50 yards

[JonathanStrange]

Last night I came out if a trail, turned the corner, and there were the 4 doe I had been stalking the night before. There were two fawn, a clear yearling, and an even clearer mature matriarch. (For reference, my fiancee who is 5'10") came across the same doe not 15 minutes later and they stood eye-to-eye) I ducked down in the closest brush and grunted, they responded by milling about for a while. They wouldn't come any closer though, and I paced it off at about 50 yards...

Which leads me to my question: what does one need to be comfortable with a 50 yard shot at dusk equipment wise. I know the biggest thing will be practice, but other than that, what suggestions to you guys have?

I might miss an opportunity at this distance several more time this year, but by next season I would like to be capable at this distance.

As always, thanks for the help.

Cheers

[oneidacountyhunter]

LMAO!

5'10" at eye level, I'm sorry but I'm calling B.S. That means that doe was the size of a horse.....Literally

Edited October 9, 2012 by oneidacountyhunter

[bubba]

Before I could answer what you need, I would ask what do you mean by "Dusk"?

[Lawdwaz]

Last night I came out if a trail, turned the corner, and there were the 4 doe I had been stalking the night before. There were two fawn, a clear yearling, and an even clearer mature matriarch. (For reference, my fiancee who is 5'10") came across the same doe not 15 minutes later and they stood eye-to-eye) I ducked down in the closest brush and grunted, they responded by milling about for a while. They wouldn't come any closer though, and I paced it off at about 50 yards...

Which leads me to my question: what does one need to be comfortable with a 50 yard shot at dusk equipment wise. I know the biggest thing will be practice, but other than that, what suggestions to you guys have?

I might miss an opportunity at this distance several more time this year, but by next season I would like to be capable at this distance.

As always, thanks for the help.

Cheers

I've been bowhunting for 36 years and I wouldn't take that shot for all the tea in China.

Do yourself a favor and forget about it. 50 yards is for gun season.......

[dave6x6]

Hunters have been killing animals at 50 yrds since practically the beginning of bow hunting time. There is no special piece of equiptment needed, all you need is to be able to hit that vital area with every shot and every practice shot. Become an absolute fanatic with whatever equiptment you own and hone your skills until this shot becomes a gimme. Then practice some more.

[Lawdwaz]

Before I could answer what you need, I would ask what do you mean by "Dusk"?

I know where your going with this but at high noon it ain't happening.

The OP needs to shoot 10-15 deer with archery equipment then he can answer his own question.

[dave6x6]

By the way, i agree completely with Lawdwaz. There really is no good reason to be taking 50 yrd shots. And it sounds like your a bit of a novice at this hunting thing so lets get real and get one under your belt at 15 yrds first. Of course even a novice could hit a doe the size of an elk cow at 50 yrds.. LOL

[tughillhunter]

god dammmmm..... 5'10 lay off the salts bro. Like dave said, elk cows are pushing that, i see them every day. Story time is for the lil youngsters.

[verminater71]

50 yard shots are not that tough if you have your bow tuned properly

and practice a lot....if you can put a consistant group of 4 " together at 50 yards you can make the shot

but your then missing the point of bowhunting...the game is to get close....

stop and think about this....bowhunters practice all summer and don't feel comfortable takeing long shots

but then pick up a gun and think they are marine snipers without any practice....i don't get it.....

[Lawdwaz]

50 yard shots are not that tough if you have your bow tuned properly

and practice a lot....if you can put a consistant group of 4 " together at 50 yards you can make the shot

but your then missing the point of bowhunting...the game is to get close....

stop and think about this....bowhunters practice all summer and don't feel comfortable takeing long shots

but then pick up a gun and think they are marine snipers without any practice....i don't get it.....

A whitetail doe, on alert, at dusk?

OK..........

Tuning has NOTHING to do with it. Do you get it? How fast is that arrow going at 30 yards, 40 yards or 50 yards?

