Max range

[Zero One Actual]

I’ve noticed that answers will vary to this question based on where the individual bow hunter resides in the U.S. When I travel out west, they tend to be okay with shooting longer distances. East coast and south east seems to be 40 and under due to foliage, etc.

 

[Hunter260]

Killed a whitetail buck at 70, have killed another 3 at 40-50. I think if you’re accurate, it’s just as easy/likely to get jumped and make a bad hit at 20 as it is 50. But I’m talking accurate as in will hit a golf ball every time at the target range with your hunting setup. I am not that accurate this year out to 70-80 yards like I was a few years back due to not practicing and wouldn’t shoot one past 40 this season.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

Killed a whitetail buck at 70, have killed another 3 at 40-50. I think if you’re accurate, it’s just as easy/likely to get jumped and make a bad hit at 20 as it is 50. But I’m talking accurate as in will hit a golf ball every time at the target range with your hunting setup. I am not that accurate this year out to 70-80 yards like I was a few years back due to not practicing and wouldn’t shoot one past 40 this season.

I can tell you I can 10 ring any day of the week out to 100, doesn’t matter at 40+ yds the deer gets a vote also. Too much at stake once you start getting out past 50-60.

 

[Hunter260]

I've said it before and I'll continue to say it . . . My issue with long archery shots has nothing to do with an individual's accuracy at the range but everything to do with how far the target can move between arrow release and its arrival at the point of aim.

I’ve seen a lot of arrows get completely ducked at 15 yards and in too. I think if a whitetail makes a hard move at the wrong time you’re going to miss/make a bad hit at any range.

 

[kyler1945]

I’ve noticed that answers will vary to this question based on where the individual bow hunter resides in the U.S. When I travel out west, they tend to be okay with shooting longer distances. East coast and south east seems to be 40 and under due to foliage, etc.

I notice the same trend, and “ethical shot distance” seems to follow similar contours.

I can only shoot 20 yards, so my ethical shot distance is 20 yards.

I can shoot out to a mile, so my ethical shot distance is the limits of my shooting equipment and capabilities.

Rationalization in real time.


I have found that my shot distances start with “get close” and end with “how close can I get with wind direction consistency and speed”. And the end result is most critters I shoot are under 25 yards.

I generally don’t shoot at whitetails with the compound bow past 30 yards because of laziness - I don’t want to put the work in to track a poorly shot critter if I can wait for a better opportunity. But if a deer is standing broadside, calm, and I have an excellent shot angle, time, and all the rest, at a distance beyond that I’m comfortable shooting, I’ll do it.

I’ve deviated from this. But it’s not often. Of 40+ deer with bow, I don’t think more than 2-3 were further than 25 yards.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

I’ve seen a lot of arrows get completely ducked at 15 yards and in too. I think if a whitetail makes a hard move at the wrong time you’re going to miss/make a bad hit at any range.

I’ve always heard of deer jumping an arrow and I’ve never got behind that even though I know it happens. And I can’t fathom how one is doing it at 15 and under. Any whitetail I’ve ever shot hasn’t even flinched until the arrow hit it. Them jumping the string isn’t even a thought to me and I think a lot of it even though it happens is people clean missing.

 

[Hunter260]

I’ve always heard of deer jumping an arrow and I’ve never got behind that even though I know it happens. And I can’t fathom how one is doing it at 15 and under. Any whitetail I’ve ever shot hasn’t even flinched until the arrow hit it. Them jumping the string isn’t even a thought to me and I think a lot of it even though it happens is people clean missing.

How many you shot

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

How many you shot

In the 20 yrs bow hunting missing a handful of seasons not sure I don’t keep count, definitely less than 100. I fill 3-4 tags most years I’ve never filled all 6 but I always fill 1 or 2. This will probably be my year to tag out.

 

[Iron_llama]

Shooting at bedded deer is a real gamble. I shot my first with the bow while it was bedded,from 20 yds and hit exactly where i aimed but the body position is almost impossible to read right. I got a pass through and broke the does foot on exit but also got guts and lung. It was a long track job but I did recover her. But seeing the exit was a real eye opener in how much the deer was turned and rolled.
Now I would wait for the deer to stand.

One of my mentors told me about the one time he shot at a bedded buck. Beautiful offhand shot with an 8mm Mauser, it jumped up and fell down. The doe behind him that he didn't see also jumped up and ran to the woodline, where she also fell down. A thorough search of the area revealed that these were the only two deer that could have been hit. Thankfully, MN offered bonus tags that year so both deer were legal.

One of those shots that would never work on purpose.

 

[woodsdog2]

I’ll vouch for the close range almost miss shot as well. Even as recent as three years ago I shot an 8 after it finished freshening a scrape at 15 yards. But the buck was coming from the north heading due south and was broadside to me. The back had no clue I was there. I “mehed” to stop him and he wound up like a set trap. Upon release, that buck whirled around to its left toward me and my arrow went into the right side of his neck slicing the jugular and exited just below its right leg through the heart! Crazy how much that buck was able to turn 180 and run back toward the way it came in!!

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I’ve seen a lot of arrows get completely ducked at 15 yards and in too. I think if a whitetail makes a hard move at the wrong time you’re going to miss/make a bad hit at any range.

