Distance comfort zone

[mthornton99]

Just wondering what shot distance you guys are comfortable with. This is NOT a judgement thread where I tell you how far or what type of shot you should like, just wondering what others like. I personally like distances of 10yds minimum and 40yds max. Shorter shots are ok, but if elevated, I prefer the angle of at least a 10yd shot. As far as distance, even after 20+ years of bowhunting and shooting, I still don't like to shoot further than 40yds at a deer. To be honest, unless on a food plot, shots of 40 or more yards in the woods are highly unlikely. These distances are with my compound.

Now with the recurve, I limit myself to 20yds. My bow is more than capable of shooting/killing at further distances, but my consistency tells me to hold to 20yds. And if I look back over the last 20+ years, close to 90% of my deer have been shot at 20yds or less regardless of which bow was in my hand.

 

[Gator]

I'm perfect my entire hunting career at 13 yards.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I am a 30 yard or less guy. Would I be comfortable with a 40 yard shot? I practice out to 40 but unless the shot was into an open field and I knew exact yardage I probably wouldn't take the shot. I do not shoot enough anymore to feel perfectly comfortable with a shot outside of 30 yds anymore. In my younger days when I shot everyday a 40 yd shot would have been a slam dunk.

With the newer bows 30 yd and in shots have more room for error just due to speed but I am old school I guess. I agree with you I have only shot 2 deer in my life over 25 yards.

 

[dogdoc]

30 or less. If it's over 20 though it has to be perfect conditions

 

[Elkaddict]

It depends. I spent 20+ years living and hunting in the Rockies. Over the years, shots averaged 45 yards on deer, elk and antelope. I've taken deer on multiple occasions at 65. To keep that proficiency, I had to shoot very frequently focusing on the 40-65 yds shots. When putting in the time, I could put 5 arrows in a 6" group from 65 all day long (but not at 70yds). Today, where I hunt 45 yds would be a long shot. As a result, I don't put the time in like I did when hunting the west. I can still still put 5 arrows into the killzone of a deer at 60yds but I don't have the confidence to take a shot at that range on unwounded game. I learned early that long shots require a relaxed animal. If they are alert or know you're there, my comfortable shooting distance goes way down. The nice thing about dong all your practice at 40 and beyond is the 20 and 30 yard shots are chip shots.

 

[Doctorbrady]

25 yards or less preferably with the recurve. 90% of my kills have been 18 or less.

 

[JohnL48]

I practice at 40 yds. Makes 20 yards a pc of cake but I never shoot past 25

 

[Btaylor]

I am very confident with my rig to 60 yards but elk addict pegged it for me. My comfort level on any shot past 30 is based on the animal. Is it wired from rut chasing or on alert from a whiff of scent or whatever?

 

[OkieKubota]

Modern compound bows and arrow materials have made the 1 pin to 30 yards a reality. My comfort zone is 40 and under with compound. I practice out to 60...

Recurve range is 25 and under...

 

[Flyfixer]

Recurve or long bow, less than 25 yards. Compound depending on conditions max 35 yards.

 

[Jack Terpack]

Before my shoulder injury, I practiced all year at ranges up to 70 yards. I limited my shootnig in the wild at about 40 yards if conditions are perfect. My longest shot with a compound in the woods was about 30 yards. With my recurve, my longest shot was about 25. Now that I am relegated to hunting with a crossbow, I practice out to about 80 yards and my two kills were both at about 40 yards. I hunt almost exclusively out of ladder stands. As was stated above, I do not iike eeh deer to be too close. I prefer at least 15 yards out for the best angle.

 

[farmhunter]

30 or less. If it's over 20 though it has to be perfect conditions

same - I've shot one at 25 yds - but every other was 20 yds or less, I practice at 20 - and feel that if I'm patient - 20 will present. I know 20 so well that I can guess it within .5 yds. But go to 25 and I'm wrong by over a yard more than 1/2 the time.

 

[Brushpile]

20-30 yards and I prefer to be on the ground for the best angle.

 

[HoleHopper]

same - I've shot one at 25 yds - but every other was 20 yds or less, I practice at 20 - and feel that if I'm patient - 20 will present. I know 20 so well that I can guess it within .5 yds. But go to 25 and I'm wrong by over a yard more than 1/2 the time.

