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30+ yard shots
- Thread starter Loopwing
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2022
- Messages
- 5,310
Their reaction time is amazing. I like to keep shots inside 20.
Every scenario is different. Positioning and demeanor play a part. Head down definitely enables bigger and faster ducks and turns with deer. I have had calm deer turn in to Neo from the Matrix at 15 yards. I’ve also had them not even react after the hit. Kind of what keeps it interesting. Aim for the duck at distance and hope for the best.
I always detest threads about how far someone is willing to shoot because I firmly believe most yall are lying about it. This is a public forum where you will be judged for your actions.
No one is around but you to judge your actions in the woods.
Its easy to sit there and say X distance is my max if you're having a great season, hunting a great property where you can easily pass on a buck whose outside your range because you are confident in the odds of running into another buck.
Take that same exact guy, give him a miserable season, just can't seem to get on game, the clocking is ticking to season close, and on the second to last day a giant 10 steps out 60 yards away broadside. Not coming closer. In my experience, guys in that situation are letting it rip. whether they admit it or not. I'd bet my life savings on it.
No one is around but you to judge your actions in the woods.
Its easy to sit there and say X distance is my max if you're having a great season, hunting a great property where you can easily pass on a buck whose outside your range because you are confident in the odds of running into another buck.
Take that same exact guy, give him a miserable season, just can't seem to get on game, the clocking is ticking to season close, and on the second to last day a giant 10 steps out 60 yards away broadside. Not coming closer. In my experience, guys in that situation are letting it rip. whether they admit it or not. I'd bet my life savings on it.
LongRange101
Active Member
Never take far shots if the heads is down. They can drop lower naturally and dip a shot. That shot was high regardless. Practice at distances out to 2x what you want to shot and on elevated shots it makes a bigger difference with angles.
I bet you’d lose that bet more than you think. There have been plenty of times that I personally know guys have passed up shots at good bucks because they were outside of their personal limits. Especially, in the trad community.
A couple of years ago I had four mature bucks inside 40 yds in one season, three of them inside 30 yds. I can put 6 of 10 arrows in a paper plate at 30 yds but I never even considered loosing an arrow. I ended that season without filling my buck tag. Before I got back into Trad bows I had a few years were I hunted with a xbow. I had a gorgeous buck at 50yds for 15 min but I couldn’t get myself to pull the trigger even though I could keep 10 of 10 shots in a 6” circle at 50 with the xbow.
I’ve told people many times the only thing I want to do more than kill a big buck is ‘not’ wound a big buck that I don’t find.
It goes hand in hand. People won't shoot far because of those reflexes. If you could magically guarantee they'd never duck or move at the shot I myself would happily shoot 100 yards with my xbow. No problem whatsoever.
Around these parts, Im confident in my wager. Some of the things people have told me over the years in shots they have taken or are willing to take have blown me away. My hats off to you. You're part of an elite group of guys with better ability to take ethical shots than most. No sarcasm there.
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2019
- Messages
- 1,482
Second best buck we ever had at the farm I hunt, I hunted for 3 years and finally close to, but passed at 35. Buddy put a bad shot on him with a shotgun a week later and we never found him. I paid the price for my self control!
“The best” is it squats into a double lung. The worst is it doesn’t move and I hit the heart shot I held low for.
I’m not here for lectures, just to offer someone my experiences. Vitals are bigger than an bullseye, if you aim low you can build in a few inches of insurance. Animals move, take it into account.
Not advocating flinging arrows with out a care, but they ain’t all going to be 15 yards broadside and deaf.
Buckhole75
Well-Known Member
35 yards is a lifetime at 300fps for a deer If he is on edge 20 is too far on edgy deer if you truly are looking for 100 percent retrieval Bottom line is this as a new bow hunter you will soon figure out that once you release an arrow you are hoping for the best result At that point you are no longer in control
Of the situation and you gotta hope you played your cards right
I pretty much stick to inside 35 however it is situational. As mentioned before body position, direction and alertness play a big factor. I had a down with here head down duck an arrow inside of 15 yds.
WISCO
Well-Known Member
They are wild animals with amazing reflexes. You can do everything you think is right and they will surprise you. If you havent had one duck or dip sideways before the arrow hits you havent shot at enough deer, it will happen eventually.
Was listening to some podcast that proclaimed that 30-50 is the worst distance to shoot a whitetail.
<20 they can't move quickly enough to load their legs
30-50 - They can hear the bowstring/arrow, and have time to react
50+ They don't hear bowstring/arrow that well, so don't react as quickly.
So, oddly enough, the opinion of the podster (poseur?) was that you should shoot 20 and under, or over 50, but not 30-50.
I'm having a hard time imagining a 50 yard shot in the Mid Atlantic, but this does explain Western Whitetail hunters dropping bombs from distance and being effective.
<20 they can't move quickly enough to load their legs
30-50 - They can hear the bowstring/arrow, and have time to react
50+ They don't hear bowstring/arrow that well, so don't react as quickly.
So, oddly enough, the opinion of the podster (poseur?) was that you should shoot 20 and under, or over 50, but not 30-50.
I'm having a hard time imagining a 50 yard shot in the Mid Atlantic, but this does explain Western Whitetail hunters dropping bombs from distance and being effective.
