being honest with your self

[Bowwild]

I've read a variety of surveys taken by FW agencies.  This data is probably 15 years old but the average kill distance for traditional was 12 yards and only 17 yards for compound.  I can say, after 51 years of bowhunting, those numbers ring pretty true for me with both types of equipment. Of my last 6 deer with recurves, only one was longer than 15 yards and that one was 21 yards.

[Pat B]

What style shooting do you use...instinctive, gap, etc.?

[GCook]

I've always kept my shots close.  Even with firearms I prefer shorter shots. 
That said, with modern equipment, hunters are taking game at 500 yards and out with precision rifles, out to 100 plus yards with compounds and even here and other traditional forums guys boast of taking game at 40 yards with traditional bows.
The vast majority of my bow kills, even before switching to traditional equipment, were under 20 yards.  Yes, I have taken one buck in Missouri at 35 yards and a few deer and pigs out to 30 but I like to be close.  I set up close to the feeder, trail or field edge.  Sometimes that means being mobile with a ladder stand or folding tripod stand.
With a traditional bow I set up 12 to 14 yards.  I've only taken a couple animals over that and they were still only 17 and 18 yards.  Pigs. 
I practice out to 25 but most of the time my "long range" practice is sitting on the cable connection box in the back yard and it is 18.9 yards from my targets.  Come September the majority of my practice will be sitting at 12 to 16 yards. 
That close a minor form or release imperfection or even an animal movement may make you miss your spot by an inch or two.  At 20 yards it's four inches or more.
For me being danger close to the game is what really gives me the thrill.  Even animals I don't intend to shoot. 
My advice is to hang in there and limit your shot range.

[John Cholin]

Valley

I think like you!  I hunt to take the best buck my area has to offer.  In central PA, norther NJ and southern NY that is at least 16 inches inside spread, 8 points and 3.5 years old or better.  I NEED the challenge and I would rather pass on a skipper than kill it.  Some years I pass on a dozen or so does and skippers before I get my crack at a "good buck".  Some years I don't get my crack, but every year is a great season because I am in the hunt!

I have tried instinctive shooting several times.  Every time I could get my group down to about 6 inches out to 10 to 15 yards but beyond that the group got too big to call it "ready for prime time".  The first shot would rarely center the group.  Each time after trying for a couple of months I went back to my single sight pin set for 22 yards.  Almost immediately my group at 15 yards is 3 inches, at 20 yards is 4 inches and I can hold a 6 inch six-arrow group at 25 yards.  With a single sight pin at 22 yards I have a dead-on hold on the "spot" from 20 to 25 yards and I hold the top of the sight pin on my "spot" for 15 yards.  And this is with a 64# recurve, cedar arrows, feather fletch and broad-heads.  I can hit, first shot or last shot, where I aim.

So there are solutions out there instead of limiting yourself to 10 yards, to does and yearlings, or bows that look like a space-station.  I view my way of traditional archery as equally valid that of someone who shoots bare bow but uses carbon fiber arrows. 

So I urge you to think outside the box, some.  Instinctive shooting is a talent that some of us don't have.  We have to find another way.

Good Luck

JMC

[longbowman]

I've kept records of all my hunting since I began in 1966.  Looking at my notes in all my whitetail, elk, bear and mule deer kills my average shot distance is 14 yds.  I practice way out there, 50+ yards. but haven't released an arrow at a deer beyond 15 yds in 20 years.  Hang in there!

[RAU]

10-15 is the shot I set up for, I’ll shoot out to 20 if I have to but 10-15 is where I want em! I’d say hunt and limit yourself to 15 if you have to. Goodluck with whatever you choose. Nothing wrong with knowing your limitations and going with whatever weapon keeps you out there.

[valleysniper]

I always shoot instinctive, im getting better stretching shooting to 16 oor 17yds. I'm just gonna keep working on it....me and my Blacktail 

[gordydog]

About 95% of my deer are killed in the 7-13 yard range. Setup is so important, wind, minimal scent...

