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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.