Maximum range for deer?
 

Back in the day, the rule of thumb was a 40 yard shot with a compound bow while deer hunting. These days with the newest speed bows around 335fps, can you extend that range? What say you? Thanks...

If the deer is calm and unalert I feel comfortable out to 60. If alert I have a hard time justifying a 40 yard shot.

25-30 yards on a deer. I have never shot one that far (22 yards is my farthest in over 30 years of bow hunting) but confident I could. Good out to 50 on targets though.

Why push the yardage and risk wounding a great animal when bow hunting was meant to be a "close up" sport?!!!

35-40 is as far as I'll shoot at an animal calm or not.

I think I have shot pretty much all my deer at 20 yards or less(usually less). That is kind of the point of bow hunting for me I guess.

I don't think you can really put a rule of thumb on it. Abilities in people vary greatly.

Bows (even older ones) are more capable than the people shooting them.

I am not afraid to take a 60 yard shot. But where I live that ain't gonna happen. I might have 40 yards at the most. But at any given time its only about 30 yards



Hutch

45 yards is my max. I'm comfortable shooting 60 yards, but with a live animal, in the woods, too much can happen from the time you let the arrow fly to the time it gets to your target. I had a deer turn inside out at 17 yards this year and almost get under my arrow when I shot. Given I had to stop him in a shooting lane and he looked right at me but non the less they can be very jumpy.

When arrow flight times go over a half second, it doesn't matter how good of a shot you think you are. The animal has way too much time to move, jump, or drop during those 6 tenths of a second. It's a risky shot.

My longest shot was 40 yards. 95 percent of my shots have been between 15 and 25 yards.

I am capable at 50 yards, but definitely prefer closer. Too much can happen by the time the arrow arrives on target.

Many people think 60 yards is ridiculous because of where they hunt, thick large timber I'd have a hard time shooting over 20 yards. But in Iowa with the majority of the land being wide open ag fields 60 yards is reasonable. I don't just fling arrows. I practice beyond 60 all year so I can make the shot if needed. It rarely is but I'd rather be prepared for it than not be. All the deer I have shot have been 20 yards of less.

Another reason I practice the long shots I do; say you gut shot a deer and he hobbled out to say 55 yards. Are you going to put an ethical shot on him and put him down ethically like he deserves? Many different things come into account to determine if a shot is ethical.

I will not shoot a deer that is much over 25 yards, with under 20 yards being my desired distance. Foam targets are different than living game. Shooting at dots at 40 yards is fun. I have found too many gut shot deer on my property from neighbors that think it is cool to see how far they can shoot one.

max for me because it's as far as I practice 50 yards..

Limited by the number of unseen....
 

twigs that can stop arrows.

Open area or not 60 yards is about 6 tenths of a second fly time. It takes less than 0.1 for a deer to react and begin to move. If that's "ethical" to you, then shoot away. You'll encounter problems more often than I shooting 30.

Takes a deer .1 seconds to react better not shoot out to 30 then. In fact you have to take shots under 20 yards for you to beat the deer. It's knowing where to aim when you get past 20 yards

Expanding - since I have the day off and I happen to LOVE that this line of reasoning always comes up in the "distance archery debate"...

The biggest problem with this argument is that you're using the wrong reaction time.

It's well proven that the average reaction movement time is about 0.1sec, with humans typically falling slightly above that mark, animals often slightly below. HOWEVER, this 0.1sec reaction time is only relevant for tasks requiring non-ambulatory movement. I.e. clicking a button, raising their arm, slamming on the brakes, drawing a pistol...

Bodily movement reaction time, since it requires a complex motor neuron response, is typically in the 0.7-0.9sec range for humans, with 0.4-0.5 seconds to begin moving individual limbs to initiate movement, with animals falling in the 0.4-0.5 sec ballpark for bodily reaction/movement, and 0.2-3sec for limb movement. In other words, a deer can click a button in under 0.1sec, but they can't get their whole body moving for about 0.5 seconds. In plain terms, the deer can START moving before the arrow gets there, but their vitals don't move.

