I practice with my bow out to 80 yards. With that being said my limit is 40 yards no questions asked. A lot can go wrong in 40 yards let alone 60 yards. I've heard of people doing it but its not for me. Yeah speed helps but not that much I've got my bow shooting right around 300 feet per second right now the Z7 is moving at what 340? So a 10% speed increase roughly. Even if you did a percentage to percentage increase you're looking at basically 45 yards but again there is still a lot that can go wrong. Losing an animal after I hit it makes me physically ill so I feel that I owe it to myself and the animal to do everything in my power to make an ethical clean kill every time. I can't do that at 60 yards.

An archer tries to see how far away they can hit their target, a bowhunter see how close they can get their target to them.

Excellent advice...that ought to be in everyone's sig line on this board. It gets to the heart of why some hunters are addicted to bow hunting.

I hunt with a crossbow but there is no way I would attempt anything over 40 yds. myself. And 30 yds. is even better. I have hunted with a regualr bow and know that most people shouldn't shoot at a live animal beyond 40 yds. but depending on how you practice can make a big difference. If someone can hit accurately at 80 yds. or more, 50 or 60 yd. should be a chip shot for them. But, I think that if they decide to take that far a shot at a live animal that the conditions should be perfect. They should not take an iffy shot. The animal should be broadside, and no limbs or grass to shoot over or between.

I practice out to 60 yards and would take a 60 yards shot on an animal. If and only if the animal was alone, deaf or in quicksand : ) 60 yard shot on even a non alert deer and he'd be in the next zip code before the arrow got to him........ even if the bow is shooting 340+fps.

This is a photo of a grouping I shot yesterday at 60 yards with my z7. Obviously I was proud because I took the pic, but I USUALLY put 3 arrows in a fist size group at 60 yards. The reason I wouldn't shoot a deer from 60 is the holes you see in the target that are both to the right of my grouping in the guts. With one tiny torque of the bow thats where my arrows hit. Too much can go wrong from that distance IMO, so I keep my shots to under 50 yards, which is still a poke on a live animal.

Elk? I would shoot from 60 but their vitals are much bigger than a whitetails are.

On Saturday I had a 6pnt at 50 yards "stationary, and drinking from a stream". No way would I even attempt it with my bow. The buck then got closer to 30 yards, and offered a rear quartering away shot. Nope, didn't take that attempt either.

I strongly believe that an archer shouldn't shot past there known comfort zone. No matter what the situation. However I have known some hunters to take deer at 60 + yrds. Not to mention that pronghorn are routinely taken at these large distances. Keep in mind that at those distances wind is going to affect your arrow fight dramatically. Also the farther the arrow has to fly the faster it looses speed which results in kinetic energy loose meaning loose of penetration. So these things need to be kept in mind when making your choice. The bow will need to be one heck of a strong bow and you'll need to practice practice practice.

Great Comment and I plan on using that in my future distance discussions.

I've watched a lot of hunters hit targets at 50,60, and 70yards standing in my yard before hunting season. In the field shooting at game I haven't seen that many do it. And most times it's not a great hit if it is a hit. I know there are some out there that can shoot the eyes out of a flying eagle but most can't get it done when the blood is pounding in the head and taking away the perfect practice form in the field. Anything past 35yds is truly having control of yourself in a hunting situation. I do it myself and have done it a few times and I've also missed a few times. I'd rather have a clean miss than a bad hit that's for sure. It's not as easy done in the field as one might think. Maybe out of a stand on the edge of a field nothing to shoot around and having time to aim yeah I'd say that's a workable shot. Stalking a bull elk in the trees and having to move to get the shot and shoot within a mere few seconds not so workable.