Hunting distance

[Plumber]

I like to challange my skill as a hunter size an numbers dont matter.the more skills you devlope the more size an numbers wont be an issue.If you want to be the guy in your group or club who gets all the deer all the time then maybe you should hunt with a wheel bow. this is a humble sport.the best way to be humble is to have acceptance.where has your stealth gone?

[waknstak IL]

I really don't even view my long bow as a handicap anymore. It's taken me 4 years but I can now shoot pretty decent out to about 25 yards. My longbow is much lighter to carry, much quieter and I don't have to strain to look through a peep sight at last light. I never took shots any farther 25-30 yds with a compound anyhow. Yea, I don't get to put giant stickers on the back window of my truck like some of the compound crew but I'll cope with it.

[Jeremy]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but the last data I saw from a national survey had the average kill shot on deer being from 17 yards - and that's mostly from compound shooters.

Sure you can drive nails easily enough at 40+ with sights and a release, but shooting at deer?  There's a reason guys who are shooting at deer from that distance don't recover as many of them.  Too much time (yeah, even shooting 300+ fps IBO) for the deer to do something to turn a good shot into a bad one.

[Broken Arrow 1]

I have to agree with most of the folks on here It is not how far away you can shoot but how close you can get the animal. When I see a deer at 100yards I get exited. When I see a deer at 10 yards My knees shake so hard the leaves start falling off the tree! I have shot countless deer with my rifle and compound and have only shot 3 deer with my longbow (all doe) I remeber and will always remeber my LB deer most of all. Remeber it is not about what we kill when we are in the woods its all about the memories we make while we are in the woods.

[StanM]

No offense, honestly, but I find it amusing that your handle is Stealth Man   :D  

As others have mentioned, figure out what it is that you want from the hunting experience, then choose the weapon that allows for it.  Good luck,

Stan

[Mint]

On Saturday i had a beautiful 10 pointer at 35 yards from my stand. I know i can make that shot, most of the time. But i let him walk since if I gut shot him i would probably lose him in the area i hunt. The deer tend to head for the houses and it is tough to get your deer then or they get spooked by the neighbors and they cross the road into a only surburban area and are gone. He was awesome for the area I hunt but I have no regrets.

[twitchstick]

I once shoot a small buck sleeping at about 10 ft,I could hear snoring on his bed. I remenber it more than any PY buck.

[swampbuck]

I know of a fella that missed with a compound and release from a whopping 5 yrds

I personally missed from 19 at a time when I could blow your nocks off at will from that distance

One of my buds has missed twice this yr at 20yrds too

point is you can miss with the wheels just as easy it's a choice only you can make...I switched back at one time for the reason you said only to watch a buck walk by less than 10yrds and it made me wonder what I was doing with that bow again...it's long been sold but I did have fun with it for many yrs before going all trad

[adirondack46r]

Mike,

Go kill some deer with the compound. Do it with a clear conscience letting no one tell you how to hunt or what to hunt with.

You've already been bitten by this bug so trust me - you won't be in remission for long. It's incurable. ;-)

46r

[lpcjon2]

I have a compound and yes I can hit a 6 inch plate at 50-60yrds the accuracy is ridiculous,BUT the arrow is as week as a newborn inch worm they have very little penetration at that distance and it is very unethical to hunt like that.I love the skill involved with traditional shooting and to be honest I think those that shoot compounds are using them to compensate for the lack of form, patience, skill, and all around attention to detail.Shoot a deer with a compound and see how it feels(boring) now shoot one with a long bow and feel your ancestors pat you on the back.

[RedShaft]

I know how you feel, when i go to woods i want to take game! I mean if i wanted to just be outdoors id ssave all money on hunting stuff and just take pictures or walk... when i see a deer at 30 yards on more i want to be able to take him not sit there and be like oh well not 15 or 20 yards away. I dont know but i want to put animals on the ground. thats one big reasons i hunt is to take game. i hate not getting shooting opotunties. i have not taken enough deer in my hunting career to just be happy with just enjoying getting really close to just get a shot. thats why i find my self hunting with wheels more these days. and lack of deer sightings here in pa got my feathers ruffled to lol.

