RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

35 yards tops for me!!!
However, I will try to keep them all under 30, but I much prefer 25 or less.
Practicing I can place 10 out of 10 arrows in the vitals at 40 yards, but I still dont feel confident enough to release an arrow past 30.
Maybe next year I will shoot 40, takes alot of practice and confidence.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I prefer to be inside of 25 yards but I'm confident out to 35 yards. To me bow hunting is more about getting the animal as close as possible without getting busted. I shot deer with a gun for years and just started learning how to hunt when I picked up a bow. It's more personal/spiritual when the animal is inside of 20 yards.

Anything out past 40 yards I will save for shotgun and Muzzleloader season.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

My answer to this question last year was 30 yards.

I have a new answer for this year and that is 40 yards. I can consistently shoot at 50 cent size sticker at this distance. The conditions would have to be perfect while hunting to achieve this distance though.

All of my bow kills last year were under 20 yards however and my rifle buck was also about 15-20 yards.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

It depends on the situation, everything from the deer (Not sex - I.E- Nervous v. Calm) to the terrain, to my confidence that day, etc...assuming (always dangerous) everything is right, I'll shoot to 50, no more.
I hold a four inch group at 50 with broadheads, so the accuracy isnt an issue, but we all know that shooting foam is nothing like shooting hide...

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I do know that more than 90 percent of the deer we DON'T shoot at will get away.:);)[&:]

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

"I know I'm not going to miss at 15 yards." -gzg38b

Those wordsmight come back to haunt you some day.

Just because you can't do something doesn't mean someone else cannot. I take the first decent shot I get. If you wait for perfect, you will not kill very many animals.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I don't care how good of a shot you are, you should not shoot at a deer at 50 yards! I don't care if your 10-10 at a target from 50. Shooting at that range, your depending on the deer and not your shot. The deer could duck your arrow or move alot by the time your arrow gets there! And don't give me the, "well they can't hear the new bows now days" because they can still hear them. They may hear it, they may not, but is that a chance you want to take with a live creature. Deer are wounded enoughf we sure as hell don't need poeple taking 50 yard pokes at them when they don't know how the deer will react for "sure" by the time the arrow gets there. If you take 50 yard Pokes at deer you really don't care what happens to the deer, all you care about is that you might kill it from 50 then you look like the al mighty hunter. PUT THE DEER FIRST NOT YOU!

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Huh! with that kind of thinkin', no one should shoot at a deer at 20 yards or less either. After all, how many times have we seen and heard about deer ducking the arrow at those ranges? Lots and lots of times. SO, better not take those shots either!!
By the way, I guess I'll have to say I feel very confident out to 60 yards. Since I shot my antelope last year at 60 yrds. This years antelope was at 47 yards. My turkey was at 35 yards this year. My elka this fall was at a mere 20 yards. And get this, I have wounded and lost 2 animals, both whitetails, one was at about 8 yards and the other at about 17 yards. Go figure.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

"Huh! with that kind of thinkin', no one should shoot at a deer at 20 yards or less either. After all, how many times have we seen and heard about deer ducking the arrow at those ranges? Lots and lots of times. SO, better not take those shots either!!

Wow...thanks for proving my point for me!!!

Also, Mr. Howler......Im not arguing that it can't be done. Good job at killing things from a 47 or 60 yards. Just stating that it is unethical to shoot deerat that rangebecuase you don't know how they will react. Like you said they can duck arrows from 20 yards I've seen it countless times on videos. So what do you think happens at 50! I just put the animal before my ego and I care about wounding an animal. I don't want it sitting and suffering over night because I though it wouldn't react to my 50 yard shot but it did. Plain and simple your about 50% more likely to wound an amimal shooting it at this range, Im just not willing to take that chance.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I'm sorry, butthat statement is too extreme for me. If I did that wouldn't I be a vegetarian?I see by your avatar that you put yourself before that nice buck.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Huntingson

Im talking about not wantingto woundit and letting it lie and suffer for a day or two without finding it, because "it might not react to my shot at 50 yards".

