Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Maximum bow range?

Back in the day, the rule of thumb was a 40 yard shot with a compound bow while deer hunting. These days with the newest speed bows around 335fps, can you extend that range? What say you? Thanks...

Gary, with flatter trajectory, it is easier to hit targets beyond 40 yards, for sure. But in a hunting situation, the longer shots give an animal more time to react to the sound of the string. I shoot an RPM 360, but still don't shoot much beyond 35-40 yards. Just my opinion.

Archery is a close range intimate event if you're a hunter. With that in mind there is no difference today then at any time in the past. Getting close is the thrill and the skill

If you're a shooter, then longer ranges seem to be the trend. However Physics is still the same. Shooting 330fps means you're shooting sub 400 grain arrows. These light arrows shed speed faster so the end result is less noticeable where power is concerned the further away your target is. Heavy arrows retain their speed longer.

Heavy arrows are quieter to shoot, easier on the bow, penetrate by a huge margin better. They do not shoot 330fps, more likely in the 250-280 range.

Having had plenty of hunters with both kinds of equipment in Africa hunting with me. I have seen the absolute failure of high velocity arrows at 50 yards many times!

I have also seen the brilliant performance of heavy 450-500 plus grain arrows at 30 yards. There must be a happy medium, I suppose? Something in the area of 275-300 fps with 400-450 grain arrows?

In fairness, if you can shoot 70plus pounds easily at 30" draw then you can shoot 450-500 grain arrows pushing 300fps. Just not a lot of guys capable of this day in day out.

Draw length is a key factor in overall power. A 26" draw typical of many of my lady hunters is not going to have the same power that a 30" draw will. I had a fella with a 26.5" draw. He was about 5'5" tall. But his bow was 80lbs! Those short stiff arrows were like crossbow bolts from that bow!

No change for me, just less pins, and flatter shots.

15 yards is what I came up with due to deer movement many many years ago.

Fact is these minor improvements don't do anything for my max range.

Its still 15 and will remain that way. I"m 200% at that range and closer. Beyond that they can and will move and i"m simply not willing to risk that.

This is our deer. Your deer may vary. Or elk or moose etc...

Mule deer I"d heard would not move years ago... which is why my single 40 yard shot was successful I guess. Deer even seemed to watch the arrow come in. Our deer here, would step off to the side at the shot, watch the arrow go through were they used to be and then snort at you.

The majority of my shots have been < 20 yds. I can comfortably shoot a bit further, but usually decide to get 'em in closer, more likely under 10 yds. Fabulous sport when you ground hunt.

Also, my Browning compound is over 15 yrs old if I reckon. A dinosaur by many's standards 'cept mine. Works just dandy for me.

-Ken

40 yds is my max unless that sucker is HUGE and he is totally relaxed and oblivious to my presence. And he has to be broadside

Rost, I've had a mule deer buck wheel at the shot, and i missed him clean at 45 yards. Granted it wasn't a very fast bow. I've even had javelinas sidstep arrows.

Never understood this logic... He's huge so I take an iffy shot I wouldn't normally take
My thinking is a Huge animal deserves as much if not more discretion than anther deer

Check out these A-holes. 120 yards.

Because I practice at those longer distances regularly. I can make the shot. I just choose not to most of the time.

Pretty sound logic there. I've noticed the same thing, seems a deer on full alert isn't fast enough to 'jump the string' if he's 15 yards or closer to me.

I can shoot accurately to 35 yards no problem, but in the field there's simply to many things that can go wrong at that range and I don't like to shoot over 25 yards at a relaxed deer, still do prefer them 15 yards or under if possible.



Laffin here, I feel the same way. I shoot a Jennings Carbonmaster Extreme and a PSE Baby G Force, both 2000/2001? models and frankly, I wouldn't trade either one of them for any brand new bow of any brand/model.

I think 40 yards on whitetail is a long shot (perhaps too long). A lot can go wrong with (Minnesota) whitetails.
For some reason western (Idaho) deer seem more curious and less flighty.Therefore they do not seem to "jump the string as much" Plus the foliage is hardly as dense. Elk seem dull and have a hard time jumping the string. I think out west your maximum range depends on your ability to group your weapon....out to perhaps 70 yards(not me, I like 50). But Minnesota whitetails are too skittish to attempt such long shots.IMO

I think whitetails start to look real small at 30 yds.

