chas0218

I'm just wondering what everyone feels comfortable taking a deer out to yardage wise? I have my bow setup out to 60 yards. I haven't shot a deer over 30 so i haven't ever tried. At 60 yards I can group all my arrows within a 3" circle so i have faith in my shot.

I don't want this to be a pissing match or anyone bashing I'm just curious.

djdkman

It's what ever you are confidant in. I watched TV shows where guys killed Antelope at 60 yrd cleanly....and I just think WOW....I practice out to 40 yrds so that 30 yrd shots are in my mind easier.
Best part is you are confidant at ranges over the normal hunting range of around 30 yrds in most situations...meaning the 60 yrd practice makes the 30 yard kill shot much more confidant.
JMO

BrentH243

i love the 18 yard broadside or quartered away shot. i can't hit crap at 60 yards! if you can shoot consistent, then go for it. i'm sure your setup is plenty enough to kill a deer at that distance.

fingerz42

I wont shoot at one further than 35 even though I practice much further.. too much time for deer movement and other errors at long distances..

The Rev

I can stack arrows are 65, but you have to remember that shooting a target is very different than shooting a deer. Your body is going to react differently with a monster buck.. Your heart will be pounding, hand shaking and about to pee your pants. A long distant shot on a deer is not the same as a long distant shot on a target..

And I've never seen a target jump the string.

LittleChief

I practice regularly out to 70 yards and at 60 yards, I'm deadly on targets and foam animals. For hunting, however thirty yards is what I set my "ideal" hunting limit at. That's not to say I wouldn't take a 40 - 50 yard shot if the perfect opportunity arose.

That opportunity arose two days ago, and I tried my first long shot in a hunting situation - 50 yards on a doe standing still and broadside in a food plot with no wind. I was at full draw and my pin was settled good and I touched the release. This is only my third season bowhunting. Up until that shot, my record with my Drenalin was 12 draws on deer, 12 shots, 12 complete passthroughs and 12 deer recovered.

If you go out to the stand with the mindset that you're good at 60 yards on a target so a 60 yard hunting shot is a "gimme", you'd be making a mistake. You WILL NOT be calm and relaxed as you settle your pin for the shot like you are at your range. You WILL NOT be able to see all of the small branches and other obstructions 40 yards away. The majority of my shots have been in lower light (early or late), and an accurate 50 - 60 yard shot in the woods with low light while you're experiencing an adrenaline rush is a tall order to fill.

Oh, one other thing. You might ask what happened on my shot? That's my last bit of advice. NEVER forget that no matter how fast your bow shoots, the arrows don't fly FLAT. They ARC. Right now there's a $25.00 arrow setup buried in a 2" oak limb 25 feet off the ground 15 yards from the tree that I was set up in.

I'm a pretty good shot, and I don't lose my composure when a deer is in front of me, but I got so caught up in the moment that I forgot about the arc on a longer shot.

LittleChief

I've never personally seen a deer jump the string, but you're right about that, Rev.

BOWHUNTER818

Exactly i wont shoot further then 40 yrds on a deer im confident shooting further at a target, but a deer can Jump the string like nothing else at 60 yards...

BH818

UPHunter08

I've seen a deer crouch down, turn 180 degrees, and get an arrow in the head in the time it took an arrow to travel 35-40 yards (a buddy of mine was lucky enough to have had his dad taping his hunt when this happened to him). After seeing this, I'm convinced that my bow isn't fast enough to take a shot over 30 yards, no matter how good my shooting ability is. Too much can happen during the time it takes an arrow to travel that far to make me comfortable with taking a longer shot. That's just me though. There are others out there (with faster bows, perhaps?) that can, and do, make longer shots connect.

It comes down to what you're comfortable with. My personal rule is, if I'm hesitant to take the shot, I don't. I bent this rule a few weeks ago and paid the price (just nicked a buck that was moving...first and last time I took a shot at a moving deer). That incident reinforced my belief in following that rule.

drockw

If you can group ALL of your arrows within a 3" circle at 60 yards id say shoot em at 60 if they are still. I like to think in a deer hunting situation that roughly twice my average group size should be thought of when shooting at a deer at the same yardage... You've gotta take into consideration all of those other things....

I will say that if you can shoot 3" groups at 60 all day long, you should go to Vegas next year and shoot the indoor Vegas world championship. Those 3/4" X's should be nothing if you doing that good at 60 Usually about 40k goes out to the winner... And most of those pros dont even shoot that well at 60.