[Soilarch]

Use what you want.  I think the post about "you've been bitten..you'll be back" is gonna work out to be the truth.  If it doesn't it's no problem, and if it does end up being the truth...that's still no good reason NOT to go to the compound.

I think the post about compound arrows not having energy is kinda bogus.  Take what you've learned from here about how to build an arrow and apply it to your compound setup.  No, you won't have super flat trajectory but you'll have the aids of crisp release and sights.  On top of that you ought to be able to pull considerably higher poundage...don't believe that compounds can't deliver an "ethical" arrow.

As to claiming that harvesting a deer with a compound is boring...maybe for some.  I bored with "shooting" compounds...definitely NOT hunting with compounds.  And as I shoot several hundred, heck, several thousand, arrows at a target for every one I shoot at an animal that was enough for me to make the switch.

Do keep this in mind:
Getting the arrow out of the bow with enough precision to be spot-on at 40-50 yards may be easier with a compound.  But there are A LOT of things that can go wrong between there and your target.  Compound or longbow makes no difference there. ALL the deer I've missed with a compound...compound/trad would've made no difference at all. None.

You ain't hunting for us.  You's hunting for you.

Do what you like...you can even buy un-American if you wish by-golly!!!!

:Rant-off:

[kasey]

well said

[George D. Stout]

If it's eating at you, go back to the compound machine...it's not a bow.  I use traditional equipment because it's what I like...if I want a machine I go play with the lawnmower.

By the way....There were a few folks who shot long distances back in the day, but most folks didn't.  The distances and numbers keeps growing with the telling.

In one of the old Bow and Arrow Magazines I have in my collection, there is a listing of deer taken, bow weight, average shot distance and yardage the deer went.  Even where they were hit.
The average shot was about 28 yards, with the longest being around 70 and the shortest 5 yards.

Let's give those old folks some credit...they weren't all arrow flinging zealots....most were archers hunting deer.

[frassettor]

Originally posted by Robert Honaker:
[QB] I understand what you're saying mb. I have taken a few with my trad gear and even more with the other bow, but until you take one with trad it may be hard to grasp how much more it means.


BINGO! I shoot 20 yards or less. I got my first last night, and it means more to me then any deer I have ever shot with a compound. I sold everything a year and a half ago, and never looked back.

Its the journey, and it took me a while to realize that. I had alot of misses at deer, and over time the frustration just went away. I knew how I can shoot on the range so I knew I had it in me, its just a matter of time before it came out. Im willing to bet the same will happen to you.. Keep at it  

[Jeremy]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread, but the last data I saw from a national survey had the average kill shot on deer being from 17 yards - and that's mostly from compound shooters.

Sure you can drive nails easily enough at 40+ with sights and a release, but shooting at deer? There's a reason guys who are shooting at deer from that distance don't recover as many of them. Too much time (yeah, even shooting 300+ fps IBO) for the deer to do something to turn a good shot into a bad one.

I think this should be repeated.

[Altiman94]

I shoot both compound and trad bow.  I hunt more with my compound and have yet to take a deer with my recurve, but I'm still trying.

I don't think we as archers need to critisize other archers, even if they are choosing to hunt wtih a compound.  If he can ethically kill with a compound, but not a trad bow, so be it.  Bow hunting either way takes skill and a lot of luck.

I'd rather see someone hunt with the weapon they are most confident with when it comes to taking game.  I'm not going to critisize anyone for their choice of hunting as long as it is legal in their state.

[LongStick64]

The closer I get, the better I am.

[Roy Steele]

Do you want to be a hunter or a shooter.I know of no one that takes up trad.archery because they wish to be a shooter.Most get caught up in the romance and then realizem sets in when that buck of a life time walks by at 30 plus yards.And you tell yourself if I'd only had my old compound..
   When all you need is pay more attention to the wind the route the way you go to your stand.Just pay more attention to the small  details.Don't try to gain an edge through shooting distance.
   I've been shooting a selfbow for 20 years.Last 5 of the ground and have killer 33 bucks.SO it can be done.All under 15 yards.

[Tyler2045]

I am hunting this year with a compound simply because I dont feel comfortable with shooting my long bow yet, when I feel comfortable with the Long bow I will start using it. But when gun season comes around I will use a gun because I need to put meat on the table. I like shooting my  long bow but I dont feel comfortable trying to shoot a deer with it yet.