deer at pretty long distances, but those were really unique and unusual situations where the animal was completely unalert, head down feeding, I had time to range the animal with a rangefinder, I had perfect footing, no wind, etc. A perfect situation. Those don't happen often. I've passed deer as close as 20 yards because I just didn't feel confident for whatever reason. I also will never shoot at an animal that is further than 30 yards unless I have time to actually put the rangefinder on them, just a rule that I go by and works well for me. With this said, I've never missed a shot at a deer that was over 30 yards, and every one of those longer shots were 1 shot kills with a hit in the vitals. I have though completely whiffed at less than 10, and had less than ideal hits at less than 20.
When and where I bowhunt (and gunhunt for that matter) I can rarely even see farther then 40 yards.......let alone shoot that far. I have no problem with anyone taking a longer shot at a deer.........as long as they have practiced and become accurate and efficient beforehand (at that range and beyond). What gets me down is hearing about guys lobbing arrows out into the field or through a mass of twigs at ranges they could only hit a bag target 30% of the time..........all because of a decent rack. Simple self control and being honest with yourself is all it takes to KNOW when you COULD shoot vs when you SHOULD shoot. I have always been on the cautious side.......and the nicer the deer the more cautious I get......I like slam dunks Longest shot ever on a whitetail with bow is 23 yards and gun is about 65-70. The VAST majority of deer I have taken were inside of 20 yards (bow+gun). I can shoot accurately much farther with both weapons......just never seem to need to.
I always say 40, and situation dictates whether or not I will shoot THAT FAR, and this thread.... http://forums.bowhunting.com/yaf_postst1261_Got-one-not-anything-Im-proud-of-shot-gone-bad-lucky.aspx is another perfect example of why shooting 40yds or any distance, for that matter, on an ALERT deer is NOT such a good idea.
I've never really been around other bowhunters and did not know it could turn ugly that quick or I probably would not have asked the question. I was just kinda wondering what others practiced for and how far others would take a shot at and be confident in it. I know 3 years ago I was putting broad heads in a 6 inch circle at 50 yds but I never took a shot that long, not even sure I would have.
OK, I'll bite. My maximum range under a perfect scenario is 50 yards. I practice with a target bow to 90. I practice with a hunting bow to 60. I know that on a bad day with my hunting bow, with perfect conditions, I can put 25 arrows out of 30 into a 5" circle at 50 yards. I usually know which ones are going to miss before I let them go too. With that said, I still haven't seen the scenario where I felt comfortable taking that 50 yard shot. My longest shots were 42, 43, and 44 yards. All 3 of these were perfect ideal conditions, and all of them were double lung shots, or heart shots. I've come to full draw on deer in that 45-50 yard zone a few times before, and it just didn't feel right, or I questioned it before I executed the shot........so I let down. I'm sure a day will come where that 50 yarder will feel right, but I haven't seen it yet. I know I'll be prepared for it when that shot presents itself. I wouldn't recommend anyone else to do the same though unless you KNOW you can pull it off.
I've only killed one deer w/ a bow. I shot it with a Jeffrey 44 mag. set at 56 pounds. w/a 2117 Easton Gamegetter arrow and a Satelite Broadhead. It was a clear cold morning and I had forgotten my tab so I used my bare fingers. The deer was a 110 pound 4 pt. The shot was perfect and it double lunged him and was a complete pass thru. The deer went about 45 yards and was an easy recovery. I had no sites on the bow, no stabilizer, cat whiskers for silencers.... Now the really cool part, the deer was in a honeysuckle thicket, and as it went down the trail all I could see was it's legs; it stepped into a small window that I saw it had some bone on it's head, it lowered it's head and came to a stop. THe openining I had was basically shaped like a funnel that led directly to it's front shoulder. I pulled back and let the arrow go....WHHHHAAAAP..... I climbed down and went directly to the spot as as soon as it ran I could no longer see it....blood was every where and the arrow was slicked with bright red bubbly blood...I ran to my partner stand and we went back to track which was about 15 seconds of following what looked like a 55 gallon pressurized can filled with red paint had been rolled down a hill. My buddy could not believe the shot I took as it was well over 50 yards. If the deer had been standing in a field with nothing around it, I could not have made the shot....the opening of the funnel I was shooting into was only about 10 yards from my stand. So I just let the arrow go down the funnel..... I did this in November of 1980....joined the Army two months later and flew Helicopters....I have not bow hunted since until this year. I have passed on about 10 deer this year that were way closer....this shot was one were the situation was just a one in a million shot. The gear I'm using now is a Diamond ROck with Simms sight, Hi Tek stabilizer all the fixins,shootin about 270.....much better equipment...I bet my old bow didn't shoot 200' per second...and it was a pass thru double lung.... I've only taken one other shot and that was the same year at a doe at about 20 yards broadsde in the open woods...missed her clean. I've killed a gazzillion with firearms....but this bowhunting is a trip, I have pledged not to use a firearm until I get one on the ground in my rebirth as a bowhunter...... SB wish me luck..lol
