Accuracy? how good is good enough to hunt

[stretch2]

I was just wondering what everyone's ideas are about this. I have been shooting for about 6 years and am frustrated. shooting at a paper plate in my back yard how far should I be from the plate and how many arrows should I be able to put in the plate before I could consider being good enough to harvest an animal. I hope that make sense.

[Don Stokes]

Keeping your arrows in a paper plate has been a rule of thumb for many years. I just don't take a shot unless I'm pretty darned sure I can kill the animal. There are so many variables in hunting that your hunting distance may not be the same as your paper plate distance. Closer is always better for me.

[cbCrow]

"Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get and never miss your mark".
The above statement needs to be determined by you. I practice by shooting at a 4" square piece of corrugated box and practice from 5-20yds. As far as I'm concerned the closer the better!  

[Ravenhood]

I like 15 yards or less ,I feel very good at that distance. As for a 6 inch paper plate I will hit it 9 out of 10 times at 13 yards.

[reddogge]

Take a judo point and walk around the yard or field shooting at anything that pops up in your range.  If you can hit within a couple inches of the object you should be good.

[damascusdave]

I went out and bought a Rinehart Rhinoblock target which has two deer vitals sides. I judge my effective range by how far away I can consistently hit the vitals. It is right around 15 metres.
DDave

[njloco]

I think it also has a lot to do with how far away from the target you practice. I try and put about 25-30 arrows in the target every day at 20 yds. and so I can hit consistently at that range, but shoot like every arrow is the only arrow shot I have at that monster buck. I practice on a bag target but prefer a 3d deer as it is more realistic.

[Rattus58]

Here is my take on accuracy... or more correctly hunting accuracy after having lost two animals in my life, one with my bow, one with my muzzleloader , and having the good fortune to have been able to track to conclusion several others.

I'm not a big killer by any means, but I've come recently to resort to a particular methodology that has not lost me an animal in now probably 10 years. Rule #1... Pass up shots that are not 100% (and no shot is 100%... but you know what I mean...). This I've done and therefore I've had many more animals in front of me than I've loosed the string on.

Rule #2. Feel good about the shot. I can't quantify this for you, it's subjective... but again, I think you all know what I mean.

Rule #3. Practice, practice, practice, and like real estate, location, location, location.

I practice into basically coffee cans with blunts, from 5 yards to 22 yards (my shooting range currently till I can clear more bushes out...) and I rove incessently while I'm hunting.

Effective range is something I personally think is something you feel comfortable with. Pie plates are great, easy to see but can also give you a false sense of accomplishment. Regardless of what you use, 100% should be the goal in my opinion.

Aloha...  :cool:

[greyghost]

Try starting at almost point blank range (5yds). Make a small dot on your target and focus/concentrate only on that spot not the whole plate or vitals. Work at that until everything else (drawing, anchoring, release) is not even a thought anymore. Then start moving back in yardage and focus only on the spot.

I use the term yardage as that should be a consideration when making a shot but picking a spot, seeing the shot and knowing/feeling I can make that shot is all it should be. I never know the yardage when practicing or shooting game. Just my limitations of what I see and feel. But once I started seeing inconsistencies with hitting my mark I knew that point was past my limitations. For me that would be about anything past 30 yards. Hope this dosen't confuse.

Always good to have a friend there that can watch you shot and also give little recommendations on form etc.

Target panic may be another cause if you feel you are not consistent.

The stump shooting as mentioned if you can and picking out a single leaf, stick etc. is the best practice (for me) that I know.

Best to you, hang in there it will come together for you.

[S.C. Hunter]

If you use your plate as you stated, I would suggest that you move to a spot of unknown distance. The distance can be anywhere from 10 ft to 25 yds your goal is to use your feel for the shot. Take only one shot as you move around. Try this and see how close you come to the spot you pick. This is a better test than standing in the same spot and shooting the same target. You will surprise yourself. I use cotton balls in a bale sometimes and come very close to hitting most of the time. I am working on form some but I shoot well when I feel the shot.

[AllenR]

Like Dirty Harry said, "A man's got to know his limitations".

Our equipment has it's limitations too.

Know what accuracy you can achieve under pressure and get to within that distance before you let go of an arrow.

The distance is different for each individual because we all have different skill levels.  And it's different under different conditions.

For the most part this is between you and God.  Take shots that won't disappoint either and you'll be ok.

Allen

[hvyhitter]

I've found that a paper plate is too big an aiming target also, if I have the whole plate the group fills it up.... The cotton ball idea is great and I'm going to play with that. Now I find that stump shooting with a tennis ball and judo/hex points can tighten up your focus pretty quick at different yardage. I usually just shoot a max of three arrows at a time at the ball and usuall hit at least two with a touch. Gives me the confedence out to 20 yds easy.

[Stumpkiller]

Another good gauge is a one-gallon milk bottle and blunts or field points.  If you can hit that milk jug every time you're in an area the size of a deer's vitals and that will tell you your distance limit.  

Throw the jug and shoot, or shoot once and move to another location.  Don't just stand at one distance and lob multiple arrows (that's target shooting, not hunting practice).  You also have to learn to pick a spot on a larger object.  

If you put a little dirt or water in the jug you can throw it further . . . until it leaks out the holes.

