Shooting bow long range

[dgc1963]

Was reading a story in our Pa game news about long range archery shots and how far an arrow really drops, It did the math on a 375 fps cross bow at 100 yrds and the drop is 15 ft over 3 ft at 50 yrds and if your out in the open 3 ft is do able but in the woods with trees n branches whats the chance you wont hit a limb add a cross wind or a deer that reacts to the shot that adds more room for something to go wrong
Im not telling anybody what distance to shoot just some info to ponder, I pratice at 50 75 and 100 yrds all the time it makes 25 yrs in the woods seem easy and do reach out farther out west over open sage brush but thought it was an interesting story

 

[Bowhunter999]

That is a interesting topic dgc1963, but also one that is difficult to enter into. Being a hunter who does so solely with a bow in hand,
I am very concerned about the reputation of archery in the hunting
world. There are still those who have a different concept of our sport than those of us who participate. Wounding of animals is done by both rifle hunters and archery users. I do not think it is only my
imagination that there appears to be more criticism of the wounding
of animals as a result of archery than firearms ! So, WTB said, any
aspect of hunting being used that presents the impression of more
incidents of wounding, needs to be careful of actions that can be used
as fodder for further criticism. That brings us to the subject at hand, that being long range shooting at game with a means that allows a multitude of problems to come into play.

An arrow as a projectile is subject, due it’s much slower speed than a firearm projectile, to wind, time of arrival due to distance to game, the extreme amount of drop the longer an arrow is in flight amounting to degree of accuracy at distances, resulting in missing the kill area etc ! I am solely a instinctive recurve shooter and limit my shooting to 30 yards, that being both for deer and elk. My hunting partner is a compound user, he limits his shooting to 50 yards. There are those who hunt both methods who limit their shots to various distances, but we all need to stay within the distances we are capable of at killing
game humanly, and giving those who disapprove of archery as a
hunting method, less ability to criticize our sport.

 

[Gr8bawana]

One thing you don't mention is how long the arrow will take to reach it's intended target. I'm thinking a least a few seconds.
Things can happen in that time like an animal taking a step or a gust of wind.
Long range bow hunting is something I would never do or condone.
I'm sure none of us want to see a wounded animal dying a slow painful death with an arrow sticking out of someplace because some yahoo decided to try long range bow hunting.

 

[Bowhunter999]

One thing you don't mention is how long the arrow will take to reach it's intended target. I'm thinking a least a few seconds.
Things can happen in that time like an animal taking a step or a gust of wind.
Long range bow hunting is something I would never do or condone.
I'm sure none of us want to see a wounded animal dying a slow painful death with an arrow sticking out of someplace because some yahoo decided to try long range bow hunting.

Your point Gfr8bawana, about the length of time it takes an arrow to arrive at the point of target, is what I meant to mean when I stated ‘time of arrival due to distance of game’ ! Only I did not make that very clear. You are very correct in the even slight movement of an animal in that period of time can be a wounded animal.

 

[dgc1963]

Yes an animal moving or reacting to the noise of a crossbow or compound adds even more of a chance to something going wrong!
most of my shots here in Pa are close thats why I love archery (not much of a gun hunter any more) Took 3 Pa bear and the farthest was 20 yrds closest was abt 15 ft most deer are within 20yrds ,would I reach out further if an animal is in the open head down relaxed yup sure would and have
But in most hunting situations I think we owe it to the animal to think about it, just cause I can shoot a arrow an be accurate at 70 yrds dosent mean I can do that in a real hunting situation
And again im not telling anyone what they should do dont want anyone to get their panties in a bunch lol , I just thought the info was interesting in the story

 

[pabearhunter]

I will not take a shot at anything with my bow farther then 40 yards. That's just me. The point about time it takes to travel to target is a great point and also applies to firearms. I have missed a lot of woodchucks out to 1,000. Once the bullet is sent all it takes is a slight movement at that range and it is a miss or worse yet a wounded animal.

 

[Gary]

This thread made me think of my friend John, who used to participate in archery turkey shoots, back in PA. John told me the shoots consisted on shooting at live turkeys that were walking around behind a wooden barrier. The barriers were high enough to hide the turkeys bodies, allowing a target of just the head and neck. John said the shooting started at 120 yards and shooting moved up as the shoot went on. He said his best shot was at 115 yards and he usually was done shooting by the time the firing line was moved up to 100 yards. He usually took home 2 birds and his best day he took home 3. He did say that he used a buddy with a spotting scope (behind him) to help spot shots. I think the rules allowed 3 shots at a turn.
Now this all happened 25-30 years ago, so the equipment was "dated".
To the best of my knowledge, John never took a shot at a deer beyond 30 -35 yards.

 

[Durango Mike]

Was reading a story in our Pa game news about long range archery shots and how far an arrow really drops, It did the math on a 375 fps cross bow at 100 yrds and the drop is 15 ft over 3 ft at 50 yrds and if your out in the open 3 ft is do able but in the woods with trees n branches whats the chance you wont hit a limb add a cross wind or a deer that reacts to the shot that adds more room for something to go wrong
Im not telling anybody what distance to shoot just some info to ponder, I pratice at 50 75 and 100 yrds all the time it makes 25 yrs in the woods seem easy and do reach out farther out west over open sage brush but thought it was an interesting story

One of those oxymoron's like "jumbo shrimp", "Long range Archery"; the whole reason I hunt with a bow is to improve my stalking skill, take a look at penetration in a foam target with a broadhead at 75 and 100 and you will realize that the potential to "kill" versus "hit" is very different. I can think of nothing worse than seeing an animal walking around with an arrow sticking out of their side from "long range " archery sniping.

 

[Rzrbk]

I do not think it is only my
imagination that there appears to be more criticism of the wounding
of animals as a result of archery than firearms ! So, WTB said, any
aspect of hunting being used that presents the impression of more
incidents of wounding, needs to be careful of actions that can be used
as fodder for further criticism.

I agree with Bowhunter 999. I despise hearing archery hunting stories where they take the shot only because "I knew that was as close as I was going to get", before taking a hail Mary with no regard for the potential suffering of the animal or smear on archery hunters by the public.
At a minimum I'd want to consistently put 4/5 in the kill zone at a given distance before shooting at big game. Last year I wasn't quite there at 50 yards. My New Years resolution for 2021 is to get 4/5 consistently out to 60 yards. The remaining 1/5 are usually equivalent to a long blood trail. I also likely wouldn't take a shot beyond 40 unless I knew the distance, it's too easy to misjudge slope and such where 10 yards makes a big difference. But that's just my personal opinions and I'll continue to take deep breaths when people brag about miracle last chance 70 yard shots in high winds.