huntingheck69

I was just wondering what every ones opinion on shooting distance is personally I am comfortable at 30yrds max in a hunting situation. I know this is a touchy subject for some people but I was just reading an article and it was about this and did you know that the I think the 4th largest grizzly bear in the pope and young record book was taken at 70yrds with a long bow by Saxton POPE and Art YOUNG and the late Fred Bear had no problem taking his former world record stone sheep at 60yrds and killed it dead. But then I hear alot of people get very angry when some tells them they shot their game(whatever it was) at 50yrds or more sometimes even if its over 30yrds. this post is not intended to stir up arguments or any bad feelings I just wanted to hear peoples opinions on the subject and make people think like if those bowhunting legends can kill animals dead at those ranges with the bows they had then( long bows,recurves) is it not ok for someone who is very accurate and has practiced at even 60yrds to take his animal with the bow technology we have today without it being an ethical question. Thanks and again this I didn't post this topic to offend anyone or to start arguments.

MO_Bowhnter

I personally think if you are confident enough to kill out to 60 yds. then more power to you. You can't stop people from making their own decisions. A 60 yd. shot through heavy cover on the other hand should not be taken by anyone. I would not feel comfortable shooting over 30 yds.

What I don't want to see is people that are not capable of taking these long shots, taking them. Just because the Fred bear's of the world can make these long shots does not mean in any way that the average archer can make the shot.

bwhunter501

my thoughts exactly! if your comfortable and consistant at that distance then go for it. but what i dont like is when people think that they can shoot farther than they really can and end up making a bad shoot on an animal.[:@] personally i see no reason to shoot at a deer over 30 yards. but thats just me.

t_eichenseer

I am confident with my ability to shoot 50 yrds but no more. If you want to shoot farther than that, more power to you. I'll stick with 50.

gibblet

if any of you think fred bear was afraid to hit an animal in the ass from 70 yds you're dead wrong. good gosh people, the shots he and others took and the wounded animals they left are why we have ethics in hunting today, because they had none. not taking away from what they did for bowhunting, but for that 70 yd record there were probably 70 animals that were never recovered by that hunter that led pitiful crippled lives. depending on the week (if i'm in the zone), and the wind, i'd take a longer shot into the pasture than has been mentioned.

dpv

Thanks to a bum shoulder, I use a crossbow. 30 yards give or take. I suppose if I shelled out some more cash I could have a crossbow that had greater range, but using a barebones Horton Steelforce recuve keeps my cash outlay small, and keeps it very challenging. Rifle season will be here soon enough. Then I can take the long shots.

David

m.t.hands

10 yrds or less, but i practice to 50, my main objective is to get close to the animal, but practicing at 50 yrds makes the close shots really easy, the longest shot ever for me with a bow 43yrds in the woods, thats a long way thru limbs and brush.

walks with a gimp

At a recent state organization's banquet, I watched a rare interview of Fred Bear that was brought to the banquet by one of his old friends. In the interview, he was asked what the "best" shot he ever made was. He thought and replied that when he hunted in Africa one time for lion there were drivers beating the bush to drive the lions toward him while he waited in a tree. He said that he seen a lion about 100 yards away and that there was a dirt embankment behind the lion. He thought that if he shot an arrow into the bank, it might scare the lion his way. He said that he drew and aimed above the lion and shot, watching the arrow fly and expecting the arrow to hit the dirt bank. The arrow dropped much more than he thought and watched the arrow hit the lion right in the heart!!!!
The ethics of today and the demand for them to avoid public scrunity are more necessary than back then when only a hand full of bowhunters walked the woods. How many of us would even attempt a shot at a crow at 175 yards like I've read of Howard Hill doing?? It was cool back then but not today

adams

As a rule I try to keep my shots w/i 30 yds. I'm confident out to 50 but so much can go wrong. If I had a 40 yard clean shot and it felt right I'd let the arrow fly but everything would have to be perfect. That's me and how I look at it.

GR8atta2d

Are you trying to steal my controversial gig? Lol

Anyway I would take a shot out to 40 yards, if all was right. This being said, i passed up a 40 yard shot this year on a nice buck and everything was right, so why did i pass on the chance? I dunno, I'm still asking that question! But since I didn't shoot it must have been the proper decision.