Max ethical range

[mountainman]

My site tape says I can shoot out to 120yds!

mine goes to 220!

[Mxracer532]

How many of you complain about the rifle guys with custom guns/Turret setup scopes that are easily taking game animals at 5-1000 yards??? Are we going to complain about ethical shots? Or is it more we are just jelous??

[issaquarcher]

Seems to me a lot of the comments are focused on the ability of the shooter and capability of bow to put down an elk effectively at that range. The biggest issue in my experience is a lot can happen in the time you release and the time your arrow arrives. One step forward by your intended target and you'll piss off your buddies tracking a blood trail for miles. Elk hunting is all about patience. Be sneaky and close the gap.

[Jimmybelltown]

 50yds in good conditions for me. My bow hits hard out to there and I am good accuracy wise. Although easy to say having not had a toad at 65? 50 is in my comfort zone not wanting to wound something.

[mountainman]

Seems to me a lot of the comments are focused on the ability of the shooter and capability of bow to put down an elk effectively at that range. The biggest issue in my experience is a lot can happen in the time you release and the time your arrow arrives. One step forward by your intended target and you'll piss off your buddies tracking a blood trail for miles. Elk hunting is all about patience. Be sneaky and close the gap.

exactly..on a good day its pie plates at 200 yards, with the arrows buried deep in the target butt. It also takes 2-3 seconds for the arrow to arrive, plenty of time for the animal to move..

[swashington2128]

Lots of great discussion on this and I appreciate it. When I first posted the topic it was not meant to cause debate but to give a new bow hunter some perspective. When I became a hunter I realized that I was going to take the life of an animal. I take no pleasure in the act of killing and don't want to be cruel. I love the chase, challenge, and general participation in nature as part of the food chain. I asked the question because as a gun hunter for years I limited myself to 200yards max because that is where I felt after hundreds of practice rounds, I could be reliably and accurate take the animal down with the minimal amount of torment to the animal and the most ethical kill possible.

Being a preparation crazy guy I now shoot hundreds of arrows a week to prepare for this coming season. My question is:

Just because I can shoot an arrow accurately at 60 -70 yards, is it wise or ethical to do so. Will a well place arrow kill the animal quickly from that range as compared to a typical 10-20 yard shot from a tree stand. Having never killed an animal with a bow I don't want my "range" skill to become an arrogance which could let me take a shot that I should not take.

So based on that, I am getting pretty good out to 80 yards but was thinking on limiting myself to 60 yards. Is this a wise range to stop at or am I being too conservative.

I appreciate the input from everyone and I respect your skills and experience needed to achieve those skills. Just wanting to learn from those more experienced than me.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

60 is plenty... IMO for the average shooter and 95% of bowhunters have never been serious target shooters as well.... 60 is where it starts to get dicey.... past that any flaws in form, bow tuning etc show up in a big way.... bows are more then capable of killing at extended ranges.... a double lung at 20.. kills no faster then one at 70......  its all in the person, conditions and animal. Only those factors should determine what shot YOU feel good about letting go.

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

Seems to me a lot of the comments are focused on the ability of the shooter and capability of bow to put down an elk effectively at that range. The biggest issue in my experience is a lot can happen in the time you release and the time your arrow arrives. One step forward by your intended target and you'll piss off your buddies tracking a blood trail for miles. Elk hunting is all about patience. Be sneaky and close the gap.

so where do we draw the line on this? I agree it COULD happen... I hit a bear back a bit at 7 yrds in idaho... it took a step as the shot went off.. is 7 yrds now to far? that bear also was on his way to a bait... moving frequently... I have no idea how many deer/elk you have watched feed.. but IME they will stand in one spot for quite sometime.... if the animal is acting that way... and you are confident in the distance and shot.. I personally have no issue with a longer shot... anything COULD happen... but you play the law of averages... if its been very still for 2 min feeding.. odds are it will be for another 3 sec.

[Jellymon]

I wouldn't worry too much about about the people practicing and then shooting game at 70-80yds, we should be more worried about the insane amount of guys that don't practice at all, bring out thier "tuned" setup 2 days before the season, throw on an expandable broadhead, then shoot at ANY yardage.

[DIYARCHERYJUNKIE]

killed my buck last year at 87.5 yards on the trot.   

[BABackcountryBwhntr]

I wouldn't worry too much about about the people practicing and then shooting game at 70-80yds, we should be more worried about the insane amount of guys that don't practice at all, bring out thier "tuned" setup 2 days before the season, throw on an expandable broadhead, then shoot at ANY yardage.

