You know people say i shoot 30 yard max or what ever thats great for them but for me i will take longer shots if necessary. as long as you practice at long range its ok. for example i practice at over 100 yards regularly. now i know a 100 yard shot at a whitetail is not ethical but after practicing for a while at 100 yards the groups that you were shooting at 40 will soon be your groups at 60. just this last weekend i was in florida and hunted sika deer i shot one at 70 yards had a complete pass through and the deer made it 40 yards. as long as the animal is still and un aware of your presence and there is little or no wind a shot like that can be very ethical. however i am pulling 80 lbs so i have the neccesary KE at that range.

Personally I feel there are too many variables when you're in the woods to take more than a 30-35 yard shot at a deer. I know we see people do it in hunting videos all the time, but I guess that doesn't necessarily make it right. But hey - if you can make than shot 100% of the time, more power to ya. I'll be over here in my tree waiting for that big guy to get a liiiiiittle bit closer.

Only that little voice inside YOU tells YOU what YOUR ethical distance is.

Listen to it.

I don’t like to get into distance debates.

The only thing I will add – in addition to what Orion said is…..

Be real honest with yourself about your shooting ability at longer ranges. And remember – what you do in your back yard with field points, when not nervous and your comfortable can be a whole lot different when in a real hunting situation.

Darn good point.

I practice during the spring and summer months from 10 yards out to 25 yards. I will not shoot more than 25-30 yards as my hunting conditions do not permit anything further than that due to trees, cover, etc. It comes down to the range where you feel confident you can land a good shot and drop a deer effectively. I know 30 yards and closer is my range.

Don't mean to sound judgemental but I feel 28 to 30 yds. is the limit. That might even be a little to far. I practice out to 40 - 45 yards but it is sort of like shooting pool. After you feel confident about making long shots the shorter ones are much easier. Like many others have said, there are to many variables at distances over 30 yds. By the time (reaction time) you decide to pull the trigger, and the arrow reaches its target, the deer or any other animal could take a step or for that matter even lay down. You may have hit the bulls eye but it just moved. Not for very good shot placement.

for me i only shoot out to 30 yards. i would shoot farther but i dont think i have the KE for a pass through at that distance.

how do you figure up KE again?

I will agree with everyone here, I can shoot 2in groups at 55-60 yrds, I also shoot 365 days a year, I feel comfy at taking shots at 70 yrds but I won't, too many things can go the wrong way, wind, a little branch you diddn't see, anything can happen in the woods, it's all about what YOU feel comfy with, I will take shots out to 50yrds, the second deer I got last season was standing at 52 yrds, the wind was calm and he was in an open field nothing in the way but air, nice pass through, he droped 30yrds later, but thats me. You gotta shot at the distance you feel good about, but remember be honest with yourself, noone can tell you what distance you can take a shot at but YOU!!!!!

30 yards Max! I practice to 40 yards and once in a while to 50 for kicks. For hunting I keep 30 self imposed maximum. And at 30 thats only if everything is perfect! ( broadside, very little wind, standing still, looking the other way, totally unobstructed)

Good Luck!