Mine for trad is 20 MAX. Compound is 40.

 

Hunting for me is a pie plate.... a 6" pie plate. How far am I that I can hit this pie plate at a rate of 10 for 10? That is my personal effective range. I admit, that there are times when my effective range goes to hell when my mental state is not there but is usually quite on it when roving.... Right now I shoot into coffee cans with blunts at 22 yards and I can say with authority.... don't be a coffee can in a field... Roving with a tennis ball, a soft ball, or a kickball is real fun too... sometimes you wind up looking for arrows and balls.......

 

20yards for me and I typically use the pie plate method as Rattus describes above and keep the distance within the limits of the equipment I'm using as well. The stalking game for me is a big part of what makes the hunt.

 

Right know I feel comfortable out to 25 yd,s for hunting. but one of them is 5# lighter so 20 yd,s would be the limit for that bow. shoots good but doesn,t have the same punch as the heavier bow. But the longest shot in 30 some years even with compounds has been less then 25 yd,s. If you have the power an skill longer distance would work. But for the ave person it usally 20 an under with trad bows.

 

It all depends on the hunter's experience, gear, animal and ability. Some greats like Fred Bear had no problem at 60 yards with his 65# recurve. Howard hill has a video of his shooting a lion running at full stride at I would guess fifty yards or more. He also shot a 75-90# longbow. It mostly is where you are comfortable with. I personally won't shoot past fifty right now, but with better gear and more practice, that could change! You have to be able to practice well within your range, but I have seen a guy miss a six yard shot so its hard to say!

 

Don't be putting too much stock into running shots by whomever... there are more wounds than kills I'll contend from anyone who is brash enough to take those shots.

Aloha... :beer:

 

Inside 20yds with a perfect set-up, closer preferably. Around here thats not really a problem as the bush is very dense where the deer are.

-Grant

 

With my shooting, better be 10 yards or less, LOL !!!

 

I practice out to 50 yards, but hunting, 25 yards is my max if everything looks good. That said, the longest shot I've actually taken on a deer was 12 yards.

Bow: 40# Hoyt Excel with Tradtech recurve limbs
Arrow: 31" 275 grain Beman ICS Camo Hunter
Broadhead: Magnus Stinger 2-blade 125 grain

 

Sound is 1,150 Fps, arrow is much much less. I don't care what the greats did I will not shoot an arrow from any bow at a deer at more than 20 yards. Hunting public land I have taken deer with arrows pieces in the hip, the back and leg. I tried to get one in range last year with one hanging from a front leg, could not get a shot. My opinion follows: Get close or gun hunt, deer have big ears for a reason.

 

I prefer 20 and under..25 max

 

I've never shot a deer or turkey over 18 yrds.
When I had training wheels my broadheads were dead on up to 50 yrds at range, but I would never take a shot at game over 30 yrds.
Traditional gear I'm staying 20 yrds. and less.

 

It depends. I don't leave for a hunt and think "today I'll shoot 20 yds". How I feel, how the shot feels, the animal's position, etc. etc. etc. all make a difference. I've shot (killed) rabbits, a small hog, and a red fox all well beyond 20 yds. I've passed on deer at 15 yds. or less. Similar with 3-D. Some days the 40 yd shot seems easy, some days I can miss the kill at 10.

Due to the places I hunt, most of my opportunities are at under 20 yds, but before I went on elk and moose hunts I'd practiced for shots at 40+ yds. Didn't get an opportunity to see if I'd have taken a shot at that distance or not.

Chad

 

For me, 15-20 is where I want to be. I know I can shoot farther accurately at times, but there's no point in trying to find out if it's a good or bad day. The way it used to be done, back in the days of Hill and Bear, wounding wasn't the issue it is today. Sure, they were probably better shots than most of us, but playing wild-and-loose with wild animals isn't socially acceptable anymore. That's not to say I don't believe there are folsk who can ethically kill game out to 40 or 50 yards, but I would say that they are the few exceptions, and hardly the rule.

 

15 yards max for me.

 

25 yds is as far as I'll go. Further than that and I watch em walk. It KILLS ME but I watch em walk.

