Your longest shot
Connecticut
On this forum, and hunter to hunter I suppose everyone naturally claims a shorter maximum ethical range for themselves that's pretty short. When you see a big buck that isn't getting any closer, rationalization sets in and arrows fly. I will honestly say that in very good conditions, relaxed animal properly positioned I will take a 40 yard shot on deer in CT. Longer shots out west. But my actions have not always adhered to that. I shot my biggest CT deer at 45, and my longest kill was at 60. Granted, I was a younger man with different (by that I mean less) experience then. When I shot the 60, it was at a bedded deer with tree trunks in the way of his gut and head and neck. All I could see was the chest. I had a 50 yard pin and held it with a little space above the back line. He (small buck, surprise!!) stood up and then fell down. The 45 yard hit was a little back. By that I mean liver/back of lung. I had to sneak up on him in his death bed and hit him again. Then I repeated that 40 yards later. 3 arrows total (tough deer). I had an antelope guide tell me "You better be ready for a 100 yard shot. My topic is: What's the longest shot you ever took?
Dr Deer,
great question, but let's see how honest we all are. My longest shot taken, kill or not, was 45 yards at a standing broadside doe at MDC around 1980 with my recurve. She ran about 500 yards and didn't find her until the next day.
Same area at MDC I was after a 14 point monster. I was still hunting through some thick brush when I came to clear alley, looked to my left and there he was with an 8 pointer following him. They about 25 yards out and walking directly away from me down this alley. I let him walk because he didn't deserve to be wounded.
I hope I'm not that different than most others on this site, but I remember every shot I ever took with a rifle and every one with a bow, and I have to say none of them were high risk shots and because of that I have never lost a deer. I just couldn't stand wounding a deer, it just bothers me too much.
I shot a nice nine point at 45 yards years ago. Only reason I let fly was that I thought it was more like lower 30's. Got lucky on that one, he must have dropped a bit and I hit him good.
I am consistently well within the kill zone on the range out to 40 but I won't shoot past 30 on a live animal. I had an 8 point at 50 this evening, drew back just for the fun of it, but I wouldn't even consider taking a shot that far. I owe it to the animal to make a clean ethical shot, and I don't want to follow a blood trail all night that has no end then loose sleep over it and start second guessing everything I'm doing. We often learn by mistakes, and I've made enough of them over the past 25 years.
I practice a lot and will practice out with consistency out to 60-70 yards but when it comes to hunting longest kill shot was 36 yards and I just find that with all the factors, being cold, being stiff from sitting too long, adrenaline, too many things can go wrong and I wouldn't take any shot past 40 yards. Luckily I have never lost a deer but had one after looking for an hour it got dark and I had to look for another 3 hours next day and that feeling that night was the worst feeling I had not knowing if I would find it or not. I rather pass him up than shooting it and not recovering it.
I practice out to 50 yards,but my comfort zone is not past 40 yards.
I've shot out to 80 yards and hit the target, but wouldn't take a shot that far at a deer. I'm most comfortable shooting 25-30 yards though.
Twice at 66 yards. One last year in December, from the ground, when the arrow went straight to the heart. I had a zen moment and it felt right to send an arrow thru the open lane between the forest trees.
The other one this year, also from the ground, in October, went stomach / liver and I had to follow up with a 30 yard shot to finish the agony. It was in an open field 140 yards wide early in the morning when the shadows were long and the light shone in my face.
Both were hard shots, but that is why I practice 20 to 80 yards all summer long. Besides taking good care of my equipment I also feel confident in judging how far a target is as I practice distance guessing all the time.
By the way I shoot 70lbs with 29 inch arrows at 11.3 gpi tipped with WASP BOSS broadheads. Both shots were pass-thru.
Shot doe @32yds my 2nd yr archery hunting. Placement was a little high. I think I used wrong pin or rushed shot... probably both. All night search committee found her 1/4 mile away. I had no business taking the shot and I feel bad about it still. I've come so far as a hunter and archer since then. Now I rarely take a shot over 15-20yds because my scouting and preparation is 100x better with experience while hunting swamplands & river bottoms. Rarely is there a shooting lane open over 25yds. Having said that, the next time out I'm sure I'll see a P&Y @43yds.
I have always hunted pinchpoints and funnels so my shots are usualy not any longer than 15-20 yards. Farthest shot I have ever taken a deer at was 30 yards
My longest shot was a doe at 30 yards most of my deer are inside 20 .
