Effective Range for Bow Hunting?

What do you consider your effective range for bow hunting whitetail deer? Notice I didn't ask what you think the effective range should be, just what your effective range IS! Just because you can't shoot a whitetail at 50 yards doesn't mean someone else can't. Of course, the bigger the animal the longer the range because of a bigger kill zone, but let's stick to whitetails.

I would like every shot within 30 but just because that is a chip shot.

Deer gives me the right shot at 50-60yrds shame on um

i'll shoot a deer to 40.

I like that forty range I could take one at 50 but everything would have to be right though. Great poll question.

Well this year I'm parking my training wheels bow so I'd say 30yds in perfect conditions. With my compounds I'll take a 50 yard shot all day long.

training wheels

Heck yes, I feel like I'm riding a freaking unicycle shooting trad. There isn't much a challenge with compounds anymore for me. I've pretty much accomplished all I wanted to with compounds. I even put the bow I shot pro with on Ebay fully rigged, even threw in the side quiver and arrows.

To me these day a successful hunt is completely different today than it was 45 or 50 years ago. Some of the best hunts I've ever had these day I didn't even fling an arrow, back in the day my motto was "If it's brown it's down!"

I shot my buddys traditional bow the other day just for funzzies and it didn't go over so well... first shot went over the backstop and into a pond... just handed him the bow and $5 and said im done.

I'm gonna get into recurve shooting, I enjoy the simplicity of it

I simply have too many irons in the fire right now, just bought a fly rod and am gonna master that before I move on to anything else

Not sure you ever master a fly rod or a recurve.

My longest kill shot is 32 yds, but that wasn't a deer. Been bow hunting since 85 and that 32 yd shot happened last year. That has been my longest shot ever at a live target. All my deer shots on average are about 16 to 17 yds. Never had a shot at a deer more than 22 yds.
Guess you can say I like them short and sweet!!!

I try to keep my shots to 30 yards. Much farther than that and you have a chance they will move before the arrow gets there. I have shot pigs at 50 and a turkey at 60 though.

My preferred range is 30 and under, but if the circumstances are right I could go to 40. Most of the time the circumstances aren't right.

I like to keep my shots under 40 yards but that is not always possible. I limit my range to 70 yards currently as that is as far as I can shoot and still keep my groups as tight as I want.

probably not.


I figure i'll be close enough when they ask me to star as Brad Pitts character in the remake of "A river runs though it"

For me it is not a question of hitting what I am shooting at, it is a question of hitting a moving target. A whitetail, more often than not, starts moving as soon as you release the arrow. An arrow released from a bow that shoots 300 fps (which most do not) will take half a second or more to reach a target at 30 yards.

My bow shoots 260 fps. Last year I shot a whitetail doe at 32 yard from a groundblind. She was standing, facing to my left giving me a clear left side shot. Her head was down feeding. At no time did I see her indicate she was the least bit skittish or nervous.

I held low in the vitals, anticipating a typical drop upon release. I released the arrow and she turned 180 degrees and my arrow entered her right side just in front of the hind quarter. Luckily I hit a main artery and the Grim Reaper did its job, she ran less than 40 yards and expired.

I know there are thousands of guys shooting whitetail every year at 30-40-50 yards and beyond, but...

I can't see how a deer has time to spin completely around at that range.


my bow is shooting right at 290 fps...not a screamer but its a quick bow. Everything I have shot with it, including my longest shot of 42 yards, has never known what hit it.


I'm not saying it can't happen, but I don't see they would have the time with a bow that's moving even at 260 fps

I understand your thinking TxTrophy. At the end of the day it matters not what we understand, or what we think is logical. I set in that blind for half an hour trying to understand how I could have seen the lighted nock as she ran from my left to right, jump the feeder pin fence and running away from me and still seeing the nock on her right side. Mature deer are amazing fast and move in unpredictable directions. This is why I do not think, for most hunters, a shot much longer than 30-35 is a shot that should be attempted.

All the Quigley long range archers, carry on.

I have the same concept for bow hunting as I do rifle hunting. Only shoot at a animal at half the distance you practice at. I shoot my bow everyday at 60yds and 90% of the time I am well under 6" groups (5 shots). I always try to keep my shots at the 30-35yd mark on Whitetails.

I agree....once you get past 30 yards on deer sized game things can get iffy really quick

I like 20-25 yards...not too close but not too far either.

Happens all the time. Happened to me once at 24 yds.
Shot a monster buck at 13 yds. Had to mouth grunt at him to stop him in my shooting lane. I put my 15 yd pin at his belly line since he was now on full alert. Hit him right under the back strap and got one lung. In just 13 yds, he dropped about 16 inches. If I hadn't aimed low, real low, I would have shot completely over him.

