Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting so, how is your archery at 45 yards an farther?

This forum can be a bit hum drum..(yawn)

How is your archery at 45 yards and farther?

Can you shoot a consistent vertical line out to 100 yards?

Have you trained your eye, hand, mind and body to hold and align and loose to hit a one pound coffe can at 50 yards?

Now I know that hunting large game distances seldom require such shooting..
BUT practice makes for strength, confidence , concentration and control so even at shorter ranges, the shot is sure and to the heart.
How do you practice?Jim

There was a time when I was much younger that 45 yards was close range. Shooting the American Round (and 28 target field round) 100's of times when I was a teen made consistantly hitting a 9" bull (or what ever it was) at 60 yards boringly easy. The 45 yard field target was a piece of cake. This was with a target recurve, 1816 24srt-x shafts and no sight. Those days are far gone. There are old guys though today that can hit a telephone pole at 200 yards. That's shooting the line. I believe Jim can do it. My buddy Charlie did it once a few years ago roving. You might remember that Jim ;-).....Van

Van,
Yep I recall that visit to San Antonio when we got the chance to do a bit of shooting out in the hill country west of you..:)

Wish I'd had my own bow and arrows but it was still fun..

Point is for this post is that for archer-hunters IF they extend their practice to yardages they will never shoot on game, their strength, concentration and accuracy will improve remarkably for the hunting shots.
They won't have to consciously 'think' about the shot at 40 yards and in..it will happen...Jim

The range I shoot at lets me get out to around 40 yds and to honest, at that range, I suck! If I keep my concentration I can put 5 arrows in a 12" circle, but that is the exception. That said, when I shoot at that range and then come back to 20 yds I shoot pretty well, so yes I think it helps to shoot at long distance. If nothing else, its a lot of fun to shoot long distance. Oh yeah, I shoot a longbow and am cross-dominant, I shoot right handed and am left eye dominant. Although I've tried switching to shooting left handed, I can't get comfortable or consistant. When hunting I keep my shots to 20 yds or less and have had to pass up on a lot of shots at game, better to pass than wound I think.

Ryoshi,
IF you will hear me.
I assume your archery is primarily for hunting( and enjoyment)

When was the last time as hunter you needed to group five arrows to hit the mark and kill?

never.That's target archery..which has it place..

The FIRST arrow is the only one that matters for the hunter with the bow..unless he's shooting rabbits in a pen..:)

Concerning your eyes? Close the cross dominant eye..or wear a patch on your dominant eye so your other eye over the arrow shaft does the job.

Extend your practice to 50-75 yards.. One well shot arrow, good strong form..keeping the line..

When you walk down to retrieve the arrow contemplate the shot and your elevation evaluations.....Good exercise and good practice.Jim

Jim,
I hear you and appreciate the input as I'm trying to improve my shooting at all distances. There are 9 arrows in my quiver so if I really want to improve I need to leave 8 at home! As far as the 5 arrows are concerned, you are right of course, the first arrow is the one that counts, but next 4 show consistancy which is important as well. I'll try what you suggested and get back to you, thanks for help! (Might be a day or two though, today it's absolutely pouring rain in my neck of the woods!)

Jim, I thought of you today, went to a bowshop in Denver with many nice traditional bows (compound shooter), shot a custom long bow, fell in love, fondled the credit card but fought the impulse...

Your offer of a bowstave came up in conversation. The shop owner told me I should jump all over that. I told him that I hated the thought of me ruining a perfectly good bowstave. I came home and carved out a board bow for my daughter. I am getting faster...

I wonder why I have dozens of firearms but only one bow? I may have to do something about that.

I have 30 yds to practice behind the house but do a lot of stumpshooting at unknown distances. If I see something at 100 yds I want to shoot at I take the shot and maybe a few more till I hit it...PR

The shortest shot on game has been at 16 yards. Last season was a 22 yard shot and I brought the deer home. My longest ever shot was at 50 yards. Sliced that buck right into his heart and he piled-up in 20 yards. Should I have taken that shot ? Heck yes ! I practice shots at 75 yards all the time. I felt confident that I could make the shot in wide open hardwoods. Swirley winds made him a bit nervous but when he and the wind calm down I wacked him. Not something that I want to do on every animal. Practice is a good thing.

Ken

ryoshi,
For the hunter, one needs to develop and train his mind and eye to assess the distance to the mark.

Uphill, downhill, flat, deep shadow, sunlight, rain..

It is also valuable IF you can determine what your point on distance is with your bow and arrows.

By that, I mean what is the distance that your bow and your form will send that arrow to the mark when the point of the arrow at full draw is at 6:00 oclock on the 4" mark?

Think about that.
Every shot at closer range than your point on distance will have you seeing the arrow point in your secondary vision below the intended mark.

Beyond your point on, you will need to hold over..which I do not do for hunting..

No problem taking more than one arrow..:)
Just concentrate on the ONE arrow you are drawing and loosing..

IF you wish to take a second shot at the mark?
Take a step or two back, forward, or sideways so it is a 'different' shot.Jim

Supercrewd,
The ONLY 'board bows' I have ever made that were any account I made from MOSO edge grain glued up bamboo flooring with a bamboo nodes-on backing and laminated riser.

I can send you pics and a description of the process.
Bows that shoot fast and hit hard in the 70# class#30" and that look good and are trim..even have horn nocks..:)Jim

Hi Jim. My first shot of the day is between 50 and 55 yards. My point on with most of my bows is near that distance. I've always worked on vertical alignment and spent many fun hours shooting at dead trees, corn stalks, or telephone poles in the fields next to the creek where I live.