Was about to post the same sentiments. I can't stand the thought of someone risking what they normally would not, just due to antler size.

The largest bucks I've not shot at were due to instances where I was not 110% sure...

Glad I"m not the only one with that sentiment.

Anyone can hit on a target. If you don't shoot game at XX distance all the time, you should not, at least IMO, do it just because its huge. I"d be afraid to take a shot on a huge deer, if it wasn't the same shot I take on game all the time...

BTW if you want to talk about how accurate one is on target... in the day I could hit a clay target size target, at 80-100 yards probably 95% of the time.

Of course I worked in an archery shop, shot every last day of the year unless sick, and shot a LOT..

I NEVER would think of taking a shot at game at that distance...

Ok, off my soapbox.

And btw its cool for anyone to do what they want, as long as legal... just doesnt' sit well with me.

Witnessed an 87 and followed up on a 110 yard shot. The 87 I tracked for 300 yards and 4 hrs. Lost blood, found the bull 5 days later rotted and eaten by a bear and wolfs 1.1 miles away as the crow flies. The 110 found blood and at 40 yards nada. Searched for 5 hrs and told the hunter good luck.
Long range archery is BS, I can hit a target at 80, so what it doesn't move. 110 yards flight time somewhere around a second and a half. I can move more that ten yards in that time frame. Passed on shots at 70,80,90 and about 100 this year. Biggest bull in my life, so goes the game. Maybe next time.

I also think you need to think about how loud your bow is. I almost think the "jump" from the string is more exaggerated close to a loud noise.

Well for me it is 30 yards. I got an old Hoyt bow (circa 2002) and I only hunt mountain goats. My bow is super heavy but I like it because the newer bows may be light but hey are harder to shoot accurately.

That is very true, but seems when we started hunting ground blinds enclosed, that we still could not shoot far and not have them move at times. All the noise there is enclosed in the stand basically.

Plus I do recall when cams came out how noisy those bows where..

Of course my round wheel PSE Fire Flight and my Brack recurve are both very quiet.

Bow range is a personal thing. What you are capable of is only half the answer. The animals movement and behavior is the other. Then there is environmental limitations such as forest, wind, and ect. Remember Howard Hill, Fred Bear, and many others have taken game with bow at long distance. I don't think there is really a right or wrong answer.

But if you have to ask, that pretty much tells me 25 yards should be your limit.

I don't know 280Ackleyrized but from talking with him I have no doubt he can cleanly kill to 50 yards and beyond. He is a bowhunter and an Archer, he knows the ins and outs.

Yep, I agree on those points of 280, but the statement sounded just like... "I'd risk more if its a whopper buck but I wouldn't risk that on a doe.." THat part I can't condone, but ain't my call.

RE Howard and Fred... I don't think, from my reading, that those folks were as ethical as we are mostly.... I could be wrong.

I have shot a lot of eastern white tails over the years and my longest shot was 23 yards. But I much prefer 15 and under. Truth be told the thick cover I hunt it is tough to get a shot over 20 most of the time.

They didn't even shut off the 4-wheelers, true wilderness experience........

Exactly - it's ok if the elk win sometimes. While I have and will shoot over 40 yards, the situation has to be perfect. I have also passed on shots under 20 yards. Depends on he situation.

I've got to where most of my practice is done at 100 yards. Everything matters at that distance and you can work out the kinks. How far would I shoot a deer? 30 yards max unless conditions are perfect, i.e. deer is comfortably feeding, wind is calm, and a Chinook is buzzing by overhead (army helicopters train in my area).

Here is two 100 yard groups from Saturday. The impact difference was due to an inconsistent anchor point. Like I said, 100 yards works out the kinks.

Bowtech Experience set up for hunting
QAD rest
BG Ascent site with 4 pin Vengeance head
20 year old 4" stabilizer
27" draw
27.5" CE Maxima Hunter shafts
standard aluminum inserts with 50gr GT screw in weight
100 gr head
Blazers
437 total grains
268 fps

Good shooting, I've done a few Fita rounds where you shoot 36 arrows each at 90m (98yds) 70m 50m & 30m. Lots of arrows at long range. When the wind is calm it's just like shooting vegas spots at 20m, but just a very light breeze and you have to hold several colors into the wind. Fun, and it really shows how long it takes that arrow to travel 100 yards - easily a second and a half. Like others hunting shots at 40 or less is where there is no doubt whatsoever.

