Do you ever feel limited?

[Captain*Kirk]

Just wondering...do you ever feel limited with regard to range and your trad bow?
Been watching a lot of hunting videos lately, both bow and gun, and it seems like a lot of guys are taking shots both trad and...err, "other"...that I can't or won't take. I have given myself a self-imposed MAXIMUM range of 25 yards, preferably under, with my trad gear. Yes, I know most archery deer are taken between 7-12 yards. Yes, I know that shooting bare bow without sights reduces my range even further. And yes, I know a camera lens can make a deer appear further away than it is. But I've let more than a few walk without taking a shot due to them being outside my max range. Anyone have the same experiences or are the majority of you simply better hunters? 

[durp]

Yep, sounds like me...just the way I like it too 

[Jegs.mich]

It only takes one bad blood trailing experience to teach you a few things. Experience says to be patient for a high percentage shot. I don't think in terms of yards so much anymore, if the shot feels good I will take it.......but the shot always feels good inside of 20 

[Stumpkiller]

I am not limited - I used to shoot field archery out to 80 yards.  But I choose to limit myself to 25 yards on living targets.  That is a choice, not a limitation.  ;-)

[Ryan Rothhaar]

I’m not much for watching hunting videos, but will click on the ones guys post on here or something a buddy or so sends me. I agree I’m often surprised at shots guys will take, more about angles or alert deer than distance, but yeah you are not alone there.

As far as feeling limited, I may think “too far” but I never think “if I had X weapon I could have killed him”. No interest in shooting any animal in the world with anything but my bow so it never enters my mind.

Thats the whole fun of it….

R

[LookMomNoSights]

"But I've let more than a few walk without taking a shot due to them being outside my max range."
What you stated here all on it's own,  is an accomplishment..... something many should aspire to,  something many should strive to exercise more restraint to achieve ...... and should be expected, accepted and we try to achieve a harvest while using the tackle we use. That is the higher level in hunting with recurves and longbows compared to some other tools used.  This whole deal is often looked at by many as limitation ...... but I see it more as a refinement.  My opinion is that you have to be a better woodsman,  a better hunter,  a more disciplined individual,  to pick up a recurve or longbow and get essentially on top of a whitetail deer,   and ethically harvest that animal.  I'm not interested in stepping out onto the deck in the afternoon and shooting them with a high powered rifle from under my apple trees.  That's just me.   Hunting shows are barely worth the energy to turn the tv on.  Sounds to me like you are simply a "trad" bow hunter. 
Limitation doesn't factor into anything here.

[rastaman]

I am a pretty good shot out to 30 yards or so on a stationary target (foam, 3-d, etc). From personal experience on a live target too much can happen before my arrow gets there at those distances.  So i "limit" myself to under 20 yard shots.  i never think about "what if" i had another weapon. 

[Friend]

I must not know any better as no desire for any other weapon ever remotely enters my mind. I do continually aspire to increase my big buck close encounters as I still fall quite short of my expectations. The thrill of these close encounters personally makes the season and inspires me to start preparing for the next.

Currently, December and January have routinely proven to be my best months for closing in on mature whitetails,

[Roger9070]

I think all bowhunters struggle with this from time to time, and guys who use traditional gear are the most conservative of all bowhunters because our equipment requires it.  Most of the traditional bowhunters I know are some of the best woodsmen, but sometimes, the deer just won't close that gap.  It can be disappointing, but the rewards when it all comes together are worth it. 

I used to work in an archery shop, and no matter what type of bow people shot, they were always lamenting about the deer that were just out of range.  Even guys with crossbows and Garmin Xeros that shot out to eighty or a hundred yards wanted to shoot further. 

When they missed or wounded an animal at these extreme ranges, it was never their fault it was always the equipment or the broadhead, not poor shot placement.  Instead of getting closer or not shooting, they wanted a way to shoot even further, meaning a faster bow or lighter arrow.

I think as hard as it is to not take a shot in the long run, we are better bowhunters for showing restraint and knowing our limitations than pushing the envelope and wounding the animal.

Roger

[kopfjaeger]

My maximum limit when bowhunting is 30 yards. I do not feel limited with the bows (recurves) I like to shoot and hunt with. I have no desire to hunt with anything besides my recurve bows. In 55 years of bowhunting I have only shot three animals (whitetail bucks) past 20 yards, one at 25 yards, one at 30 yards, and one at 32 (thought it was 30) yards. As far as hunting videos the only ones I watch are the Wensels, Paul Brunner, and any video I find with Roger Rothhaar in it.

[Roger Norris]

You guys shooting at 25-30 are better shooters than me. I am a 25 yard and closer guy.

