What Do You Think Your Effective Range Is?

[DirtTime]

Seeing some are like me and feel at max, ( appx ) 30 yards, and some think you can let an arrow fly and make a clean kill at 100 yds, I am curious what people really have to say.

By "Effective Range" I mean to be able to make a clean ethical kill on a game animal every time.

Edited September 26, 2015 by ....rob

[Lawdwaz]

My limit is around 20,less is more for me as I tend to get rattled easy. A slam dunk (yea freaking right!) is 12-13 yards and, once again, closer is desirable.  Killed last years buck very close, 5 yards IIRC.  

 

30, 40, 50?  NFW..............................(for me) 

[grampy]

I practice regularly from 10 to 60 yards. My effective hunting range is 30 yards. My longest kill shot was 37 yards, a few years ago. Most of my kills have been 20 yards or closer.

[wooly]

My longest bow kill was the first deer I ever shot with the stick and string.

A doe at 44yds.

 

On the flip side, I recall a year I missed a nice little 6pt at 7 yds totally broadside and unaware of my presence from the ground.

Found my arrow buried in a nice maple sapling between us,lol

 

I guess that puts my effective range somewhere between 7+ and 44yds.

[nybuckboy]

In the woods 20-25. Open field clear out to 35 is about max. I did take a decent buck 3 years ago standing in the field as it came through at 40. Grunted it and made the shot. My first bow buck kill was 17 yds and the second one about 20 yds.

Edited September 26, 2015 by nybuckboy

[Nomad]

My longest bow kill and shot was 25 yards. Oh sure I shoot well at 40 in my yard, my bow kills all tend to be under 20 and many well under that.

[Jeremy K]

I like to be sure that im gonna put a good shot on the animal when i shoot at it . Until this year i wouldn't have shot more than 25 yards at a deer , Ive been shooting 2-3 times a week since January ,i wouldn't think twice about taking a 40 yard shot but my treestands are limited to 30 yards. 

[chiefbkt]

70 yards

Chiefbkt

[Adkhunter1590]

Before I get into my ranges let me say this...a ethical shot can only be judged by the shooter. No one has the same skill set as each other. That's just human nature...we are all different and we all practice and train ourselves differently. Kinda like a Army sniper vs me with my half ass sighted in 30.06. We both are essentially doing the same thing (well our targets may be different lol) but our skills and training are MUCH different.

With that being said I will shoot an animal out to 100 yards with conditions being as perfect for me as they can get. Little to no wind, no obstructions in the way, animal is feeding or laying down with very little motion one way or another. Some will say this is crazy but it's really not. It doesn't take half as long as you think for an arrow to travel that far. Being from NY and growing up here I never used to shoot past 50 yards until I ventured out west to get into guiding for a living. That's when long ranges really became part of my shooting and training. If anyone thinks they are gonna go out west on a hunt of a lifetime and only shoot to 20-30 yards they are going to be very disappointed when they realize getting that close to a western game animal is very difficult and sometimes just not possible depending on 100 different reasons. When I got the opportunity to go hunt for antelope the first thing I was told was to become deadly accurate to at least 80 yards and that being accurate to 100 was much better. This was my first experience hunting out west and I thought they were crazy but after months of practicing on a daily basis to 100 I was amazed at the confidence I had as an archer. Honestly I kinda gave up gun hunting after this. Yes it's hard but it truly is awesome to challenge yourself like that.

After spending a few years as a guide I've witnessed many animals taken at close and long range with gun and bow. I've watched guys screw up as many 25 yard shots as I have long ones. To me there really is no unethical shot based on range as long as it falls within your equipments capabilities and weather permitting. It always comes down to the shooter being capable of making the shot.

I highly encourage everyone to break from their comfort zone and practice at long range with a bow. Even if you don't wish to hunt that way. Just practicing will make you a better archer which can only increase your success in the field! Not to mention it's just a lot of fun standing in the back yard betting dollar bills with your buddies on who can make the best shot at 80,90,100.

[HuntOrBeHunted]

30...Give or take a few yards.

[Elmo]

30 in woods.  40 in open clearing.

Edited September 26, 2015 by Elmo

[genesee_mohican]

I am lucky to live in the country where I can walk out back and shoot daily. I practice with broadheads out to 50 yards. Most of my deer have been taken at under 25 yards and my setups are in thicker cover. I've taken very few shots over 30.

 

Everyone has a different skill level, but I think one really needs to put a lot of time in and know his/her equipment to shoot the longer distances. A range finder is a must past 20 yards. Also, shooting a bow from a treestand with hunting cloths on, and the adrenaline pumping is very different from shooting relaxed at the range in a tee shirt.

[Doc]

I'm a 20 yard and under guy. Yes, I have 30, 40 and 50 yard pins, but those are for paper. When I feel the need to test my archery skills, I have a target range for that. I used to love the 80 yard walk-up on the NFAA field archery, especially with the recurve.

 

My bowhunting features hunting skills that measure how close I can get to a critter not how far away I am forced to settle for. That's where the excitement and challenge of bowhunting are for me. I have gun season and a rifle for the long-range meat gathering....lol.

[Hock3y24]

40 on a good day but mostly 30 is my limit on deer.

