Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Average Range Of Shots On Deer

Not attacking those who prefer or are required (seldom) to take longer shots rost495.....but I still stand by my statement that "most" who take longer shots are just not planning well.

Not an attack on those who prefer long range shooting.

Gotcha, sounded like a lecture to my ears.

Can I get closer shots? Yes but where do you draw the line.

I used to exclusively bowhunt... and never took a shot past 15 steps towards the end as I figured things out...

But with rifles, if you practice its easy to make a 200-300 yard shot gravy. And I stand a LOT LESS chance of ever spooking my quarry by sight, sound or smell, whether intended or not... and that makes for better hunting for me.

I've learned a LOT by hunting a ways off. Part of that is for years when I wanted to be 100 yards or inside of a trail etc... I probably spooked way more deer than I ever thought I did, just by being so close to their territory.

Now I try to get above them, get some elevation, and get some distance. That way even by chance I rarely spook them or even let em know I'm there.

I don't actually prefer longer shoooting, I'll take it as close as I can get it, but I do think you can bugger deer if you setup to close to their areas.

I hunt where he does. My shortest and longest are about the same.

Last five years of shooting bucks only with centerfire rifles in mid-Missouri:

Hope - 2013 - nice 8 pointer - 194 yds
Me - 2012 - nice 10 pointer - 33 yds
Hope - 2011 - nice 9 pointer - 45 yds
Me - 2011 - fair 7 pointer - 260 yds
Me - 2010 - dinky 9 pointer - 225 yds

Avg: 151.4 yds

We've shot a few does/button bucks, but they have all been under 100 yds.

Most of my shots have been between 75 and 200 yards, that is hunting mostly in Texas, and Colorado.

My longest shot was in Montana where I had knocked a cloud of hair off of a mule deer at about 350 yards, He took off and then stopped running at about 500 yards and I luckily knocked him over.

My biggest deer came from behind me and walked right beside my whitetail blind, I was worried he would be able to hear me breath.

Those really close ones are hard on the nerves. I also learned that I can hold my breath a good while playing ring around the tree with an old doe.

One of my best deer was bowhunting. I'd hung my quiver in the top of a persimmon bush, me in a tripod.

For some reason the buck walked in from a big thicket that deer normally never come from... oh well he was bigger and older than average by far....

For some reason I had NO clue what was coming and refused to try to move. Much. But for some reason I grabbed my quiver top...

And about a minute or so later he trashed that trunk to heck. Lucky grab by me... by fluke.

He continued on eventually to get a quartering too him arrow at about 8 yards, easy shot, sucks to draw when they are that close... and I hate quartering to shots... but it worked fine, took the top of the heart off just like I planned.

That was a nerve wracking morning... hearing something behind me for 30 minutes or so as he SLOWLY eased my direction.

I hunt wide open country, therefore I've got 3 rifles rigged up with CDS yardage dials to match specific loads. I've been lucky and killed my 4 biggest mule deer since 2006, all of them 190"+. The rest if the story is that they've all been killed at distances from 130-150 yards.

That is some good hunting and planning to that close to those bruisers in open country.

Most of my shots are close...well within 200 yards. In fact, I can't remember the last time I used my rangefinder before the shot. I remember ranging them after they're down or back to the spot from where I shot, but it's been a while since I pulled the trigger on a deer further out.

The odd thing about this -- probably 50% of my hunting time is from areas where 500 yard shots or longer are possible. The opportunities just haven't presented themselves....

Based on all the preceding replies would it be logical (I know logic and the Campfire don't always go together ) to deduce that even if one is hunting open country that one almost has to purposely seek out long distance opportunities to make an average of 300 yards + on deer?

That seems to be true.
I don't live out West, but often hunt beanfields where I can see for 1000 yds in several directions, and still most of my deer are still under 200 yds

I keep the log for our deer camp.

It's funny, but prior to 2008, the average shot was 38 yards, with the shortest being 3 yards.

Since then everyone's been stretching out more. There have been a few 150 yarders, and the average as of the end of this past season has grown to 61 yards.

I have done several polls on several forums including this one. Year after year, I find that the vast majority of shots on whitetail deer are inside 80 yards.

Whitetail on average 40 to 150 yards.

Mule Deer on average 75 to 250 yards.

Most under 150 yards, 2 between 250-300 and 1 at laser measured 336 yards.

I would guess about 60 to 70 yards. If I were to exclude a few long shots my average would be in the 40 to 50 yard range.

No specific stats but have taken two at around 200 yds while the rest have been from bayonet range to about 100 yds. The average would certainly be under 50 yds.

I dont remember exactly...id have to look at my records...but my avg over 25 yrs has been around 40-50 yds. Bow,handgun,rifle and slug gun. I do like em in close.


Josh

Under 200 yards, two longest shots were in the 180's. One little buck was swatting distance if I swung the rifle at him. It was getting toward dusk on the last day of the hunt and I hadn't seen a buck yet. He came down the hill across from me, and I could see he was a tiny little thing with pencil sized spikes. He dropped down in a creek bed out of sight. I decided if he came back up on my side I'd shoot him, if he came up on the other side I'd let him go. I was starting to think he had headed down stream and was long gone when all of a sudden he trotted up over the bank heading straight at me. If I hadn't shot I think he would have run right into me. I'm sure he had powder burns on his neck, Joe.

Its a lot of fun when they nearly trample you.

I once had a yearling button buck walk up so close that I smacked him on the end of the nose with my hand.

I bet that little rascal jumped 15 ft backward.

I honestly think I was the first human that little guy had ever encountered.