Always seemed smart to me to practice beyond your range, that way whats in your range is really gravy... we used to shoot 90-100 yards quite a lot in the 70-80s. Made a lot of sense.

And as noted, every day can bring other issues, especially with a rifle.

Only way I'll extend past 15 with a bow is if htere is "cover" noise that someone else mentioned and conditions are right... and that won't be on anything other than a meat type animal, not a trophy type. I actually expect I'll never ever extend it again as the last time I did, on a trash buck I needed dead before he could breed, I had cover noise and life was correct and he jumped the string and was a bad hit. Luckily I got him a month later with a 308...

Anyone want to weigh in on the effective range of a long bow?

As far as you can shoot it accurately, and as close as need be so game can't jump the string.... Again I won't shoot a deer here past 15 with one, but have shot hogs with longbows past 30 yards a few times with no issues.

A lot of lethality is also in the choice of arrow and head... heavy enough to penetrate, right kind of head type vs energy of bow to penetrate...

Practice out to 60, hunting maximum 50, prefer 40 or less.

I agree with this line of thinking. I practice out to 45 yards for no other reason as that is as far back as I have my yard fenced. I'm well within the vitals at that range but keep my max at 20 yards for game shots. I reach on vermin like squirrels,rabbits and such but won't break my rule on big game. Much like others have stated, bow hunting is about getting close and enjoying that intimate hunting experience. If you want to take game further out, hunt with a rifle.

I practice at 60 most of the time, but that is only because it makes a 15 yard shot through a 2" hole in the brush a piece of cake. I set up for short shots, because that is where the old bucks stay anyway.

As far as "Maximum bow range" is concerned, I would say that it is as far a you can reliably hit your target. It's not like arrows lose momentum like a bullet.

The problem is making sure the target is there when the arrow gets there. Even a smoking fast bow will take nearly a full second to get to 60 yards. Enough for a step and gut shot. Depends on the critter, it's attitude and the circumstance. I have shot elk at 50 and had antelope dodge at 20. Closer is always better but under 40 I feel very confident with my compounds and under 30 with my recurves. Each may be extended (or shortened) a bit under the right circumstance.

Yup. There are places where animals ALWAYS jump string and there are places where you can even use a whisker biscuit.

huh?

I don't want to get off in the weeds with KE/Momentum BS. The fact is that, unlike a bullet, an arrow retains most of it's "umph" for the duration of it's flight, unless you shoot it above 45*.

Had never seen it put that way... like that description. makes total sense.

Hunted with a guy in CO once... he used flipper rests like we did(does that give away the time frame....)
He shot AL arrows drawn across the metal flipper. Not even the teflon sleeve on it... at the time we shot AL also, on flipper, with teflon sleeve on it, covered in moleskin, and arrow shaft portion that drug across it was waxed at least 2 times with car wax...

Seems the mule deer/elk at that time didn't care about the screech of him drawing his bow....

I never shoot past 25 yards on a deer from my tree stands, but it is because i don't want to take a chance on a poor hit and losing a deer. Shooting at paper targets i can group them in the bull at 40 yards easily.

The longest shot is dictated by the situation. If you have to ask yourself if that is going to be a questionable shot, it probably is.

I have passed on a 10 yard and a 50 yard shot. Both would normally be easy shots for me. But not in these particular situations....

The reason I bow hunt is to get close to animals. If I want to shoot longer distances I would rifle hunt I think its cooler to shoot a animal with a bow at less then 10 yards then over 50 yards. The further away the target is the great chance of missing

There in lies teh joy of individuality. As long as its legal, thats a start.

Then for me, morals and ethics apply, while I may be able to make a 50 yard shot, do I feel the animal will not move in that time frame?

OF course the joy of 50 yards, the hours of practice it takes to be capable, have always outweighed the short range chip shot skills. But tahts what I"ve come to prefer with a bow. A gimme shot.

Of course when you spook one up close, you REALLY spook em...

30-40 yards is as far as I would loose an arrow under ideal conditions. Mostly it depends on the animal's body position, body language and shooting conditions.