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Have far do you typically shoot? All of my bow stands are tripods. They are set up 20 yards from the feeder. I have one 4x6 bow box also at 20 yards from feeder. The box is the best bet to kill a turkey. It's hard to get the bow pulled back on a group of turkeys. I don't think I've ever killed a deer any farther than 30 yards.

If you need a tripod to shoot a bow, you may want to pursue another sport.

farest kill is 85 yds for me

That's funny right there!

I wouldn't shoot past 30 w stickbow, or 60 with wheels.
Actually, I'd prefer 25 and under for stickbow and less than 50 with wheels.

our deer jump string most of the time.

I've found over the years, fast or slow, that if I follow one rule, regardless stick bow, wheels(never had cams) or crossbow, I'm good to go without a single issue of a bad hit or a miss.

I keep my shots at 15 yards and less. Pretty simple and if set up correctly patience will reward me as often as I desire.

At one point I thought it was about being accurate... I could hit something the size of a coke can way on out.. softball or so at 90 yards which my far sight pin at the time. Shooting every day. With weight and being young. Never realized how dumb it all was.

I've seen other deer in states that appear not to jump string so much. but I still don't trust it. Especially having seen elk and mule deer do it too. One cost me a bad hit at 42 yards when he wheeled... took a number of hours of trailing to find him finally.

So I run 15 and less and never worry.

I don't pull bow back unless they have their head down eating. They look up when you pull back, you have a couple seconds to shoot. We always hunt out of a tripod or a ground blind. I don't understand the comment about hunting out of a tripod or getting another sport??

Thinking that was a tripod rest to shoot from but not sure. Just read where a guy killed a cow elk at 90 yards. No mention of how many ran off with arrows in them.

You just sit in the tripod, no type of rest involved. It's hard to hunt on the ground, get a shot off with spooking the game. Bunches of pigs here, I like being up in the air. I have one bow stand in a tree. Mountain lions here also. I've killed a doe on foot with a bow, just luck.

I am not a good archer. I like 15 yards and closer.
I did kill one deer in Nevada years ago at about 60 yards, but I should not have even tried it. I just got lucky.

I have missed more then I care to admit to at 25-30 yards.

So ------------for me, I like 15 and closer

I'm a 20 to 30 yd hunter. I chased turkeys around one day. I hit one at 40 yds, but I demo'ed 7 or 8 arrows. I had fun!!

Had to make clarification.........

I'll shoot to 30 w stickbow in the early season.
Too jumpy after gun season starts.........20 and under.

how far I shoot depends on the target. Just shooting target in my yard I'll shoot out to 70 yards. On an elk I will take the right 50 yard shot. I prefer my turkey to be 10 - 15 yards. Antelope this year was a chip shot at 32 yards.

Me too,which is why I switched to stick bows. At that distance just much faster and less complicated for me. I missed an opportunity on a large buck several years ago with a confounded bow because my string had nearly broken under the serving. It had stretched so much that the 80lb bow didn't roll the cams over reducing the weight until about an inch from full draw. When it did I was straining so hard I pulled my arrow off the rest and never got the shot at the buck that I could have killed with a cement block. I was a long way from an archery shop and my 2 day hunt was ended right there the first morning because of equipment failure.

Didn't Janet Jackson have an equipment issue.

I haven't had a bow failure yet, I've left my release in camp before.

I've never left my release "in camp" before, but I did leave it at home one time. Every since then when I take my release off of my wrist I attach it directly to my bow. Never been without since.

Don't put the release on the lower limb.........lots of screwed up bows come to my local pro shop because of that.
Slide down and get tangled in the wheel.

I keep mine on my bow now also!

I've shot targets at 75yards, but my limit with animals is 45-50 depending on the shot available. I have never used a release, and I do not hold at full draw waiting for that perfect shot. I do not draw at all until the shot is right, then draw and loose as almost one movement. I use no sights on a bow, and one pin only on a crossbow.

I have pins peeps and levels. Still shoot so so. I was better 40 years ago.

Even when I was practicing out to 50-60 yards, I never shot a deer over 25, and 95% were under 20 yards. I was always fine with that.

I was a decent shot, but judging yardage in the heat of the moment was something I couldn't do well.

I shot 3D and indoors pretty hot n heavy...........have decent form.
Did switch to a bigger peep for being able to hunt in the woods in lesser lighting.
It opened my groups up a bit past 30 yards.
Still OK for hunting, but not for 3D.

Pick a spot, draw and hold...........when it looks right, then it goes.
Sights, no sights, wheels or no wheels, fingers or release...........doesn't matter.

