HOW FAR IS TOO FAR?

big2pointer

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8
Every year with the improvement of archery equipment people seem to be flinging arrows further and further. Simple question, what is the longest first shot you would take on an animal? (Obviously if you already hit an animal once you should try and get it down ASAP ) For me depends on conditions and species. I know a lot of 100+ yard shots are being taken these days. For 90% of hunters that's well beyond ethical range.


you skin grizz?
 
I would say that 100 yards is beyond 98% of hunter abilities. Even if you are a super hero at archery there are just to many variables. I've been hunting archery for 35 years and no matter how good you are an animals can take a step or a little branch you didn't see can deflect an arrow. Yes this can happen at close range to but not near as often. 60 is my max at elk size game and that's only if I feel I'm shooting top notch in pre season and if I'm not I shorten that distance.
 
At 40 yards if your shot ain?t perfect it might be off a few inches which can still hit the vitals. At 100 that same less than perfect shot hopefully will result in a complete miss and not a bad hit. I heard a great quote from the Meateater on Netflix ?max range is often not a reflection of the shooters ability but their desperation to tag out?. My quote is probably not right but it's something along those lines. I'm gonna try to remember that in those situations.
 
I really like that quote and having talked with hunters all over while manning both's at sportsman's shows I have to agree with it whole heatedly. No matter how much we like to make ourselves out to be the ethical hunters society my findings are that to many people are taking to risky of shots. Hate to say it but the pressure to tag out is higher than ever.
 
I shot 100 yards routinely and feel confident that I would hit 8? circle all day which is half the size the vitals of an elk standing broadside.

With that said an animal can move a lot in the time it takes for an arrow to get there. On an elk broadside in the field, 70 yards that is ranged with my sight dialed is my max. Any other presentation and deer my max becomes shorter.

I practice 100 for that 40 to 60 yard shot.
 
An ARCHER sees how far he/she can be from their target and still hit it......a BOWHUNTER sees how CLOSE he/she can get to their target before they hit it!

BOHNTR )))---------->
 
LAST EDITED ON Mar-07-19 AT 05:41PM (MST)[p]I would be shocked if 5% of guys who actually take 100 yarders at game could hit an 8? invisible circle drawn in the dead center vital area of a 3D elk target at 100 yards go 7/10 shots, shooting cold, 1 arrow a day, mixed locations, mixed conditions, with different incline/decline each day, with a hunting rig. SHOCKED! On the other hand I'm sure there are many that could sit in their backyard on a sunny calm day flinging groups of arrows at an 8? circle at 100+ and go 10/10.
 
Depends. Target shooting, only a safe backstop matters. Hunting, the target size is irrelevant in comparison at 100 yds vs. 40.

A 450 gr arrow traveling at 270 fps at the muzzle performs like a 300 gr arrow traveling at 190 fps at 100 yds...
 
There are lots of guys taking 30 yard shots that have no business shooting a bow. To me distance is relative to each person shooting, i know guys i would rather see shooting 100 than others at 40.

I was shooting at the range last fall, I was having issues at 50 yards with a broadhead i wanted to use, i was shooting 5" lower than i wanted and about a 5 or 6" group at that range. To me that was unexceptable and i ended up switching back to my Solids which i can shoot so they are all in about a 3" circle in the center of the target at that range. I can also consistently shoot a 4-6" group at 70 yards with those heads.

Any way while messing with my setup a guy walked up, shot a few shots at 40 and then proceeded to shoot broadheads. His first two totally missed the target at that distance, his third hit low and to the right but was on the target. He exclaimed out loud, "found my #1", he said thats why he was there. He picked up the arrows from the dirt, put them back in the quiver and then left the range ready to hunt!!

I think there are a lot of guys out there with this mentality and setup. Personally if is very frustrating to me. If I cant wrap my hands around my arrows at any range i am shooting i am not happy with that setup and change until i can. I know the consequence of a poorly placed shoot and it makes me sick when i make one and I can't sleep at night until i have exhausted all of my efforts looking for that animal. Some people it doesn't bother and they just keep hunting without a second thought.

For me personally i would feel perfectly confident with taking a 60 yard shot at an elk. I haven't shot a bull that far yet and my last couple have been 28 and 14 yards in thick timber, my furthest bull i killed was at 53 yards in a clear cut.

I have shot and killed mule deer further and my average shot distance is further than on elk. They typically don't respond well to calls during Sept and are very difficult to get into elk type ranges. I also hunt deer in open sage country and elk in heavy timber.
 
I went through a phase where I shot at animals quite a bit further than I should, I had success and I missed some. I am a bowhunter and as such live by Roy's quote. I love getting in close. I once shot a Coues deer at 25 yards, he jumped the string and I hit him high and I then hammered him at 113 yards again, I am glad that I had the capabilities to shoot long distance. To me I prefer to shoot under 40.
To me it is all about getting close but I can tell you from experience that an animal is more likely to jump a string at under 20 yards than 80.
 
I am typically hunting deer from a treestand in thicker areas so shots are usually limited. 35 yards is my max on deer sized game. Did go archery one time for elk. Shot thousands of arrows that summer and would consistently put 3 arrows in a group the size of a snuff can out to 60 yards. Given I had the time to practice, 60 yards would be my limit on an elk.
 
BOHUNTRx2

For me the max distance on an elk is about 55 yards. Too many variables beyond that no matter how well you shoot at the range. I have killed or guided over 60 archery elk kills and only one was over 50 yards. The percentage of unrecovered bulls on 50+ yards shots goes up exponentially. Don't do it. Get closer or don't shoot.
 