I was joking with my son the other day....if I was a compound or a crossbow shooter I would be broke from taxidermy. I have a great nack for getting about 35-40 yards from some massive public land bucks. That extra 15 yards is what beats me.....I want a slam dunk shot.

I had one come through early November....MASSIVE. Biggest buck I have ever seen walking. Came through the swamp straight at me.....detoured at 30 yards. 

[Trenton G.]

There are certainly times where I feel limited, and times where I feel that I have an advantage. I can think of several whitetails, as well as a few mulies that would be occupying space in my freezer right now if I had had a compound in my hand, and it was a bit difficult watching what would have been my best buck to date walk away this fall after standing perfectly broadside and feeding calmly at 43 yards. I've been limited by the length of the bow as well, as I was reminded this fall when I smacked a tree branch with my bow limb and sent an arrow through the scruff of a bucks neck. On the flip side, I have shot a few deer that gave me such a quick opportunity to shoot that I never would have been able to get drawn back and a pin settled before the chance was gone. The ability to shoot from awkward positions is also beneficial. I enjoy the challenge of a trad bow, but I'm sure like most, there have been times where I find myself wishing for a bit more range. However, that desire isn't stronger than my want to harvest deer with my recurves and longbows, and the occasional frustrations are overshadowed by the successes when they happen. 

[arrow30]

if i was a compound hunter my tags would be filled by now    , but im a bowhunter 

[Honest Jon]

Of course I do and I am LIMITED! Many moons ago I could reach out to 40 yards assisted by wheels. Now I LIMIT myself to 15 yards. However, the total experience is not LIMITED. In fact the total experience is greatly enhanced by building bows and arrows, shooting year-round and getting up close and personal with some really beautiful big game animals…even if an arrow is not loosed.

[dnovo]

I know I"M limited on my shot distance compared to a compound but that has never been an issue. I like up close nd personal.
I've been hunting with strictly a longbow for 44 years and have gotten some game a compound guy wouldn't have so it equals out.
Most of my whitetail hunting is in tight areas where a long shot isn't possible anyway.
So no, I don't feel limited at all.

[smokin joe]

Yes, I feel limited. That is part of the lure of traditional bowhunting for me. It is not easy, and I like it that way.
 

[M60gunner]

I also have this “thing” about losing a wounded animal because of bad shot placement caused by not being accurate enough at a range over 20 yards. Now as we know arrows anit the fastest so things like an animal moving, unexpected branch…etc added to longer ranges just makes the odds against me greater. Without hitting on this to hard but I feel is necessary to mention is the “moment of truth” as Gunny Hartman called lt. Taking a life isn’t that easy for everybody, that moment of hesitation could cause that shot to not necessarily be the best. Adding distance just makes it worse.

[Maclean]

I don't feel limited, it's more like feeling challenged from time to time. And like most, if not all, other traditional bowhunters I consciously and willfully made this choice. I believe in the tenet of fair chase and don't feel like I should have an unfair advantage over the animals I hunt. I completely trust my equipment to do it's job when I put it within range, and if I'm not getting within range it simply means that I need to become a better hunter and I'm okay with that. Dropping the string on an animal with a trad bow demands that we get close, and that closeness is intense, even when a shot doesn't materialize. It's what keeps me coming back, season after season, regardless if I harvest or not.

[JD Covey]

I don’t have anyone in my hunting circles that shoot traditional gear. With that said, the one guy that shoots a crossbow has lost 3 deer this year from taking marginal shots, makes me sick! He ask me that same question the other day. This is my first year back in many years, but the recurve / longbow is still my choice for my only hunting weapon. This is one of the biggest reasons I love the traditional community. We limit our yardage to confident ranges but not our equipment. I’ve really only had 2 opportunities this year but both have been iffy so I decided to pass. Not because of my bow, but because of the limits I have put on myself.

[MnFn]

Longbow, compound, crossbow,30-30, scoped 270. Everything has a limit. Like Maclean said it is a challenge I accept. It is because I love shooting traditional bows. I shoot almost all year.

I was discussing this with a friend who said what bothered him was that trad guys wouldn’t accept the fact that compounds are just more accurate than trad bows. He is a very good shot with both, I think. He is a great guy and is welcome to his opinion. But that too misses the point because l know plenty of compound shooters that have lost game due to poor shooting or shooting too far..

But to me, the logical end of that thought process is just jump to a scoped long range rifle. It misses the point of why I shoot long bows and recurves: because I enjoy shooting tradgear.

I  have lots of friends who shoot compounds, etc. Most of them shoot it just enough to be able to kill a deer.  I guess that is ok, but i don’t think they truly enjoy the process that much. Each to their own.