HOWEVER......sometimes things are done faster (but having to hold for a while doesn't mess me up).
I draw slow and smooth, everything relaxed. My release trigger isn't set light either, I hit the stops and pull a teeny bit more while squeezing the trigger.
Works well for me. Been shooting like that for 30 yrs.
Have had to hurry and shoot deer on the move that way..........same deal, just "compressed" time wise

Never been a snap shooter.

I don't shoot nearly as much as before.
Shoot lesser # now too.
Minor injuries take longer to heal these days.
Banged hand at work.........3rd day of nuthin'.

A friend has a range finder on his bow. There has been times it would have been helpful.

OK for the life of me I can't see this happening unless people are drawing their bows with their fingers while the release is attached to the lower limb? Why the heck would someone do that?

I don't see how a person could do that either

Lots of bows get drawn when not actually in the act of shooting an arrow.

Usually it's a kid, son in law or buddy that draws another's bow and blows it up...........the story goes like that anyway .

Just sayin "hang it high" and lessen risk.

Drawing a bow to check something, without an arrow........with a release on............I have seen way too many people do that and put their finger on the release trigger.
A few went "POP!"
To avoid the possible dry fire, some folks draw without their release...........fingers.

Maybe they're doing so to illustrate a sound that's popped up, or cam lean or something.

Of course, with newer designs of big cams, short ATA some folks have done "roll offs" pulling bows with fingers.
The first edition Mathews Monsters were kinda notorious for that.
Shops put up signs saying "do not draw without a release" and have the blue Tru Flite fake release on hand.

People still blow em up by ignoring the signage.

guess that's why even microwaves have warnings on them stating, "warning contents may be hot"...duh........

So you can actually destroy one by pulling it without a release. Makes me glad I never went back to wheels.

For a foolproof track record, we NEVER shot if they looked up... held off and let down once they looked away. Shooting while they are looking could lead to wild chases.

IIRC the meaning was using a tripod to set the "bow" on.... IE a joke.

We hunt pigs on the ground all the time. Pigs don't do anything to you. Don't be scared of nothing. I've probably killed more archery off the ground than in the air.

Mountain lions also are not a bother and could get to top of a tripod in a quick hop. False sense of security.

And just flinging long shots at turkeys to finally kill one, well in my personal ethics book, that sucks.

I like to hunt in a tree or tripod. We have feeder pens around our feeders. It wouldn't be ethical to shoot through the fence. I like trying to Indian up on a turkey close enough to take an ethical shot. I miss because I don't judge the distance correctly or I get excited and shank the shot. I have been fortunate, I haven't lost an animal I've hit with my bow. I try to take close shots that's the ethical thing to do.

Big acorn crop this year in Hill country. Deer aren't coming to feeders at all!

Farthest deer I've taken was 38 yds totally relaxed ,actually exhausted from chasing a doe around me all morning ,most I kill between 25 to 30 yds shooting a compound ,targets are another story but a living animal we owe the respect of using good judgement ,one marginal /poor hit should cure most any hunter with good ethics from pushing the window too far

Acorns at my place finally (not last 3 yrs).
Moved a stand...........trail from the bottom coming to oak flat...........10 yarder.

A little cooler this am. A freezing 62 degeees.

Moving tripod close to trail where deer and aoudad jump fence.

I'm hoping for an ethical shot.

I don't like looking for wounded deer, lots of rattlesnakes and skunks here. Cactus too

20 to 30 yards.

I've killed whitetails out to 68 yards. most of my kills are @ 30 or less. I practice out to 100yards regularly, and out to 125-130 on occasion,. makes the shorter shots really easy.

Anywhere from 5 feet to ~60 yards. I can make that shot anywhere in between and have regularly.

I wished I have animals that would hold still.

In the early 80s I shot out to 100 all the time, you are right, makes the short shots easy.

But so many years of having them jump the string even at 20-25 yards I just did what I had to do.

Now I did shoot one mule deer something just over 40, had heard the would not jump and dang that was an easy shot. My BIL shot one mule deer in NM at 76 yards ranged. It stood there till the arrow hit. I was/am amazed.

Same thing in rifle too... practice LONG and the short shots are cheap and easy. LOL. But they don't jump that string.

Y'all get any action yet? Deer have been around feeders all season long for us, even with acorns around.

Bowhunting I've had much more relaxed and better luck away from feeders, they are nervy around them it seems. OTOH when I quit keeping track of bow kills at over 100 hogs and deer, a lot of them were around feeders. Just had to know how to make it work. Found it worked much easier from ground blinds than tripods generally speaking. For us in the hill country.