I am like you, I like them close. If they are not or if its the wrong deer for me they walk. And i live to hunt another day. Not a bad deal in my eyes!

 

[mthornton99]

When I was younger and had time to shoot everyday, I was a much better shot. Used to shoot almost 80lbs of draw wt for a while and shot 70lbs until 6-8 years ago. Today, with my Hoyt compound, I can shoot a faster arrow drawing 60lb@30" than my 80lb bows years ago. One pin set at 30yds will do me out to 40yds with only a slight elevation in point of aim.

But as others have said, there are other conditions one has to consider before taking any shot regardless of distance. This is something that every young/new hunter needs to learn along with shooting practice. I think a lot of folks only consider their ability to hit a target on the range when deciding to shoot a live animal. Nothing worse than finding out the hard way that you should not have taken the shot.

One last thing that I think is overlooked today(farmhunter hinted at this). Every archer should learn to judge distance by sight instead of relying solely on a laser range finder. The range finders are great and I use one myself to mark distances in shooting lanes but how many times does a deer show up in the "wrong spot" , or perhaps you encounter a deer while entering or exiting and you need to estimate the yardage accurately by sight. The faster bows help, but some folks have never practiced sighting yardages and have no idea how far they are shooting without yardage markers or rangefinders.

 

[Gator]

One last thing that I think is overlooked today(farmhunter hinted at this). Every archer should learn to judge distance by sight instead of relying solely on a laser range finder. The range finders are great and I use one myself to mark distances in shooting lanes but how many times does a deer show up in the "wrong spot" , or perhaps you encounter a deer while entering or exiting and you need to estimate the yardage accurately by sight. The faster bows help, but some folks have never practiced sighting yardages and have no idea how far they are shooting without yardage markers or rangefinders.

This is why I try to get guys to shoot 3D competitions even if they just shoot them for fun. No range finders allowed! Judging yardage is something that takes a lot of practice as well and it goes away quick (at least for me) I always range different trees or something on the ground when I first climb into the stand so that I know the yardage to different possible shot lanes, not sure I've ever ranged a deer right before a shot with a bow in my life.

I had to take the International bow safety class or whatever its called. The instructor was completely retarded and we had words for each other. He kept talking about 40 yard shots and stuff and never once mentioned the animals awareness level. A deer can drop so far in the time it takes an arrow to travel 30 yards even on fast bows to cause a complete miss or very close to one. I finally asked the guy what he had shot the previous season with his bow and are you ready for this, he was proud that he went 4 for 9 with 4 complete misses!!! WTF??? I understand a complete miss might be a better result than wounding but its a horrible shot. The only time I've ever completely missed a deer there was a problem with my bow...And this guy was teaching newbies!!!

 

[craSSh]

My comfort zone is out to 30yd. I prefer to shoot at deer 20yd and in. My farthest shot on a whitetail is 38yd, he just wasn't getting any closer.

 

[John Paul]

35 yards max in perfect conditions in an open field not in woods. More comfortable 30 and under.

 

[Satguy]

I practice out to 40yds. My preferred shot is 20yds or less. I will take a 40yd shot on the right buck depending on the angle of the shot.

 

[dogghr]

Probably 95% of my kills are at 15 yds or so. I practice to 30 yds with trad and 60 with compound but would never take that shot in the forests I have. I have taken deer at nearly 50 yds after a belly crawl thru a field, but as someone has said, any shot is deternined on the mental status of the deer at the time. A long shot, and you better have a relaxed , unaware deer. I read a study and it seems pretty true, that string jumping is less under 10 yds and over 30 and at its worse 15-30 yds. Lots of variables there. What I do know is shooting targets are the most wasteful time of any archer even tho I do lots of it. Everything is at least somewhat controlled under those conditions. Want to become a good shot and whip the buck fever.? Spend your time thru the off season shooting groundhogs, squirrels, predators, and fish. If you learn to sneak up and pluck a groundhog or squirrel (in season) regularly, then deer are a cakewalk.. Your shooting come fall will be better than ever and that is a written guarantee.