Max Shot Distance

[cohunter14]

How do you choose your maximum shot distance on an elk with whatever weapon you hunt with? With a rifle, I have worked over the years to extend my range. There is certainly a maximum distance that my rifle will be able to drop an elk, and I choose to base that on the velocity of the bullet and the energy that the bullet is carrying. For instance, I have decided not to shoot a bullet past where it holds 1,500 ft/lbs of energy. The velocity is typically based on the individual bullet, but it is roughly 1,500 ft/second for the bullet I am using. I use that knowledge to know what my absolute max yardage is, but really my maximum comfortable yardage is driven by my shooting ability. I pick my max based on where I can consistently put a bullet within a certain group size relative to where I am aiming.

Now that I have picked up a bow, I am trying to determine the same thing. It seems like there is a generic 40-50 yard comfort zone that many abide by, which I feel is similar to a 200-300 yard comfort level with a rifle. Is that just based on people who don\'t practice much, pick up their bow and fling a few arrows right before their hunt, and then head out? I know there are people here who practice much more than that, but seem to set their limits in those ranges as well, so just curious as to why. Let\'s hear your thoughts!

 

[colorado russ]

Derek, I\'m not nearly as experienced with a bow as others here but will give my 2 cents.

The speed of sound is 1126 ft/sec. My bow shoots approximately 300 ft/sec. No matter how you do the math, the sound of your bow will get to the animals ears well ahead of your arrow. I shoot on paper out to 50 yards but limit my hunting shots to less than 40 and preferrably 30. This isn\'t because I\'m not proficient at longer distances it\'s just that I feel too many factors come into play with the longer distance. Again, just my opinion and I know people who shoot much further and don\'t mind lobbing an arrow to \"see where it lands\" but not my approach.

Same with my rifle. It can make a 500 yard shot off a bench rest and have enough KE to bring down an elk. However, I limit my rifle shots to 300 yards as that\'s my comfort zone not the weapon\'s.

 

[VTHOKEE]

With my bow which is what I do most of my hunting with my comfortable range depends on the situation. I practice as far out as my pins will allow which is normally 60-70yds. I feel that practicing those far shots make the closer ones easier. Hunting is way different than putting holes in foam or paper. This year I took my farthest shot ever with a bow. I shot a cow standing broadside in a field at 50yds. The situation presented itself she gave me a great shot and I had already preranged the area so I knew my distance. I try and shoot my bow as much as possible and like to think that I am a pretty good shot but like I said every situation is different. That\'s why practicing those longer distances help out. Also the farther you shoot the more you will find out how in or out of tune your equipment really is.

 

[Deertick]

I\'ve tried to come up with a \"maximum yardage\" and ... I can\'t.

Not to mean that I have some tremendously long max yardage .. it\'s really between 30-35 yards with an arrow.

40 if I\'m feeling good.

Which, BTW, I am on some days!

That\'s it ... shoot a lot. Shoot in different situations. Shoot in different moods. You\'ll learn what your maximum is that way.

Some days, it\'s 20-25 ... some days it\'s 40 ... some situations it\'s 35, some others it\'s much less.

Applying some mathematical formula is attractive ... \"x% in a circle y-inches in diameter\" ... but life isn\'t math ... not for me. Some days, I\'m a bug and somedays I\'m a windshield. Knowing what you are TODAY is important in shooting or other things.

I\'m betting you already apply this rule elsewhere in life.

Apply it to shooting, and it\'ll feel quite natural.

 

[iccyman001]

I pick mine off of my hunting intentions.
That\'s to get as close as possible.

I have my max at 50 for perfect conditions, but honestly my true max is 40.

There are too many variables out there that could mess a shot up when shooting a bow.
So why people try to stretch their shots out is beyond me.

I could rant about it for hours, but I am not going to.


Im sure there are a lot of archers out there who would even say my max is long too.

 

[cnelk]

It depends on the quarry.

IMO Whitetails were built to hunt from tree stands and recurves.
That that means close shooting at a deer on a trail

Elk were built to call in and make the shot.
That means it terrain can change from morning to evening.
And with that, the shot can be close or far, open or heavy cover.