Exactly

[blackveltbowhunter]

Lots of great discussion on this and I appreciate it. When I first posted the topic it was not meant to cause debate but to give a new bow hunter some perspective. When I became a hunter I realized that I was going to take the life of an animal. I take no pleasure in the act of killing and don't want to be cruel. I love the chase, challenge, and general participation in nature as part of the food chain. I asked the question because as a gun hunter for years I limited myself to 200yards max because that is where I felt after hundreds of practice rounds, I could be reliably and accurate take the animal down with the minimal amount of torment to the animal and the most ethical kill possible.

Being a preparation crazy guy I now shoot hundreds of arrows a week to prepare for this coming season. My question is:

Just because I can shoot an arrow accurately at 60 -70 yards, is it wise or ethical to do so. Will a well place arrow kill the animal quickly from that range as compared to a typical 10-20 yard shot from a tree stand. Having never killed an animal with a bow I don't want my "range" skill to become an arrogance which could let me take a shot that I should not take.

So based on that, I am getting pretty good out to 80 yards but was thinking on limiting myself to 60 yards. Is this a wise range to stop at or am I being too conservative.

I appreciate the input from everyone and I respect your skills and experience needed to achieve those skills. Just wanting to learn from those more experienced than me.

   I certainly believe that your arrow will kill cleanly at 60 yards and WAY beyond. And it sounds like you have the right mindset in regards to practice. But based on your comment about limiting shots to less than 200 yards with a rifle after hundreds of practice shots. I am going to assume you are very conservative in your shot selection. Not a bad thing  

  First just to clear the air and you probably already know this so pardon me if Im stating the blatantly obvious BUT... An arrow does not kill the way a bullet does by shocking or breaking down massive amounts of tissue and bone. It kills by cutting a path through extremely blood rich organs causing rapid and irreversible hemmorage and/or pneumothorax. If placed correctly an arrow kills in seconds and more to the point does not need alot of energy to do so. Excess energy( momentum, whatever you want to call it ) Is largley an insurance policy. Allowing the arrow to more often result in a complete pass through with hopefully a  better blood trail. OR better penetration on quartered away shots, or shots that end up contacting bone.

This brings us back to shot selection.... It does not matter if the arrow came from 6 feet or 60 yards a well placed arrow will kill in the same fashion and just as humanely. What does play a major role is animal behavior at time of shot, body angle and shooter ability. Not on the range but at live animals. Reading those things at bow ranges IMHO takes experience. It has been my pleasure to be with or part of many kills besides my own. And some of the most exciting are first time archery hunters. BUT...  I cannot count the number of times I have been told "he was perfectly broadside" only to find out it was actually a quartered to shot. I am convinced on at least two of them had the shot not been close ( under 40 ) it would have resulted in a lost bull. And this gets compounded at extended range.

[RadSav]

So based on that, I am getting pretty good out to 80 yards but was thinking on limiting myself to 60 yards. Is this a wise range to stop at or am I being too conservative.

That will put your percentages of success very high. And fits perfectly into the 5 pin profile.  Unlike a bullet the broadhead is going to kill the same regardless of range.  But a bowhunters chance of success drops dramatically after reaching that 50 yard mark.  That is close to the 300 yard threshold with a rifle.  Do rifle hunters kill animals effectively past 300 yards?  Sure they do.  But they wound and miss a lot more beyond that point too.

It is probably a bit different now since I've taken a few more animals at distanced beyond 50 yards lately.  But about ten years ago I tried to tally up as many archery kills with distance totals as I could remember.  Worked out that my average bow kill was 37.3 yards.  Calculated at total distance divided by number of animals.  If I knew the distances before shooting sights I'd say that total would likely be 5 or more yards less.  I'd bet it is still under 40 yards now.  And that is considering a couple last day stretches.  Point is that if you tell yourself to get closer you usually do.

If 60 is your comfort zone make every stalk with the pre-plan of getting to 40.  If you run out of cover at 55...take the shot.  It's still in your zone.  If you have a pre-plan of getting to 60 then that is where 90% of your shots are going to be.  And it shouldn't need to be that far majority of the time.  My success rate is almost 100% over the past 25 years when I take shots inside 30 yards.  So that is usually my goal when I step foot in the woods.  35 to 40 is my worst, but I still like that better than 50-60 even if the percentages might show otherwise.

[Jonathan_S]

My sweet spot seems to be 50-60 on the range.  Between 30-40 is where I struggle mentally 

I shot a coyote at 67 yards last fall on 1 September.  Right behind the shoulder.  Maybe it's the way the target/deer fills the sight when the range is 30-40

[swashington2128]

Black Velvet and RADSAV, along with all the great input here your comments were very helpful and provided some good insight on what my mindset should be when I am getting into position to shoot. I have to remember that if the shot is not perfect and within my range the adrenaline may prevent me from executing like I normally do and will affect my decision.

Still have a couple months of practice and get ready. Wish time would go by a little faster. I am more nervous about this trip than I was when I went to boot camp 30 years ago. Cannot wait for archery season.