I've been listening to some Hal Blood (Maine tracker) podcasts and he said he has never taken a deer that was more than 125 paces or so. Which I'm guessing is max 100 yards. He said the average was about 30-60 yards, This is for all of his hunting years and from Maine to Ontario.
You read a lot about guys taking 300+ yard shots, but just wondering if there are guys out there that usually get their deer and never really shoot over 100 yards.

Vast majority of deer I've killed have been 100 yards and under. The deer I killed today was 20 yards, tops.

I’ve killed two deer over 100 yards. One at 110 and one at 160 or so, but the killing shot at the last deer was 5 yards. The other 40 or so were killed from 3-90 yards away. Of course , I hunt woods where 75 is longish, a deer rarely hunt where a 200 yard shot is even possible.

Old70

Never have shot a deer at long range. I've shot 3 buck in 225 -250 yards range. All the other deer have been 5-75 yards.

Guess it depends on where you hunt. In my home state (MI), all my whitetail kills have been under 100 yds. The two trips I took to Colorado, I shot mule deer at 150 and 300-ish yds.

In 56 yrs. of deer hunting most deer I have taken have been between 60-120 yds., seldom have hunted areas where longer shots were a possibility.

Of the dozens of WT's I have killed, only 1 has been over 200 yds. When I first started hunting, all timber company land around home was open to everyone, and most of the land around was timber company land. Competition was tough, but I loved it because I could take my old Amacker stand on 1 shoulder and my rifle over the other and get as far away as possible from everyone. I probably killed the 20-25 deer I killed at less than 35 yds. with several shooting almost straight down from my climbing stand. Only when they leased the land and were given a spot to put a stand to hunt did I have to put a stand where I could see up to 300 yds. or so. I hate it. Wish it was the old way again.

I've hunted whitetails for 52yrs and killed quite a few over the years.My longest shot on a deer I killed was 300yds.Killed a couple at 250yds and a few around 200yds,but most have been around a 100yds.

While I certainly have taken deer at over 100 yards, the vast majority (even here in the open west) have been substantially less than 100 yards...that goes for both whitetails and mule deer.

I killed one at 201yds with my muzzle loader and maybe 3-4 more around 100yds. Most of my deer are killed between 20-50yds, I killed a doe yesterday at 9yds. One year I killed 3 and if you added the distance to all 3 together it was under 50yds.

Would not experienced mean they have tried taking a long shot in the first place?

That way they know if it’s worth it or not, and what thier skill / limitations are.

Shooting skills are part of deer hunting, so you can do the long shot thing at the range vs on the deer itself.

9 times out of 10 I can't see 75 yards..

Same here.

My longest shot at a deer was at 167 metres on a chital (axis). My longest fallow was at 90 metres and all the rest have been well under that, from 11m to about 50m. I see no point in taking a long shot when I can stalk closer. The stalking is the funnest bit.

Elk 440 yds
Pronghorn 420 yds
The pile of deer I've killed with a rifle have ranged from 17yds to 243yds. Most have been in the 75 to 125 yd range.

I hunt NY and the longest shot in 41 years was with a model 760 pump in 270 at 150 yards. Most of the shots I have are around. 30 - 60

All depends where one hunts. At home (WI), or, say northern MN - rarely over 150 - more like 75 to spitting distance.
In other states/provinces, those ranges can (and have) easily triple or quadruple for me.

I've killed dozens of whitetails in 3 different states and have never killed a deer beyond 50 or 60 yards. In the last 15 years they have all been between 20 and 40 yards.

Hunting in MI I sit on a field 75 to 175 is the majority

Hank

As a kid I was always looking for areas where I could see the farthest figuring that it would up my chances of seeing more deer. Our gun season is post rut for the most part and it occurred to me later on that security was job one for the kind of bucks that I was looking for. If I was going to shoot a big buck, I should be hunting where they are. My trophy antler collection increased nicely when I hunted thicker cover. Sure I couldn't see as far, but what I was seeing more than made up for quantity. One fluke 225 yard shot when I caught a buck out in the open on a hillside, but most everything else was close in. I've never had to hold high on any deer that I've ever shot.

Keep doing what you're doing, you have it figured out!

Longest ever was 200+ in a Pennsylvania field. Others have averaged, I'm sure, under 50. When I started hunting in Southern Maryland, it was slugs only, almost no one used real sights, and no one felt they were under-equipped, especially the A5 shooters.

If I had know how things would turn out, I could have saved myself a fortune spent on scoped rifles!

I've never even shot at paper over 150 yards. I've killed deer out to 125, but that's pushing it. You have to be close enough to a field in order to see that far. Most are less than 50 with some even standing directly below me.

