How to extend my effective range?
 

i feel comfortable taking a deer at 25 yards, i have shot at 30 but not enough to feel like i can make the shot every time. the target gets smaller and the pins bigger and makes it difficult. How do you guys thhat shoot that far keep steady? some tips and tricks that have worked for you? everything would be highly appreciated!

Thanks!!

Matt

Practice, practice, practice. Its the only way to become proficient at longer ranges.

Exactly, practice is the only way you will become proficient. When you reach the point where you can shoot a 3" (or better) group at 40 or 50 yds), it will make those 20 yard shots seem sooooo much easier.
I shoot all year long. Even if its only in my basement shooting 15 yds and shooting only 10 or 15 arrows. This keeps the muscles toned and technique down.

Yes siree
 

Practicing and missing and hitting at 30 yards is the only way to learn how to hit the game target later.

However, those bows never taught an archer calmness. It doesn't come with the price of an expensive bow.

yea i know people who bought matthews and hoyts thinking it was going to make them a better archer, while they are spending 800 bucks im still beating them with my $400 Bear Charge :) guess who wants there money back! lol

It has been mentioned, Practice. I also went from a sight with a multiple pins to a single pin sight and went from .29 pins to .19 pins. This worked for me.

as others mentioned, practice practice and more practice,
any tip you learn needs to be practiced,
what# bow are your shooting? try a lower poundage,
instead of trying to hold the pin exact, be comfortable with having the pin come down on your mark slowly,

65#, its not difficult i actually like it, its easy with 80% let off. and i like to slowly bring my pin up to the target and shoot, i cant shoot very well just trying to hold it on steady, but i can hit baseballs at 20 and softballs at 25 with bringing my pin up slowly.

Not trying to coach from the couch here... but that is one of your problems with making good shots at longer ranges. You are 'drive by shooting' I did it for years and did fine out to about 25 yards... same as you... but I tended to miss WAY low beyond that.

When I started shooting indoor spots... my flaw became apparent to me.... I was shooting 270s out of 300 and never getting any better. In the last two years... I really spent time getting rid of this practice... and I'm now a 295/300 average shooter.. and thats with my hunting set up. I'm no world class shooter.. just a regular ate up bowhunter. I killed two deer this past season over 40 yards.... one at 41 and one at 44. I practice back to 78 yards regularly. My max range that I feel comfortable with will vary day to day... just depends how I'm feeling really and what the conditions are. I'm much more comfortable shooting in the woods... so I'm more likely to take a 40 yard shot through a narrow window than I am with nothing but open bean field... strange but true.

I still approach my target from slightly underneath... but I have learned to hold and aim on my target... I find that follow through and driving that arrow to the target are the biggest keys to my success/failure on any given shot. I used to drop my bow arm cause I wanted to watch.... don't do it. Follow through... keep that pin on that spot until you hear the arrow hit!

Practice
 

this good info. Some other things would be is the bow perfectly fitted to youare your arrows spined right,and is your bow tuned correctly.not saying any of these arent right with your set up but you need to start ther before you start on you. All this said find someone that can coach you not someone on the internet but someone that can stand ther and tell what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. Just my 2 cents