Do you ever feel limited?

[BAK]

The limits aren't set by the equipment, they are set by the man shooting it.   Using more and more technically advanced means to kill will in the end destroy the sport of hunting altogether.  At what point  does killing become so easy that it will be limited to only those with the most money who have won the draw, oh, we're almost there already in many jurisdictions. 

[AZSteve]

I limit myself to the same 25 yards. Over the mere 6 years of my archery journey, I have watched a lot of Arizona elk and deer "walk by". The closest I have been is 51 yards: my spot and stalk needs work. My new blind actually arrived today, so my next hunt will have options. I have co-workers who claim to be able to shoot 100+ yards with their ICBM compound bows, and I do not doubt them. However, in my previously stated 6 years of trad archery hunting, I have witnessed two elk--one cow and one calf--with arrows in their rump or jaw. I have to assume someone took a low percentage, long-range shot and the animal suffered. So, I want 20 yards or less, but I can shoot to 25 yards. If all I get is an early morning coffee, a wonderful sunrise, the sound of coyotes early morning calling, the occasional sound of turkeys coming out of their roost and no other people or cell phones, then I had a good day.

[Roger9070]

Based on my experience working in the archery shop, just as many deer, if not more, are missed by compound and crossbow hunters than traditional hunters.  Many hunters think that these devices and all of their accessories guarantee accuracy and success in the field, but the reality is far different.  Otherwise, how does someone miss a deer at twenty yards with a scoped crossbow shooting 400-plus feet per second? 

I think that my buddy said it best: we have become a microwave society where everything has to be instantaneous!  The archery industry takes this concept to a whole new level, pushing equipment and accessories as the holy grail.  Many times, I suggested people spend a couple hundred on shooting lessons rather than buying a new bow, and they always looked at me like I was crazy!

This equipment makes the temptation to take longer shots easier, and many people have spent long nights tracking animals with marginal wounds because they thought they could make the shot.  More bowhunters are than ever pushing the envelope with longer shots because they see others doing it on social media and TV.  Sadly, if XYZ professional does it, many guys consider this the ethical standard and follow suit.  So, in many ways, even though they have all the technological advantages, they still feel limited because they want to reach out even further.

I know it can be incredibly frustrating when you work your butt off to find and close the distance on a good buck or bull, and they stay just out of your effective range, but it's better to show restraint than risk wounding an animal. 

   

[Kris]

No, I never feel limited.  This is the game I agree to play, and these are the conditions.  Anything outside my comfort range is simply, "out of range".   I love traditional bows and would not consider any other equipment for archery hunting.

Anyone can kill a deer...but not everyone can kill a deer well with a traditional equipment.  You either accept these limitations and embrace them or you resign yourself to something else.

It's not about "the get" for me as much as how I go about it.  The reward is only as great as what you put into it.

Letting animals walk is a good investment...they've earned it.

[mgf]

Watched a Fred Bear video the other day. The narrator said bow hunters are limited to 50 yards.

[kennym]

The only limits are the ones I've set.  If I was a rifle hunter and a buck walked by at a thousand , it wouldn't bother me either.

I like to be close and that's why I choose what I do.

[LookMomNoSights]

Watched a Fred Bear video the other day. The narrator said bow hunters are limited to 50 yards.

I truly love those old videos.  I love to see those images from the past and what to me is part of a legendary time that is a foundation for bowhunting .........  and though there are many things that have not changed much or that have been kept alive because of the value and appreciation for them,  there are many things that have changed drastically.
One little detail that stands out to me ....... I love when Papa Bear arrives to camp and one of the first orders of business is to sling a few arrows to get warmed up ......  he opens up a cardboard box of brand new arrows and it appears as though they are the same arrows that would have made their way to the shelf in the local sporting goods store, one might never know ...... with broadheads attached!!!!! ...... and he starts shooting them!   Into trees as a backstop or whatever is readily available    I can't imagine doing that!  Each arrow I build myself which is 100% of the arrows I shoot whether wood or carbon,  is meticulously scrutinized and tailored to the bow I'm shooting them off. I couldn't imagine grabbing a box of woodies and taking them to the woods without hand spining them, spinning for broadhead alignment and ensuring they were mounted true,  and shooting each one several dozen times.  Honestly,  I envy all that in the way it all started.  I envy the simplicity.  And 50 yards with the stick bow and woodies just as an example,  was a part of that time period perhaps.   We know arrows will fly 50 yards no problem. I suppose if the archer can get it to the target all other variables considered,  50 yards in theory would be doable!   I know as of now,  I personally am not up to that task.   I appreciate it all from a perspective of education.  I truly love bowhunting.

[Mint]

Definitely, but the great thing is that I remember all the nice bucks that walked by at 30 yards that I let pass. My limit is 25 yards for deer and 18 yards or so for hogs.

[1Canvas]

The problem I have with my traditional gear I am limited to 40-42# max, so in turn due to blimp speeds I shoot 20 yards thats my absolute maximum, but I really limit myself to 15 yards. With my compound I have always limited that to 30 yards, same with my crossbow when my body won’t allow me to draw a bow. I am in the woods for the experience, not the deer, if I shoot a deer that’s great, if I wound a deer it’s one of the worse days of my life.

[TooManyHobbies]

I don't feel limited any more. My maximum is 20, just like when I shot a compound. My avg kill is 11, just like when I shot a compound. I've misjudged distance a couple times with both, missed with both, mis-hit with both. Trad is much more enjoyable than the other. Confidence comes with success, success comes with confidence.