I have killed 2 whitetails that were 300 yards or over, the longest being right at 450. Both were with my 270, and I had been practicing long shots, so I felt good about what I was doing. But, most of the deer I've killed have been 100 yards or less.

deer yardage ? depends on each persons ability and what equipment that person has and his ability to use that equipment. what cartridge,scope size or iron sights,bi-pod ,off hand ability. here`s what I use,practice with,handload for deer,i either shoot off a window edge on stand or bi-pod laying down,my gun is a custom Ruger S.S. number 1 ,single shot,custom bonx barrel 27 inch, 257weatherby mag , I shoot a 100 grain swift a-frame bullet,out of this gun my bullet shoots 3800 fps shoots 1/2-3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. gun has a custom picantinny base and rings with a 5 1/2- 22 x56 niteforce scope . you could build a gun like this and do the same thing as I have done its not rocket science . I have killed deer at 50 feet out 750 yards on nice bucks. I carry a range finder with me that tells me the distance out to 1400 yards. you see people or so-called pro`s shooting animals at very long distances,don`t fool yourself you can do it too maybe even better with the right equipment ? the reason I like the 257 weatherby mag. it shoots a long ways accurately ,the recoil is not that bad and it hits deer dang hard too. good luck,Pete53

I have shot 2 deer at what I call long range, both in S Dakota. One at about 325 and the other just under 300. Both seemed like a LONG way for a Michigan boy. Everything else has been under 125 and most under 100

The only, what I would call a long range kill I have made is 72 yards on a Mule deer with a 62# bow.
I took a pronghorn at 225 but all the deer have been under 150 and most of them were in bow range.

I shot a couple at extreme range when I was a kid hunting on family ranches in south Texas. That was 40 years ago and I still get my ass chewed for it. Since then the ranges have gotten shorter and shorter. I think my average right now is well under 100 yards, and may be under 50. On the other hand, 90% of my hunting in the last 30 years has been in western Washington or Hawaii, where longer shots are pretty uncommon.


Okie John

I used to hunt a pasture with a 257 Weatherby and shoot them out to 350+. Furthest was 440 .
It was ok to pop doe for meat but no real enjoyment. Heck, half the time one would hit the dirt and the rest would just stand there.

Ohio has been a shotgun state a long time. I HAD no deer rifle, and shots were 20-100yards 150yds at the long end. I'm used to up close and personal, I took a small buck at 7 yd with a bent sapling and a bootlace. It is only recently, I now have s deer rifle.

I have shot quite a few "waaaay" out there, but I guess I have grown up. I no longer shoot past 500 meters ever on game. In fact shooting over 350 is quite rare for me now. It's a very poor hunter who can't get closer to most of his game than 350 yards.

I do shoot to 1000 for fun, on paper and steel targets, but deer, elk and antelope are not my enemies, and I respect them enough now to say shooting super long ranges is not wise or in my opinion, even ethical.

My farthest shot was 346 yards. I have shot groundhogs at greater distances. I would say most of the deer I have shot have been over 100 yards, but most are under 200 yards. I primarliy hunt fields which border woods and small patches of trees. I always set-up with the visibility to shoot a 1/4 of a mile or more and more often than not a deer walks out at 100 yards and I leaves me thinking, ""Where the hell did it come from?"

Due to our season limits, I have not shot as many deer as some people with a rifle, but in the over 2 dozen I have, only one was anywhere near 100 yards.

Hunting in the big woods isn't like hunting over a beanfield or out west.

Like most, IMO, the majority of my deer have been less than 150 yds BUT....

I have killed deer from 12' - straight down from a stand and others out to 399 yds. lasered.

I posted a pic in 2011 of a buck I shot in the neck at 194 yds - lasered FROM the deer back to my stand. Photo puke it holds it hostage here in Deer Hunting Forum. You can see from that pic, the buck dropped right there and bled out the nose/mouth.

Today I killed a Doe at 60 yds, she didn't know I was in the State.

Jerry

I live in MS and I don't think I've shot a deer inside 100yds in at least 5yrs. In my life I've shot more past past 300 than inside 100. I hunt mainly bean fields. I've got a new place this year that is planted pines, so that may change.

I have been hunting deer since 1972 and have never shot over 200 yards at a deer. Only one was even close to 200 yards most have been 100 yards or less.

I'm sure the guys who routinely poke'em far off (whether or not that's the goal) get a charge out of that, but I enjoy getting close, or having them come close to me probably just as much. It's all good, like the meat.

I killed my first buck deer in 1967 in a bean field 315 long steps away. The next week I killed a wounded doe in the same field 300 long steps away. Killed one on a pipeline right of way in 1976 at about 200 yards. In 2000, I killed a doe at 125 lasered yards in a clear cut. All the rest have been 80 yards or less.

For decades where I hunted was shotgun only. I loved to hunt a local corn field and year after year I'd watch deer that were just too far. That's what turned me on to single shot pistols. With the right setup and fun practice, I was able to easily take deer at the farthest 300+ yard shot in that field. But it never happened. I think 75 yards was the farthest I ever shot one at.

About ten plus years or so they changed it to a rifle zone! I could finally use my collection of rifles! Since that happened, I haven't shot one farther away than 45 yards.

Mule Deer and I had a discussion over the phone some time ago about distances game is taken. We both agreed that much of the long range shooting done by some is by preference not necessity. I've been at this since 1955 and have taken my share of critters; average shooting distance 122 yards.

225 yards is my one and ONLY longish shot. I have killed well over 100 deer and all have been 10 yards to 120 yards. VERY few over 100 yards. Majority have been 50 yards and less.