I still love looking for deer. Its one of the most fun parts of the puzzle. But with a dog now its pretty easy. But I enjoyed following the sign and leading to an animal. Cactus, snakes and all. Never can say we saw a skunk while trailing.

You need a new bow. Jumping the string isn’t the norm if you have a good setup.

Anyone that told mule deer won’t flinch at noise is making things up. Long shots are long shots regardless of species.

archery shooting distance accuracy is kinda a individual thing,howard hill with a long bow was good out to 100 yards,i have seen some archer`s with a compound have a hard time shooting a decent group at 20 yards, I have a son who will out shoot most people that are using a gun out to 75 yards,my son is not your normal archery he has won alot of archery championships,he`s 300 55-60 x indoor archer. myself 60-70 yards is my max out west, but I have shot archery now for over 50 years, whitetail bucks I try to sit thick areas so 30 yards is my max then or shorter. learning to kill animals with a bow takes years of experience and lots of practice,when you have killed 10 whitetails and 3 are whitetail adult does you will understand archery then much better." some may say I am wrong but I have killed many animals and the adult whitetail doe is maybe the smartest animal I have ever killed in archery" wished you all great safe hunts,be safe always,Pete53

I didn’t get anything with my bow in 2017. Hope to have better luck in 2018, turkey season starts this Saturday

Why do I need a new bow when I know what the limitations are and remain within them?

Speed of sound is an issue. Thats why even if I bought a new bow, I"d not use it past 15 yards anyway.

I just prefer for the animal to still be exactly where it was when I pulled the trigger so to speak.

Anyone can be accurate with a bow out to 100 yards or so, just takes practice and good tuning, just like a rifle.

But for the animal to still be there... thats another issue.

And yes, I know that all animals jump the string now, that all that stuff you read about this or that not jumping the string, well it was all lies... see my mule deer, and then the BILs one was the opposite. THere in lies the problem, you just never know. So I have had issues at 20 and out at times, and I stay inside that and have never had an issue since.

I suspect that Bracekenbury might take issue with you saying their bows are not good enough either. LOL.

Some of the old does are crafty for sure. It did not take years of experience for us to kill with a bow. Wife and I both tagged out the first years we hunted and did so for many after that. I don't recall how many CArolyn took with a bow, but I quit counting when I hit 100 big game animals with the bow.

Thats where I learned over time, just keep em close and shoot only gimme shots.

Turkey season starts Saturday, I hope to kill one with a nice beard!

I shot a nice bull at 33ft. in 2016, It is a confidence builder when everything in the sight window is vital area........... I was kneeling ,sitting on my heels when I shot . I do not see where I would shoot passed 30 yds with a bow.

40 - 45 for me

[quote=rost495

Some of the old does are crafty for sure. It did not take years of experience for us to kill with a bow. Wife and I both tagged out the first years we hunted and did so for many after that. I don't recall how many CArolyn took with a bow, but I quit counting when I hit 100 big game animals with the bow.

Thats where I learned over time, just keep em close and shoot only gimme shots.[/quote]


baited feeder deer are much easier shoot ,than learning how to really hunt deer in the swamps,woods with a bow and even harder where wolves are present,there is huge difference and ethical deer hunting is not with bait period !

I prefer to avoid them eating something when I shoot them, at least corn anyway, acorns under an oak are fine.

Me, I try to hunt traveling trails as much as possible. They keep moving, slowly, have something in mind, don't mill around long and I can generally get the wind in my favor.

That said, they could be traveling from one food plot to the next, or one protein feeder to the next etc...

Actually at home we ignore no wildlife, if we are going to consume, we help benefit them. Wildlife areas, burned or mowed as needed, fertilized, plant the right plants for birds, animals, etc.... maintain the ponds, and creek and so on. We would not have cattle and not benefit them, IE don't feed, water etc... their habitat, wildlife is no different to us.

I do have to hunt feeders at our gun lease, where no bows are allowed, but we are setup such that we take most deer on a major trail, some will come off the trail to a feeder, some don't, is what it is.

If you prefer to hunt over bait thats good by me.

BTW since I have hunted with a bow over a feeder, I can ASSURE you, since you've evidently never done it, that they are NOT easier to shoot.. FAR from that. VERY FAR. Not with an arrow anyway. Thats one of the reasons as I aged and matured I understood that feeders can do some good, but archery is much better done far away from anything resembling a feeder.

Do any of you all hunt out of a bow box? You can see by the tree in the background.

I have several pop up blinds that fit the same role.