Ever have a deer jump the string? Naw...........

[verminater71]

Tuning has NOTHING to do with it. Do you get it? How fast is that arrow going at 30 yards, 40 yards or 50 yards?

this might be the dumbest thing i ever heard in my life...really...tuneing has nothing to do with it...

shooting a deer at 50yards that's at ease ....no problem.... I promise my bow at 300fps is shooting faster at 50 yards than my first bear whitetail did at 10yards....

my first bow shot about 150fps with fixed blade broadheads....my new bow 300fps mechanicals

you know we have come out of the stoneage

Ever have a deer jump the string? Naw...........nope never

if you can read...he said getting ready for next year....tune your bow....practice

[crappyice]

I know it's out of my range and I feel that too man things can go wrong. Hell, I've missed we're at15 yards due to stray twigs I didn't see til the arrow diverted its course in mid flight. What are you NOT seeing at 50 yards....ain't worth the risk for me.

[Lawdwaz]

Tuning has NOTHING to do with it. Do you get it? How fast is that arrow going at 30 yards, 40 yards or 50 yards?

this might be the dumbest thing i ever heard in my life...really...tuneing has nothing to do with it...

shooting a deer at 50yards that's at ease ....no problem.... I promise my bow at 300fps is shooting faster at 50 yards than my first bear whitetail did at 10yards....

my first bow shot about 150fps with fixed blade broadheads....my new bow 300fps mechanicals

you know we have come out of the stoneage

Ever have a deer jump the string? Naw...........nope never

if you can read...he said getting ready for next year....tune your bow....practice

I'll simplify this for you....Ethics.

YMMV.

[JonathanStrange]

I know it's out of my range and I feel that too man things can go wrong. Hell, I've missed we're at15 yards due to stray twigs I didn't see til the arrow diverted its course in mid flight. What are you NOT seeing at 50 yards....ain't worth the risk for me.

Crappyice, she was on main trail, nothing in the way. I see where you're coming from, but in this particular case, I wasn't concerned.

Fir the rest, I figured practice was really the only thing. My groupings at 40 yards are just starring to come together. I guess I knew the answer all along.

As for the game being to get close in bow season, I agree. I don't intend to have all of my shots be at 50 yards from here out. On the other hand I missed a chance at a freezer full of meat because I wasn't comfortable with the shot.

Thanks all. Any other ideas/suggestions are always welcome.

Cheers

[phade]

I shot my buck at 55 yds this year. It took a whole bunch of things to come together for me to even consider that shot. Broadside, near leg forward, attention on another deer, no wind. It also took me practicing that shot quite a bit all summer from my treestand.

Can it be done? Yes. How often....probably not many in a hunters career...id be surprised if that opportunity ever presents itself again in my days.

[phade]

I also ranged it twice....as in range, set rf down....pick up and range again.

[erussell]

Could it be done? Yes. Should it be done depends on your ability to live with the end result which could be less than desireable. There seems to be a lot of hunters who can live with the less than desireable result as there are a lot of dead deer laying around the woods after the season. I for one would not shoot beyond 30 yrds as the further out you get the more uncontrolable the situation becomes. Better to hone your woodsman skills and get the xtra 20 yrds you need to make an ethical shot. But even a blind squill finds a nut once in a while though! Edited October 9, 2012 by erussell

[oneidacountyhunter]

Phade, Congrats on the long shot. While I would not have taken that shot mainly for my ethics you did and were successful. No judgement from me cause I wan't there.

However IMO I think 50 yard shots should be left to target shooting and bragging rights. To many variables to go wrong on a live target.

[Doc]

And once again, I will drag out my old story about a work-aquaintance who could consistantly hold a coffee cup sized group on the archery range but had the most unbelievable record for wounded and lost deer. 5 different deer wounded and lost in one season. Why? .... because be was over-impressed with his target range success and tried to transfer all that over into hunting season. I don't know why people can't accept that a bow is a short-range weapon. Yes sometimes people get lucky and shoot a deer at some ridiculous distances. That does not mean that it was a smart shot regardless of your abilities at stationary targets in controlled archery range conditions. It just means that if you shoot enough arrows, sometimes you will get lucky.

