If the deer is calm and feeding with head down I would (and have before) shoot out to 45 or 50. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
I have always figured 40 but have not shot more than 35 Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I practice regular at 75. Can shoot a 4" group at that yardage. That being said, I would shoot one that far if the conditions were right.
My personal limit is 40 given the right conditions. My longest shot on a deer was 37 yards. I actually passed the same back the night before at 40 on the dot since the wind was just too strong.
I hunt on base and park program, I have to qual at 20 and 30 yards so that's my comfort range Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
50. I practice at 60 and 70 yards and don't have any issues at 50. It does depend on factors though. Weather, wind, how the deer is acting, and how I'm feeling about it. If there is any hesitation on drawing back or second guessing myself, I let em walk. But if I'm calm, and go on auto pilot, they don't make it out of the field. Furthest shot I've killed was 41 yards. Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
I would say 40 - 50 yards. Like others, I practice to 70-80 yards regularly but that is only to tighten my consistency. When I went after Elk I practiced to the point where I was very comfortable at 60 yards. Conditions plays a big part of what distance I would take a shot thought.
Competent out to about 45 yards on the practice range. My most common range is 35 yards. I will shorten it if I have been in frigid conditions. I would expand it to 40 yards for a big deer, the vitals are bigger. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
A small deer has a vital area 8.5-9" a large deer 11-12". That is 44% more area. No-one is flinging arrows outside their comfort range who already reduces the shot under 40 yards. Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
Plenty of flingers out there that can't hit a barn door at 40 yards. But, are willing to give it a try if the deer has headgear. The size of killzone is not what drives guys to take chances on longer shots.
The closer the better is all I can say. There are just too many variables to consider. How is the wind? How much time did I have to watch the deer come in? How calm am I? How calm is the deer? How much am I trembling? One thing I've learned in my short 10 years bowhunting is that "consistently practicing out to 80 yards" and "being proficient at 60 yards at the range" does not mean that you can make a good shot in a hunting scenario. At the range, that big buck in front of you is just a foam target. You have all the time in the world. Your heart isn't trying to pound its way out of your chest. Adrenaline isn't flooding through your system. When you try to settle your pin on a deer at 50 yards, the pin doesn't look as big as the deer and wobble all over the place. At our range I can shoot great at 80 yards and I can drill a 3" dot at 50 yards most of the time, but just last year I got rattled and missed a buck standing still at 25 yards. Also, the two best target shooters in our hunting club make the worst shots when they're hunting. I've killed deer at 45 yards and I've passed on shots at 30 yards because I didn't think I could do it. I have no idea what my max hunting yardage is.
Best post yet. The best target archer I have ever been around has crippled more deer and turkeys than any three of the worst hunters I know. Shooting at animals is a different world. Not everyone can be successful at it consistently, no matter how good they shoot. Some of the most successful bow hunters I know are very marginal target shooters.
I agree with fletch and little chief completely! The most important thing is clean ethical kills! The question is "How do you practice and prepare for the adrenaline rush and the all around head games a live animal ultimately creates when you are presented with a shot?" Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Well, I don't have any sights, so.......it's really hard for me to see a spot small enough for me to really focus on past 25 yards. That is my absolute max, no matter the size of anything that I hunt. When I shot a compound I would regularly practice at 60 yards, but never shoot a deer at that. I killed a doe at 50 once, and realized that it was just stupid of me. I was trying to extend my range when I should've been more concerned with improving my setups and woodsmanship. Bowhunting is supposed to be about getting close to the animals, not to see how far away you can shoot them. Anymore, I'm happy to just watch something walk by if it's not in range.
This. It's easy to say I would stick to a 30 yard max, but I've killed them farther. The farthest was 52 yards. At least 10 past 40. All in a green field, perfect conditions. Do I encourage shooting them that far? No. But I have, so that's the truth of it.
