How far is too far in archery?

[RIVERRAT]

I am just curious what folks consider the longest shot they would take?...whether it is an ethical concern or ability..lets open it up for discussion.   50 yards is my max personally 

[bobcat]

My absolute max is 40 yards. And that's only on a good day.

I'd prefer under 30.

[Whitpirate]

I'm confident at 25.  I'll let it pass at 30.

[JohnVH]

depends on the person, last year when I was practicing well, Id have no qualms with a 50-60+ yard shot no problem. This year no way, have not shot enough.

[boneaddict]

What Bobcat said.

[JimmyHoffa]

As far as an arrow can get there with 1. enough energy to penetrate properly 2. such that the animal can't move during flight time to allow the arrow to miss vitals and 3. such that variances in wind don't do the same as number 2.
If someone has the right equipment, knows EXACT range and angle, and has the practice/confidence that their max range is consistently fair to the animal, I don't see any issue.
My range, recurve with aluminum arrows, is 25 yards.  With my old compound, I would say 40.  But I don't have any of those fancy bows with carbon arrows and bling.

[deleted BGS]

No problems out to 60 would take out to 75 if conditions were great. These new bows are solid and if you practice you are confident. I know a guy who can hit a paper plate at 90 all day

[bullcanyon]

I'll practice shooting at different ranges with different positions and angles. If I can't put it in the kill zone every time on my foam deer. Than that range is too far. When the animal is alert. I will take at least 10 yards off of my range.

[buck man]

This discussion can go sideways in a hurry . Here goes.  Everyone's ability is different . I wont let my 14 year old take a shot past 25 , and my 18 year old is now good for 35. My personal longest depends soley on conditions and animal behavior. I know i will catch fląck, but i killed ą 6x7 elk in Oregon a couple years ago shooting a hoyt katera at 81# with a 30 inch arrow with a total weight of 567 grains at 292 fps. I new the range was 87 yards and the elk had no idea I was there. Double lung. Dead in minutes. With that though I consistantly practice 70, 80, 90 yards . By practice I mean hit an 8" kill zone 19 out of 20 times. By shooting only long distances it makes the short ones chip shots . Out of six elk killed with my bow ,only one was 24yards the average yardage for them is 41 and that is exactly the yardage this years elk was killed at. So what are you comfortable with. Me I like inside 60 yards but if things are perfect and i know my set up is acceptable I will take longer shots.  :twocents:my deer this year was a whopping 16 yard shot.

[Biggerhammer]

My furthest pin is at 60 yards, I have taken one Mulie buck at 63 yards. Everything else I have shot with a bow was 40 yards or so and under. It's just the way it's worked out, EVEYONE has their own skill level and their own ethics. To each their own, I don't push mine on anyone else and I'm not very receptive of others , pushing theirs on me from atop a soap box.

[RadSav]

This topic never ends well.  I'll keep my  to myself.

[Biggerhammer]

" Fancy bows with carbon arrows and bling ". Will get you another 43 yards easy! 

[BowBender87]

hitting a target at 80 yards is easy..but acually taking that shot at an animal is different.  All they have to do is take a step/turn and now you have a gut shut.  Whether the animal is spooked or calm as can be dont matter...they can take a step at any time and turn a good day into the worst.  Ive been lucky to shoot 7 elk with a bow and my farthest has been 30 yards.  Most have been 20.  I will not shoot an animal past 50-60.  Too much can go wrong! 

[huntergreg]

Well I know There is going to be a lot of people going off on me here.      I shoot a lot and am comfortable on long shots out to 70 yards. I shoot out to 100 yards all the time. A few animals I have harvested have been in the 60-80 yard range. With my closest kill at 27 yards. My farthest shot was on an elk in 2009. I know (now) from experience that it takes a bit for the arrow to get there and an animal can move fast but didn't realize it until this day. I took a shot at the elk in 2009 at 103 yards. The elk was broadside and feeding. When I shot the elk dropped down a bit and turned to run away in the opposite direction it was standing. He had to hear the shot or herd the arrow coming.    All of the sudden the elk dropped dead to the ground.  When I walked up to the elk the arrow was sticking out of the back side of his head. After seeing what happened and realizing how much they can move at that yardage I will never take a shot Like that again.  Everyone can rip me a new $ss hole if they want but it was a learning experience.

