idahoelkinstructor

First I want to say hi to everyone out there. I am new to this web site and I love it. My wife and I are Archery Education Instructiors for the Idaho Fish and Game. We have taught for 3 years now. One subject that comes up in every class is how far is to far to shoot at game. Being in Idaho most people start bowhunting to hunt elk. But some hunt all the game available with their bow. In our class we have hunters from age 11 to age 88... whether they are new or experienced hunters. Every one offers different opinions for how far you should shoot. Some say no more than 20 yards and others say that 80 is acceptable. There is a standard that we have to teach (40 yards) and my own limit is 40 yards. The furthest I have ever had to shoot was 35 yards. I do practice out to 50 so that my skills remain sharp. However, for this topic I want to hear opinions based on experiences with your hunts with big game.

ewolf

It varys from person to person. My limit on deer size game is about 40-50 yards. The reason for this is not accuracy but lose of speed. I'm afraid that I have lost to much momentum to get a pass through everytime. I paractice out to 80 yards. When I hit the 11 ring at 80 yards I know I have done something. Most of my practice is 3D style shooting.

Matt / PA

Boy that's the age old question, and it's going to vary widely depending upon individual skill, size of the game hunted....and unfortunately some bad judgement and poor decisions thrown in.

I couldn't put a maximum number on an entire population of hunters for any given species.......everyone is different in their shooting skills, range estimation, nerves etc etc.

My advice to everyone out there is to find your own personal effective "Target shooting range" (Range where you can consistently keep 99% of your arrows comfortably inside your intended animals kill zone) and then subtract 5 yards for range estimation/nerves/hunting conditions and another 5 yards for the fact that you are shooting at a living breathing animal that can and WILL move. Do not shoot beyond that mark at live game and you should be in pretty good shape.

That's not perfect I know but might be a better individual guideline than just throwing out an arbitrary number.

rybohunter

This can surely spark some emotion. There is no single standard. I like to keep my personal limit to 25 yds for deer. Although my abilities and equipment will kill a deer farther, that's what I choose to set for myself. I rarely need to take a shot that far anyways. Now if I wa going on a hunt for elk where the size of the target and nature of the terrain may call for a further shot, I would practice and gear myself accordingly.

elknut1

I too limit myself to 40yds, and practice out to 50 and 60 to make 40 feel like 20. elknut1

BobCo19-65

Whitetail 30 max
Elk 40-45 yards

PABowhntr

Ah, the good old question of proficiency. A good topic in my opinion. Personally, I agree with the others. It is going to vary from person to person though I think most folks agree that 30-40 yards are their self-imposed limits for Easter US hunting because of a variety of factors. Terrain, the animal itself, equipment restrictions, etc....

Out west that distance might be 10-15 yards farther, again, because of the terrain and animals being sought.

Rack-attack

I have found that the Max distance a hunter will shoot is directly inverse to the amount guilt/remorse he feels after wounding an animal

jsasker

My limit will be 35 this year abd that is depending where i'm hunting--i'd rather take a 30 yard shot in an open field than a 15 yard shot in the woods where there could be a branch that i don't see between me and the deer.35 yards would have to be under PERFECT conditions but that is my goal and i doubt if i will ever try to go farther.

silentassassin

Rack, how exactly do you measure that????? You don't think it has anything to do with how proficient some people are and how confident they are at making longer shots? George Dixon shooting at a caribou at 70 yards (and smoking it) is a product of his lack of remorse rather than his world class shooting skills? So, someone that maybe isn't a very good shot and won't shoot over 20 yards is more ethical than me if I shoot at a deer at 30 yards, when I can consistently shoot 2" groups at 30 yards???? That isn't one of your brighter statements[:'(]

OK, now that I am through thread jacking......I think it varies for everyone depending on their ability level. My personal limit is 40 yards.