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Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Folk's I just want to know what everyone believe's is to be the ethical range for harvesting an animal, either while hunting open area's? Also range for hunting in wooded area'?.Please give me a range of your choice and your reason for choosing that range .
nubo |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I would say
open: 35 - 40 yards max woods: 30 - 35 yards max assuming the animal isnt locked onto you and will not jump the string really hard |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
i guess it up to the shooter and his accuracy. me 40 yards in a pretty open area.. i like setting my stand 20 -30 yard from travel areas
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Mehunt, I agree with you. Many archers are competent at longer range, but there are too many variables at extended range targets. Animal movement, small branches or twigs and wind come into play. Sure you may make the shot, but the chances of a poor shot are also very good.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
For larger game like Elk and Mule Deer - 50 Yards.
For Whitetail and Turkey - 40 Yards. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
There is absolutley no standard for this........really.
Even the same animal at the same yardage standing in the same spot can make for 2 very potentially different outcomes.......is the animal alert?, relaxed?, bedded? Exactly broadside? etc etc. A bedded animal at 35 yards can be a much easier shot than a wired one at 20 and so on. Also individual skills and type of game your after changes this quite a bit.......A moose standing broadside at 40 yards is a very different shot than a deer in the same position. The situation, animal position, size, lighting and everything else I can think of can make a shot that is easy one day, impossible the next. Everyoen out there just needs to take all the variables into consideration before trying a shot on a game animal that might have seemed easy on it's 3D foam cousin a month earlier. Maybe a decent rule of thumb would be, take whatever range you are comfortable with on the range, and realistically knock 5 or 10 yards off that for effective hunting yardages. But like I said........every once in a while that bedded buck laying out there at the very edge of your comfort zone is going to look a lot like the "bedded buck" 3D target you were shooting a few weeks ago, and it's up to you to decide if you can do it, and I am not going to tell you that you can't.:) |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
twenty five to thirty for me
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Why can you take longer shots on moose and elk and such, but for deer you need them to be 40 yards or less? I'd think you couldn't kill a moose or something of that size, because they are so big?
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Why can you take longer shots on moose and elk and such, but for deer you need them to be 40 yards or less? I'd think you couldn't kill a moose or something of that size, because they are so big? Cause I am 6'3" tall shooting a 30" draw length at 70# with about 78ft lbs of KE. :D And I know I could make that shot. The kill zone on a moose at 40 yards is emmense and not exactly a tough shot for a decent shooter. A shot that could be bad enough to be a non fatal hit on an animal the size of a whitetail, could still very easily be well within the kill zone of an animal that size. Like I said, what is OK for ME........might not be ok for YOU, or someone else. The person doing the shooting has to understand their abilities and equipment, apply them to the situation at hand, and live by those rules alone. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
"At or near 30 yds."
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I agree with the fact that with todays new bows and equipment that the effective range of the bowhunter has definitely changed. The best innovation that has increased the bowhunters range I feel is the laser rangefinder. I feel comfortable taking deer out to 30yds with no concerns. I also feel that under certain circumstances a 40yd shot is not out of the question. This is all provided that you practice shooting at these ranges as much as you do for a 20yd shot. I have one question for some and that is why is your effective range different in open areas as opposed to wooded areas? Wouldn't you be effective in both? I would think that open areas would be less because animals tend to be more on edge when in the open and less relaxed. That would be the main factor for me as far as how long of a shot I would take. I would be more apt to take a longer shot at a relaxed animal than a animal that seems a little nervous and timid.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Couldn't tell you. I know the range and if I feel very good about the shot I shot. Generally no more than 40 yards. It really depends on the animals state. Chuck Adams got flamed for shooting a leopard in Africa at 60 yards. However, the leopard was bedded and he had all the time in the world to put a good shot on that animal. I don't think you can say anyone that shots over 50 yards is unethical. Every situation is different and every persons abilities are different.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I'd think you couldn't kill a moose or something of that size, because they are so big? The kill zone on a Elk or Mooses is much bigger then a white tail. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Let me rephrase that...I wouldn't think you could kill an animal of that size at that yardage, like 50 yards or farther. I didnt mean you couldnt kill them at all.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
personally i think too much can happen in 50+yds with a bow.even with todays speed crazed bows.i dont shoot past 40 at any animal. just is not worth it too me.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
ORIGINAL: Dairy King Let me rephrase that...I wouldn't think you could kill an animal of that size at that yardage, like 50 yards or farther. I didnt mean you couldnt kill them at all. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
What I'm sayin is, people here are saying 40 yards tops for a whitetail, BUT for a moose or something of that size, they are saying 50 yards are more even.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I have practiced at 50-60 yds, but for me an ethical shot is 40 yds or less. There are just too many unknown factors that can come into play and you end up delivering a poor shot and wounding an animal. A gust of wind, a twig you really couldn't see, something else making a noise that causes the animal to move, or the animal just moving on its own. I have seen to many folks make poor shots for whatever reason and never recover their deer. It is hard to say for what reason they made a poor shot due to the fact we don't sit with the clients. We always let them target shoot before they actually go out to hunt if they want and we encourage them to do so. Due to the fact that anything could happen in travel that could throw your shot off.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
ORIGINAL: Dairy King What I'm sayin is, people here are saying 40 yards tops for a whitetail, BUT for a moose or something of that size, they are saying 50 yards are more even. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
My bow shoots at 304fps easily and still I have 71ft. lbs. of kenetic energy. Just because a bow is fast and the arrow isn't a piece of oak timber flying thru the air that it doesn't possess the capability to put out the energy. 71ft. lbs. I would think is more than enough to take down a elk at 50yds. I'm sure it has been done with less. How fast does your bow have to shoot before you are a SPEED FREAK/IDIOT?