My longest kill is about 40 yds. I know that "about" kinda shakes things but we're all about the truth right? Anyway he was walking slow and was about to go behind a big bushy tree and I felt confident about the shot. I led him about 6 to 8 inches and touched the trigger. I was shooting a Hoyt Viper with carbonite limbs (rated 325 IBO I think) Anyway he stopped when I touched the trigger and the arrow skidded across the top of his near shoulder and entered his neck, dropping him instantly. I'm glad they kill the camera on those "TV spine shots", it's not a fun event! I almost hopped down out of my tree and ran over and delivered the killing shot between the eyes. (Good bye new matrix arrow!) Not the most intelligent thing I've ever done, but the arrow hit exactly where I was aiming and I think would have hit a little high if he hadn't stopped but probly would have still been a high lung shot. The other shot I want to report involved the same bow and an alert doe at 20 yards with snow on the ground. (It was a real calm morning, noise traveled well.) She was broadside facing my right and I centered my 20 yd. pin on her lungs and touched the trigger. This bow was fairly quiet but not that morning! She was looking me right in the eyes when I fired and whirled and ran the opposite direction and my arrow passed harmlessly about a foot behind her butt. How do they do that???? LOL?? What a lesson! The third was a fairly good 8 pt. buck that I called in with my grunt tube. He was going to pass by in front of me at about 30 yds. I could tell he was not going to slow down for my lane so I mouth grunted and as he stopped I was already on him I firmed the shot and hit the trigger. He whirled to his right and was fairly gone about 10 yds. when my arrow got there. I think I was using my new Supertech Hoyt that year. Anyway, pretty fast bows that were badly beaten by faster deer except for the first one. These experiences are what I base my boundaries on. I would rather shoot at a deer with it's head down feeding (non-alert) at 40 yds. than an alert deer at 20! I like 20 yds. and under on a non-alert deer though! I've thought about mixing a little Ambien or Tylenol PM with my corn but if they didn't sleep all day the coyotes would just get them first! LOL!!! I think I was shooting close to 290 with my Matrix arrows and I know I'm shootin 310+ with my Supertech and Carbon Impact arrows. (290 @ 30 yards) Yes, I own a chronograph. I put a brick in front of my readout and let em fly! I shot several arrows, I was really surprised they held their speed this well. I think my arrows weigh about 380 if I remember correctly. I'll have to weigh one this eve and see. Btw, I'm comfortable at 40 yards but I've shot a few arrows @ 60 and did pretty well. (on targets) I think I could kill a deer at that distance if I had one of those rest thingies the Knight and Hale used a year or so ago. LOL!
I killed my elk at 30 yards and one deer at 33 yards. Most of the rest of my kills have been under 20 yards. A few have been 20-30, but very few. I set up most of my stands for 20 yards and under. I like em close.:d
I killed one doe at 32 yds while back. I thought she was much closer, but I honestly believe she ducked down into my arrow. Otherwise I was off by enough I should have missed low. I can't really say what my max range is, but I can say I prefer them under 15 yds.
Not me! I shoot a recurve though and my effective distances are much closer then you compound folks are. The farthest shot I've ever taken on a deer was 23 yards. I double lunged hearted that girl, It felt awesome!! The year I shot that doe I was on fire with my recurve. I was hitting with In 2" of where I was aiming at 30 yards when practicing. I was just crazy on that year with my shooting but never would I have taken a shot farther then 25 yards that year. Most years after 20 yards my shooting suffers allot so that's normally my max range. Bow hunting to me Is up and close.
I guess I could be the first guy to get flamed but I'll be honest here. The mule deer doe that I shot this year was at 55 yards in Wyoming, the next furthest was a whitetail doe at 52 yards. I've killed several deer in 40 plus range, but as mentioned by someone earlier, these are under IDEAL conditions. Let me say that I've also passed on lots of deer that were 35 plus because conditions weren't perfect. The majority of my kills are under 30 yards or even 20 yards for that matter. The two deer that I have lost were at 19 and 30 yards. The two months before season I shoot at least 5 days a week and the majority of my practice is between 35-70yards. This isn't only so that I feel confident on longer shots (Never any shots at animals over 60), but because but it's over training. You would be amazed at how easy a 25 yard shot is when you shoot at 60 for a long time.
I just texted Justin about this today. I had two really nice bucks come by today. One at around 40-45 yards and the other gave a great quartering away opportunity.... but it was at 37 yards. Too far. The 37 yard buck would go 155-160" the other, I'm not sure.. Maybe 145". My real regret isn't that I won't shoot that far, it's that my bleeping video camera errored out with condensation. I got about two seconds of video of the first buck and zilcho of the second. Still a happy day. oh, and I came this |-----| close to hitting a small buck on the way home with my truck. The bucks seem to be moving again. Anyways, my farthest shot on a deer is 28 yards. Smoked it. I think my average bowkill is about 12 yards. I like 'em up close and personal. Heck, even when I hunted with a .30-06 my farthest shot was 40 yards. My '08 shotgun deer I took at 11 yards.
Ive killed a deer sized animal from 14, 23, and 11 yards this year. 14 was a DL pronghorn that went MAYBE 30 yards. 23 was a doe that was spine shot, i beat myself up pretty bad until I saw the footage....amazing how far a deer can drop. I slowed it down in slow motion, the deer drops a vertical of ATLEAST 8", and the horizontal changed some too. she dropped back and to the left, the arrow would have been PERFECT had she not moved. I perhaps shouldnt have shot because she saw a dead groundhog that spooked her seconds before the shot, but live and learn...she was dead in less than a minute. 11 was a buck that I hit a touch back, still taking out both lungs..he ran atleast 250 yards before nose diving into briars. Blood pumping the entire way, trailed him at a brisk walk until the last 40 yards, we spotted him about 5 minutes after "loosing" blood though. Pretty interesting concept to sit back and try to find trends Jeff..I wish mine told me someting, lol. So I guess my max range so far is 23..but I would take a 40 yard shot tomorrow if it was an unnerved doe offering her ribs to me broadside.
If conditions were perfect, I would take a 150 yard shot. Again, everything would have to be perfect. My farthest pin is only 125, so I would have to adjust for a considerable amount of drop. I wouldn't take that shot in the wind. I shot a ground hog last year at 90 yards in a dust storm, double lung, complete pass through...but that's 60 yards closer....so bfd.
