Bingo! Too many things can happen between the time when the arrow leaves the bow to when it reaches the spot where the animal is supposed to be standing perfectly stiil.
Is the 100 yrd shot ethical?
- Thread starter Mountian money
- Start date
Bingo! Too many things can happen between the time when the arrow leaves the bow to when it reaches the spot where the animal is supposed to be standing perfectly stiil.
MTTINMAN59
Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2012
- Messages
- 45
My son once made a great statement about golf witch applys here nicely ,he said "the diffence between a good player and a bad one is a bad player remembers his best shot and a good one remembers his worst " things that make you go hmmmm
MJE2083
Well-known member
Only as a follow up to a first hit under the proper circumstances.
805Bowhunter
Member
The most beat question of all time. Same as a sports radio show asking who your Mt. Rushmore of football players is. This question will never have a solid answer to it. Ive hunted with people that practice shooting at 140 yards and can shoot 10 inch groups at that range. Could they make a 100 yard shot...no problem. Last season I was in northern california and saw a hunter take a 28 yard shot that was way more reckless than a solid archer taking a 100 yard shot. The 28 yard hunter had no business or skill set to take that shot.
I believe it is ethical to get as close as you possibly can and what is ethical for that specific shot. Ive laced 50 yard shots with no wind that were cake. Ive taken 20 yard shots that were way more difficult/borderline ethical with strong crosswinds/branches etc. Its a matter of that specific situation rather than just a yardage. Get over the yardage issue. Theres no set answer. This point has been beat into the ground. This is why its called "ethics."
Get out and hunt. If you are confident and have the skills to make "the kill shot" then take it. If you don't then don't take it.
I believe it is ethical to get as close as you possibly can and what is ethical for that specific shot. Ive laced 50 yard shots with no wind that were cake. Ive taken 20 yard shots that were way more difficult/borderline ethical with strong crosswinds/branches etc. Its a matter of that specific situation rather than just a yardage. Get over the yardage issue. Theres no set answer. This point has been beat into the ground. This is why its called "ethics."
Get out and hunt. If you are confident and have the skills to make "the kill shot" then take it. If you don't then don't take it.
Last edited:
I wont say what a person's distance limit should be it isn't up to me. One thing I will point out as far as animals jumping the string. I can only talk about deer.
My rule of thumb that I have come up with myself is 20 yards and under deer can still jump the string. With that it is typically to late and you still hit close enough to where you were shooting.
20-40 yards deer can jump the string and cause some real issues. A lot goes into this. If the deer isn't alerted it doesn't seem to matter. If they are alerted good luck.
Over 40 yards, which I don't have experience with deer tend to not jump the string as much. This is based on some research and hearing other talk.
I think it has to do with proximity to the deer, types of shots people will take and the noise of the equipment. Hard to get into great depth on here.
With that I guess what I am saying is over 40 yard jumping the string becomes less of an issue.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
What about the odds of an animal unexpectedly taking a casual step during a 2 sec arrow flight?
One casual step is a gut shot animal! No?
I hear what you are saying about shot selection. But one of the best attributes of most clutch athletes/performers is their ability to forget the bad shots...and have a short memory. When you pull the trigger with a bow, golf club, free throw, td pass, home run swing, etc..., you better be thinking about all the good shots and visualizing future success. Otherwise you are likley to have another bad one.
elkduds
Well-known member
Shooting to kill an animal is a far more serious undertaking than anything else on this list. Shanking a drive is not going o result in suffering/death/loss of your target. That is why hunters have ethics, and golfers have cocktails.
elkhnter
Well-known member
Longest shot I ever took was a 46 yard shot at a buck in the river bottoms. He was calm, but took take step forward after I pulled the trigger. In an instant it went from a behind the shoulder to a gut shot. He was quartering and went out the off side ham. Too many things can happen even if you do everything perfectly.
Sure but that isn't jumping the string. At 30 yards and alert a deer can move an incredible amount from the time you shoot until the arrow gets there by jumping the sting. As much as a deer over 40 can move from when you release that arrow. What about an animal doing the same on a 400 yard rifle shot. I think a lot of guys on here are capable of making 400 yard rifle shots. The animal could start to move as you are squeezing the trigger and bam gut shot.
There is a calculated risk every time you pull the trigger on making a bad shot. It isn't for me to tell you what your capabilities are risk levels are on taking a shot. I have made some really good shots in my life and I have made some poor shots in my life. Some of the poor shots have come on chip shots where my concentration lacks because I think it is to easy, some are just from excitement cause of the size of the animal. I have been fortunate enough to still recover a high percentage of these animals because of the way I go after them after the fact. I think I have lost 2-3 deer in the last 20 years.
windymtnman
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2014
- Messages
- 484
A lot of practical, sound advice from those commenting here. I too immediately thought of the elapsed time of the arrow flight, and an Elk taking a step or two while it's in transit.
That said, if you've already stuck the Elk, with what looks like a lethal hit, and THEN get a chance to shoot him again at long distance, that's another story. There's no such thing as too good of a blood trail if you can make it better and end the hunt sooner.
That said, if you've already stuck the Elk, with what looks like a lethal hit, and THEN get a chance to shoot him again at long distance, that's another story. There's no such thing as too good of a blood trail if you can make it better and end the hunt sooner.
Elkmagnet
Well-known member
A bullet shot 400yd from a rifle at 3000fps would take approximately 1/3rd of a second flight time.
That's close to the flight time of an arrow shot 30 yds at 300fps.
Your thoughts would be close if you compared a 100 yrd arrow to a 1200+yd rifle shot.
This is of course crude and ignoring the drag factor. That's where the numbers would tip dramatically.
I would love to know how to calculate the flight time of an arrow at 100yd
Guys I am just playing devils advocate here a little bit. Would I ever shoot at something 100 yards away with a bow, no unless it was already hit. The same guys that are telling you no to this will take 30-40 shots all day.
I can tell you under certain times this can be an issue also.
100 yards equals 300 ft. Arrow moving at 300 ft/s because the math is easy is 3 seconds.
50 yards is still 1.5 seconds which for animals is a lot of time. I would think a lot of people on here are comfortable taking 50 yards shots in the west. That is still a lot of time for that animal to move. So if that is the only requirement that people are thinking about you really shouldn't shoot at an animal over 25-30 yards. That really isn't feasible hunting out west.
I will say again I am not going to tell other people what there ability should dictate on shooting distance.
I can tell you under certain times this can be an issue also.
100 yards equals 300 ft. Arrow moving at 300 ft/s because the math is easy is 3 seconds.
50 yards is still 1.5 seconds which for animals is a lot of time. I would think a lot of people on here are comfortable taking 50 yards shots in the west. That is still a lot of time for that animal to move. So if that is the only requirement that people are thinking about you really shouldn't shoot at an animal over 25-30 yards. That really isn't feasible hunting out west.
I will say again I am not going to tell other people what there ability should dictate on shooting distance.
Easier for some than others
LOL 1 second. Funny how your brain can jack something up.
Mine does it quite often lol
MinnesotaHunter
Well-known member
It is longer than 1 second. The math is a little more complicated as drag starts slowing the arrow down as soon as it leaves the bow. Depending on the arrow I wouldn't be shocked if it was closer to 2 seconds.