I guess if there is a \'sweet spot\' for elk I would venture to say it\'s probably 30yds

 

[Ol' Arky]

When I bow hunted elk (one year) I had my limit set at \"top pin\" which for my ol\' slow bow was between 20 and 25 yards....

 

[WW]

Just me I suppose, but the name of the game in bowhunting is \"getting close\"! For that reason, I like my shots at 20 yards and under with a maximum of 30. Only once did I ever take a 40 yard shot. And that was when I needed a second shot to finish an antelope off that had jumped the string resulting in a poor hit with the first arrow. But the hit did make him sick enough that he couldn\'t jump the second arrow.

 

[elky McElkerson]

for me a rifle is easy to determine.

if i am looking at an elk (or deer) at 400, it never seems to be a problem to be able to get closer. i used to shoot jackrabbits at 400 as a kid with a 30.06. i remember laying prone on the scorched earth and just staring thru the scope in wonder of the steady hold.

when i took up big game hunting...every single big game animal spotted, the first order of business was to figure out how to make the shot as easy as possible. we ALWAYS had a way to get closer...then finding a prone shot with a pack as a pad. easy peasy.

with a bow..GAH!! i cant figure out anything. but i love it. i can get to 100 yards pretty easy..that last 50..nope. i blow it.

i love and admire the long range shooters. the skills, the tools, the technique..but i always smile at how they still wear camo gear on the TV shows. they are standing next to a vehicle in full camo shooting 1000 yards..me, i would be walking to scrub off a good 700 yards.

 

[cohunter14]

It seems like bows are similar to rifles in the fact that they can shoot and kill much farther than hunters can accurately shoot them. As Russ mentioned, another issue with a bow is the fact that the sound will get there much faster. How long is too long for the animal to move? I\'m guessing there is no way for a real answer to that, but definitely has to factor into the thought process.

 

[Ol' Arky]

Don\'t know for sure but I always figured the closer you were to the critter when you shot the lesser chance it had to react to any sound your bow made...

 

[cohunter14]

Don\'t know for sure but I always figured the closer you were to the critter when you shot the lesser chance it had to react to any sound your bow made...

Absolutely Phil! If you just take an average arrow speed of 300 feet per second, it would take the following times to travel:

20 Yards: 0.2 Seconds
30 Yards: 0.3 Seconds
40 Yards: 0.4 Seconds
50 Yards: 0.5 Seconds
etc....

Factor in the speed that the sound travels, and the animal has approximately the following times to react to the sound before the arrow gets there:

20 Yards: 0.15 Seconds
30 Yards: 0.22 Seconds
40 Yards: 0.29 Seconds
50 Yards: 0.37 Seconds

 

[Ol' Arky]

At 20 yards he would have to super quick to make much movement at all wouldn\'t he... :think: :think:

 

[Swede]

With a bow, I limit myself to 40 yards, unless everything is just perfect. Perfect is no wind, the animal is broadside, relaxed and there are no obstacles to shoot through or by. If the critter is over 40 and things are perfect, but it may come closer, I will still wait. I just don\'t like long shots, and have gone home without an elk, because I had nothing come broadside and stand within 40 yards.

 

[Jason Balazs]

With a bow my limit is 110 yards. I don\'t shoot a rifle for hunting.

This, of course is all dependent on what the animal is doing.

An average shot for an elk is 40 to 50, but like a lot of you said, you like them close.

I shot a turkey on a television show at 50 yards and the host\'s jaw just dropped. I shoot all the time, and I mean all the time. I practice out to 140 yards, which is the bottom of my sight. Not a pin, but the bottom of it.

I shoot a Spot Hog 7 pin Hunter Hogg it with an extra pin added to make it 8. If you practice long long ranges, then the 80 yard shots are easy.

Also, another advantage of long range shots is the animals don\'t really react to the actual shot. It is so far away from them, that they just think it is something in the woods.

I know some of you will say, That is unethical. However, if you can do it consistently and have enough kinetic energy, then make it happen.

 

[cohunter14]

However, if you can do it consistently and have enough kinetic energy, then make it happen.

:upthumb: Agreed. Ethics is up to the person shooting and no one else. That\'s amazing that you are that skilled with a bow Jason. What\'s the longest you have ever shot an animal with a bow?