I guess your ok if that happenshuh.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

40 yards now. 2 years ago would have been 50 but haven'tbeen shooting that far in a couple years. I am just as confident my arrow is going to end up in the chest at 40 as I am at 20. You 20 yard ethics cops would have a lot stronger argument if you could back your points up with facts. When you pull things out of the air and try to support your point it doesn't do much for your cause.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

35 yards with optimal wind conditions, shooting lanes ect.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Ok then....give me some facts on why you think your arrow is going to land in the chest area atat40-50 yardsas you say.........you can't so I guess were in the same boat. Thats my whole point.....you don't know whats going to happen! You have to agree that the odds greatlyincrease of the deer reacting to the noise the farther it gets away though...right.

Youguys keep helpingme withmy point....this is great.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I was always tought, and I thought if you can't get close enough to a deer you change your stand location or strategy to get that deer. Not just throw 50 yards shots at it and hope you it vitals.

You guys really don't care about wounding an animal...do you?

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I feel confident toshoot out to 45 yards if the conditions (wind, Position the deer was standing, amount of daylight, etc.) were right. But I prefer to have the deer within 25 yards if at all possible.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

20or less[&:]

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I said 40 yards not 40-50 yards. Fact, I shoot my bow every day. Fact, I shoot both field points and broadheads out of my bow every day. Fact, my broadheads end up in the kill zone on the 3-D target the same at 40 yards as they do at 20 yards. Fact, when I loose an arrow at a deer I have no control over what will happen after I touch the release, be it 20 yards or 40 yards. Fact, you have no control over what will happen after you hit the release on a deer at 20 yards or under. I base the 40 yard shot selection on the Fact that unless I want to refletch a bunch of arrows I only shoot one at a time into the 3-D target, even from 40 yards. So I have provided you with some facts, please provide me with the reference of the probability that me shooting at 40 yards will result in a 50% greater chance of me wounding a deer and not recovering it.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

25in the woods, 40 open country. I shot my doe last week at dead on 40, I had rangedsome spots earlier, and knew EXACTLY how far she was, and also was shooting from the ground. In open grasslands 20 yards is not always reality.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Real deer not 3D targets! 3D targets don't duck or start running away.
Just answer the question, is it more likely that a deer can react at 40 or 50 than 20?

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I prefer a 30 yard shotor less... on whitetails,40 and in on elk

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Experimental data back up my claims. 40 yards is a slam dunk. I have taken a lot of animals at 40-45 yards. Granted, none were whitetails, but a couple were mule deer which are comparable. If you have no experience with it besides what you saw on TV, you have no argument at all. If you don't want to shoot that far, fine, but I make the shot consistently so don't think you know me, my abilities, and what I have seen and done better than me. I have only wounded one animal in my life, which I grant is lucky because I have missed animals before at all ranges, and it was a shoulder shot at 25 yards.

Doe taken last week at 35 yards, double lung, 30 yard "tracking" job. I got a deer, you would have passed. Who's right? NEITHER OF US. That is just the way it is. I do what is right for me, you do what is right for you.

My ideal distance... 7-10 yards.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I have killed 3 deer with my bow. One last year and 2 so far this year. The closest was 7 yds the farthest was 15. That is the shot I would prefer. That said, I would shoot with confidence out to 40yds given the right conditions.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Whoa, slow down there cowboy. You asked me to give you some FACTS as to why my arrow was going to land in the chest cavity at 40-50 yards and I provided said facts. You then ask about reaction times. One point at a time. I provided you with the facts that you asked for, now please provide me with the factual information that the probability of me wounding a deer is 50% greater by taking a 40 yard shot. After all we are talking facts not opinions so I'm sure you're going to be happy to divulge your source to me on this issue. We shall get into the reaction times of deer after we finish with your 1st point.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

If conditions were right I'd shoot a deer at 40 yards. With the wind we've had in NE Ohio this year, I've also had nights when I said 10-15 yards max. I don't know that you can just say my yardage is XX, period.