34 yards is my longested kill shot.I've drawn back at a big 8 point that was 40 yards but didn't shoot because I only had 20 and 30 yard pin on my bow.I did loose a fawn many years ago that was standing almost under my tree I hit it high and couldn't find it till the next day and I feed the coyotes that time ,now I practice close shots from an elevated postion.Extreme close shoots are real tough if you don't pratice them.I have to aim low .
A few years ago i had an 8 pter in ny at 15 yards and let fly but I either hit string on the stand or the arrow popped off the string and broke in two upon the release. The buck ran and stopped at 45 yards and I dropped him with a spine shot. I had to get down and finish him. I made the shot and got the deer but wasnt happy on taking the shot and wasnt happy seeing him flop on the ground. I dont think I made a wise decision and hope I dont get stupid again.
Parked my truck at the end of a field. I had a very steep climb up 300 yards to top of hill to head out another 1/4 mile to get to my stand . When I got almost to top of hill I spot a flock of turkeys close. I dropped and nocked an arrow. I mouth called the flock to 20 yards and shot a jake he went right down. I didn't want to carry this bird all the way to my stand so decided to walk back to my truck to drop him off then walk back to my stand. I get to the bottom of the hill and the edge of the field when I spot a doe at the opposite edge of the field near my truck. I already knew the yardage because the field was 50 yards wide . I grab an arrow out of my quiver draw back and settle my 50 yard pin on the lungs and shoot .She runs right to my truck and drops at my tailgate Dead. I walk over to get my arrow (pass thru) and notice feathers on the vanes . Holy crap In the excitement of it all I had grabbed the same arrow from my quiver that I had just shot the turkey with! True story happened about 12 years ago .
Ive killed two at 25yds. the rest 15-20yds
I shot a 7 pointer at 40 yards. Out of all the deer I shot he was the farthest...but I practiced and practiced for that distance. I was confident I would kill him.
Interesting that you mention taking a marginal shot on "a big buck" Dr. Deer.
One at 40 yards, heartshot on a 6 point, dropped dead 10 yeards from point of impact. One at 43 yards a doe that deserved better but had to put a second arrow in her to finish afer tracking her for a good 200 yards.
Now I do not like to shoot beyond 30 and most of my spots do not have shots beyond that anyhow. I practice to 40 all the time and feel confident but the deer deserve a higher percentage shot.
Took a doe at 35 yards last year. First year bowhunting and that's about my maximum range. I practice out to 40 yards, but I probably wouldn't shoot at a deer at 40 yards.
37 yds at a buck a few years ago - double lunged him and he went about 60yds.
40 is my self imposed limit, though some years I shorten that to 30 if my practice time is low. One such year I think I amazed a friend I was hunting with in CT when I passed a relaxed, feeding broadside doe at 40~ in the wide open hardwoods that are the watershed.
I'm not nut though. I range some trees now a days around my stand, but when a deer comes in, I use good old fashioned "guesstimation" so I may think a deer is 40 but come to find out it's 45... or I could think it's 30 and it's 25. Just being clear that some day I could exceed my "limit" by accident.
33 yrds on doe kill shot all my deer I like to be under 35 I'm not comfortable at 40 even though I practice out to 50 just won't shoot I'll let them walk first
I shot a doe in CT at 45 according to the range finder but it was really like shooting for 30 because she was way down below me in a gully. It definately was the my longert shot ever and I had good blood for 40 feet and then nothing. It took me 3 hours to find her doing grid search and she had got up once from a 4 foot pool in her bed and made it another 30 feet. I didnt know that until I back tracked her blood trail to learn how I had lost her trail. The arrow went in at a good angle away shot but a lot of fat and whatever plugged the hole during her death run.All my other deer killed with a bow have been under 30 and most under 20.
My first real shot on a deer was 33 yards. I hit that doe and never got her. I think the placement was too far back and high. That bothered me. This year I had the biggest buck I had seen in years w/o binocs. He ate around my stand for over 30 minutes. The whole time he was 30 yards or less but I never had a completely clean shot. Too many limbs in the way. All the while I told myself that even if I never got a shot I would be grateful to have watched this beautiful animal go about his routine. As we started walking away he decided to take a left turn and I drew as he was behind a tree. He took another 2 steps into a clear area and I shot at 15 yards. A perfectly placed around with a double lung shot. My 9 pointer is now both in my freeze and at the taxidermist. I'm content with limiting my shots to <30 yards (because that's my comfort zone) regardless of the size of the deer.
