Fifty yard shots.Who's tried it?

Sorry on the Bushman show and watched Lee kill two deer at fifty yards plus.I thought that was pretty cool and sorta stupid.I don't feel like that is an ethical shot but he stated if your going to do it for a living you have to take the shot when you can.I going to pratice at 50 yrds but I don't think I'll shoot an animal at that distance.
 
Everyone's comfortable effective range is different. Many archers, including myself, do not hesitate to shoot a deer at fifty yards if the conditions are right. It's definitely not for everyone.
 
The problem with shooting 50 yards in the woods is when your eye focuses on the target @ 50 yards, 0 to 40 yards become a blur and you will not see obstuctions.

I have shot 50 yards but the arrow deflected off a branch at around 30 yards out.
 
Drilled my elk at 50 yards last year... but that's a completely different animal from a whitetail...

first of all, their vitals are the size of a beachball. Second, they won't duck the string like a whitetail.

My longest shot on a whitetail is 35 yards, and that's about my personal max. I wouldn't hesitate to pull the release on an elk at 55, though.
 
Radar said:
Archery is seeing how far away you can hit the target , bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to it . ;)
Click to expand...

Very true. I certainly don't setup for those longer shots but, not everyone lives in a fantasy world where every setup produces shots 15 yards or less. Sometimes, the deer don't cooperate and may present a longer shot. For those that have prepared for that shot, they get to go home with meat for the table. Everybody else.....they just get to go home. ;)
 
f1maxis said:
Radar said:
Archery is seeing how far away you can hit the target , bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to it . ;)
Click to expand...

Very true. I certainly don't setup for those longer shots but, not everyone lives in a fantasy world where every setup produces shots 15 yards or less. Sometimes, the deer don't cooperate and may present a longer shot. For those that have prepared for that shot, they get to go home with meat for the table. Everybody else.....they just get to go home. ;)
Click to expand...
Shooting long distance in practice refines your shooting form and bow setup . You can easily see the flaws in form and setup beyond 40 yards , that don't show up at 25 yards .
Taking the long shot in the woods or field depends on your shooting skills , knowing the correct yardage , obstacles in the way of the shot , and the body language of the deer .
If the deer is nervous before you shoot , it will jump the string . A deer can swap ends at the sound of the shot before the arrow arrives at long distances .
It's a matter of confidence in taking the shot . If it feels right and you know with certainty you can make the shot cleanly without wounding the deer , take it .
When it doubt , let down and let it walk .
Many of the bottlenecks I hunt have steep terrain features that funnel down movement within 25 yards . I have many spots that are slam dunk spots . I'd rather use good woodsmanship skills than take a risky shot . My effective range in the woods is 40 yards .
I put enough venison in the freezer to feed my family .
 
i have shot a doe at 52 yards hit where i was aiming to butt thats back when i had better eyesight i would deffinatly do it again if i had practiced and felt comfortable with it
 
Most of my hunting set-ups are man-made funnels. I have trails cut thru briar thickets that bring the deer within 20-yds. I practice at 30 but never shoot over 20.
 
A couple of years ago I did several polls on different bow forums on the average "killing shot" distance for whitetails in a person's experience over the years . Not the longest or shortest shots , but the average distance for shot and recovered deer. For those who gave me a shot range on their kills , I split the distance . For instance if a hunter said his average killing shots were between 20-25 yards , I entered 22.5 yards as their average .
Hundreds of guys responded to the polls , and the calculated average shot distance was just under 18 yards for eastern Whitetails . My average killing shot is around 25 yards .
 
Radar said:
f1maxis said:
Radar said:
Archery is seeing how far away you can hit the target , bowhunting is seeing how close you can get to it . ;)
Click to expand...

Very true. I certainly don't setup for those longer shots but, not everyone lives in a fantasy world where every setup produces shots 15 yards or less. Sometimes, the deer don't cooperate and may present a longer shot. For those that have prepared for that shot, they get to go home with meat for the table. Everybody else.....they just get to go home. ;)
Click to expand...
Shooting long distance in practice refines your shooting form and bow setup . You can easily see the flaws in form and setup beyond 40 yards , that don't show up at 25 yards .
Taking the long shot in the woods or field depends on your shooting skills , knowing the correct yardage , obstacles in the way of the shot , and the body language of the deer .
If the deer is nervous before you shoot , it will jump the string . A deer can swap ends at the sound of the shot before the arrow arrives at long distances .
It's a matter of confidence in taking the shot . If it feels right and you know with certainty you can make the shot cleanly without wounding the deer , take it .
When it doubt , let down and let it walk .
Many of the bottlenecks I hunt have steep terrain features that funnel down movement within 25 yards . I have many spots that are slam dunk spots . I'd rather use good woodsmanship skills than take a risky shot . My effective range in the woods is 40 yards .
I put enough venison in the freezer to feed my family .
Click to expand...

Like I said, I certainly don't setup for long range shots, but I will take one should the opportunity present itself. That's why I practice 4-6 days a week, each and every week throughout the year. That's why I shoot local, state and national archery competitions almost every weekend. That's why I routinely shoot at distances of up to 100 yards. That's why I'm 100% confident in each shot that I take.

So, if you kill a deer at 40 yards (your self-stated effective range), did you use "good woodsmanship" or did you take a "risky shot"? It all depends on who you ask.

This debate could go on forever. The bottom line is that each person needs to know his own personal limitations and abilities. Just because YOU don't feel comfortable shooting past 40 yards doesn't mean that it's unethical to do so. Some hunters would claim that your "40 yard" effective range is too risky and limit themselves to 25 yards and under. Does that mean that YOU shouldn't take 40 yard shots, of course not.

Everybody needs to just use common sense, learn to read deer body language and practice every chance they get.

Like I stated earlier, it's definetely not for everyone.
 
Let's put this in another perspective. Here in the eastern part of the U.S., bowhunters consider 40 yds as a long shot. Head out west and talk to those guys. To them if you cant hit your spot 50-60 yds consistantly, they will tell you to stay home on the couch.

I agree with Radar's 'getting close' statement but can also see some other area of the country's perspective.

while reading a topic on shot distances on another site, one other gentleman made a statement that makes sense to me.

"....ethics does not involve how far you shoot...it involves...knowing your limitations and staying inside of them."
 
Bowhunting is so much more than just shooting well at stationary 3-D targets . Live game is a different matter .
The effective range on live game should always be less than the ideal conditions presented in practice with known yardages at targets that don't move .
It doesn't take a 3-D tournament shooter to make a good bowhunter . Some of the best bowhunters in the nation are average archers that are good bowhunters . Just the same , a good tournament archer doesn't always make a good bowhunter .
I agree that everyone has a different effective range . It is that range that a person is 100% confident of making a killing shot .The best bowhunters shoot within the limitations of their effective range .
 
even though I may be able to hit a target at 50+ yards, to shoot at a deer at that range I would have to wonder about how much kinetic energy is making it that far.
 
No comment, just WAY too much fuel for a useless fire.

Well ok one comment, to answer your question with nothing added.
Yes, I have taken a few "fifty yard" shots. Honestly none were exactly fifty though. 4 that come to mind went from 52 to 55 yards.
All came in one season and were the only shots I had that year.
Went 4 for 4 and longest distance traveled after the shot was 27 yards.
All 4 recovered.
 

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