How long does it take for an arrow to get from the bow (at 300 FPS off the string)to a target at 50 yards?

If my math is correct and IF the arrow could maintain 300 fps throughout its flight, which it can't, it would take 1/2 a second. I suspect it would be not be far south of one full second to hit at 50 yards.

When you think in these terms it seems reasonable for a critter the size and quickness of a whitetail could move enough to cause a clean miss at best or at worst, a poorly place arrow.

Like I said before, it is not a matter of being able to hit a target at 40 or 50 yards and beyond, it is a matter of hitting the kill zone on a moving target, when you don't know which way it will move until after you release the string.

Aim low my friends, aim low.

All I can say is the only thing predictable about deer is they are unpredictable. I've shot deer fifty yards away that didn't have a clue I shot until they felt the arrow and I've had a deer spin like Nolan said at 30 yards and hit her between the front legs. I had two bucks at my feeder at 25 yards and tagged one and the other didn't even budge. In fact I tried several times to get him to leave so I could start tracking the other one, and I had to climb down off the ladder stand and wave my arms. During the rut they get even more scatter brained and the odds of scoring a bigger buck is more likely if your patient. Rutting deer can travel 10 plus miles a day looking to pass those genes.

I'm looking forward to this coming season with great anticipation since I'm going exclusively traditional. I'm flinging several hundred arrows daily to 35 yards, I do that every day anyway. Where I hunt I don't anticipate a shot over 25 yards with my setup.
Good luck everyone and just your head and don't take that shot unless your 100% confident in your shot, remember bow hunters already get a bad rap. Let's all be ready to post some great pictures, I can't wait!
Good luck all and safety first!

Using a single pin sight on my bowtech I enjoy target practicing at long ranges of up to and well beyond 100 yards. I wouldn't take a hunting shot at this range, but long range confidence makes a 30-40 yard shot much more capable. I shot my buck last season at 48 yards. I aimed low vitals, shot from a box blind while he had no clue I was there and his disposition was calm and relaxed, and nonetheless he ducked at the shot and the arrow impacted his spine. He dropped instantly, and I immediately grabbed another arrow and put it thru the vitals. Shortest tracking job to date; however, it could have resulted very bad in a wounded and unrecovered deer. Luckily I learned a lesson without being served the consequences. I have my pop up blinds <30 yards from feeders or high traffic trails this season.

I zero my sights at 30 yards. I hit only slightly high at 20 yards. I have pins for 30, 40 and 50, and a mark on my 50 yard pin for 60 yards. I practice at 30 yards as my main starting distance. I then work out to 40 and 50 yards, with some 60 yard shots. I practice at all those distances. I shot my cow elk at exactly 50 yards a few years ago. I knew my holds and there was no wind. If you practice at only 20 and 30 yards, then a 50 or 60 yard shot would be foolish. If you practice at those distances, and have the right conditions, then your normal practice distances should be fine. My hunting partner practices out to 80 yards. That's further than I plan to shoot. So, each distance is up to the shooter's ability.

Ditto!

I love practicing out to 60 yards every day and can absolutely put the stick in the boiler room with practically every one released at that distance…on foam. This thread brings to mind what I see on the bow forum every year and that is the posts on here the first or second week of the season….most are titled “I Don’t know what went wrong” or “Looking for Lost deer”. These threads generally start out with “I’m comfortable shooting out to 80 yards….but I don’t know what went wrong”.

Everyone has their own standards and restrictions they put on themselves when bow hunting. I choose to keep my shots under 30 yards and most of the deer I’ve killed have been 20-25 with only a handful at 30 or slightly over.

Pigs…..different story. I’ll throw the Quigley at them......with high success.

It’s a long way from shooting foam to shooting hair.

Great thread.

Just depends on what the animal is doing

I too have had some deer do some amazing things at the release of an arrow. I impose a 30 yd rule just because of what I have had happen in the past.

I also have heard that it has a lot to do with WHERE you are hunting. I have a friend that hunts all over from Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, South Texas, Pan Handle, and home in Northeast Texas. He tells me that nowhere that he has hunted are the deer worse about shot reactions than Northeast Texas. One of his biggest buck came out of Kansas. He shot it at 42 yards with the deer standing there looking at him. He was at ground level and the deer never even flinched until the arrow made impact. He has had 2 doe in Northeast Texas completely dodge an arrow at 40 yards. His hunting setup yields 306 fps.

