so i was out shooting my bow today

when ur proficient with a bow u should be able to shoot 1in groups at 10yds,2inch groups at 20,3inch at 30 and so on.this should be done consitently.good luck

50 yards is my confident ethical limit, the shooting lane must be perfectly open before I take that shot though.

I agree 100% with you wisconsindDeer.

I forget who it is on here, but one guy has a saying that I like

"aim small, miss small".

who that be?

dont no who says it here tator but that is good advice with the bow. always pick a spot.when guys miss most of the time they aimed at the whole deer.one of the best archery instructors ever al henderson said aim hard meaning concentrate and mentally focus as hard as you can on the spot you want to hit.

i was figuring on keeping my limit to about 20-25 yards even though i was shooting well at 30-35. i just feel like that was dumb luck for most of the shots because i would get occasional flyers, and i dont want that flyer to be the one i send towards a deer. until i can shoot like i was at 20 at further ranges, thats what im going to keep it at. i like the advice of aim small. acutally, i find i shoot my rifles better when im using those little 1.5 or 2 inch circle targets as opposed to the big 10 ring targets.

tator said:

I forget who it is on here, but one guy has a saying that I like

"aim small, miss small".

who that be?

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I think Ted Nugent says that sometimes.

thatguy, your draw weight, total arrow and broadhead weight should be also figured into your ethical limit as well. I shoot a low draw weight and loose alot of energy over 40 yrds. so I try to keep my comfort zone 20 yds and in. I still practice at 30 and 40 just in case but I try to set my stands @ 20-25 yds from scrapes, trails, ect..

20-25 yds should be the comfort zone for new bow hunters with considerable practice. I have a 40 yd pin set this year but that would be a perfect shot presentation and even then would have to think really hard. So many things can and do wrong that increases with distance.

my bow is a martin archery wildcat set at 60Lbs, 27" DL 80% letoff. im shooting 125Gr feild points, my broadhead of choice is the G5 Montec 125Gr. i forget what the arrow weight is, i think its something like 9.3 GPI, yeah, that sounds about right. i dont even know what the bows speed is, but i know its not super fast. my father in law is a very succesful bow hunter and he says he can and has taken 40-45 yard shots on game, from white tail to elk, but prefers not to. i plan on the 20-25 yard max my first year(next year) then with more practice and confidence under my belt, ill probably push it a little further, maybe 30 or so. dont think ill ever go beyond that. id rather get them in closer, more of a challenge i guess.

thatguy said:

he can and has taken 40-45 yard shots on game, from white tail to elk, but prefers not to.

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I think your father in law may have answered your question on ethical limits also. I think it just boils down to whether you have confidence in your ability and your equipment is effective at the distance the shot is presented to you.

see, most of the time i already have the answer swirling around in my head, but i ask the questions anyway figuring someone will have some good input to give me a little more confidence. i really appreciate all the responses. helps confirm the answer i already have.

tator said:

I forget who it is on here, but one guy has a saying that I like

"aim small, miss small".

who that be?

Click to expand...

that was Mel Gibson

nice group, what kind of penetration are you getting at 30m?

on my block at 20M i was getting about 12", on that target(its really really stiff) i was getting about 7 or 8" at 30M. it was a chore just to get my arrows out. and at 40M on my block i was getting about 8 or 10" i believe. thats all guess-timations. didnt have a ruler with me, so not set in stone. im going out again tomorrow, ill try to get a more accurate measurment for you. my numbers will more than likely change.

good penetration at that distance, I couldn't tell from the photo. definitely enough energy to drop a whitetail

im not trying to split hairs or nothing, but arrows kill by hemmoraging(blood loss), not hydrostatic shock. also, those arrows were cut to 28" when i bought them.

thatguy said:

im not trying to split hairs or nothing, but arrows kill by hemmoraging(blood loss), not hydrostatic shock.

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You are correct the its all in the the hemmoraging but.......................
You have to carry enough energy behind that broadhead to get in into the chest cavity, usually between a couple ribs that will slow it down or worse yet, knick the shoulder bones. If you loose most of the kinetic energy at 30m or less, you're going to have alot practice tracking wounded game and a low recovery rate

Now, with that being said, I'm not implying that is the case with you, I was just stating that these things also are to be considered when ranging your comfort zone