why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

nowadays everyone is taliking about 50 and 100 yard pins and how fast they can get their bow to shoot i think we all need to not be pulled in by all the marketing out there and remember bowhunting is about how close you can get and how staight you can shoot .what is more gratifying shooting a deer at 200 yards or seeing a deer blows smoke out of his nose that you can actually hear and feel at 5 yards

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

lol i just don't see my self shooting a deer 50-100yards with my bow, 30 yards is about as far i would dare to shoot at a deer, im with you man, the closer the better, remember bow hunting is all about the challenge

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Hek with 50-100 yards! I like being right on top of them. 10 yards at the most. I hunt about 5 yards from a main trail.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Both sound like pretty impressive feats. :D

It's a big world!

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

hey wisbow, that's too close to that trail.;)

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Becasue practicing at 50, 60, 70+ yards makes a 20 yard shot at a deer a piece of cake.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

im with you the closer the better who cares about someting as minor as a creak or crack in your stand when you are shooting something 300 yards away take the same creak and crack and put an ols nanny doe with 2 fawns at 10 yards and then see what it means

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I would rather have a deer at 25 yards then I would at 5 yards because of angle.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

but a smaller 3 d target and you get the same effect as you do at shooting thos edistances without having so far to walk and get your arrows.the same pricipals used in marine corps shooting.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

true that i would too i was just talking mainly about the passion and the feel of getting clsoe ya know

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

The best is having them walk by at 5 yards and drilling them at 25..;)

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I have 4 pins on my sights 15, 20, 25,30. I will not shoot at a deer any further than 30 yards and I dont like taking a shot any closer than 15 yards.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I'm curious to the speed of your bow. My 20 yard pin is 1" high at 10 yards making a 15 yard pin useless.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Not even close to being the same thing.

At 20 yards you don't have the effect of wind, the arch of the arrow, the slowing speedof the arrow, the higher level of concnetration, and a host of other contributing factors.

Trust me when i tell you that the marines, army, or anyone else wanting to be accurate at extended ranges doesn't simply shoot at a smaller 100 yard target. Quite the oposite. They practice regularly at 600, 800, 1000 yards.

The only way to be proficient at extended ranges is to practice at those ranges. No one is saying that anyone has to shoot deer at extended ranges but practicing at those distances does make a shooter much more effective at shorter distances.


Also not everyone hunts in thick woodswhere a 20 yard shot is a long one. Go out west and hunt elk, mulies, sheep, or antelope and you had better be able to shoot to 50 yards accurately or you may eat a whole lot of tag soup.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Hunting Mule Deer here in Washington we're presented with a lot of open terrain, sometimes making stalking within 25 - 30 almost impossible.

When going on mule deer hunts I have my pins set at 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards. I regularly practice out to 70, thus making those closer shots seem like cake.

For whitetail, I set my pins at 20, 30, and 40 yards.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I have my pins set in 10 yard increments from 20 to 60 yards. The 50 and 60 yard pins are for practice only. During hunts, they add decoration! ;)

I have passed up shots below my stand on numerous ocassions because the angel was too steep -- I've had to wait until the deer walked away from my tree and then hope I'd get the angle I needed. We do need to concentrate on getting the deer close, correctly positioned and with the vitals unobstructed. I've already passed a couple shots this past week just because everything wasn't perfect and I don't like to take anything less than a high percentage shot.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I'm surprised at all the hunters that don't realize this. I shoot with a few buddys once in a while and they never want to practice beyond 20 yds. They say they won't shoot that far at a deer anyway.

I try to explain to them how praticing at longer distance makes the 20 yarders seem easy, yet they won't even try it.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

it is actually amazing, you can shoot a few arrows at 30, a few at 40, then moveinto twenty and drill the bulls eye np. It is weird how that works just a mental thing i guess but it is true.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Just my opinion..... i think that when you step outside the 20 yard realm and shoot greater distances The intensity of your focus is that much greater to be able to hold steady and have good form. thats why when you go back to 20yards after shooting 30 and 40 even50, it seems easier because you are still aproaching your shot with that same focus you had at longer distances.

I would like to know if there is a scientific way to show how much more "steady" a shooter has to be to shoot well at 30 to 50 as opposed to 20 yards.

example
When shooting 50 yard if you barely move, your shot will be a foot off center.
say i move my arm the same amount at 20 yards how far will my arrow be off center? problypretty hard to figure something like that...any smart people feel free to chime in.

could just daw a straight line(good shot)and an angled line(bad shot)starting from the same point and mark off set points but thats not exactly real world

Theres probly too many variables for real world conditions.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I agree with that. Though my max shot is about 25 yards.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

i have my pins set at 10, 20, 30, and 40 but i hate taking a shot much farther than 20.

Just a quick question, how can u guys be accurate at 40+ yards? when i look at the sight pin at that distance it almost covers the entire target.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

How far your sight bracket isout from the riser makes a difference there. the sights that have long arm brackets are much better for greater distances...take a look at a competition shooters bow. there are hunting sights like this SPOT HOG makes one...im sure there are many others.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Its quite simple actually, my 40 pin is about half the size of my 20. I find shooting my 40 is easier than my 30.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

ooic....i never thought of that...thanksalpha:D

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

thanx to u too hiawatha! sryi must have postedlike a second or two after you did

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

that ok man. what would be stellar is if i got another pin the same size as my 40 to use for my 30 only problem with that is the smaller the pin the faster you lose it when the sun goes down. There is always glowing pins but ohh when will the decisions end.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

