I regularly shoot out to 50 yards and have practice sessions where I shoot 70 plus, but 35 is a stretch for me on game. There is just too much that can happen between the time you release and the time the arrow gets there for me to shoot farther. Even if I hit the exact spot I was aiming at, the animal may move making my perfect shot a poor hit and that is a risk I'm not willing to take.

40 would be max for me

25 yards and I never missed one or lost one. and only standing still broadside

Zach, in my opinion the size of the animal should have nothing to do with your effective range. If he is out of range then he is out of range, regardless of size. Taking a low percentage shot at a "monster"with a greater possibility of wounding him makes no sense to me. Just my opinion.

To answer the poll question - I have fairly strict personal standards and 30 yards is my maximum range for a shot in the woods. I can shoot 2"-3" groups at 40 yards in the summerbut that is too far for me to shoot at a live animal with all the potential variables that come into playduring a hunting situation.

Blodg -

Agreed. I never even clear shooting lanes past 30 yds, even though I can shoot 4" groups at 45 yds.

The longest shot I have ever taken at a deer is 21 yds. The shortest is 7. There are many more less than 15 yds than there are over 15 yds.

My hunting buddies and I brag about long shots when we're shooting at targets. We brag about how CLOSE we were when we're shooting at live deer.

60 yards is my max range. I regularly practice out to 80 though.

Same here...with a scoped shotgun though.

I wont shoot over 40 yards on a deer. And the wind has to be dead still. If you know what your doing you shouldnt have to shoot over 20 yards. All 4 of my buck bowkills have been 18 yards and under.

My farthest shot was 30 yards and I took that this past season. In the woodland setting that I hunt I cannot imagine taking a shot longer than that. If I were sitting on the edge of a field and had used a rangefinder then I could see extending that distance to 40 yards...maybe. Considering the choices you gave I went with 25.

for elk mule deer you need 50 60 70 yd pins but for whitetail id use just out to 40 idk i dont hunt elk or mule deer just adding to this
60 yards is my max range. I regularly practice out to 80 though. -washington hunter
its still kinda weird to me shooting at 80yds with a bow ormore or less unethical but he said practice

in most cases i wouldn't shoot at a deer over 35 unless the conditions were perfect. i plan on practicing distances farther than 40 just to know that i could shoot that far if i wanted or needed to.