In the same breathe if conditions were right I'd shoot a coyote at 60 yards..smaller target..why do we put less value on wounding a coyote??...A question I ask you as well as myself..is his life, as a predator, to our beloved deer, any less important.. hmmmm

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I got you beat. I shot one buckfrom the ground at a measured distance of 7(that's right SEVEN) FEET(measured from where I crouched to where hespun out taking off after the shot.:D:D:D

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I won't shoot at a deer past 35 yards because my eyes play tricks on me looking through a sight past forty yards.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

For me, it depends on the situation. I feel pretty comfortable shooting out to 40 yards. But if it's a further shot than that, then the situation needs to be just right, in order for me to take it. A deer can do a lot on a shot at 50 yards. Weather, Deer Language, and archery gear, would depend on whether I'd take a shot over the 40 yard mark.

Also, using a rangefinder to be exact in the distance would be a "Have to do" thing. Like most hunters, I have a hard time distinguishing the exact distance that far. 46 vs 49 yard shot, is tough to acurrately range, without a rangefinder.

But like everyone else, I prefer the 30 or less... everyday.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

Huntingson & Metz....

You guys are right I should cool it. I just got a little riled up when I heard that it's ok to shoot a WT. deer at 50 yards. It's my opinion I guess, that this is to far to shoot for a deer. I've based this opinion on my 17 years of bow hunting. I didn't just come up with this from out of know where. I have learned from my own mistakes. My second largest buck came at 40yards, it was perfect conditons and I took the shot and spinded him because he started to dip to take off before the arrow was there. I have also witnessed in person a deer duck an arrow at 40 yards.On my deer I got extremely lucky. I learned from that experience thatlong distace shots are risky no matter how good you are.I am a bowhunter therefore over my years of hunting I have wounded deer and It makes me sick that I have mortaly or even non-mortaly wounded a deer and it suffers for any amount of time expecially days at a time and then is waisted. I just don't have the concious to deel with letting an animal lay in its bed sick for hours before it dies, I hate it. So I guess that is the basis for my opinion, is that from my experiences it is more likely that the deer can react to the sound of your bow and become wounded from at far distances.

Your right menz there are no facts about anything, it's just what i have seen and experienced that makes me think this way. I just hope you guys aren't the kind that doesn't really care if they stick one and don't find it, because that aint cool. And if you shoot deer at 50 yards I have a hard time believing you aren't.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I wish I could say further, but 30 yards in the woods is my real limit.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

[:-]Man oh man, did I kick the bee hive with this question or what!? The reason I posed said topic in the first place was because of a guy I work w/ who brags about his "last pin being @ 90 yds".He talks about,"I shoot a doe last year @ 70 and passed clean through...and you say that's slob hunting?", etc. etc. In light of this kinda stuff, I stated (my opinion) that anything over 50 @ a whitetail is flat nuts. This promted a rather heated, intense reaction from him, and in the end nothing was ever accomplished. Butfor all of you who shoot past the 30's, please tell me you're using a BLOODY RANGEFINDER!!! I mean, you wanna shoot 45, 50, 60, fine, but you owe it to theanimalto be certain he's standing@ 48 and not 41yards away. But hey, if you've done it, props....you just won't see me do it, not at 50.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

The whole problems is when people do it once they think that it's going to be like that every time. You said it bowhuntersteve, we as bowhunters owe this to the animal.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

The fact is I never use a range finder! Don't need one, don't want one. I have walked and shot in the woods and fields with judo points for so many years now, I just learned how to do it. And my practice range is 80yds, it is all about form and tuning and doing it. Shooting an animal at 40yds, I don't even think about. And the bottom line is that if you don't practice at long range you will never be able to understand how someone else can shoot that far and be comfortable with it. Todays compound bows will easily kill animals at eighty yards if set up right, the bow isn't the problem. I am saying if you don't ever shoot any farther than 20yds in practice, don't try and shoot an animal at 30yds. But if you are that kind of shooter don't judge someone that can shoot at 80yds. You have nothing to base your judgement on. And as for making a mistake in taking a shot and wounding an animal, if you hunt it will happen to you sometime. OH, PS I killed my Ram at fifty five yards. And he didn't hear a thing, he just felt it. Only went 60yds.
Gselkhunter

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

40 yards is my max range...I personally feel that the speed and kinetec energy of your arrow plays a major part in taking shots at 40 and longer as well as your accuracy and confidence...if you can hit a deer past 40 yards accurately but all your going to do is wound it then I wouldnt take the shot...I hope that maybe with all the new technology going into the new bows and arrowsI can effectively extend my range but for now I believe 40 is a great number for anyone...

