Currently, its 30-35 yards. I don't have much of an opprotunity to practice beyond that range so I choose not to shoot further then what I can practice at.
40 yards is my max, I am comfortable at 40, longest kill for me has been 35 yards, most of my shots are inside 30 yards
I hunt with a recurve so obviously my max is shorter then most. Most years my max is in that 17 yard range (depends how good I'm shooting at the time). Other times its closer to 20 yards. For me bow hunting is more of a hunting sport (up and close hunting) and not a shooting sport.
30 yards under most circumstances, however, I am confident out to 40 yards. As others have mention, most of my stands are set up for a 20 yard kill shot.
I'll shoot a deer at 50. I feel comfortable shooting an elk at 60. I killed a doe last year at 50, but I think thats probably as far as I want to shoot a deer. I really like to have them under 20 yards though.
I wouldn't hesitate at 50 with the right conditions, that being said I switched broadheads this year and have not turned them yet. that will be a deciding factor. Furthest kill is 40 for me.
40 would be my maximum on a perfect day at a deer that is not alarmed and I did not grunt at to get to stop. For the most part I would say that most of the deer I have killed have been 20 and under. Now in practice I am a firm believer that if you shoot much longer distances it will help make those up close shots feel like slam dunks. As the summer progresses I will eventually be shooting out to 70 or 80 yards. Once you do that for a while walk up and shoot at 20 and boy does it feel like you cannot go wrong.
Mulies, 50 yards. If I had more poundage I would push it farther. The farthest I ever shot at a whitetail was 28 yards, smoked him too.. but I generally tried to keep my shots to 25 or less. Those high pressured, public land whitetail were twitchy critters.
Distance is secondary to a couple factors. First being the demeanor of the animal and second its location and its topography. Am in thick cover in a treestand hunting skittish whitetail ? In some case 40 yards is too far.....is it wide open country and unaware game? In that case then I would rather a 50 yard shot at a calm animal then a closer shot a spooky animal. At some point if your going to kill a lot of different kinds of game in different locations you have to be willing and confidant in taking shots that are within your skill set. The guys that wait for perfect do a lot more waiting and lot less killing, a common denominator with bow hunters that a consistently successful is the willingness to take the shot.
Why would the size of the deer change your maximum shooting range? My maximum shooting distance depends a lot on how much I have been able to practice each year. Some years I limit myself to only about 25 yards. Other years, 40 is pretty comfortable. The majority of my kills have been under 20 yards.
I would probably shoot 30 but the furthest I have shot at a deer was 22 yards and my average is 12 yards.
This is all the proof i need. the rumors are true. The bow hunters back east dont like to shoot over 30-40 yards. Is that just because you guys hunt allot out of tree stands? are white tail smaller than mule deer? Is it just to much brush back east? Or is it just still the wild west out here? Nobody will ever know.
