ORIGINAL: 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.