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
My ethical range is different just about everyday.
If there is weather coming it it gets shorter.Rain and snow can hamper your tracking. It can wash away or cover up your blood trail. If it's getting dark and I know there are coyotes around it gets reduced. Wind, once again I won't shoot as far as on a nice calm day. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
My opinion on this topic is similar to many of yours.The state of the animal,the state and skill of the archer dictate the decision.I will say that even though my competence level at longer distances is better than it has ever been my selection of shots has become more conservative.My practice sessions are typically at 50 and 60 yards,those are the distances that I do the majority of my shooting.
Even with complete confidence with shooting a stationary target at those distances I like my shots at deer to be thirty yards and in.I don't care how fast your set up is at 40 plus yards a deer can take a step from the time you release your arrow to the time your arrow arrives.If you could be assured of a complete miss no problem! What is more likely is a wounded or lost animal. I would work toward putting yourself consistently in closer proximity to game than stretching your effective range.I am specifically talking about whitetail deer.My comfort level would be considerable further on a much larger animal that isn't as wired or doesn't have the reaction response that a whitetail has. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Your KE might be 71 feet and your arrow might be blazing away at 304 in the first 5 yards after leaving your string but the KE is going to drop as you get further and further down range aproaching that 50 yard targert. Not saying it's not enough or it is enough to punch trough and elk or moose because I have no idea. I think this is what people are saying when they say to use heavier arrows for more momenturm since weight plays a greater factor in that equation than in KEbut that is a discussion of Momentum vs KE and we all know that argumant will last 34 pages.
Personally, where I hunt Deer there would be almost no reason to have to shoot beyond 20 yards and that would be from one side of a clearing to another. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I feel I can make the shot, I take it.
Thats it, and I expect others to do the same. Theres no reason setting a yardage limit, because one only needs to say " you mean you wouldn't shoot a 225" net typical at 1/2 yard farther than that ?? " See what I mean ? |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
25 to30 yds but most of the deer I've shot have been half that.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Matt, so what you're saying is that you WOULD take at shot at 45 yards? White tail, moose or elephant. You would take a shot over 40 yards. If the deer were on drugs standing in the middle of a power line, couldn't hear, smell or see you. Your would take that shot?[:-]
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
ORIGINAL: alwyshntn My bow shoots at 304fps easily and still I have 71ft. lbs. of kenetic energy. Just because a bow is fast and the arrow isn't a piece of oak timber flying thru the air that it doesn't possess the capability to put out the energy. 71ft. lbs. I would think is more than enough to take down a elk at 50yds. I'm sure it has been done with less. How fast does your bow have to shoot before you are a SPEED FREAK/IDIOT? Here are the problems with your setup. 1. You do have alot of KE at the bow, however a .22 has up to 165Ft-lb of energy. Would you shot an Elk at 50 yards with a .22? It is not Energy that gives you penetration it is momentum 2. A light arrow loses energy much faster than a heavy one. Odds are a heavier arrow for you set up would have more energy at 50 yards than your set up. 3. It just doesn't make sense to shot that fast of an arrow at Elk. The kill is big on an Elk so why do you need that good of a flight path. If I miss judge the Elk (I think a range finder should be used at 50 yards anyway) for 45 and it is actually 50, its no big deal. I'm sort of old school but I don't think I would go that fast and light. If you missplace the shot you have almost no chance of getting good enough penetration to kill that animal. With my pieces of oak timber, I have a much better chance than you do. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I don't shoot further than 40 yards. I also won't shoot longer than 30 in most conditions. Every deer but one was closer than 15 though, this last season I shot a doe at 42 paces that was completely unalert, at 8:00am, and broadside. I was stacking 4" groups at that distance all summer so it felt right before I hit the release and it hit her perfectly. I probably wouldn't shoot that far again though unless all conditions were perfect.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I still say that there IS nothing wrong with that setup and it would be more than efficient to take a elk out to 50yds. Of course we could argue that forever. I realize my arrow doesn't have 71ft.lbs of energy at 50yds I was just stating what I knew of the setup. I for one have no idea what the arrow has at 50. Thats whats great about this country we all are intitled to our own opinion and I respect yours as well.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I DON'T EVEN HUNT ELK SO ITS KIND OF IRRELAVANT HUH?
