Distance comfort zone

[g squared 23]

Similar to most, I practice to 50, but 35 yards is really the furthest I'm comfortable. Prefer them 10-25. I don't shoot a fast bow, and it just seems to take the arrow forever to get out to 40, and obviously even more to get to 50. It makes 20 seem like a gimme, and that's the point.

When I set up a stand, I try to lay out a 15 yard shot. I'd say that is the highest chance at a kill in my hands.

 

[Sean98]

Beating a dead horse at this point, but it's all about the animal (tense/relaxed/angry), the weather (cold, stiff muscles? Windy?), etc. I have a 120 yard range in my backyard and practice a lot, so feel very confident in my kill-zone groups to 85. That said, the longest shot I've ever taken on an animal was 63 and it hit the exact hair I was aiming at (hyperbole, but not much). Then again, I have completely whiffed 22 yard shots so sometimes things go haywire. I'd guess my average shot is between 20-25 yards, but I also spot & stalk muleys on the plains and above treeline in the Rockies, so having some extra distance there is extremely helpful. My 3 biggest deer were 37, 47, and 63 yards respectively. But they were all either fully relaxed (my muley at 63 was asleep), or completely preoccupied with my decoy so I was not concerned about them ducking.

 

[Jeff H]

Sean do you think that string jump is actually less likely at longer distances due to the lack of close range noise ?
For that matter plains or tundra vs heavily wooded would be a significant difference in noise upon release.
My longest shot to date was 60 yds in the Canadian tundra. I never heard the shot and the animal staring at me never flinched.

 

[Sean98]

Jeff, do some extent I do. You get more than about 30-35 yards away from a well maintained modern bow and the noise it makes on release is negligible. However, my theory has always been that deer duck on the noise of the arrow itself as much as they do the bow. I don't know if you've ever stood downrange and listened to an inbound arrow coming at 300+fps, but it is NOT quiet. Like any baseball player who has ever had a line drive or a fastball rocket past their face, it is an unnerving sound. ...I don't know if that sound lessens at 50+ yards, I'm sure it does a little, but I'd bet it's still loud.

Also, a lot of our western big game are just a little "different" than whitetails. The animals are bigger, they are less likely in many cases to interact with people, etc. I have whitetail in my backyard every day, and they are ready to bound away at a moments notice. They are "hiders" if you will. Most western game are "watchers." Distance is their safety net, moreso than heavy cover. Goats, muleys, elk... you stand in the wide open far from them and they'll just stare at you assuming the distance is keeping them safe. Not my midwestern whitetails. They will immediately bolt for cover. So I think some of it is just the way the critters are wired.

 

[buckhunter10]

Deer aren't stationary targets. The aim was true, but the buck had time to move.

I think the guy was aiming high. Deer ducked a bit but I don't buy the circle point at all. Also at that angle a bow will always hit a touch higher vs a ground shot. Lastly he is shooting 50lbs at 24inch draw. That's like a child's bow. Not trying to be a jerk but that is not the same at a 60,65,70 lb draw at a 28in or better draw.

 

[Brushpile]

I think the guy was aiming high. Deer ducked a bit but I don't buy the circle point at all. Also at that angle a bow will always hit a touch higher vs a ground shot. Lastly he is shooting 50lbs at 24inch draw. That's like a child's bow. Not trying to be a jerk but that is not the same at a 60,65,70 lb draw at a 28in or better draw.

Good points on the draw length. Here are two more videos of deer ducking an arrow. In the first video the shot occurs just after 8 minutes and there's a slow motion of the shot that follows. While the shot placement might be questionable, there is no question that the buck moved before the arrow arrived.

This slow motion video shows a deer ducking the string in .2 of a second on a 27 yard shot.

If a deer is unsuspecting and facing away, I'll take a longer shot, but I'm aware that things like this happen. When I track deer with my dog for other hunters, I know that things happen so fast, that the hunter doesn't know for sure where the deer was standing and where the deer was hit!

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I guess I have been blessed that this has never happened to me. I would say that luck and taking shots at deer under 30 yards have been the key. I guess I could see where if a deer was outside of that 30 yard range it may allow the deer to duck and come back up into the arrow but that is just not a chance I am willing to take. I also use a little lower aiming point when shooting. It seems all of these videos of deer ducking arrows were all high aim points to start with. If you are aiming center mass and a deer drops a foot it is a complete miss. Picking that spot just behind the lower part of the shoulder seems would allow a little more wiggle room.

 

[buckhunter10]

Brush pile. I respect the heck out of you. I just am watching these videos and in both the seem like the shot is VERY high from the get go. I'm not saying a deer can't drop. However I think it is more about knowing your bow and anatomy of a deer that will equal higher success rates.

 

[Blizzard Ridge]

I agree buckhunter. The shots looked like they were high to me too. Shots don't have to be tucked right up tight to the shoulder but as far as height goes I usually try to keep my shots down below center of the body. This allows room for error. If deer ducks it becomes a double lung, if he jumps forward it still keeps the arrow in the double lung region, and if he stands still will have lung and possibly heart. Deer are high strung animals that for the most part are naturally a nervous animal. They remind me of hyperactive children, have trouble sitting still, continuously moving and curious to figure out what the slightest noise is and where it is coming from.

 

[GAGE]

I can shoot to 30, but the majority of my shots have been under 20 which is what I shoot for.

