What is acceptable accuracy?

[The_Real_TCIII]

Do they make that for bows? That would be a good way to truly test the arrow drop at different distances. For this year, since its my first year and I haven't shot a ton out far I will have my sight set for 25yds and aim a little high low from 10-30yds.

They sure do it's called a hooter shooter

[Doc]

6 hours ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

I keep hearing people talking about practice and I honestly think practice can make you or break you as an archer. There is such a thing as bad practice and unfortunately I think most archery hunters practice wrong. Shooting the same target at the same distances after your bow is tuned and sighted in is no longer good practice. I also think for hunters the guys who go out and shoot 10+ arrows a session aren't doing themselves any favors either.

My training regiment has been the same for a few years now and this year I took it to the next level as I have not shot more than 1 arrow in a session since around the 20th of August. I try to take my shot 1st thing in the morning or at last legal light and I have shot from everywhere from below the target to extreme angles from 5-100yds.

Once your bow is set and ready I honestly believe that less is more when it comes to practice.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have found this to be true to some extent. I do limit my practice sessions....not to only one arrow, but I am very careful not to get into a duration where I begin to feel fatigued. I have had situations where getting into marathon type of practice sessions only result in training in improper shooting form and other shooting problems like target panic, flinching, etc.

[growalot]

Mines 3 arrows and from a stand. Because all the climbing has started to be rather painful different distance now is down to 2 . 10 and 25, but still from the stand.

[LET EM GROW]

Its different for everyone as you mentioned. For me if I cant hold real tight groups at 20 and 30.. I am very upset with myself, as well as baseball sized groups out to 60 yards.

IMO a rule of thumb I followed as a kid learning, was when groups began to get bigger than a softball, one should draw the limit there, and or learn to make them better. A softball is say half the size of the lungs in a deer, if a deer moves at the shot of an arrow any which way.. you never know what could happen...

[Robhuntandfish]

bow practice for me starts off with a couple of sets of heavy shooting to be sure everything is zeroed in , then its shoot a 40,30,20 shot once a week just to be sure I am still zeroed in. Too much practice tends to get me tweaking the bow my miligrams back and forth.  And def there are days it would seem i am just off, so if off I tend to wait til tomorrow and shoot again to be sure if its me, cause it usually is.  But once its on - i am usually set for the season.  I will still shoot once a week to be sure nothign got bumped when hunting. 

[Big John]

I always get in trouble when the topic of accuracy is talked about, I practice every week for an hour each day the pictures included are why.  Picture 1 is a 2 inch square piece of tubing I hit twice at 200yds. Picture 2 is an arrow that I also hit at 200 yds (it did take me 6 shots to do so in high wind) and picture 3 is the buck I shot 600yds across a ravine. I built the rifle I shoot and if it is incapable of shooting a center bull shot @ 200 yds I will take is apart and check it for specs....

[nyantler]

I have a friend that is uncanny accurate when shooting at a range target. He wins every competition at the club and can shoot circles around me... YET he can't hit the broad side of a barn when it comes to game in the field. I've witnessed him completely missing deer and turkeys at close range... both with gun and bow. Go figure.

I think it's cool to be able to shoot long range accurately... its always impressive watching someone shoot 100's of yards at the range and plunk them right in there... I just don't see the excitement of taking a deer from 600 yards, but that's just me... I like the adrenaline rush of worrying about that buck being so close that he might hear my heart beating.

[Big John]

8 minutes ago, nyantler said:

I have a friend that is uncanny accurate when shooting at a range target. He wins every competition at the club and can shoot circles around me... YET he can't hit the broad side of a barn when it comes to game in the field. I've witnessed him completely missing deer and turkeys at close range... both with gun and bow. Go figure.

I think it's cool to be able to shoot long range accurately... its always impressive watching someone shoot 100's of yards at the range and plunk them right in there... I just don't see the excitement of taking a deer from 600 yards, but that's just me... I like the adrenaline rush of worrying about that buck being so close that he might hear my heart beating.

I unfortunately get no adrenaline rush at any range the Army took all that away years ago, I see a target and shoot it. On this and other forums I talk about "Target Panic" and the best ways around it practice being one. I shot the buck In the picture not to prove a point but to fill my freezer.  

[nyantler]

6 hours ago, Big John said:

I unfortunately get no adrenaline rush at any range the Army took all that away years ago, I see a target and shoot it. On this and other forums I talk about "Target Panic" and the best ways around it practice being one. I shot the buck In the picture not to prove a point but to fill my freezer.  

That's a shame you lost the rush... I think it is the best part of hunting... for me there is never a point to prove as a hunter, just an experience to enjoy. Thank you for your service.

 

Edited September 21, 2017 by nyantler

[Doc]

I have an 8-1/2" x 11" cardboard backed target with four 1-1/2 inch bulls-eyes inside 3" outer rings for my archery practice. I want to see every arrow inside the 3" ring in order to feel that a particular distance is something that I would consider adequate for hunting. That's what I want. I usually am happy with the results, but once in a while things don't work out the way I want. So far I can keep arrows in that 3" ring out to 25 yards. Beyond that, not really all that satisfactory. So 25 yards is as far as I will shoot in hunting situations.

For the rifle, I would like all the bullets to go in the same hole at 100 yards. Yeah right ..... lol. Again what I would like and what I get are two different things .... lol. But a nice elongated hole is nice.

The fact is that I am never really satisfied with either the bow or the gun. I am simply looking for a reasonable group that leaves me with a fair amount of confidence when hunting a target that has the ability to move without warning or any of the other variations that don't exist on the target range. There are enough variables posed by actual wild game without accuracy being one of them.