 

[bowhunter]

However, if you can do it consistently and have enough kinetic energy, then make it happen.

:upthumb: Agreed. Ethics is up to the person shooting and no one else. That\'s amazing that you are that skilled with a bow Jason. What\'s the longest you have ever shot an animal with a bow?

And another question is what kind of penetration do you get at long distances?

 

[WW]

Don\'t know for sure but I always figured the closer you were to the critter when you shot the lesser chance it had to react to any sound your bow made...

Absolutely Phil! If you just take an average arrow speed of 300 feet per second, it would take the following times to travel:

20 Yards: 0.2 Seconds
30 Yards: 0.3 Seconds
40 Yards: 0.4 Seconds
50 Yards: 0.5 Seconds
etc....

Factor in the speed that the sound travels, and the animal has approximately the following times to react to the sound before the arrow gets there:

20 Yards: 0.15 Seconds
30 Yards: 0.22 Seconds
40 Yards: 0.29 Seconds
50 Yards: 0.37 Seconds

Derek: I like how you do numbers. Unfortunatly, most hunt bows don\'t actually shoot 300 FPS. If yours does with a 400(+) grain arrow, more power to you. Something to remember is that as soon as the string is no longer pushing the arrow, it starts loosing velocity. Can you come up with a set of numbers for the rest of us that are only obtaining 240-260 FPS?

One of my backup bows only cronos 200 FPS at a mere 6 ft. from the front of my bow. And my main hunting bow cronos 258 FPS. That same bow has an IBO rating of 318. They must have been shooting toothpicks!

 

[cohunter14]

Derek: I like how you do numbers. Unfortunatly, most hunt bows don\'t actually shoot 300 FPS. If yours does with a 400(+) grain arrow, more power to you. Something to remember is that as soon as the string is no longer pushing the arrow, it starts loosing velocity. Can you come up with a set of numbers for the rest of us that are only obtaining 240-260 FPS?

One of my backup bows only cronos 200 FPS at a mere 6 ft. from the front of my bow. And my main hunting bow cronos 258 FPS. That same bow has an IBO rating of 318. They must have been shooting toothpicks!

Bill, great call on the fact that the arrows slow down over time. I hadn\'t thought of that initially. I was able to find a chart at this site that shows approximate time to arrow impact at different yardages. http://www.huntersfriend.com/carbon_arrows/hunting_arrows_selection_guide_chapter_5.htm.

Here are those numbers for different arrow velocities:

................300 FPS:..............275 FPS:...............250 FPS:...........225 FPS:
20 Yards: ....0.21 Seconds.........0.23 Seconds..........0.25 Seconds..........0.28 Seconds
30 Yards: ....0.31 Seconds.........0.34 Seconds .........0.38 Seconds..........0.42 Seconds
40 Yards: ....0.43 Seconds.........0.46 Seconds..........0.51 Seconds..........0.57 Seconds
50 Yards: ....0.54 Seconds.........0.59 Seconds..........0.65 Seconds..........0.72 Seconds

Based on those numbers, here is the approximate time the animal has to respond before the arrow gets there:

................300 FPS:..............275 FPS:...............250 FPS:...........225 FPS:
20 Yards: ....0.16 Seconds.........0.18 Seconds.........0.20 Seconds.........0.23 Seconds
30 Yards: ....0.23 Seconds.........0.26 Seconds.........0.30 Seconds.........0.34 Seconds
40 Yards: ....0.33 Seconds.........0.36 Seconds.........0.41 Seconds.........0.47 Seconds
50 Yards: ....0.41 Seconds.........0.46 Seconds.........0.52 Seconds.........0.59 Seconds

A bow firing an arrow at only 150 FPS would still give an animal less than one second to react at 50 yards (0.95 seconds to be exact).

 

[elky McElkerson]

Bow sounds?

It\'s not like that. A modern bow is virtually silent a moderate distance away. A deer will hear a close shot but not a far shot. Bow hunting magazine had this in an article.

The bow to the shooter has that crack. Just 20 feet away, in the trees, my brothers bow is silent to me when he shoots


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