>I am typically hunting deer from
>a treestand in thicker areas
>so shots are usually limited.
>35 yards is my max
>on deer sized game. Did
>go archery one time for
>elk. Shot thousands of arrows
>that summer and would consistently
>put 3 arrows in a
>group the size of a
>snuff can out to 60
>yards. Given I had the
>time to practice, 60 yards
>would be my limit on
>an elk.

I can totally relate to this guy! At 50-60 yards my grouping size goals are always compared to my can of Copenhagen! It's a solid standard and I always got a can on hand for comparison.
 
I've always believed true bragging rights are for those who sneak in close. The closer you get the harder it is, so brag it up. Anyone can cast a stick and get lucky. Not really that cool. It seems we see more and more pics and videos of deer or elk with an arrow hanging out its back or but in some yard during winter. Thats a good way to get people not to like bowhunters. 10 years ago I put a second peep above my other one and it made 200+ yard shots possible. It's like adding a tang sight to your bow. I love shooting long distance at targets, but I'll always try for a close shot on game. And NO I didn't have that second peep on while hunting.
 
>I've always believed true bragging rights
>are for those who sneak
>in close. The closer you
>get the harder it is,
>so brag it up. Anyone
>can cast a stick and
>get lucky. Not really that
>cool. It seems we see
>more and more pics and
>videos of deer or elk
>with an arrow hanging out
>its back or but in
>some yard during winter. Thats
>a good way to get
>people not to like bowhunters.
>10 years ago I put
>a second peep above my
>other one and it made
>200+ yard shots possible. It's
>like adding a tang sight
>to your bow. I love
>shooting long distance at targets,
>but I'll always try for
>a close shot on game.
>And NO I didn't have
>that second peep on while
>hunting.


I agree to some extent but most of the arrows sticking out of animals I've seen have field tips on them which were most likely shot by kids messing around. A huge difference in archery these days is that you can go to walmart and buy a bow, arrows and broadheads now. Just because you own those things doesn't make you an archer or a hunter. Even 10 years ago you had to go to a bow shop and get all setup in order to buy a new bow.

The worst part about the walmart bows is they are junk bows to start with. Pretty disappointing i think but probably a good way to make a buck!
 
Some interesting points have come up. I particularly liked the one where a coues jumped the string at 25 yards and needed an extra shot at 113 yards. I think that is an example of how hunter proficiency enhanced harvest ethics. A wounded animal should be put down as quickly as possible in my opinion.

But that is an extreme example. The reality is that many of the weekend warrior types lack the dedication it takes to become proficient and are mortally wounding animals, only to never recover them. Every year I hear someone complain about their broadheads not punching through elk shoulder blades or not killing an elk that was hit in the liver. If you are reading this, you are probably in the upper tiers of archers, what you should be considering when promoting long range shooting is that a majority of the problems are emminating from a core group of inexperienced or sub par archers.

Think about trophy quality. Think about game abundance. Both are negatively impacted when a hunter mortally wounds and never recovers animals.......because as we all know, they keep hunting.

Years ago I was elk hunting and came across another hunter. He had just spent an hour looking for a blood trail from a bull he shot. He told me his shot was about 75 yards and that The blood he found was obviously from a liver shot, And the bull dissappeared into a nasty canyon. The hunter abandoned recovery attempts and ended up shooting a 340ish bull a few days later. Two trophies downed by the same hunter in the same season, only one recovered. I have heard of people wounding many animals on a hunt before finally harvesting one.

Its really a matter of hunter ethics if you ask me, after all, its the hunter who is making these decisions that has to be able to close their eyes and be able to sleep at night.
 
I've always lived by, and raised my bowhunting kids to live by, that the state issues me a tag to kill one animal. If I wound an animal that I know or reasonably know will die, my hunt is over.

BOHNTR )))---------->
 
LAST EDITED ON Jun-01-19 AT 08:18AM (MST)[p]Exactly Bohntr. Many years ago, I shot a big buck. He was at the very top of the mountain. 20 yard shot, double lunged him. Blood splatter everywhere, filled with bubbles. Waited 45 minutes to slowly find blood and track him. He left a massive blood trail, pink and foamy. I knew he was hit good. The problem is he dropped off that mountain in a HURRY. I tracked him for ten hours that day, and all of the next day. Lost blood about a mile into the trail. Too many tracks to follow just his. I had to leave for work the second night. he went A good 2500 foot in elevation. I have no idea how he went as far as he did, other than it was straight down. I had the next weekend to hunt, but only went back to where I lost the blood and continued searching. Made me sick, but I never recovered that buck. I did not continue hunting. Searched the whole weekend, knew he was dead. Had got into a THICK area that was covered in tracks.


As far as shooting distance, I practice out to 100. Actual field range depends on several factors. Wind, angle, animal angle. Max I would shoot, in perfect conditions is 60. Range wise I can put three arrows within an inch and a half at that range 9/10 days. But most people do not have a range in their yard, and time to shoot as much as I do.


*We are all in the same boat, just
wishing to be hunting right now!*
 
There is a huge difference between shooting a 100 yards at a target and shooting a 100 yards at a wild animal. Like most have already said there are too many variables in taking such a shot on game. I practice at 90 and 100 yards regularly and that is definitely too far to fling an arrow at game that you respect or should respect. My max would be 60-70 yard in perfect conditions, but we all know perfect conditions hardly ever are perfect. We all hear of guys that shoot game at further distances and make the kill but I'm not willing to chance wounding an animal on a longer shot. Enough animals are wounded and lost at 15 yards.
 

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