How far can I shoot a deer before penetration becomes an issue?

[calgarychef]

I like the question but it should be restated to "how far is an arrow lethal"  that way people will quit telling you to get closer and quit "moralizing."  I woulnd't shoot at anything over 30 yards but it still begs the question doesn't it?

I read somewhere that an arrow has lost 12% of it's speed at 40 yards, don't know if that helps or if it's true either.

Then there's the mythbusters thing where they shot a bullet straigt in the air and learned that a falling bullet doesn't have enough force once it's reached terminal velocity to kill.  They did learn that a bullet shot in an ARC will retain enough energy to kill at the end of its travel. I assume an arrow is the same only heavier and sharper.

[Jeff Strubberg]

The english used longbows at Agincourt to kill french knights and their horses hundred of yards away.

Ain't too many deer out there wearing plate armor.

[ChuckC]

Simple experiment.  Drop a sharp broadhead arrow.  Do it.  Drop it 5 feet into a steak.

Instead of theorizing and rationalizing, just do it.  A sharp arrow dropping out of a tree can poke a hole in you.  A sharp arrow dropping out of the sky will do no less.

How far away depends soley on how far your bow will send that arrow, that's all.

I read the question.  And answered it to the best of my knowledge.
ChuckC

[Mic W]

Archery is an "up close" game. You can get an arrow to reach a target a long ways, but the farther you reach the likelihood of you making a clean kill get slimmer. It may take an arrow 1-2 seconds to get out to 100 yards, a deer can move a lot in that time.

[BOWMARKS]

Did all of you really read the posted question   ??        

[tradbower]

 It all depends on how well they are tuned to your bow!!! Even a bad tuned Buck should have some penetration but a Doe just her ears out front , just like a blunt!  

[Sixby]

An arrow out of a 50 lb bow will shoot completely through a good size buck at 92 long steps. I know that for a fact because I been there done that before the trad police came along. My heros shot long range and there was a time I did too.

The question is simple and it is direct and it is stated plainly as a hypothetical/. Read it and answer it as it is written and there is nothing wrong or that demands the answer of you should only shoot X amount of distance.

I believe the answer is this. With a razor sharp arrowhead and the arrow mentioned it will effectively kill as long as it is in the air high enough to hit the kill zone.

That is way , way past 40 yards.


God bless you all, Steve

[Archie]

There was a day when deer were not as plentiful, and guys had to take advantage of whatever shots they could.  I can relate; I have very few deer to shoot at where I hunt, and if I want to take one home, I have to capitalize on my opportunities.  Some guys nowadays see several deer every day, all season; in 4 months, I saw about 8-10, most of which were over 100 yards away and of course were unshootable.  

I have wounded 2 deer in my lifetime, in about 10 years of hunting them.  I hate the thought of wounding animals due to bad shots.  But I would take a long shot if I felt good about the situation.  And that makes me want to understand penetration all the more.  (Yes, I read the question :-)  )

The question is hypothetical, but what if a guy could shoot accurately out to 70 yards, and could shoot a buck lying in a cleared cornfield?  That exact situation happened to me about 5 years ago.  The buck -- a monster who was all tired out, from "servicing" a doe -- was lying down, looking the other way, in the middle of the open field.  If I could have shot that far, you can bet I would have (but I did not shoot).  And I've often wondered, "Just how far would that arrow have penetrated that critter?"

[toddster]

okay my two pennies.  First, intresting question and 2nd alot of good discussion.  Myself, I believe you are only limited to the cast of which your bow will perform.  A guy on here said a true statement, "I know when you shoot an arrow straight up it doesn't come down as quick".  Obvious, yes, and so true.  And "Bullet kills, with shock, arrow with hemoragge, cuts".  So, yes at distance you will loose "energy", and the flight will slow, to the point where GRAVITY (belive 32#) pulls the arrow back down.  So you will have an razor sharp blade coming down at a minimum of 32# (shoot a bow 32# and see penatration pretty good).  Now, take in, that once that RAZOR sharp blade comes into contact with tissue/body, the weight of the arrow will assist in the penatration, untill stopped by a hard mass (even then dumps energy as a bullet does) or cuts till out of energy.  Will our "typical" tackle today, I belive you could CAST arrow to 200, accuracy of course is issue as alot more mass for wind to push around.  Two finaly things, One, the "old timer" bowhunters would rate the arrow performance and bow with casting or shooting at far distance, then select the groups of arrows to hunt with.  Two, The old WAR Bow's was taller than a man and drew 150# (I belive, someone on here knows more than I on this) and shot a huge shaft to get the arrow at least half way (gravity on the other half) to also keep mass weight for cutting threw armor.  Just my humble opinion.   Semper Fi