In 42 deer seasons I can only think of 1 deer that I shot that was over 100 yards away.

I am still getting experience but have shot a bunch of deer. It depends on the conditions, time of season, size of the deer and the gun I want to shoot.

Everywhere from a 380 auto at 65 yards to a 30-378 at 798 yards...

I enjoy both taking long shots and stalking in close. I have been getting more and more into the "long" range stuff lately, but grew up bowhunting so closer shots are nothing new to me...and have both ends of the range spectrum covered this year.

While I easily could have got closer if I wanted to, I took this rag bull (an elk is a deer right?) in Wyoming at a layered 528 yards. I have been practicing a lot the last couple years and felt 100% confident out to 700 yards, so 528 was a chip shot. I was actually hoping to get a shot in the 500-600 yard range to prove I could do it. I realize this yardage is child's play for some people and equipment, but I was pretty happy with how it all worked out.


Then just the other day I hit the other end of the spectrum, and could have killed this buck at a farther distance if I wanted to...but sneaked closer (almost too close) and took him at 25 yards.


Both hunts were fun as hell, and both gave me a feeling of confidence.

Good stuff....

Sam, you're missed in the basement.

Please come back and ogle the plentiful skanks and wenches with us.

I grew up hunting in North East Pa. and my longest shot there was about 160 yds. across a small hay field. Most of the other deer were shot at 35-50 yds. and only a couple others were shot 50-100 yds. The terrain there was such that in some places you could fall not hit the ground it was so thick. A lot of these deer were shot on deer drives where I was stationed near thick cover and short ranges were the norm. Since I have moved out west I have had little interest in whitetails ,but their habits tend to be near thicker cover or broken ground, Leading me to believe the could still be a 100 yd. shot. Mule deer here are much easier found at distance and shots tend to be longer.

P.S. It is AWeSOME to see Shrapnel posting again!!!!!!!!!!! He raises the "Real" up a notch or six...........

150 yards here. Most shots are close due to the terrain and amount of cover.

You been ML hunting? Deer chasing any?

Poked one off hand this afternoon standing at 150 paces. Drilled him textbook behind the shoulder broadside with a 270 grain soft point.
Dashed 20 yards spurting and flipped azz over head.
Done and done.

From the looks at the distance most whitetails are killed,just a good hunting bullet is all you need.Those really high B.C. bullets don't do a lot until you start getting in those really long range shots.

A couple just over 300 yards.The last buck I killed was 151 yards according to the rangefinder. But the majority are/were between 50-100 yards.

Locally, most killed under 150 yards.

Out west, I've killed deer and elk at ranges between 150 and 400 yards. Not sure either is long distance.

Yeah. Some.

I pulled the trigger on a pretty good one and hit a branch .

I've toppled pronghorn antelope well beyond 200 yards while hunting in western South Dakota. But for whitetails, mulies, and coastal blacktails my longest shot was about 125 yards or so. I typically hunt within the forests and foothills with my older Glenfield carbine in 30-30.

Sherwood

Until I was 24 yrs. old, I killed all my deer with buckshot and all the kills, except for 2 were 50 yds or less. 195 yds is the longest kill on a deer with rifle. Most of the deer I've killed have been 75 yds. or less. Where I live, unless you have a field, pipeline, or high line to hunt on, you cant see more than 75 yds and most places, you cant see that far.

Longest whitetail shot was 576 yards. Longest Mule deer was just over 300. Longest elk was a shade under 400. I practice with a friend out to 600 or so to be 'ready' should that length be required. Otherwise, the vast majority of the game animals I've taken have been from 250 and below with probably 75% of them being under 150.

Really depends on the terrain, the equipment and the abilities of the hunter. Most of the several dozen deer I've taken over the past 50+ years, were within 100 yards. Either in the woods, or out in open fields or cow pastures. Open sights or scoped sporters, in cartridges that are up to the task.

But I've also taken several deer using a bipod with the appropriate rifle, out to 500 yards. Same rifle used to take woodchucks at even farther distances, so that made for good practice over many years. Where I hunt, have the choice of being in the woods, along field edges - or setting up where much longer shots are possible. Last year, the best buck I saw all season, was close to 600 yards distant in a big hay field. Since I didn't have the "right" rifle, chose not to take a shot.Was watching a brushy creek bottom at the time, but only saw does down in there that day.

Know several people that commonly compete at 1,000 yard BR matches, who like to set up and shoot deer at ranges that'd make most of us shake our heads. Not my cup of tea, but they do very well at it.

Almost all of mine would be 100-150. I have one at about 250. My personal limit is 300yds if the right shot presents itself. Long shots ain't a big thrill to me. Ain't why I'm hunting.

I suppose the numbers are up around a couple hundred and the longest in 60 years has bees 263 yards. My average is probably about 125 yrds though, which is high for here. Somewhere more than 1/4 of them have been really close. The last four years none more than 20 yards because I am depopulating the neighborhood with a crossbow to the tune of four per year. I tend to set up deer stands for rifle hunting where most of the shots are beyond 100 yards, but we have a lot of deer and I get to pick and choose so I an usually shooting 100-200 yards, close enough to put the bullet exactly where I want it.