40 yards on a relaxed feeding doe many years ago. Today nothing over 30 yards.
10 years ago a 50 yard doe in a clear cut feeding with her head down and I did it with my new at the time Hoyt Havoctec that I shot just about everyday for 6 weeks out to 60 yards with 4 - 5 inch groups so I was confident . Then I passed on a 50 yard shot at big 4 or 5 year old 8pt a week later because he knew something was wrong after the doe's he was with busted me and took off. My second longest shot was a nice 3 1/2 year old 8 pt at 37 yards that was feeding on acorns and both deer where double lung hits and about 60 - 70 yard recoveries. I used a range finder on all of them and would not attempt a shot greater than 20 -25 yards with out one . This year I bought a new Hoyt Factor 30 and practice 3 - 4 nights a week out to 40 yards do to space and I plan to keep 30 yards as a max.
yeah, Bob, rangefinders help a lot and make us better. I still practice by guessing the distance to landmarks and then ranging them to see how "on" I am. But I have not taken a shot in years, where I haven't ranged it or previously ranged land marks so I knew the distance +/- two yards. The extra time it takes has only cost me one shot (at an elk, you can't shoot em if they lock in on you with a range finder to your eye) and the extra time allows me to calm down and focus.
Bloodtrail, what's "interesting"? I don't know if you are referring to shifting ethics when the buck is big or if that picture is what I consider to be a big buck.
I have shot multiple deer over 40 a few over 50 and 2 over 60 the furthest was 72 on the edge of a field in IL on a calm feeding doe, she went 40 yds
What I am hearing is that we all have made a long one, but prefer shorter ones and the older we get, the closer we let the deer get. Makes sense. Killed 3 last weekend, not one over 22 yards. They ran 40, 45 and 80 yards.
I wouldn't think twice about a 50 yard shot. I would push it to 60 if it were a big buck of a lifetime.
Whatever distance you're shooting, you need to be honest with yourself about your shooting ability. So if 50 yards is a distance where you can place every arrow in a 6 inch group during a hunting situation, then that's fine. But if you're saying you would take the shot because you REALLY want that deer, then your doing the sport a dis-service.
Dr. Deer You Killed three last weekend? Holy heck I haven't even seen three deer this whole season. Damm I have a lot to learn. -Duncan
Dr. Deer, the interesting comment was made referring to taking a long shot at a big buck. I would think that one would hold off on an outer-limit shot opportunity on a big buck.....instead waiting for a better opportunity. And this will stir debate, although I haven't done it, I would think that someone would be more apt to take a long shot at doe.
Mainly just hoping that if one were to take a long shot (at any deer), that they know with confidence that they are going to kill what they are aiming at through lots of practice and confidence.
I tip my hat to a lot of you guys, at least we're honest with ourselves and we know our limitations, but most of us don't even want to push the envelope. If people who have a negative opinion of hunters could read some of these responses and see the respect we have for the animals we harvest, I think they'd have to reconsider their uninformed and negative opinion. Once again, hats off to all of you gentleman.
40 yards at a coyote and suprisingly enough cleanly killed it.
Farthest at a deer has been 20 yards.
longest shot: 33 yards. Clean miss. Longest shot that connected: 22 yards. He went 5 yards and sat down to sleep.
Shortest shot: 3 yards.
I don't take shots over 20 yards anymore. My average shot is 10 yards.
Bloodtrail
excellent, excellent point!!
I had a monster buck (once in a life time in CT) walk in at 4:20 PM a few years ago but stopped about 80 yards from my stand, broad side, just looking intently at something ahead of him.
The thought never crossed my mind to let one fly to see if I could hit him. I pride myself on being a good shot, but that animal deserved better than me taking a chance on wounding him, only to be lost to a coyote or bobcat.
There was an excellent article in the Rocky Mountain Elk magazine about an actor who went on an elk hunt and had a B&C bull dead to rights, but refused the shot. He told the guide that this bull was obviously the monarch of the mountain, and he deserved to continue to live out his life! That to me is the ultimate respect of the animal you hunt.
He was a better man then me!!