[Slim]

Archie, yup my question was theoretical. But, like you, I want to know about these things because you never know when an exceptional situation presents itself.
My thought was, what happens if a poorly hit animal is 60 yards ahead? Is it then unethical to try to finish the deal by taking the long shot, especially if a hit at that range is capable of doing it?
Toddster, you humble opinion makes sense to me.

[Sixby]

Originally posted by Slim:
Archie, yup my question was theoretical. But, like you, I want to know about these things because you never know when an exceptional situation presents itself.
My thought was, what happens if a poorly hit animal is 60 yards ahead? Is it then unethical to try to finish the deal by taking the long shot, especially if a hit at that range is capable of doing it?
Toddster, you humble opinion makes sense to me.

My thoughts on this is that once an animal is hit that the ethical thing to do is kill it. I take any shot I can get after an animal is wounded.

My son killed a bull elk from right at 100 yards that we had tracked all day long after it got out of its bed and started to take off again.

He reamed it out with a Hart Mountain Heart shot and it went down instantly. At that range the arrow penetrated the intestines, stomach , and stopped just short of exiting the front.

I killed a large black bear that got up after I had left it two hours after a good chest shot and it ended up with 14 holes in it. Seven arrows and each one an exit. These were from 20 to 60 or so yards and a couple were arrows that had penetrated, were picked up and reshot. I was shooting it every time I could get an arrow into it and convinced that it was going to kill me instead of me killing it.
 
God bless you all, Steve
God bless you all, Steve

[TxAg]

Wow. Some folks need to revisit their reading interpretation classes and get off the high horse. A question means thought was involved. Thought is a good thing. Kudos to the OP. Non-kudos to the old farts.

[tradtusker]

accuracy will become an issue long before penetration

[amar911]

Howard Hill wrote that he shot and killed a mule deer from 185 yards. That's an amazing hit from such a distance, and nothing I would ever try, but it shows the lethality of a sharp broadhead, as well as Howard's skill, even though he was probably using an exceptionally heavy-poundage (and less efficient) bow than most of us use today.

Allan

[mike g]

Slim....
    The History books will give you the answer.
For 150 yrs the longbow was the king of weapons on the battle field.
    Untold numbers of people killed, most out to 200-400 yds.
    So, I would assume the arrow will be deadly untill it hits something....
    Keep in mind also, most war arrows where around 1500 grains....
    Slim go to a butcher buy yourself a nice 150 Lb. pig take it out and shoot it at differant distances and see how it goes, and then have a BBQ....
    And I thought it was a good question....

[kenn1320]

Seems to me the answer has been given, as long as the arrow is in the air, it is lethal. I read every post before making mine, wish others would do the same. (rolling my eyes)........

[eminart]

I think I might send this in to mythbusters.

[Slim]

Wow! It's as if it's a crime to ask an honest question around here.
I'm pretty sure I was clear with my personal hunting ethics and the reason for my question right from the start.
Thanks to everyone who actually read the question and tried to answer it. A lot of good information came out of that that I hadn't considered.
As for the other guys, who feel they have to lecture me on ethics -- really?
Look, I've been hunting for close to 40 years. I'm as ethical as they come. Never shoot too far. Always pass up on iffy shots. Always get as close as I can. Have recovered every big game animal I ever shot at -- and there have been many.
I was just asking a question to satiate my curiosity. I thought that this was the purpose of forums like this. To learn from the experiences of others.
I'm beginning to reconsider. Now, I'm beginning to think that some people just use these forums to make themselves feel superior.
And that's not very useful to me....
Once again, thanks to those who read the question and provided thoughtful answers. You are the reason I'll continue posting questions.

[BOWMARKS]

Steve  

Now I know why you have only 36 post's scince the begining of this site.   :rolleyes:    

[Slim]

Sorry, got a little frustrated with the insinuations of poor ethics, just because I asked a question.
This is a great site -- and we all love the same thing or we wouldn't be here--  but boy do some people love getting up on a pulpit.
Then again, I should probably relax a bit too...