Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Group size?

Spent about an hour shooting at a spongebob golf ball with my son yesterday. All unknown distances. Hit it a couple of times but just missed most times. Even wacked a rodent that thought he was safe in the barn. May go look for shed antlers and shoot stumps tonight.

when i am in the back yard shooting small finches frequently land in the yard to pick up grass and bugs.. big mistake! i think i have taken out a few in the past few days, but also busted a few arrows! i may start letting them fly away! they make great practice!

Overheard from a fellow bowhunter:

"To determine your maximum bowhunting distance place your 3D deer target in front of the door of your wife's new car. Step back as far as you feel confident then shoot it with your wife watching. That's your maximum distance."

Finches-- thats a dangerous word on the net!! Be careful.

Lost, I"d be thinking 20 yards. But I'd be afraid the arrow would pass through... be my luck...

Jeff

Jeff, just a generic term for them...

no wife, but would go about 20 yards if it were my truck behind it!

Casey,

Duwane Adams told me this:
Get your pins sighted in at the desired yardage. After that don't shoot from them again after your first few warm up shots when you shoot. you want to be a shooter or a killer? He asked me. He said if I want to be a shooter shoot at the pin distances. If I want to learn to be a killer learn my bow. After the warm up shots, take a few steps back or forward. learn where your bow is going to hit at those odd distances. because not every field shot will be at 20, 30, 40 yards. They may be 15 or 37 or 22 yards. The flight may not change much, but at times it might. Learn angles and shooting from your knees. If you can't pull your bow back from the kneeling position comfortably then your bow is set to high. he said after you sight in your bow, groups are useless when learning the bow.

So now what I do is get a paper plate and set it up. If I can hit the plate then I can kill what I am hunting. I shoot 1 arrow from a distance see where it hits. If I hit the plate I move yardages. If i miss I shoot again. Sometimes I act like I am hunting. If I miss I'll take a few steps back like the animal has ran a few steps and shoot again. I practice shooting standing up, standing on steps, kneeling like I am behind a tree or cactus. Until my mom caught me on the roof, I would shoot off of it when I lived with her and acted like i was shooting down hill.
A paper plate is about 12 inches or so in diameter. Thats a kill zone to me. I can draw lungs a heart or whatever on it, but to me if I can hit that plate I am good to go.

Heck if it works for Duwane and his clients, then why wouldn't I take his advice.

Kique

Its not like Duwane has killed any big animals :D:D:D!!!

i actually did a walk through at the local archery range yesterday. we walked through the 3d shoot... the first 2 or 3 shots we would shoot from the yardage markers, but after that we would shoot at the target when it first presented actual field shot and an unknown distance... i actually did well which surprised me because i am pretty much a rookie at bow hunting.

The first time I did that I thought it was the best opportunity ever. It turned out to be one of the longest tracking jobs I'd ever done and is now one of my least favorite shots. A deer with one lung can run a helluva long way. I like to get up a little ways in the tree and like them ~15-20 yards away so I can poke both lungs.....

I have had the same shot, with the same results. I also prefer my shots to be 20 to 30 yards. As for groups it is important to have what I call bow strength and endurance. By practicing you will devolop the strength to pull the bow back smoothly, and the endurance to hold your form while the animal presents you with the best possible shot. I also practice to become familar with my equipment. However, it is as important to be able to judge distances, from an elevated stand inches matter! I have read that some try to hit skoal, coffee cans or plates and they are ready to go. I am from Texas and mostly hunt whitetail, often the deer jump your strings (especially when spooked) at shots outside 25 yards. One of the best things you can do is during the off-season cary your range finder into the woods and guess distances then range them! What makes bowhunting such an adrenaline rush is the fact that it takes patience, practice and everything has to come together at once. I haven't gotten much rush out of shooting my block, so it is hard to compare a practice situation to a hunting situation.

I now prefer ground blinds. I can rest easier, and snag some really good double lungs without worrying about angles.

Though in the area I rifle hunt, I have to be a bit up to see any amount of area in E TX thickets.

Jeff

Think spine.....if you are taking me literally.

Not hard to poke both lungs at 10ish yards, and I like the low exit for maximum leakage....

What if you hafta shoot through a coffee cup to get at that paper plate..?

Being able to control your gear into tiny groups MEANS you can shoot. How you get there is up to you but being prepared for the worst case scenario is never a bad idea.

Hittin' the broad side of a critter is one thing, but sneakin' a shaft through a tight spot to hit that critter in the broad side is a whole 'nuther ball game.

Shoot groups until they are SMALL...or shoot spots until you can HIT every one. It don't make a damn what the yardage is...if you can judge it and know what you can do at that yardage, your confidence will take over and blood will spill.