 

generally 25 and under ... preferably 15 . I have taken pigs and goats at 30 but the deer i hunt ... they'd jump the string at 25 ! lol

 

About 20yds. is max for me but it really depends on the circumstances, and if I feel comfortable in taking the shot.....

 

I feel comfortable with 20, Im hoping by this fall to be comfortable at 25

 

You can see both of my recurve bows in my signature along with my arrow setups for each. My maximum distance is 20 yards, but for the last few years, I've been waiting for a 15 yard shot. Far enough for a very good broadside shot, but not too close to spook the animal when I draw the bow.

 

i'm usually confident out to 20-25 on the plate & occasional 3d, but i prefer the 12 yard shot i put on last year's elk and with the way whiteys are wired, i think i'd be hard pressed to try anything over 15 on one (if i ever get around to hunting the little buggers again). grouse seem to be safe from me at most ranges, but i'll take just about any shot on those evil destroyers of my sanity! my ethics don't seem to apply to them- i hate them (right up to the point where they're sizzling in butter... then they're alright)

 

Dgutter, your question includes "ethical" distances as well as" reralistic" distances. Both are excellant and seperate issues. Thus far all the responces indicate we Trad. hunters consider both while hunting. Not surpeizeing at all! Personally, I have taken 40 yd. shots a Hogs and Cyotes, but never at Deer or Turkeys. For them, 25 yds.is max. This thread shows that Trad. Bow hunters show true respect for conservation of our sport and game. Congratulations to all.
H.B., BW 1200 T/D, 48 #'s @ 28" and 52" long. Raven 200 CF arrows with Bear razor incerts hunting broadheads. "Still hunting" or from a natural blind.

 

I'm curious... how do you separate out realistic from ethical? It all comes down to your ability to place your shot accurately over the range you pull the trigger/release. Placing your shot accurately is in theory, repeatable, thus "ethical" and the repeatable part makes it realistic... doesn't it?

Much Aloha... :beer:

 

I've taken shots at almost 30 yards when the conditions were good and it just felt "right". Other times, I've passed on 10 yard shots because it just didn't feel right. Too many variables to put a number on what an ethical distance is. Depends on light, weather, your state of mind (can you concentrate), is the animal tense or relaxed etc.... I'd suggest not taking any shots over 15 yards until you get enough time under your belt to truely understand, "it depends".

 

my distance is gauged at what feels good and looks good to me when the shot present itself, i shoot 2-3 times a day on most days and i shoot what feels good i know where i shoot and have not measured anything with a rangefinder and really don't care to, i want my mind to tell me how far i am shooting and not be held to a distance, point being instinctive to me is being able to shoot at un know ranges and not to be tied to a distance, so to me the closer the better out to where i stop shooting, if i was setting up a ground blind or treestand i would want to be as close as possible with out being able to be detected, i know from my compound shooting days that i can get a fifty five yard shot beside the black top to the target and that is the only measurement i know when i am shooting my recurve that the closer i get to the road i am about fifty yards from the target, i personally don't want figures in my head blocking my concentration when i am shooting

 

I shoot paper plates. With compound, I'm good to 40y. With recurve, 30y. Hunting live animals in their natural habitat is different, though, so I'd say 30y compound and 20y recurve.. that's the max where I would think "oh yeah, I'm gonna hit that thing", giving no thought to missing, giving all thought to the target, the angle, the conditions, my body position, my cover, where to hit it, etc.

 

I think the ethical distance part is the distance the hunter can accurately and repeatedly keep his arrows in the kill zone. That is obviously going to vary by person. Realistic distance is going to be determined by the terrain being hunted and the critter's attitude that is being hunted. Most of the places I hunt, shots are going to be 30 or under. I have always stuck to a 25 yard limit on whitetails because from there in, I feel like I should be able to kill any animal that gives me a good shot opp. Longer shots at alert critters is usually going to lead to a less than dersirable result, atleast in my experience.

 

I think the ethical distance part is the distance the hunter can accurately and repeatedly keep his arrows in the kill zone. That is obviously going to vary by person. Realistic distance is going to be determined by the terrain being hunted and the critter's attitude that is being hunted. Longer shots at alert critters is usually going to lead to a less than dersirable result, atleast in my experience.

:thumbs_up

Ray :shade: