ADV. Hunter

I agree with Bruce! I have and still hunt with a rifle and in my opinion yes shots can be made at 100 yards; but with a bow why would you?! I got into hunting with a bow for the same reason as Bruce mentioned and for the challenge of getting close to my quarry, not to take an iffy shot, if you even for one millisecond question the shot then you shouldn't take the shot. I have taken shots at deer at 350 yards with my 270 and made them; does that mean everyone should do it; NO I think not. Everyones ethics are different and I respect that, but as bow hunters I think that it is something that should be discouraged so as to teach our younger future bow hunters what is the best way to achieve success and what is the right thing to do for the animal and their own ethics. I know I could not make that shot count every time so it is a shot that I wont take.

treboryerf

Thats also a very quetionable shot,even for a capable archer.I think alot of guys are over confident in their abilties,just because you can do it in your backyard at a 3d target does not mean you can do it out in the field with all the unknowns factored in,wind,nerves(yours and the animals),adrenaline,to me the shot described in this post would be unethical period.I mean at 100 yds there is no way you can pick an exact spot to shoot at,your target zone just expands too much,exspeicailly with the naked eye.

Howler

An elk does have a 16" kill zone, so a guy doesn't really need to hit a "spot".

ADV. Hunter

Yes but 16" at 100 yards how can you really pick that out with the naked eye? I have killed elk and can say that I cant see taking a shot on an elk that far as that 16" kill zone would be mostly blocked out by your sight pins alone not to mention all the other factors, but in reality this is becoming another ethics debate. To each his own but my .02 cents worth is that is not with in my ethics and would and will sway another hunter from making that shot in my presence as if it doesn't kill the creature I will not assist them in tracking it down.

OklaBowhunter

I ask this question! How does one know his distance for a high percentage shot?

If you say hitting a 70yrd 3d target is no test. How do we decide as bowhunters.

I would bet I dont miss a 16" circle at 70yrds on most days once in practice with Broadheads. I have won the state Broadhead contest many times shooting to 50yrds.
Out of 20targets I wont miss a vital except for distance judging which is a factor that is elimananted with a range finder.


So you say you shoot 300yrds with a gun. Is that a high percentage shot with a gun?

Here an example Between 45 and 50 yrd shot at state Broadhead tournament.
Good tight groups from archers. Why would 20 more yards make this a tougher shot.
On this tournament. I hit 12 heart shots out of 20shots and rest were vitals except one shot. This seems high percentage to me. White crested arrow is mine.



I do agree I like the 30 to 40yrd range as this shot. But do we limit are ability sometimes with todays equipment. Broadheads and arrows and equipment is so more advanced. Arrow speed.

HOGHUNTINGUNLIMITED

oh with a bow HAHA!

I know people that would.... Not me, but that's a long a** shot for a bow... Not only are you inaccurate, but you would get no penatration what so ever.

Thats not a real elk is it? Doesn't look like it.

ADV. Hunter

For me it is not a percentage of if I can hit it it is the percentage of what if I make a bad shot. I owe it to the animal to make a quick clean kill. Your abilities and mine and Jo schmoe down the road are all different from one another, so are what we consider a ethical shot, yours differs from mine, so what, that is your decision to make when it comes time for you to make the shot, if it were me I wouldn't you say you would, so be it. I was with a guy last year who made an 85 yard shot on a bull moose with his bow, he made an awesome shot, one arrow only got one lung and we had one heck of a tracking job but we did find him, he was one of those who practiced the 100 yard shots and told me the same thing that with all the advancements in tech we could and should, you know after the tracking job from he(( he has now changed his outlook on the whole distance thing and will no longer take shots any farther than 50-65 yards max. I agree that the shot can be made, but the question isn't can it be done but should it be done???!!!

HOGHUNTINGUNLIMITED

336


No need to get exited... Yes if it's sighted in. I have mine sighted in for 75 yards. You figure it out, and its gonna drop about 7 inches... I put it 7 inches higher than I wanted and BOOM, he dropped in his tracks... It was a clear cut, so if I would have made a bad shot, I would have just watched him till he stopped, and put another one in him... Where with a bow, Even if you are the best in the state, it takes an arrow (my arrow) about 4 full seconds to hit a target at 100 yards... A lot can happen in that time! That arrow could be headed right for the heart, but the animal takes a step and now you got a gut shot, and a lots of brush that it could hide in. I know a guy that shot a elk at 40 yards with his bow, and the thing took a step and he hit it in the liver, so 100 yards, you could be hittin some hind quarters.

Muliefever

I am all for practicing at 70 yds. I believe it does make you a better shot at 30 yds. I can honestly say I have never shot broadheads out to 70 yds. Just field points.

In my opinion there are NO conditions that could justify taking a shot at any big game animal (coyote/wolf maybe)
at that distance.... It's just not worth the risk. And besides, any jacka** can get 70 yds from from an elk. It's getting closer that makes bowhunting what it is. I have been fortunate enough to harvest 6 elk. 1 with my 30-30, and the rest with stick and string. My longest shot has been 30 yds! But I am a bowhunter. you know the saying.. Some people just hunt with a bow and arrow.

OklaBowhunter

No excited here. Just using a comparison sense it was mentioned. 300yrd gun shot is not high percentage for most gun hunters in my opionion. Many bowhunters in western states terrain will take long shots for good reasons. Bows today are quieter than ever before. Now from what I read they say being farther shots the game doesnt have a chance to react from arrow because of the shot being so far. My point is we cant judge those that hunt in terrain that takes a long shot at time. Many a antelope and mule deer have been shot at 50 to70 yrds. Long distance archers will say there bad shots at 30yrds many times as well and its diffiantly a good arguement for them to make. Often long shots are dictated by the game we hunt. I myself wont take those long shots on Whitetail because of there reaction time to hearing the shot and its all good points each here are making toward this subject and I commend everyone for being level headed in this subject. Hunters should be able to speak and disscuss for everyoine to understand the advantages and dissadvantages of longer shots.
DB