[christopheri]

40 yards max and it has to be a broadside shot.

[D-Rock425]

I shot a deer a few years back at 74 yards.

[danderson]

The facts are that not everyone has the same skills, I have heard of elk taken at over 100 yards, I dont think there is an archer alive that would recomend taking shots like that, for me I shoot good out to 60 yards but my comfort zone is 30 yards, I want to hear the impact of my arrow, I want the shot to be a good clean one that respects the animals life, after all.. Im gonna eat its flesh, become part of me, a good clean shot will make this happen.

[Angus]

40 yards is as far as I've shot deer and am comfortable shooting them, probably go as far as 50 for elk if the right shot presented itself.

[MAVsled]

good conditions; flat ground, little to no wind, broadside only, 60 yards max for my ability (& vision, I'm gettin older).
18' up in the tree, severe downhill or uphill: 40 yards due to angle.
and I practice during the off season from a treestand and severe downhill shots, yardages; Past 25 yards, you'd be surprised how angles, shooting form & body positioning affect the shot more compared to level ground.

For me, equipment these days makes a difference.
Now: SBXT 70lb-30"draw, Armortech HD 5 pin, Carbon Express Maxima & 125gr slick trik, no peep but Anchor Sight-alignment instead. Best thing I ever did, going away from peep to the Anchor sight.
Back in the early 80's; jennings star compound, 35 yard max. only used 3 steel pins back then; 10-20-30yards sighted.
Bear recurve: 25 yard max...even today.

headed out for AZ coues deer over the holidays   
Limit my shot distance to 30 yards out of the Rhino blind.

[passing-thru]

I agree that skill and confedence play biggest part in shooting distance. I have luxury of livening where I can shoot everyday. The hill behind house had everything from bag target to tennis balls scattered among trees and rocks. I have no measured distances. Usually let my daughter or residence tell me where to shot from. (We make game out of it. She thinks its funny when dads arrows explode ) ) I shoot comfortably and accurately out to 90 or 100 yrds. That being said. I am comfortible on live deer out to 50 and elk to 60. To many factors come into place after that. Being able to stand on level ground knowing that the hay bail out there 100 yds exactly isn't gonna suddenly take step forward or turn to walk away in no way makes a shot like that on live animal ethical  I let one of nice blacktails I've seen walk away at 74 yrds this year. Could I have made shot? I think so. Am I 100%positive mo

[throttlejocky20]

ANIMAL 60 yards
TARGET 100+ yards

[JLS]

The target doesn't care.  Fling away.

Live animal, whatever range I can make a clean kill shot.  Varies with the amount of wind, how much I've been practicing, the animal's alertness, and so on.

If I'm really on my game, 45-55 yards is good.  However, I passed on a doe during late archery at 45 yards broadside because I haven't had time to shoot diligently.

To each their own.  If you find yourself crippling and losing animals with any sort of regularity, you are probably shooting too far.

[jaymark6655]

Compound bow with carbon arrows.  (think the equipment has a huge impact on this topic)  My last pin is at 50 yards.  I can hit a B-3 target every time at about 60 to 70 yards, but every shot in the field is different.  I guess I would always take any shot under 40 as long as the animal isn't looking at me.  I don't have enough room to try shooting farther than 70 yards on my range.

[luckyman]

I've taken deer at 60 & 65 yard's in the past But I practiced a lot and felt I could make it count.

 My eyes site over the last 10 years has degraded to the point 40 yard's seems pushing it so I limit myself to 25 or  maybe 35 max.

On  other animals that would be a little bit tough to kill  I would keep it as short as possible.
Every yard increases the room for error.

[Odell]

For me it's 50 yards. I might take a shot out to 60 on an elk in perfect conditions but I haven't been faced with the actual situation yet. It's all talk until you see a big buck 5 yards past your range.

I did pass a nice 4pt last year at 53. Couldn't get closer and let him walk. Felt good about it but later when you replay the situation I start to wonder what if...

