One distance or vary distance.

[capt eddie]

My son is new to Traditional archery and is preparing for a bear hunt.  We know the blind will be 17 yards from the bait.  Should he practice at the 17 yards distance or vary his practice in case he has a shoot closer or farther. He will be shooting 57# 600gr snuffer. I would think he should limit his shoot to 20yard.

[lpcjon2]

Its always good to practice at different ranges.An animals can present a broadside shot at 5,10,or20 yrds,so why not be comfortable shooting at all ranges.

[crotch horn]

I agree. Shoot at many different ranges. If the bait will be 17 yards personally I would shoot as much at 20-30 as I could. Many will tell you shooting longer distances makes the shorter shot you take easier. Good luck.

[straitera]

Varying unknown distances builds keen confidence. The shooter begins to rely on total instinct (as in throwing a baseball).

[Steelhead]

I would practice the majority of my shots at the expected distance.I would mix in the other distances as well.But would practice the most at the distance I expect the shot to happen on the hunt.

I try and set my shots up for around 17 to 23 yards if I can if possible.So I practice alot at those ranges.I do shoot closer as well and some slightly longer.But mostly practice at the distance I set my stands at for the trails I intend to cover.

I dont take long range shots when hunting.So I rarely practice over 25 yards.I limit myself to 25 yards and under to train myself for what I will be doing in the woods.

Then when the opportunity arrises it feels and looks natural to me.Not much thought necessary and the distance is easy to judge.If thier too far they walk.

Shooting the same shot over and over at the same target and at the same range can cause ones brain to take short cuts and anticipate the shot. Target panic. Keep mixing it up, but know what you are going to do at the expected shot situation in advance. practice that shot from a tree stand if you are hunting bear from a tree stand.

[macksdad]

I would practice at various ranges out to 30-35 yds. However I would limit my shot on a live animal to no more than 20yards. The longer practice shots will build your confidence and accuracy at closer distances.

[wollelybugger]

If you practice out to thirty yards than the 17 yard shot will seem easy.

[Bowwild]

My rule of thumb for many years has been to do much of my practicing at twice the distance I intend to shoot while hunting. Like many have said above, this makes the hunting shot a gimmee (although certainly not guaranteed!).

A good friend, who just broke the Oregon State Indoor NFAA barebow recurve record last weekend (20 yard spots) by 17 points (and this fellow is in his mid-60's), limits white-tail shots to 20 yards but he always ends his practice session with 30 yard shots.

[cacciatore]

What the other members have said is all what you need.

[Pops]

Shoots from different distance for sure. But,
its not quanity its quality. Shot placement
is everything, and have fun doing it too.
Hard to beat Father and Son combo.  

[Joe Subler]

One thing to remember as well is to vary your 17 yard shot surroundings.  By that I mean to practice on flat ground, open ground, wooded ground, from a stand, etc.   A 20 yard shot against a wall on a flat indoor floor looks different from a 20 yard shot out in the open shooting downhill!!  Takes the brain a bit of recalculating even if you are shooting instinctively.

Joe

[Gray Buffalo]

Shooting out of a blind or tree blind at the different distance will be real helpfull

[reddust]

I would vary shots,you never can be sure what will happen out hunting and there will be other hunts beside the Bear hunt in his future.

[LONGSTYKES]

Shooting practice from varying distances 5- 30 yds will help him become a more confident archer.  Do a lot of stumping after he develops his form. Some practice from different positions, sitting, kneeling , etc. will help him a lot.  Good Luck and have a good hunt

[Charlie Lamb]

Always practice at varying distances with additional emphasis on duplicating the anticipated shot.

Actually 17 yards seems a bit far for a bear set up. 7-10 is more like what it should be.

[Mike Vines]

Originally posted by crotch horn:
I agree. Shoot at many different ranges. If the bait will be 17 yards personally I would shoot as much at 20-30 as I could. Many will tell you shooting longer distances makes the shorter shot you take easier. Good luck.

x2

[dnovo]

I would also add to make sure he practices at close range. That 4 or 5 yard shot can seem easy until you actually blow one cause you don't think you can miss

[JimB]

I would also practice shooting from an an elevated position while sitting.

[billy shipp]

The only time I shoot more than 1 arrow at any given distance is when I'm tuning a bow.

After I get good arrow flight, every shot will be from a different/unknown yardage.

I doubt that I could outshoot anyone standing in one place shooting over and over. My mind isn't geared for that. I'm not a target archer. I shoot to keep my brain/computer in shape for hunting, and the only way I can keep my accuracy is to shoot at random distances.

Like others have said, it helps to shoot from an elevated position if that's how you're going to be hunting.