 

[Brushpile]

Brush pile. I respect the heck out of you. I just am watching these videos and in both the seem like the shot is VERY high from the get go. I'm not saying a deer can't drop. However I think it is more about knowing your bow and anatomy of a deer that will equal higher success rates.

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just showing how fast deer CAN move on a 30 yard shot. On the second video I put my mouse pointer on the correct aiming point and the doe ducked below my pointer.

In the buck video I agree that the hunter shot too high, but the deer did move before the arrow arrived, and my point is that deer react and move fast. These videos just show that being able to hit a stationary target at 40-50 yards, and hitting a deer beyond 30 yards are two entirely different things.

 

[Brushpile]

I agree buckhunter. The shots looked like they were high to me too. Shots don't have to be tucked right up tight to the shoulder but as far as height goes I usually try to keep my shots down below center of the body. This allows room for error. If deer ducks it becomes a double lung, if he jumps forward it still keeps the arrow in the double lung region, and if he stands still will have lung and possibly heart. Deer are high strung animals that for the most part are naturally a nervous animal. They remind me of hyperactive children, have trouble sitting still, continuously moving and curious to figure out what the slightest noise is and where it is coming from.

Exactly, you are thinking about deer movement. What makes all this particularly interesting to me is tracking deer. If these videos hadn't been slowed down, and you could only see them one time, it would be difficult to know what happened and where the arrow hit. By giving some margin for error the odds of success improve. I get tracking calls where a hunter wasn't sure if he hit the deer or not!

 

[dogghr]

Exactly, you are thinking about deer movement. What makes all this particularly interesting to me is tracking deer. If these videos hadn't been slowed down, and you could only see them one time, it would be difficult to know what happened and where the arrow hit. By giving some margin for error the odds of success improve. I get tracking calls where a hunter wasn't sure if he hit the deer or not!

Well, Heck, I was trying to stay away from any more comments but I'm sorry that last sentence just ticks me off when I hear a bowhunter say it and I'm sure you hear it a bunch, Brush. Where the exact hit is may be a legitimate comment, but to not know IF they hit the deer. Does a person not see the arrow hit the target when they are practicing? All failure to follow thru. Do you shoot a basketball with no idea where it ended at the hoop, do you throw a ball with no idea where it went, do you hit a golf ball with not idea its direction. Plain bull crap. Practice with follow thru, and like I've already said, learn to kill game other than deer then you won't panic when the time comes. Yes everyone screws up shots, some are beyond ones control,, but please dont tell me you don't know if you hit a target 20 yds away.

End of rant. As for deer dropping, there are shots that a person could make a number of years ago without thinking. But with the number of hunters, the amount of natural predators, all deer are on edge, especially in some areas of the country. Used to be able to bow hunt and see maybe another hunter in the woods after opening week. Now I drive to hunt, and their are a string of cars headed to bowhunt. Almost as bad as rifle. Deer are always on edge, and shots just have to be more controlled and shorter than once was. Been a good thread to follow and good to see selfcontrol by those on here.

 

[Brushpile]

If the shot is very close, there isn't time to acquire the arrow in flight; I've had that happen once. On the other extreme, a hunter walks me to his stand and then I ask where the deer was when he shot? The hunter says, "By that big oak", I look around and I don't see a big oak, so I ask again? The hunter points to a big oak over 50 yards away through dense woods!!! I had seen that big oak but dismissed it thinking surely he hadn't shot that far! The hunter thought he might have hit the deer, but we didn't find the arrow or any evidence of a hit, even though I put Elkie on the track.

Lighted nocks are important, so a hunter can see the arrow in flight in all weather and light conditions. Often deer are shot toward dawn or dusk and are gone in a flash, leaving hunters confused as to what just happened, unless they saw the lighted nock.

 

[bowGal55]

30 yard's or less here also,

 

[David Cleveland]

I practice to 40 but not comfortable taking shots at more than 25 anymore. In my younger days I got several in 35-40 range but at this point in life I just can't see well enough to take those shots.

 

[Triple C]

Past couple of years I've shot a recurve. My comfort zone is 15 yds and closer. I shoot longer distances for practice. At 15 yds and in seems the arrow goes exactly where I'm looking. Not so for longer shots.

 

[Bowhunter]

I was taught by an elderly recurve archer that your comfort zone distance should be half of what your max practice distance is.

I practice with my modern compound out to 100 yards, therefore I wouldn't shoot past 50 yards at game. Like Sean98 mentioned, you need to take into consideration if the deer is relaxed or alert. I wouldn't take a shot on an alert deer past 35 yards regardless of the speed of the bow.

 

[Rickey]

I used to shoot every day and on league years ago. Back then I shot deer out to 35 frequently with the longest shot on a doe at 45. Now I don't have the time to practice like I used to. I still feel very confident in my shooting though I won't shoot past 30. That's where my confidence ends. My eyes are not anywhere where they used to be though my form is still good and my equipment is definitely nicer. My aim point is in the lower half on the backside of the shoulder.or right behind shoulder if quartering away. I learned the lesson the hard way about quartering to when I was much younger. I have been bow hunting for 17 years. I learned the quartering to lesson year one. Most shots I get are 15-25. I call those chips shots.

 

[W33kender]

25 yards or under. Woods are too thick and green almost the entire season for anything but breathing distance. Too much pruning defeats my purposes, too. It's a fine line.