How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

I would Never take a shoot outside of 40yrds

so lets see what your range is??

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

It all depends. Up until last year I never shot over 30 yards. Last year I had a doe standing at 42 paces (I guessed 40) with her head down eating acorns, completely unaware of anything and very calm. I took her through both lungs and hit her exactly where I wanted to and she fell less than 50 yards from where she was hit. If I was in an open field, had known yardage, and was shooting at a relaxed deer that was feeding with it's head down I would be tempted to shoot out to 50 yards, but that is only because I practice 99% of the time at that distance. I only shoot 20, 30, and 40 to make sure the pins are on and while shooting 3D. My 50 yards groups can be pulled all at the same time with one hand at least half the time, and are 99% of the time 4" or smaller at that distance. I only miss the spot on a morrell bag maybe 1 out of every 10-15 shots and it's usually pretty(curse word edited out)close when not in the spot.

I would say unless under perfect conditions as described above, I would keep shots under 35 yards, however under the rare "perfect conditions" I would shoot out to 50.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

40 but no farther and conditions must be perfect, little wind, calm deer, open shot

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

I voted at my outside range but there are lots of factors that might have me answering the question at 1/2 of what I voted;)
There are times when a 50 yrd. shot would be a slam dunk and other times when a 10yrd. would be risky[&:]

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

I agree with most of you. for a shot out at 40yds, the condtions have to be perfect. I guess it would depend on the terrain and the possibility of any other shots as the deer moves. I frankly do not like shooting past 30 though.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

I agree with others.... 30-35 is my comfortable range. I cando 40, but it is a stretch and not always 100% dead on accurate.

Butch A.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

for me it depends on how big the animal is. last year i never shot over 25 yards. but if it is a monster buck and i know he isn't coming any closer...i will probably take the shot if it's offered.

Zach

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

40 is pretty much my limit. I believe I can kill outside of thatbut the kill percentage starts to go down past that yardage...for me at least.

I (for the most part) don't put myself in that type of position and most of my bow hunting stands don't have that long of shooting lanes. I figure if I don't put myself in thatposition, thetemptation for me to take longer shots won't be there.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

35 yards is tops for me

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

It used to be 30 yards. But now I practice regularly out to 60+ yards and feel very confident about taking a 40 yard shot under perfect circumstances. I did shoot a big doe last year at 40 yards. She only made it 40-50 yards and then fell straight over.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

40 would be max for me

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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 :D

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

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.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

You figure 40 yds is 120 feet, my bow shoots right around 300 feet per sec. At fourty yards a deer is only going to have a chance to say oops! If you make your set up for long shots, and short shots you better your odds. A deer will usually only raise their head when they hear a shot from 40 plus yds. I think they might even think that a squirl farted.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

40-50 is tops for me, I shoot daily, and practice up to 80 yards, its all my sight will allow.... He is what works for me and I have never lost a animal due to poor shot placement..

0-30 yards I will take broadside and quartering shots, quartering shots only if the animal is AT COMPLETE EASE!! and unaware of my presence..

31-50 everything has to be perfect, broadside only and animal has NO IDEA WHAT IS COMING...

If I'm after Elk I would push it to 60 yards max......broadside..

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

What state am I from? Washington.
Where is Washington? Out west.
Are my woods as confined as those in other areas of the U.S.? No.
Do I hunt strictly whitetail? No.

Some of you aren't confident out to 60 yards, that's fine. But please, please, please, don't assume my shooting that far is unethical until you've hunted the deer I've hunted in the woods that I've hunted them. Sure, 60 yards is a long distance, but in sage country on Mule Deer, you're lucky to sometimes get that close.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Ditto here!

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

i could of sworn i said that
"for elk mule deer you need 50 60 70 yd pins"

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

ooh ya and i just noticed we joined the same day:eek:...washington

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Actually that's the day that the boards were reset. I've been frequenting HuntingNet since '98 or '99. Must have been '98 because it was the year I got my first deer. I was 10 at the time.

I'm not quite sure what this has to do with anything, but ok.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

25 is my max - I perfer 20 but that wasn't one of the choices

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

must be that time of the month or something

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Are you honestly being this immature?

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

LOL

You just ranged a typical 230' 12 pointer working a scrape at 40.1 yards and you don't shoot ?

Yeah right.

For me ? I take the shots I can take and make, be that 10 yards or 40 yards or whatever they may be. I shoot instinctive, I never think at all how far the object is I want to hit.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

are you all i said was we signed up on the same date you say thats besides the point noticed i made two replys i was still on the point in the first and noticed something so i made another

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Washington Hunter - You CAN get much closer than 70 yards to deer and elk out west. Thats a huge wives tale that simply isn't true. You take those shot because you can make them - I got no problem with that. But to say that out west means you cannot be a good stalker and get within 20 yards is a complete false statement. Its hard - for sure, but very possible.

When the bow you shoot allows you to hit at say, 50 yards, and you get within 50 yards of your target, you're shooting, right ? If that range is 75 yards, you'll try and get within 75 yards. if your range is 25 yards .......... get within 25 yards before shooting.

My point is, if you couldn't shoot past 25 yards, you'd find a way to get within 25 yards and you'd kill a lot of deer and elk out west that way. Range and shot selection has a great deal to do with the Bowhunter and his equipment, not so much the territory he's hunting.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

And I told you I signed up with HuntingNet before the date it says. Non-confrontational post, just correcting you.

I still don't see what this has to do with anything or why you even posted it.

If you honestly want me to adress your previous post, fine;

You did, but you also said;

Excuse me for taking offence when someonesaysthat they findthe way I do things is unethical.

Excuse me for defending myself and the way I do things.

Excuse me for giving you the reason as to why I do things the way I do.

Sarcastic or not, I take offence when I'mtold that something I do is unethical.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Now Data, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I frequently take shots that far. Heck, I've only hunted with my bow one season. My point was that in the area I hunt, I make sure thatI'm ready to take a shot out to 60 yards if it is the only opportunity that presents itself. A lot of the country that I hunt Mule Deer in is wide open with 1 - 2 foot tall sage brush and small rockpiles here and there, it's not always easy to stalkwithin 25 - 30 yards of a bedded Mule Deer buck in the wide open without being detetced.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

its just my opinon about the 80yd shot unethics

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

I wouldn't take an 80 yard shot at an animal, maybe you misunderstood what I said.

I practice at the range out to 80 yards which allows me to be more consitant at 60 yards. (60 being my max range)

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

The thrill of bowhunting for me is getting up close and personal with the animal I'm hunting. I've never shot anything past 30yds. I dont set myself up for long shots , I'll save that for gun hunting.

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

practicing and shooting at an animal that far are two different things but whatever helps

RE: How Far Would you shoot at An Animal?
 

Its not suppose to be.

Some guys in this world are apes and shoot very heavy bows, light fast arrows and are extremely accurate to 80-100 yards.

Now ......... in the open areas out west, you're stalking a big 180" muley and you can make an 85 yard shot. At 85 yards ......... you draw and release and kill the buck. Cool. However , if you CANNOT make the 85 yard shot, you have to get closer. And closer, and closer until you're in a range you CAN make a shot.

The equipment you shoot has a direct relation to perception in how close you can or cannot stalk or hunt an animal. If you could not make anything more than 25 yard shots, you would become very good at getting close or you'd not kill anything :D But seriously, you see my point ?

Some rifle hunters are in awe of bowhunters going out west and stalking Antelope or muleys on the plains. Why ? The've never had to TRY and get close, so they assume its next to impossible.


Its isn't