how far is to far

[woodstoka]

ok i know this gets debated but how far is to far for instants how far would you take an animal deer , goat , pig what ever how far would you confidently take a broadside shot from
i like to practise and get my bowtuned to perfection and i always shoot from 40ms i know some think this is to far but i can shoot fairly consistant from this distance and after reading an article in wild deer magazine a young guy shot an impressive sambar from 60m thats along shot
so how far would you take a shot from if the conditions were right
jesse

[bowhunting4eva]

i try not take to take any shots further than 40yards. one of my longest shots was from 42 yards. the aim of bowhunting is to get as close as you can anyway. but if people can shoot good out to 60yards i dont mind if they take shots from there.

[Luke]

Just a quote... for some spice ;)

An archer likes to know "how far"... a hunter likes to know "how close" ;)

[Mitch]

Good topic mate, the way im shooting (which is ****) I know i can hit one nicely at 40mtrs because i have done it in the field. But i am comfortable with my shooting at 30mtrs because i can consistantly group well at that distance, enough to feel confident that i will definatley make a good shot there. I think it varies with everyones shooting ability.

But 30mtrs (on goats) is a good distance for me, the closer the better however!

[woodstoka]

yer definetly
i like the saying luke its a good one
but im not saying i just take shots from 40m imean if thats as close as you could get would you

[spiderbait24]

i reckon 40m is a good distance mate anything further than that its a bit of a gamble i think.

[wayoutwest]

The longest shot ive taken was at 51 meters on a goat lookin back on it i regret taking the shot although it died in about 10 seconds i would of liked to get a bit closer, but i also think of the cover im shooting in if its good ill get as close as i can but if i was shooting out onto a big flat i would make my max 40...

[hit and giggle]

The longest shot ive seen was taken by my dad on a goat at 60m. He hit it perfectly and it went down after about 100m. He groups well out to that distance and the conditions were right (clear shot, no wind etc). As for me my maximum range would be around 40m. My groups from that range are about the size of a dinner plate. So i would say if the conditions are right and your grouping well from your maximum distance then take the shot.

[McNugget]

I've been bowhunting a while, all in hill country and i'm strugglin to get clear shots at 30meters because of the scrub. i usually shoot at a max of 20m that way im 100% confident that i give a clean kill.
I'm sure we all know how it feels to stuff it up by taking a long shot of just shooting at the wrong angle, and how bad you feel afterwards. the proudest thing you can do is watch them flights zipp through the vitals and see the animal just stand there and not know any different, then pass out.
Shooting 40m at a target is a really big differnce to shooting an animal in the scrub at 40. it's a totally different thing.
If you dont shoot the animal on the day, it will always be there to shoot tomorrow, and there is every chance that it will grow even bigger horns,tusks and antlers...
Do we Agree???

[XTfreak]

43 meters is my longest shot so far. Though I do practice to 50 meters.
Bill

[Wellsy]

Not having a go at anyone, but I have heard it said many times.
"I can group my arrows to a certain size at a certain distance"
My queston is if there were 5 targets placed between 30 and 40mtrs (distance unknown) could you shoot at the first target kneeling on one knee, the second target with one leg on a log, the third target on a 45 degree incline and so on and still have all your arrows within your desired group?
If not it is too far...
Just my opinion

Wellsy

[Mitch]

Very nicley put Mc Nugget!

[HOOD]

Not having a go at anyone, but I have heard it said many times.
"I can group my arrows to a certain size at a certain distance"
My queston is if there were 5 targets placed between 30 and 40mtrs (distance unknown) could you shoot at the first target kneeling on one knee, the second target with one leg on a log, the third target on a 45 degree incline and so on and still have all your arrows within your desired group?
If not it is too far...
Just my opinion

Wellsy


Good point.
Hunting is very rarely like shooting at the range as most would know.

[Luke]

Well put Wellsy, and exactly why I practise like that ;)

Even at the indoor range (Hey Timmsy :P)


:)

[howie]

I like to see the whites of their eyes b4 I drop the string.
Not long ago I met a guy who shot a bunny at 72 metres and after seeing him shoot I can understand how he did it. His style is perfect and he is very knowledgeable in bow shooting form.
For the rest of us, find your own personal distance and stay with it.
Howie

[warnie]

There is no doubt with todays technology people can (i cannot) shoot well at extreme ranges. The ethical debate against doing so on game was always that arrows take time to travel these kind of distances and it leaves a big chance for the game animal to move after the shot. Once you release, what happens then is beyond your control and the animal can move resulting in a wounded animal. This is the idea (other than the basic idea that increased distance means an increased chance of a bad shot), behind not taking long shots.