So that's how so many of us are able to kill deer at 40yrds or more.

And knowing WHERE they will move. You must be a fortune teller! :violin:

IA... How many bucks have you shot with a bow at 50 or more yards?

Even using your argument, if a deer STARTS moving it's limbs upward in after .2-.3 seconds, that allows .2-.3sec for the body to fall(load it's legs and rebound) if shooting 50-60 yards.

So using the equation 1/2at^2:

at 20 yards the deer cannot react (.2 flight time, w/ .2 reaction or .3 reaction)
at 30 yards the deer cannot react (.3 flight time, and .3 reaction time) or 1.92" body drop (w/ .2 reaction time)
at 40 yards 1.92" body drop (.4 flight time, .3 reaction time) or 7.68" body drop (.4 flight, .2 reaction)
at 50 yards 7.68" drop (.5 flight time, .3 reaction) or 17.28" body drop(.5 flight, .2 reaction)
at 60 yards 17.28" body drop (.6 flight time, .3 reaction) or 30.72" body drop(.6 flight, .2 reaction)

Now obviously a deer will not drop 30", as it will just load it's weight to bound away but anything over 30 yards becomes a guessing game and is dependent on guessing our shot placement and hoping the deer moves as we anticipate.

Please tell me more about how this isn't enough time for the deer to move prior to the shot...

I've bow hunted for a long time. Even before compound bows. Back then a 25 yard shot was a long one. Today with as you say the fast speed bows longer shots are possible and practical provided you as the shooter are capable 100% of the time. And many on here are probably speaking of whitetails in the woods or over a food plot. If you bow hunted out west for mulies, elk, or pronghorn you will get much longer shots than 25 yards. I practice out to 70 yards and I would not hesitate to take a 50 yard shot at an animal (60 yards on an elk or moose) if conditions were perfect. That being said, my longest shot on a whitetail was 43 yards but every other one has been 25 yards or less. I try to set up so my farthest shot is 30 yards.

Been stated already

Reaction time will change also. The sound of the bow will take longer to reach the deer.

Let's both recognize that this entire discussion is assuming that the deer's unabashed reaction is to get the he11 out of dodge, rather than simply LOOK for the origin of the sound. It has never been my experience in killing deer with a bow that they immediately bolt on the shot unless the shooter took a foolish shot with an alerted deer looking right at them.

More importantly for this discussion, you've wholly neglected the travel time of sound. Unless the shooter is very stupid, they don't shoot a deer looking at them, so the only stimulus that they'll receive is the sound of the shot.

(I'll enter into argument here, without discussion, that having listened to modern bows at range to see how much sound they put off, at 40-60yrds, the sound of the shot is quite low, definitely not enough to cause instant flight for most deer - as has been my experience in shooting a deer out of groups in the field).

You cannot neglect the sound transfer time in this, as it's a substantial contributor to the overall reaction time and movement time of the deer.

60yrds = 164milliseconds for the sound of your string to reach the deer
300milliseconds to start moving AFTER HEARING THE SHOT
464milliseconds before the deer STARTS moving

Flight time is 600milliseconds

136milliseconds using a 1G drop = 3.35"
Using a 2 1/4" cut on a 6"x10" vital, that's plenty of margin for error.

Shooter accuracy tends to be a much more relevant contributing factor than "string jump". Way too many guys blame $hitty shooting on "string jump" as it hasn't been my experience that deer BLITZ OUT OF TOWN as soon as they hear a bow shot.

absolutely nothing wrong with a longer shot 50,60 or even 70 yards as long you practice religiously and are proficient with your equipment and the deer is relaxed and not alert..

I choose to limit myself to 50 yds beyond that as stated before I don't practice.. I do shoot every day at least 15 to 20 shots.

I practice out to 70 yards as that is all my 5 pin sight is set for. Those who are not capable of making longer shots on deer should not try to enforce their limited capabilities on those who can and have made these shots.

You're hesitancy makes me think zero. Is it zero?