BHNTR46

I DONT HAVE ONE OF THESE SIGHTS(THEY ARE VERY EXPENSIVE)BUT HAVE SHOTWITH THEMAND IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE THEY ALSO MAKE THEM WITH SMALLER DIAMITER FEBER OPTICS.i STILL PRACTICE LONG DISTANCES IT HELPS WITH FOCUS GREATLY

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

yeah i should probly go to a sportsmens club and shoot some farther shots to make the 30 and 40 yard shots easier. right now i just shoot behind my house and i have a hard time going much farther than 40 yds because of all the houses.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

shooting at longer distances makes practicing more fun.. just shooting 20 gets me burned real fast.

i probly shouldn't do this because i live in town but Another thing i do at night is set my target up in the back yard and lay a flashlight on the ground next to it so i can see. Then i climb up onto my roof with 2 dozen arrows and shoot(i have a L.E.D. mounted in my sight window).dont know why i do it, but itis fun to me(till the lawman shows up[:@]Knock on wood)good thing i have cool neighbors that know what my obsession is. otherwise id be going to jail an awfull lot.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I had to try it for myself tonite.
I went to fifty and shot three arrows, not bad considering I just guessed at where the pin should be. I was shooting at a mckenzie deer and had all three from fifty in the kill zone. About a five inch group.Then at twenty all three were touching vanes in the heart!
I will now start shooting farther to increase my concentration.
Like they say on the Walker game ear commercials It worked for me....LOL

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I got into archerybecause I wanted to get close to my prey.
I don't see a problem practicing at longer yardages.....just kind of takes the fun out of it if you are going to shoot an animal at 50 + yards. If I wanted to do that I would just wait until gun season.

Reminds me to think of the Archers Prayer.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I think someone already mentioned this but if you wanna shoot a deer 50 yards away shoot it with a gun. No sence in trying to take a animal 50 yards away and wounding it. I have 1 pin "crosshair" and i go from there. I dont want to shoot further then 20 yards and i dont ever think about doing that. Like i said i like to be around 5 yards away its better experience and you have to be alot quieter and have less movement than you do at 30 yards or so. I'm not trying to be cocky or anything but i dont see why anyone would want to shoot a deer that far out really.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I feel the same way, i hunt deep woods and 20 yards is about the maxx distance in any of my locations/stands. But if the opportunity presents its self where i think i might not see this MONSTER again....Im gonna be damn ready toKILL@35. I think 50 yards is a rediculous shot with a bow while hunting..... at least whitetails.
Too each his own.....

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

HAHA awesome tky, its weird hey but it works. I took practicing skills like this a bit in college in a motor learning class. We did an experiement in a lab once tossing bean bags at a target, then varied the distance, then returned to the first distance. Our results were similar to what you found. Its just how we are wired.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Same her the Impressive Hunter is the one who can be 15 to 20 yards and can make the shot with No noise or smell If you want to shoot 100 yrds well Riffles are made for that lol

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

You short distance shooters need to come out west and hunt antelope with your 20 and 30 yards pins and see how many shots ya get!:D

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

I've taken atwo deer outat 50yds. 0ne at 45. 2 at 40. 3 at 35.

Several at 30.


But most of the deer I've taken were at 25 or less.


One thing that I've noticed is, that deer are way more likely to jump the string( duck the arrow)on those close shots, creating high hits or even misses. On those far shots they don't.


It is like someone jumping out at you, in the dark and saying BOO! If they do it from far away, it doesn't make you jump. That's how it works with deer.

My bow is a vintage 1996 Proline Mountain Bow. I see these modern bows shooting over 300 fps and guys are limiting themselves to 20 yd shots. With a 300fps bow. They should shoot pretty darn flat out to almost 30 yds.

I understand wanting the feeling, that you used your skill, getting close. I have no arguement with that. But I pride myself in having the skill to take a deer at longer range with a limited range weapon.

Either way you look at it, it takes some sort of skill. It just boils down to which skill you take more pride in.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

anyone have any suggestions as to how to keep steady when shootin long range w/ a bow?at 40 and 50 yards my pin is bouncin all around. idk if im just tired from shootin so much or what but ive already put a couple over the target and into the shed:(

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

Try this,

Concentrate your vision on the target.

Let the sight pin become blurry.

When you release, try to keep the pin on the target until you hear the arrow's impact. Don't try to watch the arrow fly. Don't become concerned about where the arrow hit until you go to retrieve your arrows.

Once you notice you missed, most people become concerned and fall into the trap of watching their arrows fly or want to see where they hit. Then they really start doing bad.

What they don't realize is, they are moving the bow to the side or dropping their bow arm at the instant they release. This causes misses. I believe a few guys tried some long range shooting and noticed they had trouble and decided they weren't going to shoot that far and just went back to 20 yds. and stayed there. They lost confidence in their ability and quit the long range stuff. If they just stayed with it as a few of us did, they'd notice a big difference in time.

This is where practicing at long range has its benefits. It teaches you you have good form and to concentrate more. It teaches you follow through.( some don't believe in follow through, but I do)
If you don't, you miss by alot. All this isn't noticed at 20 yds, but move back to 40 or 50 and you will know when you didn't do it right. If you practice at 40 or 50 for a solid week then move up to 20, you will see the greatest difference in your shooting ability. Now, just imagine practicing at 50 for a solid month. Shooting long range teaches you quickly what you are doing wrong.


I just wish some of the guys on here would try that long range practice for a few days. No 20 or 30 yd. practice, but only 40 and 50. Try tghis for just a day or 2 and then move back up to 20 and see what you notice.

RE: why is everyone talking about how far they can shoot
 

thnx windwalker:D im gonna try that tonight after im done talkin to my neighbor about hunting on his property. should i always focus on the target and not the pin even at 15 or 20 yds? sry ... i know i ask a lotta questions lol