I occasionally practice 50 yards or well over, but most of my practice is done at 40 or less. I’d feel comfortable shooting at a deer out to 40, but much prefer to be 30 or less. The furthest shot I’ve taken was right at 30, I’d say about 90% of my other shots have been under 20. This is with a compound bow. I’ve never used my recurve for anything but practice in the yard thus far, and I don’t like to shoot it much past 15. .

I like 20 to 30 yard shots. I need to leave the longer shots to you young guys.

I hunted out of a bow box, once in Iowa, was not for me, but the deer did not seem to care, but it was on an unpressured farm. Anyways, we hunt in different parts of the country. UP here in the far north woods area, my average shot, regardless with either compound or long bow, 25 yards or less....... With my new Long Bow, and less weight now, this year, I will only shoot 15 yards and in. With my compound I thought of nothing at shooting in the 50 yard range, out in the grass lands of South Dakota,,,,,,,,,, I practice all the time, to be ready to go,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, this past winter, I shot a doe, at 56 yards, with a cross bow, from the ground.

It may not be Texas, but I was just at a place in N Wis, where a guy, swears by a spot, in a heavily used pine plantation, on his land. He put up a tri pod, looks pretty sweet to me, but he has a lot of cover, around him, so it probably is easier than out in the open in Texas. I would like to hunt Texas....

I shoot my long bow daily, and my compound once a week, and shoot at 60 yards with the compound,,,,,,, I am in the school that distance shooting, will benefit you in the long run,,,,, I do not shoot deer here, heck where I hunt, you could not get an arrow, out at that distance, with all the trees and brush, but it makes the close shots, seem easier

Practicing and having fun way out there is never a negative. Shooting long, for me I've learned through over 100 game animals myself and probably 10 times that through friends that anything over 20 for our game can be really iffy if the game is still there. Too much risk. Mine are basically 17 and under yards where I have never had an issue.

Had a buddy that shot very well, had a fast bow, in the years of short light AL arrows, overdraw etc... and at 21 steps hit a 10 point on the OPPOSITE side he was aiming... relaxed deer head down at the shot...

I got pretty serious with a bow for over a decade. Had quit hunting with the gun. Would shoot 6-8 hours a weekend day often and shot tournaments all over the place, Put in over 400 hrs. a year in a tree stand and was quite the deer killer on public land. Didn't think too hard about 40 to 50 yard shots and actually preferred them to 25 yd shots. Also hunted way up in the trees , sometimes over 35 feet.

Now a day happy to climb to 25 feet and carry a gun more often. Also hunt a whole lot closer to the road . I can actually see the truck from the stand sometimes.

I try to keep it 30 and under on whitetails. Longest shot was 57 yards (rangefinder). Nice 8 point in the alfalfa, wind in my face, he was looking the other way. Buried my pin behind his shoulder and the arrow did the same. He ran about 50 yards and collapsed. That doesn’t mean I’d try it again.

I shoot daily off the back porch at the shop. We have targets all the way to 100. With no wind, 6-8” groups are common at 100. Even though I shoot for fun at that distance, I don’t plan on shooting a deer that far away. Lots of time elapses before the arrow hits the target out there. I want them up close and personal when I’m shooting flesh.

I didn't either, with three tears in my right shoulder rotator cuff, I didn't even bowhunt last year, have healed nicely over the last 9 months, happy to report I shot my bow and hit really well with my 30 and 40 yard pins, 25 or so shots felt nice.

I gotta get with the program, I've got a couple real stud bucks on trailcam, hope to ease in early with a bow and catch one napping.

Yes!!!

I’ve got the same problem with a torn rotator cup. Haven’t been able to bow hunt the last 2 years. Sucks but there’s no way in heck I can afford the surgery right now. And I refuse to buy a crossbow.

Thanks Dan and CHLI, I cant wait to get started, hope, in time you can heal like I did Neal, cant recall anything that hurt that bad for that long, I have an old buddy [71] that has a crossbow, I gladly hunt with that old dude, he has bad shoulders and cant draw a bow anymore.

