Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => Shooting and Hunting => Topic started by: Blacktail on September 06, 2012, 01:35:40 am
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this is a NO glass subject all wood...what is the max yardage that you would shoot a deer at or even practice at..john
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Fifteen yards is my limit if everything is perfect. I prefer 10 yards or less. Practicing, I'll shoot out to 30 yards.
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Real situation? Live animal 15 yrds. Target....well, that depends on how many wheelie bows are at the range when I get there! I prefer to stay around 20 yrds max at home though, lest I lose any more darned arrows to the vortex that is my blackberry briar!
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I've been shooting at ten, fifteen, twenty and twenty five yards at home. Starting to feel really good about the 10 and 15 yardage shots. Twenty and twenty five can be great at times, and unnacceptable other times. I think I'll be sticking to shots under twenty yards in the field.
To me, my range is the distance that my first in the morning arrow is accurate. And that's 15 yards or so.
Gabe
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Out to 15 yards is my feel good distance to shoot at a deer.
In practice I shoot out to around 30 yards...maybe cause I can see the arch of the arrow better at a longer distance!! ;D
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I like the layups myself when hunting but have effectively shot through heart/lung at 20 + yds . I prefer close 5-15 yds. I shoot a lot of different ranges when practicing on stumps in the woods.
Tracy
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I think it depends on your own comfort level and how practiced up you are. Do what feels comfortable for you. IF you prefer to be 10 yards or less than hold yourself to it. But you can be pretty darn accurate and deadly at much greater distances.....if you practice and practice right. I shot a deer at 20 yards and buried the arrow to the feathers several years ago. I punched a rabbit thru both lungs at 40 yards with my primitive bow and that shot can be seen on my DVD.... but I had been practicing at 30-plus yards for 2 days and felt like I could hit him. Of course I don't recommend shooting at any game animal that far....but I felt confident I could hit him and I did..
But much more realistic is to stay 20 yards or less.
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thanks for the info..i feel much better about my shooting now...john
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I set up all my sites 12 to 15 yards. I can shoot 20 my longest was 18 yards. I pracrice back to 30 ,40 yards some. But keep my real shooting to under 20.
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I practice out to 50 yds or more. Hunting situation I'm confident to 25-35yds but closer the better.
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25
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I practice up to 40. Prefer actual hunting shots 10 to 20. Farthest i eber shot a deer was pushing 25. But i had been shooting a lot every day at that time. Some days when i havnt been able to shoot enough recently i wont shoot past 15 at a live critter.
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If conditions were right and the animal presented me with a textbook shot, I'd go out to 25 yards. But that's with a bow that I have been practising with exclusively all summer.
For target practice I've gone out to close to fifty yards for fun, but I'm really playing the trajectory at that point, and I'm lucky if I can get a group within a couple meters. But I normally keep it under thirty yards for regular practice.
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My real life experinece tells me 15-18 yards is more than enough for me and my primitive gear. I can shoot 20-25 in the yard all day, but that means nothing in real hunting situations.
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5 to 15 is what I like and set up for. :)
Pappy
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just curious guys when you talk about real close shots like 5-10 yards, are you talking about tree stand setups, or from the ground?
Just curious.
Thanks.
Jon
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Both for me Jon. Im also curious how many of us have actually hunted with and killed deer with a self bow? How many of us have actually killed live deer with self bows at a true 35-45 yards intentionally? Thats a LOOOOOONG ways for an arrow to travel no matter what bow your hefting around......
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Mostly from a stand Jon and 5/6 yards is where the most are shot at. Pearl ,probably 50 or 60 with a selfbow,150 or so with traditional bow/longbow/recurve and only 1 at 28 steps and 1 at 37 steps a few at around 20 but most less than 10.The one at 28 I didn't think it was near that far.The one at 37 I knew it was and had practiced at that range for weeks as he kept eluding me on the same trail and no way to move in on him. :) Hope folks don't think this is bragging,just been doing it a long time in a good area to hunt and that is all I hunt with through all the seasons. :) No muzzy or Rifles.
Pappy
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Did that arrow seem to take 2-3 minutes to get there at 37 yards Pappy? I play around out back at 35-40 yards and my better performing bows seem to take a half day to get there! And more often than not they arent very accurate!
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Yes and the only reason I tried the shot at all was as I practiced at 40 yards on a deer mid I would either Kill it dead on or miss altogether.Wouldn't try it again but that buck had me really flustraited and that particular day he was wide open,no idea I was around and all felt prefect. Heart shot him and he ran to me ,right under my stand and fell dead about 20 yards to my east. The selfbow is so quite he never knew anything till the arrow hit then he went straight up in the air and ran to me. Lucky I know but will take luck over skill anytime,at least for me. :) That being said I still like 5-15. ;) ;D
Pappy
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I practice out to 25, but I like no more than 15. I usually don't have a clear shot beyond that anyway.
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Here in the Ole west AZ getting less than a 10-15yd shot is tough especially from the ground. Open terrain and sometimes lack of cover plus "high strung" deer. I challenge the east to western hunting methods. Mainly stalking. It'll kick your azz 9 times outta 10. I hunt hard, last year I had two excellent encounters, one great buck at 32yds and another bedded buck at 20yds. Both times I loosened an arrow but they sailed harrmlessly into thin air or deflected. Thats all I ask for, more than one chance encounter. I practice at 30-50yds kneeling, off balance, snap shots or basically anything that I may have experienced in the past. Real hunting situation I pray for shots under 30yds. I'll make a dozen arrows and maybe use 1 or 2 outta the bunch for hunting. But my main practice is going out into the woods/desert with blunts or Judos. Shooting and always coming home with broke or lost arrows. Sometimes..... I actually hit the rock I was aiming for ;)!
For me thats practice.......not backyarding into foam. I try to sneak arrows through trees, under over-hangs or over humps into a barely visible target. It cracks me up when I see/hear archers worried about their prudy lil "custom"arrows being broke........Hey at least I'm getting better at building my arrows I say. haha
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Wow! Thank you so much for posting this thread! I am heading out tomorrow in Illinois for my first ever deer hunt! I was hitting a pie tin with my self bow 5/6 times at between 10 and 15 yards. Out to 20, though, much less accurate. I was surprised at the level of drop that occurs.
Shooting next to 70 lb draw compounds shooting the lights out at 50 yards at the range was intimidating me...my 44lb flatbow at 15 yds seems to be right where most of you like to shoot...although I am betting I am far less accurate...
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IMO making "matched" arrows for you hunting set-up is KEY for shots over 25-30yds. Its amazing after a long practice session I can always pick-up that one or two and drill that spot almost everytime. I'll usually mark that "sweetie", take data for replication in the future (spine,weight, length) and set aside for later use for hunting. My storage door serves as a info. board covered in black Sharpie data for my bows and arrows set-up. What one bow likes and sometimes what it doesn't.