If someone will hold them still I would shoot them at 50. 35 is all I'm really gonna try. But I can't make them stand really still like the 3D target I practice on . . .

I practice out to 60 and sometimes 70 plus but have never made a shot over 50 on an animal. I feel like I can 9 out of 10 times hit a 3" target at 50 yards when im tuned up and been shooting for a month or 2 every day. I shoot a whole lot, last year I shot 3-7 times a week 50-100 arrows a day. I also shot over 25 animals with my bow last year including pigs and varmits. Mainly bigger game animals such as deer and exotics. I feel its all up to the shooter as it is with rifle hunters and there confidence in there equipment and shooting ability. I have made 3 shots on animals in the 42-47 yard range and they didnt go over 50-75 yards each with them all being perfect shots. Now a pig or varmit steps out at a bit more than 50 shame on them but IMHO its totally diffrent for every hunter.

Well, I am hunting traditional this year, and 20 is about my max

I just got back to Texas after being stationed in AZ for a few years... Out there, you either get good out to 60-70-80yds or you risk getting busted. A spot and stalk bowhunter NEEDS to push the limits and get proficient out past what a blind or treestand bowhunter considers max range. I trained up for a late season elk hunt with a PSE pro-staffer and he wouldn't even have me practice under 40yds at all. His philosophy was 1" per 10 yards as a minimum of accuracy for lethality. After doing all of that long range practice, My 20yd groups are tight enough to cost mucho money if I don't shoot separate spots. Also, I kind of agree with the Cam Hanes doctrine of practicing at twice the distance you expect to shoot at an animal. Mix that with the PSE pro staffer's 1" per 10yds standard and you would need to shoot a 10" group at 100yds to be lethal at 50yds. I can shoot a 10" group at 100yds, but it is NOT easy and not intended for live animals at that distance. Today, I'm extremely comfy with taking quick shots out to 45 and confident that in the right scenario I could poke a big hole in one up to 65yds given that the wind is manageable, deer standing still, broadside or quartering away, and I can get a solid stance or seat. Practice, Practice, Practice- and push the limits a little each practice session. You'd be surprised what you can do with a modern compound bow that is properly tuned.

I would lay odds many more animals are wounded at distance than killed.

I feel best at anything under 35 yards.

the only reason I don't say farther than 40 is because I havn't shot broadheads that far... 40 on a deer sized TARGET with my field points is a chip shot, I regularly shoot to 60 sometimes farther. I need to spend more time with single shots at range with broad heads to get confidence up

Myself as well. Practice at 50 regular. Can go to 55 in the back yard but don't have the pins for it. That said my farthest shot on a deer was 35 and as soon as I released the arrow he decided to start walking in that instant. Only a few inches difference in the arrow placement. Could have been ugly but I saw him go down after a 200 yard run that took him across a picked bean field.

Too many variables in the man. Factor in those of the beast and it can make for a sickening experience.

Of course I doubt the inflated egos of those who take those 60+ yard shots would be too bruised by losing a wounded animal.

I shoot out to 60 and 70 on regular basis on small 3d buck. I comfortable at that range if conditions are right.

Whitetail -40 and under and that depends on what the deer is doing
Mulies and elk much more


I shoot to 105 and have a 8-10" group at that distance and no way I'd push it over 50 on a whitetail most likely not even over 40. Reaction time and awareness is far to great. No mulies and elk that's a whole different story

30 yards on Texas whitetail. Too many variables come into play and the margin of error is to great for me to risk losing a deer. I practice out to 60 and will take a 50 yard shot or less on a Kansas buck. Much larger kill zone and less likely to jump the string.

I personally go by 35 yards or under just cause there reaction time is so fast. I'm sure lots of folks are comfortable shooting 50, 70 or even closer to a 100 at a stationary target but it's the fact that deer can move so much after hearing the shot that you really start taking a chance of not making a clean shot on a deer past 40 due to them jumping the string.

I've killed all my deer at near 20 yards. Thats where they were. I can hit comfortably at 50 yards, but I'm not as good there as I am at 40.

I Practice out to 40 yards but limit my shots 30 yards.

my limit is 25 yds. i prefer animals at 15:)

I practice at 50 and can hit every shot in the 10 ring but never tried it on deer just because my hearts pounding and conditions are seldom perfect. Maybe someday but for now I don't trust myself enough to break 40

I Put 30. I will shoot to 30 but only under the most perfect situations. Shot a javi at 32 yards last year... that was a good shot for me.

I like 20-25 yards a lot and if they will give me 15 ill take it every time.

During off season practice I will set a pin for 40 yards or so just for practice, but ill take it off before I go to the stand.