I've never taken a shot at a deer over 20 yards.. Yet I've never had a chance or a time where I've needed to. Just because I can shoot a deer at 60 yards doesn't mean I need to. I have two bows one I won't shoot over 30 yards with because I am not confident with it and I know it's too slow.. My other bow however is fair game.

So you have zero real world experience with shots at a live animal at fifty or more yards. That's all I needed to know.

if I was shooting a Mathews I wouldn't shoot beyond 30yds either ..lol

Just ribbing you....

I haven't felt comfortable making that distance of a shot until this year.. Unlike many hunters I dont fling arrows at animals to try to kill them.. I passed a 200" deer because I wasn't comfortable making a 30 yard shot two years ago. After shooting every day all last year and having 3" groups at 60 yards I have the confidence to make that shot. It is an ethical shot. Today's technology in bows has made these distances possible.

The difference between a 330 fps bow and a 270fps bow at 60 yards is about .12 seconds. That extra tenth is enough?

Ofcourse your opinion is hypothetical as you have never shot a live animal at 60 yards.

Have you ever shot an animal at 60 yards?

You must also put in the quietness off the bow and also the speed of sound into account...
If it takes me shooting an animal at 60 yards to gain "experience" then I can do that.. I'll go after a doe at 50+ yards.

How about the experience the animal may get if you gut shoot it trying to gain experience. Target shooting at 50, 60 ards or beyond is one thing stretching yor abilty on an animal is something else. When did archery change from the skill of getting an animal close where you can make a clean humane kill to lets see if we can kill a deer with a bow at rifle distances?

I'm not stretching my ability. I don't get excited or shaky when I see a deer.. That comes after the shot.. It hasn't changed, I love getting the deer in close. In fact my best encounter this year is when I had a mature 5.5+ year old buck at 7 yards broadside while I was hunting from the ground. I let him walk because he had she's one side already..

60 yards can still produce clean humane kills with a bow. Does anybody not watch the outdoor channel where these shots are becoming more and more common with the modern technology.

Lee Lakosky took a 120 yard shot with his bow at a sheep. Still have a fast reaction time.

Tyler Jordan took a shot at one at 55 yards and missed and the deer had no reaction to it. Bill shot the buck at 45 yards a few days later..

But now I'm sure you'll say they're professionals.. What makes them professional? The fact they have sponsors is all the difference I see

For some people, shooting 60yrds is "beyond their ability," for some people, shooting 60yrds is "stretching their ability." For some people, shooting 60yrds is "well within their ability".

As someone who has taken multiple deer at 50-75yrds in the last 20yrs, it's really not as "high risk" as some might have you think, if you can shoot well. There are plenty of folks that shoot much better than I (if they gave out "participant" ribbons at 3D and IBO indoors, Lord knows I'd have a few - but instead they send ya home with nothing), but I can bundle arrows at 40yrds. If a guy puts up palm sized groups at 20yrds, he has no business shooting 30yrds. If a guy puts up palm sized groups at 80yrds, and his flight time is reasonable to ensure accuracy, there's really no reason NOT to fill your freezer.

you guys must be shooting some very loud bows. I've shot deer at 25 yards and they just stood there looking at me as the arrow went thru em, they never heard a thing. With that said, longest shot was 52yds and it was a cow elk, she never heard a thing either as the arrow flew right thru. I practice to 80 so 50 to 60 is no big deal.

Yep, and that shot Lee took was damn stupid, especially to show on TV! Yep, Tyler also missed at 55! Anyway, that certainly shows they were shooting further than they should have like many of us feel too many people do with a bow or gun. It seems one member here feels that he's quite the expert on 60 yard shots at deer when he says he actually hasn't shot one at more than 20 yards! Just because you can shoot tight groups on a target doesn't mean you can do it on a living animal that may move at any second whether it's these long shots with a bow or a gun. What is happening in this day and age with all this fancy bow and gun equipment IMHO is that it's taking the hunting right out of the sport when a person feels the need to shoot an animal in the next time zone!