What Do You Think Your Effective Range Is?

[dbHunterNY]

i'm shocked there's been no mention of setup.  everyone talks about how far they can hit a target.  no talk about arrow weight, drag, bow cross section to catch wind, or broadhead choice.  just because you can make the shot doesn't mean you'll get the penetration.  also i can't imagine trying to with a sight without adjustable pin brightness and smaller diameter like .010" pins.

[josephmrtn]

I currently practice out to 40... I won't shoot at a deer more than abt 30 tho... I like my deer shots to be 15 yards or less

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[tommyc50]

i have set my personal range @30 yds i can hit a bullseye @40yds but my bow is set @ 56lbs [the max is 60] so i can effectively kill a deer within 30 yds i wouldnt chance on an iffy shot  i shoot rage broadheads  im not confident on a pass through or at lest decent penitration @ longer ranges

[monkeyman2269]

35 yards and that's rare I like to keep it around 25

[WNYBuckHunter]

I practice out to 50, I can keep them in a pie plate out to there right now. Id be comfortable shooting a deer out to 50 with the right conditions. For most of my stands, 30 to 35 yards is the max.

[Jeremy K]

I put one in the 11 ring and 1 in the 10 ring on an elk at 68 yards yesterday ,all with only a 40 yard pin . If i had a pin set for 70 i could pop the 10 spot all day long in no time. I would never take a shot at an animal at that range though.

[BigVal]

40

[DirtTime]

i'm shocked there's been no mention of setup.  everyone talks about how far they can hit a target.  no talk about arrow weight, drag, bow cross section to catch wind, or broadhead choice.  just because you can make the shot doesn't mean you'll get the penetration.  also i can't imagine trying to with a sight without adjustable pin brightness and smaller diameter like .010" pins.

Thats a good point.

 

 

I really could not care less how far you shoot. As long as you are making clean kills. For me, launching an arrow the length of a football field, goal line to goal line isn't practical, and I just can't see the 'average' bow hunter making a clean kill every time, and I am not into the guessing game.

 

As for the wind not playing a part............. All I did was laugh. Even with a gun you have to account for wind and elevation.

 

Enjoy dropping deer at 80 + yards with a bow. Just to be on the safe side keep this link handy:

http://deersearch.org

[ATbuckhunter]

30 yards is pretty much my limit for hunting. I try to keep my shots under 25 yards if i can. 

[mxsmitz201]

I practice more frequently at yardage greater than 35 out to 60 than at short yardages. My goal being if I can get tight groups at these longer ranges consistently it should be easier to achieve really tight groups at shorter yardages.

I am comfortable shooting at 50yds in most conditions to make a kill, and would consider further if conditions were right and my confidence was there. That's the make or break for me. If I have any doubt in myself at any distance when I'm at full draw I won't shoot. Confidence goes a long way.

[DirtTime]

i'm shocked there's been no mention of setup.  everyone talks about how far they can hit a target.  no talk about arrow weight, drag, bow cross section to catch wind, or broadhead choice.  just because you can make the shot doesn't mean you'll get the penetration.  also i can't imagine trying to with a sight without adjustable pin brightness and smaller diameter like .010" pins.

 

[zeus1gdsm]

30 max. 25 preferable. I doubt I'll ever get out farther...though longer practice is fun...

I also am extremely conservative and desire clean efficient ethical kills.

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[Adkhunter1590]

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2921290

While scrolling through the archery talk I came across this thread. First thing you'll notice is the guys awesome bull he harvested. Congrats to him for that. But upon reading his post I read how he shot it at 71 yards. After 5 pages of responses not ONE person mocked, questioned, doubted or bashed him for making such a long shot. Many congratulate him on his great marksmanship.

Just funny to see the difference in responses compared to this forum. I'm sure it's because this is NY based so like I've said before, longer range shots just aren't a common thing here, but they are out west. Just figured this was ironically good timed proof

[Uncle Nicky]

30 tops- that's crossbow or compound bow.

[Doc]

I have done a bit of calculating on just how far a deer can move forward while an arrow is in the air with just a single step. Even with some exceptionally fast bows, the distance a deer can move from the time the release is triggered until the arrow gets there can convert a perfect shot into a gut-shot at some of the more moderate distances like 40, 50 or more yards.

 

I used a deer walking speed of 3.5 - 4 mph for the speed of that single step (per "The Deer of North America" Leonard Lee Rue III… Page 40). Play with some of those numbers and amaze yourself. Yes, that stationary target pinned up on a bale at the target range never presents that possibility, and we never get to see those results on the target range. I'm not talking about jumping the string or any other kinds of sudden violent moves ..... I'm not talking about any deer response to being frightened. Just a casual single step forward to reach that next piece of browse, or continue on to wherever it was heading before it paused.

 

I'm not trying to make any judgments, but just offering something to consider relative to this discussion. It gets interesting.

[gfdeputy2]

I practice out to 80 yards. Longest kill was 53 yards I am confident out to 60 yards if conditions are good

But stay at around 50 mark

mot of my kills have been less than 30 yards

[chiefbkt]

I shoot a 2015 Obsession Evolution @ 70# and 29" draw, GoldTip Pro Hunter arrows with a 431 grain hunting set up.  Should be plenty of down range KE with this set up.  I am not out there bowhunting intentionally looking to take a 50+ yard shot.  I would much rather have that 40 and under shot.  I have 4 stands on field edges giving me wide open shots so if a deer is hanging up at 50, 60, or 70 yards, knowing I can make that shot is nice to have in my bag.  Even then, to take a shot that far you have to consider the conditions, ie. deer body language.  LIke I mentioned earlier, I shoot in all conditions and really like shooting on the high wind days to see my arrow flight.  I have seen very little change in my arrow flight at 50+ yards on these windy days.  This is cross wind, face in the wind, and down wind shooting.  I am not perfect, I've made poor shots on deer at close ranges as have many of us bowhunters.  That is why I shoot as much as I do, to help alleviate the chance of error in my shot.  

[LuckyPickle123]

40 yards and in. It's amazing all the justification given for 60 to 100 yards. That says it all

[NFA-ADK]

45 Yards is about my max.

[Nomad]

I like to think my range is from 21 years old up to late 50's.

Edited September 28, 2015 by Larry302

[chrisw]

Everyone's skill level is different as well as every situation. I won't shoot past 40 and I don't like to even do that. I shoot regularly at 70 and I feel I'm better than average, but the margin for error is small and I'm not going to lay in bed at night while a deer is out there suffering from a bad shot because I thought I might get lucky. Bowhunting is a game of how close you can get, leave the long range stuff for rifles, or better yet, paper.

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[Merlot]

30 yards

[BigVal]

40 yards and in. It's amazing all the justification given for 60 to 100 yards. That says it all

Agreed

[Gencountyzeek]

Took a doe clean at 40 yards last year, that is my max.Most kills are between 15-25 yards.

[orion]

Its just amazing that people now bash others who have taken the time to become proficient with their bows