what is acceptable accuracy with your bow?

[turkeyfeathers]

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

[moog5050]

Since starting with the recurve, I honestly don't worry about pinpoint accuracy.  I only am concerned about the major fliers.  If I can keep those to a very minimum, I am confident.  Watching the barebow championship at Lancaster actually made me feel better about my shooting.  Even those guys don't hit the x most shots but most shots are around the 3" yellow.  And that's with bows set up to get the tip of the arrow on the target at 20.

Now with the compound, they hit the bullseye every shot with  x count being the deciding factor.  That requires a whole different level of accuracy.  And one that isn't really required to be a successful hunter.

[Robhuntandfish]

2 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

I would say you should be able to hit the target with the bow with a good overhand throw at 20 yards from frustration!  lol  

kidding .... it really isnt too long a learning curve

with a compound bow, sights, a release and some practice its not unreasonable to think you would be shooting 2" groups at 20 yards and be effective out to 40.  The most important part is getting it setup right for you with draw length and a good anchor.  But be prepared for few arrows to be placed in the woods for a bit when you first start.  lol.  Happens to everyone.  

[moog5050]

7 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

I will be surprised if you aren't keeping them in a tight group at 20yds TF.  You will have no issues hunting by fall I am sure.

[dbHunterNY]

6 minutes ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

you need to account for the path of the arrow at least into the chest cavity. hold every arrow within a 6" circle and you're probably good to hit two vital organs (double lung most likely) with the a deer very close to perfectly broadsided. keep them within a soft ball or 4" and you're good for a shot slightly quartering away too. the idea is your groups have to be smaller as angle to the deer changes in any way, such that you hit at least two vital organs. whatever your range ends up being that you can do that is what your effective range most likely is when starting. after that it's realizing all the crazy things that happen when deer react or not to a shot or what certain heads can do when hitting deer. everyone is different so if i just typed a yardage it'd be a half &^% guess.

[BizCT]

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

 

Considering you can golf and I assume play other sports, you will be proficient very quickly. I felt comfortable at 20yds sitting or standing within the first week (under 30 shots total).

 

 

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[Jeremy K]

30 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

Considering you can golf and I assume play other sports, you will be proficient very quickly. I felt comfortable at 20yds sitting or standing within the first week (under 30 shots total).

 

 

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I can guarantee it doesn't go the other way . I consider myself above average at archery and a complete moron when it comes to swinging a club.

[Merlot]

Inside the pie plate at 30 yards.

[sodfather]

1 hour ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Having never shot a bow and going to very soon what should I expect to be shooting in a group by fall with ample practice ? I anticipate my hand and eye coordination should help a bit.

With everyone's help here you'll be Robin Hood by fall

[sodfather]

To answer the topic question, exceptable range would be 20-40 on flat ground. I need work at 10 and closer from a tree stand. Something I don't practice enough. Then it's a angle game.

[grampy]

7 minutes ago, sodfather said:

With everyone's help here you'll be Robin Hood by fall

This for sure! 

[moog5050]

22 minutes ago, sodfather said:

With everyone's help here you'll be Robin Hood by fall

Or at least as confused as a fart in a fan factory!

[Buckmaster7600]

Or at least as confused as a fart in a fan factory!

Haha, this exactly. You ask 100 "competent" bow hunters a question about shooting and you'll likely get 100 different answers.


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[fasteddie]

11 hours ago, Storm914 said:

Maybe i am  old school but I was teached many years ago.  even if your a great shot in hunting conditions you should not be taking shots more then 20 yards  deer move . Unless you like spending lots of time tracking wounded deer from bad shots .

Are you serious ? Limit yourself to 20 yards ? I have taken deer out to 37 yards . With practice you could take them farther away . I was told that deer jump the string and they would drop down to load their legs to make the jump . I made a mistake on a buck at 30 yards and aimed low expecting him to drop . Shot under him and he just walked away . Never did that again and it was when I first started bow hunting . 

I shoot in my back yard and have a treestand 30 yards from my backstop . I also have a 3-D deer and a few other bag targets that I can place at various distances . The farthest I can shoot in my yard is about 36 yards . My neighbor used to let be stand close to his house so I could shoot farther but my arborvitaes have grown so I cannot shoot over them .

I like to shoot 4-5 times a week and limit myself to 30 shots on each outing . Some days I will go out twice . It gets me off of my lazy ass and I get some exercise . After the 1st couple times out , I don't shoot for groups and instead shoot the 3" circles . So sense in ruining arrows or ripping vanes . When I am in the 3" circle at 30 yards I am confident that I am ready but will continue to shoot all summer . 

Most of the deer I have killed with an arrow have been between 15-25 yards . The closest was 7 yards but I was 20' up in a tree . I had 3 bucks pass below my stand and shot the last one . 

So , I shoot as much as I can during the summer months just to keep the muscles stretched and in working order . At 76 , I need this . In a week or two I plan to start shooting in the basement a couple times a week . I am limited at 11 yards in the basement .

[fasteddie]

2 hours ago, sodfather said:

With everyone's help here you'll be Robin Hood by fall

I think Robin Hood was a Socialist . He took from the rich and gave to the poor . It was a medieval type of Welfare ! 

[sodfather]

4 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

I think Robin Hood was a Socialist . He took from the rich and gave to the poor . It was a medieval type of Welfare ! 

