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What's your limit?

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papaw

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Just curious as to how far you would take a shot at a deer? Part of the thrill of bowhunting for me is to see just how close I can get a deer to me. My furtherest bow kill was at 40 yards but I have passed up a shot at 5 yards just because it didn't feel right. What about everyone else?
 
My farthest shot is about 50 yards.
If conditions are perfect, deer mostly broadside, relaxed, feeding, no wind, decent cover noise, WIDE OPEN, I get to use my rangefinder, I will take the occasional long shot. But I have also killed them so close they were almost touching my tree, 18 feet below.
102
 
Furthest I have killed a deer with my bow is 33 yards. My self imposed limit has always been 30 yards (for the last 18 years). With that said, if you look at the shots I have taken in the last decade, you will see that I rarely sling one past 25, with most coming in at 22 yards and under. At the height I hunt, I prefer a 15-22 yard shot to get both lungs.
 
Longest kill shot is 50yards but its got to be wide open and perfect conditions for me to take them long shots because so much can go wrong normal shots i take are around 30yrds
 
20-30 yds is my preference. Longest is 28.
Shortest is 5 yds. :o
I absolutely HATE those 5 to 10 yd shots! :crazy: The target is so much smaller due to the steep angle.
 
Although I practice out to 100 yards, 40 is my max�I might consider 50, but everything including me would have to be perfect. All that being said, my longest shot has been 27 yards.
 
Longest on deer has been 32 yds. I prefer 13 to 19 yds. My shortest shot was my first ever deer... 1 yd, I pinned her to the ground straight under my stand. 20 seconds later I killed another @ 32 yds. All kills since then have been between those distances.

I did put the Rage through a coyote @ 57 yds last year. :) my closest 'yote has been @ 6 yards and another @ 7 yds (those were fun).
 
Shot a large doe at 40 yds once and I think that was the first time I ever shot at a deer over 25 yds. Majority of my shots are in the 15 to 20 range. Did kill my largest buck at 4 yds and that was the toughest shot I ever made. Had to stand on my toes so the bow would not hit my stand. buck went 30 yds and did the leg wobble.
 
I'm shooting a crossbow now, the distance is the same as with a compound. Under perfect conditions, I might try 40-yards on deer and out to 50 on elk and caribou. UNDER PERFECT CONDITIONS- no wind, broadside, wide open and standing dead still.

I should also emphsize, with my compound, I riutinely practiced those shots. My longest kill was 55-yards on a caribou that had no idea I was anywhere around. My longest on deer was 46-yards and I have to admit, that was mostly luck.

Targets are one thing, live animals are another. They can move.
 
It depends on the amount of cover and the deer's body language . There are no set distances in bow hunting . Each scenario presents a different challenge . If the deer is nervous , or with several small openings in cover , the distance would be less than in wide open fields when deer may be feeding . The key is confidence and knowing when to letdown when the shot isn't right .
 
I feel good and comfortable out to 30, but practice to 40 and every now and then will shoot at the 50. I would take the 40 yard shot on a trophy buck with conditions favoring me, but wouldn't on any other encounter.
 

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