25 to 30 yd practice

[Possum Head]

With a little better than 3 months til deer season I’ve decided to extend my practice range to longer distances. This has recently given me confidence at 15 to 20. I may not attempt these ranges when presented the opportunity but who knows. I’ve been playing with arrows of 100 gr differences and it’s surprising the drop noted from 25 to 30 with the heavy shaft. I know there have been similar threads but if I ain’t huntin I gotta talk junk

[pavan]

Yep, past 25 yards, things can change fast.  Come September every year I try to extend out point.  My aiming need to get a bit more paced when getting past 25 yards.  I admit that I can see the end of the arrow, even though I shoot fast.  I check what my point on distance is with every arrow style I use.  I try to keep them all around the same weight.   Those first long shots with arrows that 30 to 50 grains heavier surprise me a bit.

[sneakybow]

I'm practicing right now from 40. My release comes into play more so than arrow weight.  20 and 30 are almost automatic now.  I'm really getting along with the new bow.  40 is still a long way from where I'd like to be,  but at 30 and in they're in trouble! We've only got about 7 weeks til season opens here.

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[Possum Head]

40 yards, wow perhaps I’m limiting myself too much but I’ve not ever attempted that range but a couple of times on a bison target

[sneakybow]

40 makes 20 look like a bison target lol

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[Friend]

Extending the practice range can pay big dividends and reveal flaws and other weaknesses in one's form.

I often shoot bare shafts at 40 yards which further reveals flaws. Even though I may practice extended ranges, my field setups are specifically designed for close encounters.

[Sam McMichael]

I have found that 25 yds. or further really accentuates flaws with my release. Good release is, in my opinion, the essential key to good distance shooting. Unfortunately, I am not consistent beyond 20 yards. What does that say about my release?

[newhouse114]

I am quite confident out to thirty on blacktails, 40 on elk, but always try for 20 and under. My longest actual shot on an elk has been 28 yards.

[Pat B]

Longer practice shots can really improve the short range shooting as long as you practice at all ranges. I wouldn't reduce arrow weight just so I can be more accurate at 30 yards. You can shoot your heavier hunting arrows at 20, 30 or 40 yards if you learn the trajectory of your arrow. No arrow shoots flat, with some the trajectory is flatter than others. Learn the trajectory of your hunting arrows at these different ranges. Having consistent form and anchor and a clean release along with thoughtful shots will put the odds in your favor.
 Where you hunt makes a big difference too. I'd be hard pressed to get a clear 30 yard shot where I normally hunt in the thick Southeastern woods but for someone from out west a 20, 30 or even 40 yard shot might be a more day to day situation.

[drewsbow]

my last two practice sessions ended with these 40 yds shots

[drewsbow]

[Trenton G.]

I never used to practice much past 25 because that's my max hunting distance. Then I watched Masters of the Barebow 5 and heard Jason Wesbrock talking about how if you only practice out to 25 yards because that's as far as you shoot while hunting, then when an animal comes in at 25 yards, you're attempting make the hardest shot that you know how to do on that animal. He recommended practicing at much longer ranges than you would actually hunt at. That made a lot of sense to me so I've started practicing pretty regularly at 40 yards. It's helped my actual hunting distance shots tremendously and I would even feel comfortable moving my hunting distance to 30 yards at this point.

[David McLendon]

PM sent Possum Head

[flyguysc]

I was shooting out to forty yards this week end and it's not as scary as I once thought. After a few rounds it became pretty cool. The only problem is retrieving arrows,course I guess it's good exercise.

[Charlie Lamb]

I've advocated long range practice for decades and I do mean LONG range. When I lived out west I hunted ground squirrels and rock chucks with a passion. Early in the season I'd most often try to get as close as possible trying to get as many as I could.  As the season progressed I increased the distances I was shooting. Often I'd take 70 and 80 yard shots on ground squirrels and 100 and over on rock chucks.

I can't tell you how many ground squirrels I've skewered at 60 yds. I've even taken several rock chucks at 100 yards +. As a matter of fact it wasn't about whether I was hitting them or not. That was just the motivation. If I missed a ground squirrel by a few inches at 70 yds. I'd made a hell of a shot.

By the time the big game seasons opened in August I was on top of my game and a thirty yard shot on a deer or antelope a piece of cake.

I think a lot of guys fool themselves. For instance if someone says he's comfortable to 20 yards do you think he's not going to shoot at 25. There's very few that can even tell the difference in the too when it comes right down to it.

I can tell you that when I'm telling a story I might say I shot something at 20 yards. Fact is I couldn't accurately guess 20 yards if I had to and most of us can't. We mostly learn "the look" of our target at the distance we are comfortable.

Of course there are many of us that are limited by circumstance in how far we can regularly practice. For those having to deal with tiny backyards my suggestion is make your targets as small as possible and shoot long when you get the chance.

I practice for tree stand shooting by getting on my back porch (6') and shooting at nickel size targets a few yards away. I'm too old and fat to be crawling up and down a ladder.

[pavan]

I use to put a ladder stand up in my yard for the guys to use, I do not ever hunt from tree stands.  Lots of guys using target form find that it does not work so well from tree stands.  One day I came home and someone that i did not know with a gawd awful compound was shooting on my yard from the ladder stand, he even moved my target away from the back stop.  That ended it all, there is now a wren house where the ladder stand use to be.  People that hunt from tree stands need to do a lot of practice from tree stands. 

[Schmidty3]

ditto everything said here so far.

I'd add that you should shoot your broadheads to 40+ yards to confirm good flight.

I'll also add...

people forget to practice close.... like 3 yards close.

I wounded a buck at 3 yards once. I had held back a 50 lb bow at 3/4 draw for 45 seconds and had noodle arms. When I got my shot I was aimed perfectly. I was shooting instinctive at the time, but my brain took over and said "aim lower". The arrow cut the very bottom of his rib cage, no vitals, no 130" buck.

But since that moment, I've always spent time each session shooting at point blank ranges.

As an aside, it also precipitated me being more cogniscent  during the shot (aka Joel Turner like). I found that under stress my brain wanted to think and my shot routines would change. So since then I've embraced that and have been shooting well at 3d and at critters.


the best part of that story is that I can't hit a deer at 3 yards, but the next morning I shot one at 25 yards! 

[CRM_95]

I've recently been practicing farther out also. I remember when I finally got confident at 15, and then started trying to shoot at 20, it seemed like that 5 extra yards was a mile. Then I started shooting a lot at 25, and it tightened up those 20 yard groups. Now with an upcoming hunt in Colorado I've been practicing at 30 a lot, and my 20 yard groups are getting pretty dang good. So it definitely helps. 30 yards is as far as I can practice in my backyard so that's as far as I can get for now without driving out to the woods somewhere. I'll still set up for 12-15 yard shots here at home from tree stands or ground blinds, but longer range practice has made me confident enough to shoot at a mule deer or elk from 20-25 on my hunt this fall.