Well Jay works with Golfing those guys are rich and gives me beer I’m poor 

[Nomad]

7 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

I think Robin Hood was a Socialist . He took from the rich and gave to the poor . It was a medieval type of Welfare ! 

Actually , he took from the Government ( the King ) and gave the money back to the people .

[Hunter007]

55 minutes ago, fasteddie said:

Are you serious ? Limit yourself to 20 yards ? I have taken deer out to 37 yards . With practice you could take them farther away . I was told that deer jump the string and they would drop down to load their legs to make the jump . I made a mistake on a buck at 30 yards and aimed low expecting him to drop . Shot under him and he just walked away . Never did that again and it was when I first started bow hunting . 

I shoot in my back yard and have a treestand 30 yards from my backstop . I also have a 3-D deer and a few other bag targets that I can place at various distances . The farthest I can shoot in my yard is about 36 yards . My neighbor used to let be stand close to his house so I could shoot farther but my arborvitaes have grown so I cannot shoot over them .

I like to shoot 4-5 times a week and limit myself to 30 shots on each outing . Some days I will go out twice . It gets me off of my lazy ass and I get some exercise . After the 1st couple times out , I don't shoot for groups and instead shoot the 3" circles . So sense in ruining arrows or ripping vanes . When I am in the 3" circle at 30 yards I am confident that I am ready but will continue to shoot all summer . 

Most of the deer I have killed with an arrow have been between 15-25 yards . The closest was 7 yards but I was 20' up in a tree . I had 3 bucks pass below my stand and shot the last one . 

So , I shoot as much as I can during the summer months just to keep the muscles stretched and in working order . At 76 , I need this . In a week or two I plan to start shooting in the basement a couple times a week . I am limited at 11 yards in the basement .

On a range in my yard with a compound bow I was talking about  btw not a crossbow .

I practice at 20 yards  most the time so I limit my self to that  .

Even though  I can take shots double that distance and still be in the kill zone of a deer  on a target .

I rather not try on a real deer at those distances  With a bow .

I don't want any chance for error when I hunt with a bow .

And I know at least for me at 20 yards  i can make a near perfect shot at that range every time .

If I feel like hunting farther I would go to a crossbow or just wait till gun season .

 

 

 

 

 

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, Storm914 said:

On a range in my yard with a compound bow I was talking about  btw not a crossbow .

I practice at 20 yards  most the time so I limit my self to that  .

Even though  I can take shots double that distance and still be in the kill zone of a deer  on a target .

I rather not try on a real deer at those distances  With a bow .

I don't want any chance for error when I hunt with a bow .

And I know at least for me at 20 yards  i can make a near perfect shot at that range every time .

If I feel like hunting farther I would go to a crossbow or just wait till gun season .

 

 

 

 

 

I am talking about a COMPOUND BOW .... not a crossbow . I wouldn't be shooting 30 bolts a day with a crossbow . The conversation was about shooting a bow . With practice and confidence in your shooting , there is little room for error . 

[BizCT]

On a range in my yard with a compound bow I was talking about  btw not a crossbow .
I practice at 20 yards  most the time so I limit my self to that  .
Even though  I can take shots double that distance and still be in the kill zone of a deer  on a target .
I rather not try on a real deer at those distances  With a bow .
I don't want any chance for error when I hunt with a bow .
And I know at least for me at 20 yards  i can make a near perfect shot at that range every time .
If I feel like hunting farther I would go to a crossbow or just wait till gun season .
 
 
 
 
 

20yds? lol. You better stick to NY

How many mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk, etc. are killed each year with a compound? A lot.

How many are killed under 20yds? I would bet a very very very small %


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[chas0218]

17 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

4” groups from whatever distance you can lob it in from. The longer the distance less chance at string jump.


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I have noticed that myself. I get less string jump with deer further away. 

[Robhuntandfish]

7 minutes ago, chas0218 said:

I have noticed that myself. I get less string jump with deer further away. 

i dont worry about string jump on deer at 20-25 yards casue they dont have time to react.  But the 35-45 i do worry as they can drop before arrow gets there. 

[Hunter007]

2 hours ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

 

20yds? lol. You better stick to NY

How many mule deer, bighorn sheep, elk, etc. are killed each year with a compound? A lot.

How many are killed under 20yds? I would bet a very very very small %


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I Dont know many more i would bet in a high fence area lol 

A elk is a bigger target No?

When I practice  a lot at  farther then 20  I can hit 4 inch targets out to 40 yards 

But I don't usally   so 20 yards maybe 25 yards  is my  limit .

There is to much brush no clear shot farther then that really where I bow hunt anyway.

 

 

 

 

[Doc]

Other than my first deer many, many years ago shot at 35 yards with a recurve, every deer I have shot since was under 25 yards. These days, I am satisfied with  getting each arrow inside of each of my four 3" circles on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I shoot most of my arrows during a practice session at twenty yards and stir in a few 30, 40 and 50 yard shots just for fun. Back in my tournament (NFAA) days we had an 80 yard shot that I could score on .... once in a while....lol.

[fasteddie]

1 hour ago, Robhuntandfish said:

i dont worry about string jump on deer at 20-25 yards casue they dont have time to react.  But the 35-45 i do worry as they can drop before arrow gets there. 

Apparently the buck that I shot under by expecting him to drop down didn't know the rules . I aimed low for the drop at 35 yards . The buck didn't jump the string and the arrow passed under him . He didn't bolt or look my way and just moved on .