I do hope things are good for you,but ? my shoulder surgeon told me this : i needed to do the surgery right away so nothing grows back together wrong then its to late.now this is what happened to me in late 2017 October 2 weeks before the deer rutt I fell got up lifted something to heavy and tore competely loose my main muscle in right arm and ruined what was left of my rotator cuff, this was nothing to brag about either I lost almost compete use of my right arm ,I belonged to the less than 1% club and had only 20 % chance to recovery,since the surgery in early December 2017 I started light therapy in February now in early august with a lot of therapy in the past and a lot even today ,yesterday I was able to pull a easy 30 lb coumpound bow back and shoot 1 arrow with out pain then I quit,today I shot 3 arrows very little pain, sept 14 th we head back to the mountains for elk. as a bowhunter of over 50 years its hard to see my days could me numbered yet and i have no use for a x-gun either. the surgeon said if this does not work I will need another surgery and will get all new artificial parts and that's means 15 lb. weight limit for life. the surgeon said I was the worst he has ever did shoulder surgery on,said he had to do Frankenstein stuff in my right arm that`s why I got 20 % chance and this surgery will take 2 years to recover maybe longer because I am 65 ? be careful maybe go see a surgeon,Pete53

I shoot broadheads year round because I try to hunt year round somewhere. I practice from 5 to 100 yards. For many many years, my longest shot on a whitetail was 18 yards. Only once did I take a buck at 35 yards. The bulk of my 130 archery kills with a bow are under 15 yards.

Other game in spot and stalk situations warrant what one is able to achieve in regards to how close you can get based on cover. 65 yards is my longest but kills at 30 to 65 yards have been no problem. Practice with boradheads at long ranges is what I attribute my success.

Was stupid and overconfident 20 some years ago and shot a buck at 80 yards. That was pre rangefinder and with an old 80# Hoyt compound and 2317's. I am much more proud of the kills I made at under 20 yards. My average shot on mule deer and elk has been right around 40 yards. Long range shooting is not what bowhunting's all about. Before you tell me I need to practice more, etc. I have won our local league for the last 3 years in the bowhunter class shooting the same bow I hunt with. It's not about hitting something at long range, it's about the target still being there when the arrow gets there.

My proudest bow kill was at 8 or 9 yards, a doe was walking broadsided looking into a stiff north wind, she was headed west, I was south of her in a rock crevice [gap in a bench] maybe 4 ft below her, my sightless longbow went off and she never turned her head, never heard it, I saw the arrow disappear into her ribs, massive elation on that one.

That is what bowhunting is all about! Well done.

Sept 29 is getting closer, practicing 4 to 5 times each week. Got a wedding invitation, opening day, they are going to get married with out me!!!

Thanks, and you bet centershot, the best part was me actually hitting what I was aiming at, and yes, I have to shoot three under and aim my arrow shaft at the target, I'm Scotch-Irish and Osage injun, but not enough of the peyote button, mushroom, peace pipe smoking injun breed to become the mystical flight of the arrow bullspit, gotta aim.

I prefer to shoot without conscious aiming.
Takes a lot of arrows to ingrain sight pictures for that.
Is fluid, reflexive.........and allows for movers.

But with aging and injury, I had to go 3 under and aim (not enough time to practice).
Way easier, but static..........not fluid.

I ended up face walking too.
Two sight pictures, two anchors. Good to 30 yards.

Just irks me, having draw arm higher.
I'd like to go back to split finger and reflexive.
But will proly stick with 3 under and gap again this yr.

I've taken a couple of deer at 5 and 6 yards. Definitely a rush. Treestand though.
One of these days I'll get a good one from the ground

Good for you Hook, we have to use what we have left as we age, or are injured/worn out.

I have to go three under, no choice in the matter, even though I can throw a rock and hit a tree, the bow is just different from some reason, think it's because I'm damn deadest FOR proper shot placement, burning a hole in the front sight on Sharps rifles has not helped my instinctive endeavors ;]

My bow at full draw is 58 or 60 lbs, I don't notice stacking? or whatever it's called at that low weight level, I just draw to anchor, aim down the shaft and release, going to shoot more today after the light rain moves out, will be with a bag target and field points, damn Rottweilers ate my broadhead target. how did they get 10000 sheets of foam in a square so small?

BTW Hook, if I ever get lucky and stab a big buck with a longbow, I'll never be able to come on her and give you men a report, certain I'll die in the woods from an over excited coronary condition.

I am one not to give up on drawing my bow back again ,I do not want to use a x-bow, I can draw and shoot 3 arrows at 35 lbs. about before to much pain hope to get back to 45- 50 lbs with my Barnsdale compound for elk hunting we leave September 14 th for the mountains again. I watched a TV show called Yellowstone and when they showed the mountains standing in the meadow: it sure got me the old dude bowhunter of over 55 years fired up again ! If you have never been to the mountains when the bull elk start to bugle,smelled the mountain air on cool mourning when snow is up on top of those mountains don`t do it > its a warning !! it will cost you lots of money over many years,your family will be upset with you ,its an addiction that can never be stopped to a bowhunter and I gave the fever to my son too ! good luck this fall and be safe,Pete53