Accuracy is attainable at long distance and it brings about a lot of confidence at short hunting ranges. I also spent many a day on the field range in the late 60's, 70's and into the early 80's. Todays archers/hunters would do well to try to expand their accuracy horizons with some long distance shooting.

Good to find this place. George

George,
Over near 50 years of traditional archery, from PAA indoor competition, American Round to 3D and NFAA shoots and hunting..I firmly believe that learning to 'shoot the vertical line' is essential to good consistent archery.

Some of that is good matching up or bow( and it's tuning) and arrow and then coupled with good strong consistent form..shooting-loosing with the back..

A 4" styrofoam craft ball atop a 40" stick makes a great target.
( the English archers back when used to do a variation of this called the clout or wand shooting)

Even IF the elevation piece of the shot is off a bit, one can see how he's done on keeping the vertical line.

I practice often at 60-90 yards..My point on is 70 yards with 730 grain arrows, split fingered draw and 75-80#@30" longbows or recurves.

I can hit consistently at longer distances..but such practice is not for the hunting..but for strength, form and concentration...and confidence..:)

The hunting is done for elk, deer, bear lion at far closer ranges.
However, once one has the skills ingrained, the hunting shots involve timing, awaiting proper shot angle and animal position and the shot is done almost as afterthot..Jim

I would love the primer...

Supercrewd,
well, send me a PM and include your e-mail addy & phone number.
Meantime do a Google search on MOSO bamboo flooring.Jim

When my shooting is tuned up I generally put 3 or 4 arrows in a palm of my hand sized circle at 50 yards. At 60 it opens up and gets inconsistant. I don't shoot farther than that.

I don't take shots at game over 35 and prefer 20 and under so all that lobbing of arrows into the next county seems like a waste of time since I don't have a place at work or home to set up to do it.

SteelyEyes,
Practice out to one's 'point on' distance has value in building confidence, building strength and control, building consistent form all the way thru the loose, AND detecting subtle issues in bow , arrow, brace height, nocking point & tuning which may need attention.
Particularly the shooting the vertical line piece..:)
From that, the hunter archer comes back in and hones his skills at his typical hunting distances which for most will be under 50 yards and down to 18 yards depending on the game and the hunting terrain he hunts.
No I am not advocating shooting at game at great distances.Hunt in close ..whether one shoots a compound bow or a stickbow..
The practice at longer yardages does have a good effect on the archer's "archery"..and will enable him to hit with confidence on a golf ball sized mark at 20-30 yards with good consistency..Jim

With my old Golden Eagle I am alright out to 70 yards. I had it set up with two pins and fast arrows. One pin set at 30 and the other at 60. It worked great and I was good with it.
With my new bow, I am not so confident having missed several 40 yard plus shots on deer last year. I am hoping increased pounds and new arrows will help set my new AR-34 up so I can again make 70 yard shots with it.

My approach is a bit different from most and I am sure I will get a lot of flack.
Duwane Adams asked me if I was a target shooter or a killer. He asked cause I would talk about how good I was at set ranges: 20, 30, 40 ,50 yards. I told him a killer so I thought. He then said why do you shoot the set yards then? Don't you know that in hunting nothing is ever really at the yards your pins are set at?
He explained that after you set your bow and pins up for the set yards and the bow is sighted in, don't mess with those ranges very much. Take a few steps forward or backwards and learn where the arrow hits at off yards. You'll learn your bow better and be a better "killer" because of it. He also mentioned that here in AZ I should learn to shoot at least out to 70 yards if the bow will allow since archery hunting here is much harder than most other states.

So that is what I do to prepare for hunts. After I set my pins, I shoot the off yards and learn my bow, not shooting more than two arrows per location. Groups don't mean jack after you set your pins, but learning to adjust and place your arrow does.
With my New bow I have 4 pins, I will most likely set them at: 20, 40, 60 and 80 if I can and if the bow has it in it to make enough impact to kill that far. If not then:20, 30, 40 and 60 will be my pin set up.
If I can set those pins up to group 3 arrows in a CD sized circle, then I am set. When I practice for hunts, I set up a paper plate and use the bottom of that as a kill zone. If I can set my 2 arrows in that zone from the off yards and even the set yards, then I can kill at those yards.

To me that practice and that conversation have proved invaluable to being a better archery hunter. I may not be the best target shooter as I don't need my arrows to touch, but I feel I am a very good archer if I get the opportunity and my bow is set up and ready to go.

Just my two cents,
Kique

Enrique,
I hunted archery for over ten years in the Sonoran desert country and rim country of Az..:)Still miss the country..and we have no javelina up here in Oregon..:(
I've never used pins or sights on my bows..but if that works for hunters I have no issue with it.
One or two arrows at the mark in roving-field hunting practice work best for me..
It's surprising how light, shadow, uphill or downhill can effect one's perception of the shot distance..

Only by practicing in as much variety of terrain and light conditions will the archer build that essential 'memory bank' of how the shot needs to be lined up, elevated for..made..
Obviously, the shots at unknown yardages that hit the mark are the one's to 'save'..:)The others we learn from..:)


Often I say to myself when sizing up a shot that " this is about 46 yards'..then I make the shot.
As I walk down to retrieve the arrow, I note the paced distance, terrain permitting..
I have shot target archery in years past..Had old Al Henderson( Olympic Coach) as my coach..
PAA indoor wasn't what I wanted to do tho..:0 However, learning to shoot consistently with rock solid form and get one's bow and arrows tuned together were valuable for me as hunter, rover and archer.Jim

Jim,
Do you recall a Tim Rajsich? He shot under Al Henderson at Encanto years ago.

Doug