The max range post kinda ruffled my feathers.Mabe I'm old fashioned but to take a 50 yd shot at a animal that has the potenial to move is scary to me.Even with a bow that shoots 300 fps and add in thehuman error factor,it's very questionable.I know the western guys don't get alot of 15 to 20yd shots,but 50 plus.I'm sure animals are taken yearly at those yardages but how many are not.So my question is "what is the longest kill shot you've put on a animal"? The second part is how many have you missed or worse? I know I'll get my a$$ kicked around for this post but it's been eatin me up.I apologise in advance for peeing off anyone.
My longest kill shot was 26 yds. I won't even take a 30yd shot!! People can shoot as long as they want, but for me, it's gotta be under 30 yds, I just don't feel comfortable shooting an animal that far away.
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The ability to get close to game remains the essence of all bowhunting today.
I agree with ya recurver. It seems its more of a shooting sport then a hunting sport with some folks, the percentages go down. My longest shots were 22 yards. I did it twice and both times I drilled a doe (double lung) while she was walking.
32 yards was my longest successful shot. I know I can kill deer from further than that, but as you said it gets to a point where there are too many factors out of my control that have to be considered.
For what it's worth, I've messed up on deer much closer than that too. Anything can happen, no matter what the distance.
I've taken deer at 47, 43, and 41 yards respectively - The only three shots I have attempted - but since then my confidence has gone down I don't know whether it is due to eyesight or what but my self imposed range this year will be 30 yards or less - just because I have done it in the past - doesn't mean I will attempt it this year, as I gain my confidence back -my range will increase
Forget who posted it but you should walk outside and take one shot - that should be your max range
The majority of the deer here in the east are taken 25 yards or less -
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I thinkmy longest shot was this past year, just inside 40 yds. Arrow made its mark right in the back half of the ten ring.
To answer the ugly half of your question - I've crippled and missed dozens of deer over the years.Dozens.All at various ranges and for various reasons (misjudging yardage, punching the trigger, hitting limbs/twigs/trees, shooting at awkward angles, holding full-draw too long). My gaffesinclude, but are not limited to:
[ul][*]Gut hits[*]Leg hits[*]Spines[*]Clean Whiffs[*]Haircuts[/ul]
Honestly - I don't spend all summer/fall scouting and waiting, passing buck after buck - only to finally get a chance on a shooter and pass him up because he didn't give me a wide-open, perfect, quartering-away, 19 yarder, with his chest cavity opened wide, dead-in-front of the stand. Things aren't always optimal. There comes a point where you have to take the opportunities you're given. You live with the consequences.
IMO, anyone who's been hunting long enough and turned enough arrows loose - is bound to stare despair in the eyes. It happens. No sense sugar-coating it or pretending it doesn't happen. You move on with your life. If you're not emotionally prepared to lose a deer or cope with the specter of a gut hit - I'd recommend hawking your bow and taking up Golf.
I've taken one at 44.5 yds(verified with rangefinder)and another at 37 yds. The rest have been under 30 yds. I tend not to take long shots unless they are about as perfect as you can get. But that's just me.
The 44.5 yd shot I mention I thought was 40 yds and only later used a rangefinder to determine actual distance. It turned out to be a perfect hit though.
__________________ Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?The LORD is the stronghold of my life;of whom shall I be afraid?
2008 Bowtech General 60#, Easton LightSpeeds, 100 grain GrizzTricks, QAD Ultra
I believe each hunter must evaluate his own skill level and factor in the variables during the hunt to decide what shot he should attempt. I would rather take a 50 yd shot in perfect conditions then a 30 yd shotfrom a tree thats waving in the wind. I have pins out to 60 yds. I doubt I will ever use it. I'm good enough to kill a deer at 60 yds. but the situation would have to be perfect. Where I hunt it's almost impossable to find a spot that will allow a long shot. The trees and brush are just too thick. I find that practicing at long distances makes me a better shot. I use a small target so the pressure is on. if I miss I might ruin or lose an arrow.
43 yards on a mule deer is my longest kill. I have missed everywhere from 15 yards to 40 yards. If I went through the chronological history of the shots I have taken, I am better now at 50 then I waswhen I was12 years old at 25 yards. There are 2 major criteria I evaluate in each shot; 1) distance 2) situation (weather conditions and animal's conditions)
I hate to say it, but Quick is rightIt's amazing how often that happens actually.
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"We cannot expect the Americans to jump from capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving Americans small doses of socialism until they suddenly awake to find they have Communism" - Nikita Krushchev 1959
Longest kill shots
It's amazing how often that happens actually.
