what range do you prefer to shoot game at?

[50omega]

I have a 5 pin sight. I currently have the first three pins sighted in at 20, 30, and 40. What I want to know is what range oppotunity do you most often find yourself at with game? I've heard 30 yards is the ideal or most common but let me know what range you usually try to get your game to come into. Maybe even your furthest and closest encounters.

[JimPic]

I prefer to shoot them at 15yds or under.Most of my kills have been around 12yds average

[Kelly/KY]

The closer thebetter, not one to brag about a long shot or impossible shot. I just want them on the ground.

[kingvjack]

20-25 yards.

[TexasBowHunter]

I am real picky with the shots that I take on whitetails probably between 15-35yd range is where I prefer. Hog hunting and what not, I will tend to stretch to the 15-50yd mark with them, don't really have a rhyme or reason thats just whatI will generally do....However I will set most of my stand sites expecting a 20ish yd shot.....

[Schultzy]

I've heard 30 yards is the ideal or most common

No!

My average shot is 12 yards, I figured that out last night. My farthest shot isn't to far, 21 yards. My closest shot is 7 yards on a bear. I was 6' up in a tree.

[Greg / MO]

I've heard 30 yards is the ideal or most common

Actually, most statistics reveal the average bow shot is under 20.

However, we've discussed on here before -- though very few people realize it -- that a deer is more prone to "jumping the string" at those distances. Stretch it out to beyond 30, and the same noise that just scared the bejeezers out of that deer at 15 is now more of a curiosity at 34 yards... until the arrow slices through him.

Think of it this way: if you're home alone (or you think you are ), and all of a sudden you hear a noise -- no matter how muffled it is -- in very close proximity to you, you're more than likely coming unglued. Put that same noise 40 yards away in the house, and you want to know what it is, but you're not peeling yourself off the ceiling this time.

Now... having said all that... Like Kel, I still prefer them as close as possibly without being too close (because of the shot angle); somewhere between 10 and 20 works just fine for me.

[tsoc]

Between 10 and 25 would be what I would be ordering if I had a choice!

[50omega]

ORIGINAL: Greg / MO

Actually, most statistics reveal the average bow shot is under 20.

However, we've discussed on here before -- though very few people realize it -- that a deer is more prone to "jumping the string" at those distances. Stretch it out to beyond 30, and the same noise that just scared the bejeezers out of that deer at 15 is now more of a curiosity at 34 yards... until the arrow slices through him.

Think of it this way: if you're home alone (or you think you are ), and all of a sudden you hear a noise -- no matter how muffled it is -- in very close proximity to you, you're more than likely coming unglued. Put that same noise 40 yards away in the house, and you want to know what it is, but you're not peeling yourself off the ceiling this time.

Now... having said all that... Like Kel, I still prefer them as close as possibly without being too close (because of the shot angle); somewhere between 10 and 20 works just fine for me.

Greg that is a very interseting point. I have never looked at it that way.

[OHbowhntr]

Matter or personal opinion, and the terrain you hunt. But as Greg said, most shots are under 20yds!!!! Now if you're asking about how to set pins, I'll tell you that depending on how FAST your bow is, you may want to try something a little different. 20-30-40-50-60 may be ideal for a guy shooting a 300fps set-up, but for me being in the low to mid 270's, I like 24-32-40-48-55 for my pins. This give me enough room for error that I SHOULDN'T be able to foul things up if I'm a little off on my distance guestimate. Add a rangefinder into the equation, it's still helpful, IMHO, because and arrow drops a long ways between 30-50yds, but in that first 20-24 yds, it doesn't really have that much drop. Some guys like their shots ongame a longdistances because the quieter the noise of the bow going off, the less likely the deer is to move. I personally like them real up close and personal, where Ican hear them breathing.