What is a good group with your bow and at what distance?

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RidgeHunter

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Take the distance you can consistently put arrows in a kill zone sized target, and shave a bit off of it to take into account the variables shooting at a live animal brings into play. That's how close you want to get to your deer. If you see a deer, you should think "I'm very sure that I can make this shot" before you draw back. If you have serious doubts, the deer is outside your range.

Its great to be able to shoot groups out to 40 yards and such, but to be honest with you, I bet the majority of your shots you will get will be from 15-25 yards.. Set yourself up for shots like that when you set your stands..

Yep, or closer. Most of my bow kills have been withing spitting distance, and most of my gun kills have been within bow range. I like to get close for a variety of reasons.

I can hit a kill zone sized target at 35-40 yards consistently with my compound, but I rarely practice that far, and I won't take a shot over ~30 or so in the woods. Ideally I like them 12-20 yards when I send one their way.


Another question while talking about practicing, usually how many shots a day or session does most people take? I have never really counted and shoot till my shoulder starts to feel it which usually isn't long.

Don't do that; you will hurt yourself. Just shoot a few arrows every session and call it quits. And make sure your poundage is not too high, and that you're drawing your bow correctly.
 

Oklahomabassin

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Ridgehunter has a several good points. Its pretty late and I am not going to elaborate on all of them. But remember the farther you are from the deer, the more time the deer can move before your arrow gets there. Regardless of if it jumps or squats from the sound of the bow or just moves from natural urge. So at 30 yards if you are shooting a 6 inch group, and the deer squatted 4 inches at the sound, you could be quite low.

Some things to be really watching when practicing: Form, Anchor Point, Release, Follow through, Don't tight grip the bow.

Form-make sure you try and be as repetitive as you can. Hold the bow the same. All the other points are part of correct form.

Anchor point-This depends on style of release used, if a release is used, but if you put your pointer finger knuckle at the base of your ear, make sure you do this every time. If you don't, it will vary impact. Some people use different variations of anchor point, and that is fine, just be consistent.

Release-This also varies because of release style. But you shouldn't have to jerk to let your arrow fly, it should be a smooth fluid motion.

Grip- I would rather call it HOLD. Because if you wrap your fingers around the bow to grip it, you are more likely to torque the bow. (turn it by bending the wrist) This will cause your arrows to impact right or left generally. Let the bow rest in the fork of your hand as you draw, keep your fingers loose and relaxed.

Follow through-Upon release don't try and grip your bow quickly, don't jerk it down to see arrow hit. Let the bow rock forward and smoothly close your hand.

Many many good archers, can't shoot groups at 20 yards without ruining fletchings, nocks, and sometimes arrows. Many have the same problem at 30 yards. I wouldn't be comfortable shooting at a deer without being able to group within 3.5 inches. Take your standard 16 oz solo cup, (you know the kind all the kids carry around at a keg party) hold the big end against your target and take a black magic marker and make circles. You can make a 1" solid colored circle in the middle for an aiming point. If you can consistently put an arrow in that 3.5" circle at a given yardage, you should be DEADLY on deer. That given, remember the farther out, the more time a deer has to react (MOVE) before arrow gets there.

Ok, so I lied about not elaborating.
 

ChaseH

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Don't do that; you will hurt yourself. Just shoot a few arrows every session and call it quits. And make sure your poundage is not too high, and that you're drawing your bow correctly.

I don't remember what exactly my poundage is set on. I want to say 55. Its pretty low and doesn't take long for my shoulder to start hurting since its kinda jacked anyways. I should have had surgery in high school and never did. Guess that's what baseball did for me.

Its nice to get a refresher course on simple mechanics. I don't have anyone around to say hey that's good or bad. So to here some tips from more experienced people helps. Thanks for sharing all the tips, pointers and other general ideas guys.
 
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fishfurlife

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to add to this thread and the overall thought process of preparing to hunt. Please be sure to test your broad heads and ensure that there are no adjustments that need to be made between your field points and broadheads. If you shoot fixed heads, then there is a good chance that you will need to tune them to hit with your field points.
 

oneshotonekill

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Alot of good advice already posted. Spoon I would say if you are shooting 4-6 inch groups at 20 yards you may need to lower your draw weight. At 20 yards you should get to the point that you worry you are going to ruin fletchings. I would agree with Bassin that 3.5 would be acceptable but it needs to be consistent. The other point that was brought up is to shoot your broadheads. Sometimes they can be considerably off from your fieldtips. I have never shot at a deer over 30 yards with my bow but I practice out to 50+. Part of that is I do alot of 3d shooting but the other aspect to it is if I can hit good groups at 50 then I am much more confident about hitting the mark at 30.
 

ElkStalkR

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This is the main reason I hunt with a crossbow. I can get consistent accuracy with little practice. I am more accurate with a crossbow and thus feel better about hunting with one. I know I am personally much less likely to wound a deer with a crossbow than a regular compound. I know lots of guys are deadly accurate with regular compound and thats cool too, I'm just talking about me personally.
 

RidgeHunter

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I don't remember what exactly my poundage is set on. I want to say 55. Its pretty low and doesn't take long for my shoulder to start hurting since its kinda jacked anyways. I should have had surgery in high school and never did. Guess that's what baseball did for me.

Its nice to get a refresher course on simple mechanics. I don't have anyone around to say hey that's good or bad. So to here some tips from more experienced people helps. Thanks for sharing all the tips, pointers and other general ideas guys.

I'm no doctor, but I'd if you have a bum shoulder you sure don't want to be shooting too much at one time. Especially if you're a young guy, it could take it's toll by the time you get old. Take a couple shots at several different ranges and call it good.

I know a couple of guys that who had problems I'm pretty sure were related to shooting heavy bows too much.

55 is reasonable. I shoot my compound at about 54#, because it is plenty, a good bit lighter than I can pull so it's easy for me to pull back in all conditions....and I'm young. I want to still be able to draw a bow when I'm 75, if I I'm still kickin'.
 

sesh

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I've been a bit lazy this year but what I try to do is shoot about a half dozen twice a week in the off season focusing on form. Once the season starts I dial back a little, still focusing on form, and try to shoot different angles and situations.
 

_CY_

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to me pie plate is bare minimum ... much better to invest some quality time tuning your bow.
if you start worrying about damaging your arrows with robin hoods ... you are there!

another vote for shooting a manageable draw weight. don't get hung up with shooting the heaviest weight possible. it's all about getting your self within shooting range of deer. I hunt primarily by stalking, most shots have been 20-25yd.
 

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