I agree. In fact l shot one many years ago (before I had ever considered such a thing as how far could a deer move) that was relaxed and walking by me inside 15yds. Since it was relaxed I didn't stop it. When recovered I was surprised to find that I had missed my point of aim by 5 inches back. I couldn't possibly be that far off inside 15yds. Now years later, after doing the math it shows that was not a miss on my shot but the amount the target moved during arrow travel.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not berating anyone's decision to take a long shot if they're confortable with them, just be prepared for some less than ideal results. As others have pointed out, its part of deer hunting.

In reality it takes a long time for the arrow to arrive even at short distances, long enough for a bad result. Personally thats my primary reason for trying to keep distances close.

 

[neonomad]

Won’t comment on my answer but will say (1) We have to potential to introduce massive suffering. (2) tracking for buddies over the past 20-25 years, beyond 25 is where things start to go wrong far far more often. (3) As others have mentioned, spend every waking hour dialing up your accuracy and deer will still move.

 

[BTaylor]

I’ve always heard of deer jumping an arrow and I’ve never got behind that even though I know it happens. And I can’t fathom how one is doing it at 15 and under. Any whitetail I’ve ever shot hasn’t even flinched until the arrow hit it. Them jumping the string isn’t even a thought to me and I think a lot of it even though it happens is people clean missing.

It just depends on the deer and how alert or amped up they happen to be at the time of the shot. I missed a buck on video at 20 yards or so and had no explanation for the miss. When we got back to camp we advanced the video by frame while I held the point of a safety pin on my aim point. The arrow went exactly where the pin was but the deer had dropped and rolled away to the point the arrow was above his spine and went by the left side of his neck. For an hour prior to the shot he had been chasing a hot doe and pushing other bucks off, way amped up. My buddy running the camera filmed for the Drury's and a couple other industry guys at the time and he sent that clip to all of them. Got the same comment back from everyone that none had ever seen a deer react that much to a shot. That hunting setup was 275fps.

 

[Horn]

I agree. In fact l shot one many years ago (before I had ever considered such a thing as how far could a deer move) that was relaxed and walking by me inside 15yds. Since it was relaxed I didn't stop it. When recovered I was surprised to find that I had missed my point of aim by 5 inches back. I couldn't possibly be that far off inside 15yds. Now years later, after doing the math it shows that was not a miss on my shot but the amount the target moved during arrow travel.

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not berating anyone's decision to take a long shot if they're confortable with them, just be prepared for some less than ideal results. As others have pointed out, its part of deer hunting.

In reality it takes a long time for the arrow to arrive even at short distances, long enough for a bad result. Personally thats my primary reason for trying to keep distances close.

I was wondering about this the other day, do you or any of you guys, know what the average pace of a whitetail is? I know you've posted about how far they can move pretty bin depth in the past

 

[BTaylor]

I was wondering about this the other day, do you or any of you guys, know what the average pace of a whitetail is? I know you've posted about how far they can move pretty bin depth in the past

Dont know about avg pace but can confirm they can maintain 35mph on gravel for a couple hundred yards, no problem.

 

[Loopwing]

I had a doe duck and arrow less than 40 yards. She had been eating acrons for 45 minutes and no one else came in, so she was going to die. She had no idea I was there. Head was up, I was aiming for the bottom of the triangle. I pull the trigger, her belly hit the floor, and my arrow stuck in the ground behind her. She ran off, but curiosity got her killed when she circled around to 20 yards looking at the arrow in the ground. I had the whole thing on tactacam. I thought I screwed up the ****, but the arrow flew true and she dropped that far in less than 40 yards. From that point on I will not take a shot past 30. I don't even practice past 30. AND YES, I have let shooter bucks pass at 39 yards.

 

[boyne bowhunter]

I was wondering about this the other day, do you or any of you guys, know what the average pace of a whitetail is? I know you've posted about how far they can move pretty bin depth in the past

I've always estimated their normal walking pace would be around the 3mph (4.4 ft/sec) when I have done calcs.

 

[The_Fit_Ness_Monster]

I was wondering about this the other day, do you or any of you guys, know what the average pace of a whitetail is? I know you've posted about how far they can move pretty bin depth in the past

I know they can jerk extremely fast. I need a 4k rpm saw to cut my arrows clean yet have had does “jump” and their shoulder bones sheared an arrow as if I cut it with a saw. It’s fas fas.

 

[Camelcluch]

I have shot from 5 yards to much, much further. The big difference, I think, from east to west is acceptance and terrain. I work hard to get an elk inside 40 but have shot many deer under 15. It also surprises me that people are unsure of what they can really do with the bow. Practice is a lot of that. Whitetail jump like crazy. Elk may jump but not like whitetail.
So, distance is a better discussion about practice, confidence and personal limits. Saying we all live under one expectation is close minded.
Just for fun; one of my best shots was 60 yards at a dove. Right in the face!

 

[bigmike23]

I always write the same response to this question. I think almost everyone is full of crap. Its so easy on a public forum to give a number and know youll be judged for it. It's entirely different to be out in the middle of the woods without a soul around to judge you.
It's easy to say you'll pass on game if you know there's a great chance you'll see another.
But take the scenario of the poor guy who had a brutal season. Just hasn't gotten on much game. Is tired, burnt out, feeling pessimistic, and on the final day of the season a giant 10 steps out at 80 yards. He's not coming closer. How many truly aren't going to sling one at him? I bet it's less than 5 in 100. If youre the guy who could hold off, bravo for you. But you are extremely rare