[TSP]

We forget that of the most revered and compelling reasons to undertake traditional bowhunting the process of getting close to the game is at or very near the top of the list.  In effect, the difficulties associated with 'close enough to hear them breath or see their eyelids blink' underline and define the very theme of what traditional bowhunting really is...the pitting of our natural instincts to be predators in the purest sense against the animal's natural instincts to evade becoming prey.  True traditional wreaks of raw challenge, the stalk (or respectful means of ambush) being integral to that process...a direct measure of the respect we hold for the animals and our own natural and attained skills as hunters, a litmus test that some pass, some fail, and many ignore amid shallow excuses in favor of easier means and the shallower rewards of 'sure kills'.   Don't underestimate the value and personal satisfaction gained when accepting the challenges.  Get close...and then try to get closer.  You'll know why after all those seasons of sure kills have come and gone, but so also has any feeling of true accomplishment.

[YosemiteSam]

You could always go down in draw weight & up in arrow weight to compensate for the shoulder issue.  And keep the shots within 15 yards.

[Tradcat]

You are spot on about 3D shoots and keeping our shots below 20 yards Will !

[valleysniper]

I think what made me think about this subject is that see quite a few trad guys boasting on how they shot a buck at so and so yardage. Alot of times its 25-30 yds. Seems like I'm way behind the curve and not meeting standards of our traditional community. Kinda takes the fun out of shooting when you feel you can't measure up

[Kbob]

Like most things posted online i would subtract 5-10 yards and 1-3 points (western) from anything posted. That being said i shot a 60 lb squirrel at 300 yards with my 300lb bow last week... its really just a well casing i bend and shoot rebar from 

[valleysniper]

Know, I hear tjat. Like I said, I've been shooting quite a few years. We wonder why we don't attract new people to the sport. Trad takes practice and dedication. How do you get new people when we are posting BS. A kid can buy a compound bow and in 2 weeks be shooting 50 cent peice size groups in two weeks? Hard to convince someone to try it when they will never have that kind of success with a trad bow.

[Pat B]

When I bought my first trad bow in 1988 or so, a Jeffrey's take down recurve, my friend bought a Border Archery at the same time. Richard was deadly on targets from hunting distances and a bit beyond, way better than I was. His first hunting season with his Border Archery recurve he missed 14 deer in a row, hung this bow on the wall and picked his wheels back up and hasn't missed a deer since. He claims the trad bow wasn't effective for him.
It wasn't the bow or his instinctive shooting that was the problem but his concentration at go time and the compound was just easier for him to line up the sights and hit the animal he was shooting at.
 Where we hunted back then near Bluffton, SC, most of our shots were very close, feet to a few yards at most from tree stands. Even our gun shots was 20 to 30 yards because of the thick vegetation we hunted so I learned early on that close is where I wanted to be and close could be very effective...and it was. It was easier to bow hunt than gun hunt because of how close we were to the deer we hunted.

[J-dog]

15yards, I am about the same 25 is my limit though I practice further and do alright? but really set up right and in my area 15 is about it. Keep in mind we hunt thick woods !

[Huntschool]

I really do think a good bit of this "close" comes from the different types of cover we hunt and of course if we are on the ground/still hunting/ or in a tree.  I hunt in such varied cover its amazing the change in distances one can see.  As an example I hunt the edge of some very open hardwoods (about a basal area of less then 50) but the canopy is mostly closed.  These are big trees.  I can see well over 50 yards at ground level.  Its a tough area to hunt even with a good natural material ground blind and the deer use the heck put of it.  Still, I try to set up for 15 yards or less. 

Then on the same property there are areas that one can not see more then 20 yards with shot openings of less then 15 yards. Our cover in the woods is mostly Oak/hickory save for the open bottoms which are beech/maple.  The scrub areas are usually cedar interspersed with junk oak like post and Black Jack.  Searching for the white oaks can be/is beneficial and the ability to set up or hunt into said areas is paramount.

There are also a lot of old... old planted pines on FS ground and they become another story unto them selves.

Makes for some interesting planning and strategy for your hunt. 

You have to hunt the cover you have available.  Learn and understand that cover and adapt a plan based on your shooting abilities. Yardage is up to you....

As Charlie Lamb says.....  "hunt smart"

[elk nailer]

last 4 elk under 12 yds

[GCook]

Actually the fellas from "the push" teach demonstrate a method that will have you shooting three inch groups at 40 yards in no time.
That's what most archers are looking for.  A quick and easy solution for success. 
I guess I'm just too dumb to get on that train to archery glory.

[Bowwild]

Huntschool.
Those woods you describe sound beautiful!  I love big ole trees and open understory. Even better if a dry stalking creek bed bisecting (squirrels)!