Sure the animal may move sufficient for a complete miss, or a fraction for a gut shot, not cool, or fair on the animal.

Distances people shoot at have increased as deer hunters try and reduce the chance of misses because of deer jumping the string. I see the practical side of this, people have forgoten the ethical side of distance shooting, I leave to people to decide where they sit with all this.

[Rock Steady]

I like Howie & Warnie's post they are both spot on.

I am a bit like Howie, I like to be as close as possible (8-15yards). I will take shots out to 20-40 yards but there has to be dame good reasons and none of those reasons include the size of the trophy.

For me the hunt is about knowing the animal I am hunting and the country I hunt so I can stalk in as close as possible to my target.

I took a friend away for the first time so he could shoot a good mountain boar, on the target range he could smash the dot out to 40m+ but in the bush he was misjudging 25m shots and clean missing the boars, he could have tried to stalk much closer and possibly got his best mountain boar to date instead he had 4 or 5 long shots that missed instead of 1 shot that smashed the dot.

Find a distance that you are very confident that you can smash the dot every time and stick with it, if you have trouble stalking into that range then you need to improve your staking skills not your shooting skills. If you spook a few critters before you can take a shot that will just help you hone your stalking skills, learn by your mistakes. Do not learn by shooting animals badly at long range, it gives Bowhunting a bad name when the framer finds a wounded animal with your flights sticking out of it.

[jason]

Distances people shoot at have increased as deer hunters try and reduce the chance of misses because of deer jumping the string. I see the practical side of this, people have forgoten the ethical side of distance shooting, I leave to people to decide where they sit with all this.


i do not agree with people trying to be fuurther away to stop the deer hearing them. no bow does the speed of sound and the arrow usually makes just as much noise as it is travelling through the air. you are kidding yourself if you are trying to employ this tactic IMO. get as close and only shoot at relaxed animals is the only way to go. if you can only get to 40(which i think is max) and cannot get closer because of other deer etc between you and the target so be it, but i have had deer at 50m hear me removing an arrow from the quiver.

i personally only have pins out to 35m so that is as far as i shoot on paper or game...I have never minded getting to 50m and not being able to get closer and not taking the shot i hate wounding game and i have done it trying longer shots which has led me to the conclusion that they are not for me and to just try and push to get as close and if i cannot get there and get busted then the animal won and i lost.
The other way i look at it as that no one ever talks about the 2 min stalk to 50m but most will tell you how they crawled for 2 hrs to get to 20m on a bedded stag and how proud they were of it..
The shot is the last 5 seconds of the hunt so the foreplay should last as long as it can ;)

[PeterM]

At the end of the day weather you shoot them close or far, or weather you are labelled an archer or hunter there’s no difference there all close range, being divided into to separate group because you can or you do shoot game and longer distance than others morally will not go past is there opinion.

I say this shoot them at what ever distance you are confidante at, all this depends on the obviously the level of experience, your ability the animal the conditions and there own personal beliefs and limitations of what the max distance might be, I know I don’t care what others think, its up to the individual to set there own limits on there max shooting distance.

Also the rule that there more change of wounding game at longer distances, doesn’t hold much weight IMO, I’ve seen just as many animals wounded at close range compared to those where more time and concentration where placed on hitting a small area on a undisturbed animal at longer ranges by hunters that regularly practice these shots than hunters I’ve see blow shots at very close distance because they thought they had the cat in the bag so to speak.

I shoot game at 10m to 60m plus, so what type hunter am I, oh sorry archer or is it hunter………..:rolleyes:

[silent killer]

I can shoot very consistant out to 40meters i put 4 arrows in the bottom of a 2 liter coke bottle but do have a 50 meter pin for the deer in the open ground i like to get in to at least 30 meters.....
....Cheers alex...

[Warlocke]

I will confidently take a shot at 50 mtrs, if the conditions warrant it.

My grouping at this distance is better than my grouping with the 'curve at 20, yet no one would berate a trad shooter shooting at this distance.

Given good cover to stalk to then I will get as close as I can, and at times I have been sitting at 5 mtrs of a Goat just waiting for him to graze to an even better shot or waiting to assess the mob to pick the ideal animal for my needs.

Admittedly, I rarely do take longer shots but when I do I set myself up for the shot as I am fully aware of the consequences of a poor shot.

No long shots are ever done without the use of a rangefinder and only when the Game are relaxed and grazing in open country with me under good cover.

If I have the slightest doubt in my ability then no shot is taken.