[coonhunter]

Most of my bow hunting is done in tight quarters and the shots are almost always slam dunks of under 20 yards. I have shot three between 37 and 42 yards, but they were all shots where the deer came from an odd ball direction. My only miss came at 34 yards with a thick, bare branch right in line with the deer. I thought, due to practice, that my arrow would go into the vitals after arcing over the branch. Thought wrong and found out broadheads don't come out of wood very easily, if at all.

 

I don't even know how many deer I have killed with bow, but If you set up right, and play the wind, and stay relatively calm, you can get nice easy shots. Don't be in a hurry. I think shooting too soon is one of, if not the biggest reasons for misses with bow or gun. Have your shots planned out before a deer comes along. And, think out scenarios where the deer doesn't do what you think it will. Every year, I have some nice bucks in range, that never get shot at because they stay in cover or are moving too fast. Big deal. My life goes on, and if I do nothing to spook them, I usually get another chance at them. 

[A Sportsman]

20 and under as a rule for me. But I suppose I'd shoot 25 if it was a real nice deer and the shot was clear. I practice out to 35 or 40 regularly, sometimes a little further.

[turkeyfeathers]

70 yards

Chiefbkt

hope you're kidding.

[turkeyfeathers]

This topic comes up on oldgobbler turkey forum a lot with "max range" you'd shoot or have shot a turkey with a shotgun. It starts quite the pizzing match i'll tell you. Real turkey hunters won't shoot out past 40 yards tops. If you haven't coaxed him inside of that you haven't fooled him IMO. New Winchester ad in print totes some professional turkey hunter killing a bird with this new ammo at something like 70 yards. SMH ! Golden BB's aren't for me. Too many wounded birds that go off and die . There's a shortage as is, this gets my goat. Sorry to get a little off topic. I don't bow hunt so don't have a "true" answer related.

[growalot]

Well I would suppose that depends on poundage and practice, that said I shoot 49# and practice mainly 30yrds with some 40...but have dropped deer at 35 with no problems. Would probably shoot a doe at 40 ..never a buck. The reason is muscle/ bone mass.

[chiefbkt]

hope you're kidding.

No joke. I'd take that shot on a deer. I shot a doe at 56 yards last year and never thought twice about it. I have a speed bow and shoot thousands of arrows a year at long range. If I didn't shoot as much as I do I wouldn't even consider it.

Chiefbkt

[Adkhunter1590]

No joke. I'd take that shot on a deer. I shot a doe at 56 yards last year and never thought twice about it. I have a speed bow and shoot thousands of arrows a year at long range. If I didn't shoot as much as I do I wouldn't even consider it.

Chiefbkt

Some will never believe man. Check the thread about 5 days till season. You'll see plenty mocking me for stating 100 yards is easily possible.

[Jeremy K]

I have to agree with the statement that a lot of the rush of bow hunting deer is developing the skill set to get a deer to move in close to where you are set up. I do always appreciate a well placed distant shot with a bow though.

[DirtTime]

Some will never believe man. Check the thread about 5 days till season. You'll see plenty mocking me for stating 100 yards is easily possible.

No one was mocking you. You mocked yourself, so I made this thread.

 

It seems the over all average is still about 30 for clean ethical kills every time.

 

If you are capable of cleanly making a kill with a bow at 80 to 100 yards on a regular basis, then you need to have your own TV show. Not a You Tube channel, an actual TV show on one of the outdoor networks. You deserve it. That's not sarcasm, it's being honest. 

 

How do you judge the wind at those extreme distances? A 5 MPH wind can toss an arrow all over the place. 

Edited September 27, 2015 by ....rob

[chiefbkt]

How do you judge the wind at those extreme distances? A 5 MPH wind can toss an arrow all over the place.

I purposely shoot on days where the gusts and wind are over 25mph. For me, I've seen very little change in arrow flight out to 70 yards. I do this mainly to see how my arrow flight is at those ranges. I was surprised to see such little arrow movement.

Chiefbkt

[Adkhunter1590]

No one was mocking you. You mocked yourself, so I made this thread.

It seems the over all average is still about 30 for clean ethical kills every time.

If you are capable of cleanly making a kill with a bow at 80 to 100 yards on a regular basis, then you need to have your own TV show. Not a You Tube channel, an actual TV show on one of the outdoor networks. You deserve it. That's not sarcasm, it's being honest.

How do you judge the wind at those extreme distances? A 5 MPH wind can toss an arrow all over the place.

Not sure how a statement turns into mocking myself but I'll leave it up to you to grab a dictionary and enlighten us all.

A TV show for what thousands of others do on a regular basis? Seems like a boring show. Never did I say the ONLY shots I take are 80-100. I told you my 3 longest. 90 was my farthest and a clean kill. Would attempt 100 if conditions are right.

And since when did 100 yards become an "extreme" distance? If I told you 200 yards that would be once thing but 100 is hardly extreme. Ya wind can absolutely throw an arrow all around. But if you actually read what I wrote before you'd see how I mentioned shooting those ranges with NO wind. I wouldn't attempt a long shot if I had swirly wind or even big random gusts. I'm not gonna shoot over 50 in much wind at all.

And like I also said before...I've been practicing to 100 for 6 years. In those 6 years I've taken 3 shots over 80. So as you can see, the weather conditions and terrain don't make it a habit of giving me much opportunity of even taking the shots. 3 times in 6 years is hardly regular