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
30 yards or less, regardless of the area.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Matt, so what you're saying is that you WOULD take at shot at 45 yards? White tail, moose or elephant. You would take a shot over 40 yards. If the deer were on drugs standing in the middle of a power line, couldn't hear, smell or see you. Your would take that shot? Given that I am sure of the yardages? It would still depend upon a bunch of things, wind, angles etc. On an animal like an Elk or Moose under good conditions? 40 yards? 45 yards? (drugged and just standing there?:D) Yes I would take that shot all day everyday on a relaxed animal, probably further than 45 yards. I have that much confidence in my ability, equipment and arrow capability. I practice out to 80-90 yards, and shoot ALOT. Not a shot I would take for granted for sure, but well within my ability. Is that for everyone? [:-] Absolutley not. A smaller animal like a deer? I have passed the dopey 45 yard deer countless times for the chance that his dopey butt will wander a little closer.:D But under ideal conditions, as in a bedded animal at an exact known yardage around 40? Absolutely. Have I ever had that opportunity? Nope........but I'm ready for it. But like was mentioned we're talking about a very rare occurance in the true hunting world.......perfect shooting conditions, perfect animal position, etc etc. Reality most times dictates what can and cannot be done, and most times the "cannot" wins. Not sure about the Elephant thing........;) |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I would say it would be hard for me to let myself shoot much past 35-40. There's just to much room for error even at that distance.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Wow ! I never expected this thread to be as busy as it has been in the past few hr's .
I figure that my effective range would be 30yrds max in the wood's and 50yrds wide open depending on the situation as Matt has spoken of ,if all the variable's that matt speak's of ,such as if the deer is feeding and isn't bothered I'd take that 50yrd shot but if tthe deer is a little edgy then I'd think that I would have to pass on that shot. nubo |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
I don't really have a set max distance. Normally all my shots are well under 20 yds. My furthest is only 24 yds. Depending on the situation I might push it out to 30-32 yds if everything felt right. I practice to 45-50 but under no conditions would I personally shoot a deer that far. Not becuase I don't think it can be done, its just that I like the up closeness off bowhunting and want to shoot the deer under my conditions.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
There is absolutley no standard for this........really |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
ORIGINAL: Matt / PA There is absolutley no standard for this........really. Even the same animal at the same yardage standing in the same spot can make for 2 very potentially different outcomes.......is the animal alert?, relaxed?, bedded? Exactly broadside? etc etc. A bedded animal at 35 yards can be a much easier shot than a wired one at 20 and so on. Also individual skills and type of game your after changes this quite a bit.......A moose standing broadside at 40 yards is a very different shot than a deer in the same position. The situation, animal position, size, lighting and everything else I can think of can make a shot that is easy one day, impossible the next. Everyoen out there just needs to take all the variables into consideration before trying a shot on a game animal that might have seemed easy on it's 3D foam cousin a month earlier. Maybe a decent rule of thumb would be, take whatever range you are comfortable with on the range, and realistically knock 5 or 10 yards off that for effective hunting yardages. But like I said........every once in a while that bedded buck laying out there at the very edge of your comfort zone is going to look a lot like the "bedded buck" 3D target you were shooting a few weeks ago, and it's up to you to decide if you can do it, and I am not going to tell you that you can't.:) In 12 years of bowhunting I've never shot an animal beyond 28 yards, many closer. |
RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
WHatever the distance you can ethically take an animal:eek:[8D]
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
Matt, I too shoot long yardages. I'm more than confident at longer yardages than many archers at reasonable hunting distances. Confidence in your ability and equipment is one thing, an ethical shot is another. As I'm sure you are aware that deer react to bow nose at 20 yards in less than .002 of a second. The so called, Jumping the String. That generally means a clean miss if you're fortunate, to a poor hit if you're not so lucky. Now you're looking at a target, which in the time it takes the arrow from release to impact can move completely out of the target area at a walk. I consider an ethical shot as being a clean, quick kill in the vitals. Launching a broadhead in hopes of hitting the target is not what I would consider an ethical shot. I'm not disputing your ability, I'm sure you could hit the big 10 point at 50 yards. But the adrenaline, cover, target movements and all the little obstacals like wind, branches and another deer walking into the arrow far outweigh the risk on this kind of shot.
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RE: Ethical range for Bowhunter's
i set a stick with a tape on it at 25yards and try to let them get as close to it as i can before i take a shot
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