[stretch2]

thanks for all the advice. now I have lots of things to try to get better. and practice practice practice! thanks for the renewed confidence you guys have given me. its easy to get frustrated when you talk to the guys that shoot bows with wheels on them how they shoot 50 to 60 yards or more. but then I have to remember why I choose traditional gear. because I love the crap out of this stuff! thanks again for all the help

[Don Stokes]

Just remember- those guys shooting 50 or 60 yards are missing, or worse, wounding a lot of animals. Too much can happen in the time it takes even the fastest arrow to go that far.

Learning that I shouldn't take a shot over 25 yards with a compound is one of the things that brought me back to traditional.

Go small game hunting.  Shooting a deer target and a live deer are two different things.  I make my best shots at deer after I have made a few shots at rabbits and squirrels.  Rabbits and squirrels taste better than target any day.

[OkKeith]

Brandon,

Good archery equipment can be accurate at distances where it would be hard to tell a buck from a doe. It takes a lot of practice, and a high draw weight, but I am sure a hunter could effectivly kill a deer with a traditional type hunting bow at 50-60 yards.

I regularly practice shooting at a spherical target from variable distances. I think the target I have is made by Rhinehart. It's not exactly a sphere but close. It's about 18 or 20 inches through the middle and has 4 inch or so circles around it.

I warm up by starting at 10 yards. If I get my arrow in the center, I back up to 15 yards and shoot again. In the center, back up to 20. I do this all the way back to 30. If I don't get in the center I shoot one more arrow. If not again I collect my arrows from the target and start back at 10 yards.

After warming up, I will stand facing the target and pitch a tennis ball over my head. I go to the ball and make a shot, regardless of distance or angle.

My maximum effective range is 30 yards. I am currently practicing out to 40 yards in preperation for a Pronghorn hunt next fall.

Good luck with your practice.

OkKeith

[TroutGuide]

One little thing I will add here is know your effective rande and stick with it.  I know this has already been stated but I have a twist on it.  A lot of people would say there efffective range is only 10 yd and not go hunting.  Well the last 3 deer I have shot (only the last one with trad gear) were 10 yd or less. This range is not me personal limitation(25yd for trad.)  but I set stands to be close and if you do this and do not take shots beyond your range, you will be a much better hunter in the long run, even if you never get that close shot.  Be patient with your shooting, but I bet you will find that you can shoot well enough right now to kill at 10 yd so dont just sit at home and practice go hunting and get close!!!!

[NJWoodsman]

The "pie plate at 20 yards" test is a good starting point. There's a lot of variables, though that make it more difficult. Like shooting 1 arrow with no warm-up. The pressure of a live animal causing you to rush the shot. Or shooting from a treestand, or with low light, or from an awkward position. Test yourself under these conditions, and you'll know if you should take that shot if presented.

[Kip l Hoffman]

I started out as a kid with a long bow. I got a recurve in college.  started hunting by using the gap method the first couple of years.  had lost my right eye so yardage estimation was terrible.  shot my first deer at 20 yards because i measured the distance the  trail was from the tree stand.  compounds came out about then and the let-off and sights took me away for many years.  I was a very dedicated target archer 100 arrows on the slow days.  several hundred on the weekends.  went back to traditional 20 years or so ago because i was way to deadly, to the point that i was no longer hunting i was killing.  was either going to quit archery or go back to the very basics.  i hung out with some of the biggest names in target archery and knew about every aiming trick and technique there was.  I was determined to learn to shoot instinctively and learn to do it well.  I seldom shoot 100 arrows a week now, but as few as 5 years ago could consistantly put 55 out of 60 in the 5 ring on an NFAA 20 yard indoor target.  occasionaly would put 59 in but never did 60 out of 60.  So when i hear guys kind of bad mouth "target archers"  i wonder how good they really are.  standing at 20 yards and shooting arrow after arrow after arrow into the 5 ring at 20 yards teaches you form.  CONSISTANT FORM.  When you learn to take that "last look" at the target and use that to trigger your release you will figure out that the only limit to your ability to hit the five ring is your ability to see it.  Picking a spot demands that you be able to see a spot.  If you teach your self to shoot truely instinctively there are only two distances no matter what the yardage.  there is the distance that you think you can hit the target at and the distance that you are not sure.  when you shoot purely instinctively you will hit the first one and miss the second one.  When you are in doubt you will miss.  Shoot that gold spot or black spot fom the same distance untill you hit it 4 times out of 5 and the 5th one is just barely a miss.  You have no excuse for missing when the distance is the same and the arrow is the same and the bow is the same.  if you miss you did something wrong with your form.  pay attention to that form until you don't miss.  If you are going to use some aiming system, then go ahead and put a sight pin on your bow as it is the most accurate aiming device man has devised.  other wise just look at the smallest spot your eye can see and use proper form.  distance means nothing, you either think you can hit it or you are in doubt.  I quite often am amazed at how far the animal was after i shoot him.  Some times i feel like "man is that arrow ever going to get there" and step off 50 to 70 yard shots.  The arrow just hangs in the air.  it dawns on me during that time in fight that it was a long shot.  for those that wonder if this will ever come to you, remember that i have been shooting seriously for well over 40 years now.  it takes dedication but it is the most fun a guy can have with out a female companion.