Just my opinion but if you won't to shoot past 55 you should be shooting rifle anyways. If your into long range bow shooting stay at the range… Too much can happen by the time an arrow gets to animal 60 yards out whether you can hit a 1" group at 60 or not. If you have to use a bow to hunt so be it if you think thats the closest you can get. If you are just into shooting long range get a gun.

So far I have three deer down with my bow this season. All shots under 20 yards. That rush of being that close and having to make the draw without being detected is what bow hunting is about for me. I realize it varies for others.

That's the only reason to shoot a compound....

Effective range depends on the shooter. However much one practices and however far and however comfortable one is shooting at said distance is one's effective range. My effective range is max 30yd. My dad's is 40yd. My uncle's is 55yd. It varies.

I put 40yd on the poll, because that seems like a sort of "average".

I'll shoot out to 30yd if I have no other choose, but I prefer to keep things under 25yd. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever attempted a shot over 25yd on a deer. There's a lot of variables involved when shooting at live game, and I'd rather pass on a shot I'm not comfortable with than take a risk and wound an animal.

Plus 1...the first deer I ever shot with a bow was 47 yards...the first deer I ever missed with a bow was 15 yards...go figure.

I have 79 and 2 NY State black bears with a bow - no guided hunts - one was 37 in the neck 6 pointer, another @ 35 spine doe. Killed a stupid 4 pointer on the walk back to the truck @ 40 heart and lungs. All the rest were inside 30. I won't shoot outside 30 unless everything is perfect and I always shoot high for the spine beyond 25. If I miss high it doesn't wound the deer and a miss low gets the heart and lungs. Won't shoot beyond 40 because I don't need a deer bad enough to take a chance on wounding and not recovering it. I was shooting a long bow, a re-curve, went to a Bear compound in '82, then a Martin Cougar set @ 62# in '86. Still have all of them but I haven't hunted in 10 yrs. Most of mine were NJ or NY State kills. Both bears in NY State @ 15 and 19 yds. on the ground behind blow downs, no bait. A 176# 9 pointer is my biggest buck with several 120-165#. Biggest doe is 120#. Came to Texas in '96 (big racks, small deer), killed 2 here but I won't hunt over bait so I need decent hardwoods and cover, which ain't easy to find. I also tracked wounded, mostly gut shot, deer up north for inexperienced hunters. I can usually track a deer for 500-600 yds. after I lose the blood. Learned that in VN. I love getting close to them. To me, that's what makes it worthwhile. One chance, one shot. If I miss he won. I only have one sight on my bow, zeroed @ 25, keeps things simple which is the key to killing deer. I also skin and butcher my own deer and once in a while tan a hide. I'm in NJ now visiting family and my son-in-law arrowed a nice 6 about 135# a few days ago. Deer hunting laws here are liberal and you can legally bow hunt from Oct thru winter bow season at the end of Jan. with 6 kills allowed and a chance to get an extra permit for 2 more. But I love Texas. If anyone comes to Hood County, look me up and we can exchange info and learn new things.

Agree on that issue. You can get good, but master ???

Never could fly fish and a recurve was easier than a longbow but still difficult. When someone considers themselves a master then that means they stop learning. No one is good enough to stop learning.

My comfort level and ethics really butt heads on this...I said 40...I know I can make clean kill shot much further

I chose 40 yards, but all my set-ups are 18-20 yards.

Just talking to my brother this evening and he is telling me shotgun season opens Monday in NJ and he is laying down the bow. I think he has three or four already this year with his bow up there.

My farthest shot to date has been at 64 yards. Not something I'm necessarily proud of, but I was a really young and spooked a deer on the way to my stand. She stood broadside on the side of the hill so I took it. Now, I regularly practice out to 50 yards and can group consistently at that distance. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot at a whitetail out to that distance. I prefer to keep my shots at 30 and under, however. My current setup is 30 yards to the tree line, and 17 yards to the feeder pen.

I knock the dust off maybe three times a year at 40 yards and group them real tight. I bow hunt mainly East Texas and have never taken a shot over 30 even when the deer seem calm. My bow is shooting 306fps with FMJ's

I shoot selfbows only..so 20 yrds is as far as im comfortable..my preferencs 15 yrds or less.

I practice to forty plus yards, but almost all my kills have been inside of twenty yards. I have killed a lot of animals with a recurves or a longbow.

28 yards is my farthest kill I don't like anything past 30 and ideal is 15 to 22.
I shot 50 yards to a bag a few months ago and hit the bulls-eye perfect centered it. Luck + some skill I suppose lol. But I wouldn't shoot at a deer that far.