[teamcowboyup]

Some of these newer bows can hold a tight group at 50 yards, yes tuning is everything. You and your bow need to be tuned. With my setup i have 1 pin for 10,20,30 the second is for 40,50. It is ethical if you and your equipment are tuned for it. Me personaly wouldnt take it.

[SteveB]

Get a few kills AND recovery's closer under your belt first.

I also believe your maximum range at game should be about 1/3 less then your effective target range ( the range at which

you can hit the kill will the first shot every time.

60 yds on a target means 40yds in the woods at game.

[First-light]

50 yard shot at dusk, they hang hunters around here for less. lol

[phade]

Everyone has their limit. Outside of that buck, ive only taken three shots longer than 30 yards...32, 42, and 45. Ive killed somewhere around 45-50 deer with a bow, so that is minor number of encounters.

Ethics be damned...much of it is situational. Ask a kansas bowhunter, and a 40 yd shot is pretty common scenario. Ask a NY hunter and its a poke. People become comfortable with what they are familiar with and close range is common here....longer shots are more common in open areas of the midwest.

Deer dont jump string at long distances, but there is plenty that can go wrong. You cant willy nilly let the arrow go. The buck i shot was not moving any time soon, and looking away at another buck.

[Doc]

For me, the challenge of bowhunting is the fact that I have to get close. That's what I got into bowhunting for was to take on the challenge of a short-range weapon for hunting. Maybe I'm in the minority on that these days. But I think I'm much more impressed with a bowhunter that gets his deer at 10 or 15 yards than some guy who had to "settle" for a 50 yard shot.

[phade]

For me, the challenge of bowhunting is the fact that I have to get close. That's what I got into bowhunting for was to take on the challenge of a short-range weapon for hunting. Maybe I'm in the minority on that these days. But I think I'm much more impressed with a bowhunter that gets his deer at 10 or 15 yards than some guy who had to "settle" for a 50 yard shot.

IMO I didn't settle. I knew right where that buck was bedding, and I shot him within his first 50 steps from his bed - which I found in March when it was 20 degrees outside. I glassed him, got cam pics of him, knew when he was generally drinking water during the high times of summer, and knew where he was going as the season started to near.

The stand was specifically set to shoot him there, as it was the only hangable tree and the only place where I could loop around him to keep my scent from hitting his bed and still shoot safely. I could have placed a stand closer to his entry to the woods, but it would have put me in a bad spot for thermals in the a.m. if I decided to try to beat him to his bed, and also due to the wind current and swirling I would have sent my stank right to him opening day.

Knowing that this tree was my best option to encounter the buck before his patterns changed, I practiced this shot quite a bit from the exact same treestand model. I spent 3 full weekend days prepping the stand spot in June and early July, and I lost a few pints of blood fighting with multiflora - I cut a path back around the tree through 6ft tall briars to prevent me from beeing seen and killed the ground vegetation and placed stepping stones on the path so I could get in quietly. I bet I have 40-50 hours of scouting and prep into killing that buck, which took about 3-4 hours to do. I didn't settle, I bowhunted that buck, which is more than likely 4.5 or older, and I won by putting the arrow through both lungs.

You say not to paint with a wide brush in many posts. I encourage you to do the same. While you were complaining that the early opener was a pain and that you had many other things to do, and that it was too hot, too much canopy in teh trees, etc., I was was studying my quarry, taking the proper steps to kills this buck, and practicing. Yet, I'm less of a bowhunter because I shot the buck at 55 vs. 15.

I didn't just plop into a funnel during the first week of November and shoot a buck.

Edited October 9, 2012 by phade