[DoubleJ]

This topic never ends well.  I'll keep my  to myself.

 

[PolarBear]

I thought the whole point of archery hunting was to get as close as you can.  If you want to take long shots, use a rifle. 

[jaymark6655]

I thought the whole point of archery hunting was to get as close as you can.  If you want to take long shots, use a rifle. 

Can't argue with that, but if all the closer I can get is 40 yards than I am taking the shot.  Besides anything under a 100 is short.  Heck when it comes to rifle anything under 200 yards is short.

[buckfvr]

I set up for 20yds or a bit less as cover dictates when in a tree.  Other than that, it depends on the animal......how hyper alert or sensative it is.  SO, that being said, and adding in unpredictable nature of wild things,  and past experience with those wild things, if it cant happen with one fixed pin,  I wont force the shot.  Next season, my site will be down to one pin.   

[Kowsrule30]

With my bow.... And practice I've done with it..... If I actually hunted with it..... I'd say anything farther out then 7 yards is completely safe!!!!      

[norsepeak]

I shoot a good 7-8 arrows per year, so I feel pretty comfortable out to 250-260 yard range, with a recurve.  If I use my compound, I'm probably good to around 330-340 unless it's windy, then I might back it down 5 or 6 yards.

[RIVERRAT]

Thanks for all the responses....I really possed the question to see if my thinking was reasonable and I wasnt being irresponsible with 60 yards (I prefer much closer).    I think what I have gotten out of my question is_  Conditions, Animal and shooter equipment and preparation dictate how long a shot a shooter will take and each of these is different for each hunt, each shooter and each shot opportunity.   I hope that I didnt start a S#$% storm with my post.  Thanks again to all who gave their thoughts:     Great Hunting...  RIVERRAT!!

[adamR]

when I got drawn for alkali two years ago for deer for archery I practiced probably 2 hours a day for 2 months straight (unemployment had some benefits)... that being said with the perfect conditions I would have taken a comfortable shot at a deer out to 75 and elk out to 85, but there were also conditions that would limit me to 10 yards

[Clancy]

I wanna start archery elk next year and feel comfortable at 40-50 yards if I have too. Lots of practicing coming up for me 

[NoBark]

While this topic may seem to be never ending, we do have new archers every year wondering what others do.   Distance to me is an ethics question. Everyone has their own set of ethics about things which aren't written as  law( within larger societal norms).   Raising my two sons, I instilled (tried too at least) in them my thoughts on this topic.   

Here's my  on it.      Respect the animal, avoid wounding it, or worse, killing it over the coarse of several days.  Be sure of your abilities and finally, ask yourself, if I hit it and can't find it, am I willing to eat my tag.   

Tried to get them to create their own max distance with some guidelines.

[big wood]

I would say 60-70 yards is max. unless you are some of these guys that (practice all the time ) then if they are 60 yards you can sneak backwards to 100

[npaull]

I think it's outrageously irresponsible and unethical to take a shot at an animal with any bow at over 50 yards, and that's max with an awesome compound. Your skill is irrelevant - it's the animal's ability to move that matters. If you want to shoot animals at 80 yards hunt with a gun.

I hunt with a longbow (used to hunt with compound) and I am 25 yards and under.

[carpsniperg2]

A lot of it depends on the archer. Most modern bows have plenty of killing power at extended ranges. I have never shot anything with a first arrow past 60. I have put 2nd arrows into animals at ranges well past that.

[blackveltbowhunter]

If your mind is saying "can I" with a question mark. Its to far. If its "can I" with a "hell yea" your prolly ok.

[rebal69972]

at the range i shoot out to 80 yards in the field 40 unless condition are perfect then maybe out to 60. but i have to get past the addrinalin rush first or just the shakes      i pasted on 2 shots this year both between 20 and 25 yards 

[deleted BGS]

at the range i shoot out to 80 yards in the field 40 unless condition are perfect then maybe out to 60. but i have to get past the addrinalin rush first or just the shakes      i pasted on 2 shots this year both between 20 and 25 yards

were you trying to get a kill with a knife?