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I can truly see both sides to this argument. I see a lot of people who shoot at distances way beyond their abilities, but I also know that there are some people out there that can circumsize a gnat at 40 yards with a bow. I 100% agree with tschammel that no one should take bad shots that will wound animals, but I also think that long distance shots are reasonable under the right conditions. I feel comfortable taking that shot. I practice at much longer distances than I would shoot in a hunting situation, and I have shot enough animals that I can shoot at them as though they are a target. I don't feel guilty at all for taking that shot. That doesn't mean that I wouldn't feel terrible if I wounded one. It just means I am confident that if I choose to shoot a longer shot, then I will make it.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

This one always kicks a beehive. TS I understand and respect your opinion. My opinion differs and it comes from my experiences in 22 seasons of hunting and shooting a bow. I have no problem with your thoughts on distance all I ask is that you respect my opinion and others on the issue. No one is right or wrong, it is something we all need to decide for ourselves and ultimately it is what we can live with. I don't believe in wounding animals and leaving them and if I think there is a good chance that I will do so I don't take the shot. I let my experience dictate what I do and I'm comfortable with that. In the end we are all hunters sharing the same passion.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

The farthest I have ever shot a deer was a doe at just under 35 yards. She was standing broadside with her head down when I shot. I ended up hitting her in the spine with the arrow sticking almost straight up and slightly angled back. She would have to have turned almost 90 degrees and dropped her rear a quite a bit from the time I shot til the arrow hit. I'm not saying I wouldn't take that shot again, but nothing is guaranteed.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

I can't agree with ya. Why is it so important for all of us to make our equipment as quite as possible? NOW, if an animal is further away, the sound I make will not be as loud as if I was closer to it!
It comes down tothis, shooting the animal without it knowing there is any threat near by. If the animal is in a feeding, or at least relaxed state, then that will reduce the risk of an "arrow ducking" reaction more than any distance between you and the animal! Sure it will here the shot at 50 yards, BUT it won't be as loud as if the shot were from 20 yards!

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

It's 20 yards for me. Every year I say I'm going to attempt a 30 yard shot but never do. In practice I hit 4 inch groups at 40 yards, but to me it's just too risky.

RE: Maximum Confident Shooting Range???
 

The original question was what our maximum CONFIDENT range is. Mine is 50, and if someone has a problem w/ me shooting at a deer at 50 yards with my modern archery tackle, I gotta tell ya.....I don't give a darn. If conditions are right, I'm shooting. If someone tells me I am less of a hunter for it, well, that's their right and opinion. But it's not going to stop me from doing it again.

Now, if you ask me what the farthest shot is that I've TAKEN....25 yards. This entire thread has turned into judgement of who's a better hunter, and it's simply not the point. Just because I would shoot at one 50 yards away DOES NOT make me a better hunter (or shooter) than someone who's range is 20 yards. The same applies vice versa as well.

Everyone has to know their limits and stick with them. That's what it's about right there. I will not make any apologies for working hard to improve my effective range. If stretching that range helps me feed my family (that's why I hunt afterall, to feed my kids) I REFUSE to make an apology for it.

I will also say that if that causes me to wound and not recover a deer, I tell you I've done everything possible to prevent that from happening, and though I will make every effort to recover said deer, if I don't,YES, I will feel badly about it, but it won't stop me from doing it again. Same applies for a close shot as well. If the same thing happened at 20 yards, I wouldn'tREDUCE my effective range!Hell no! I would take the first 20 yard shot that came along.And don't tell me that hasn't happened w/ 20 yard and closer shots too, because IT HAS. In fact, I dare say it happens more, but that may be only because there are fewer shots taken at longer ranges, so I wonder what the ratio is...That I don't know.