I was trying to fill a doe tag in MD Sat.

Saw a big doe at 35ish yards.

There was no shot regardless if i had a longbow, compound or crossbow.

Here in PA during early archery that seems to often be the case for me. Could be my stand locations, but normally i can't shoot over 25 yds simply because of vegetation.

I imagine in more open areas that's not the case.

I know sometimes i bash the latest and greatest crowd, but In most of my hunting scenerio's it wouldn't really matter what i was using the range would be the same.

Lets not turn this one into a bash thread. I'm just curious, How much does limited range really effect you?

For me it's very, very little.

Depends on the spot. This year is my third attempt at traditional archery. Always enjoyed shooting, but my accuracy was spotty and even now, range is limited. I got out of it because of the limited range. I hated to let deer walk by at 25 yards, but not an ethical shot for me with a recurve. Chip shot for the compound. I shoot much more consistently now, but I still have limited range. To compensate for that I plan on hunting the close-in, thick spots. I can let you know in a week

I am with you shade mt. I generally hunt funnels that do not allow or need shots longer than my 20 yd limit. I hunt trails and try to get a quartering shot as they pass by. If I hunt ling shooting lanes or areas that have long visibility I will have the 06 in hand. A family has to eat.

I agree shade mt. I live in the piedmont of Va. and ot is pretty thick stuff in these parts. Sometimes on the edge of a crop field one might get a longer shot, but I don't usually hunt at the very edge of fields with the bow.

Hasn't had a whole lot of affect on me as of yet although I'm sure it will from time to time. I can't say that I have had to pass on too much that I could have shot with anything outside of a rifle...luck I guess.

I just had a 300" plus bull at under 150 yards in Montana...but he probably wouldn't have been in that compromising position during gun season anyway.

BigJIm

I've hunted a lot of edge. Places lots of game "out there" visible but not up close so I'd have to say it does limit the number of shots I can take.

It has effected me over the years. If I could shoot a compound at forty yards, about twice the distance I can shoot now, I would of killed a lot of really nice bucks over th years. That's one of the hardest things for a compound shooter to change to traditional is the discipline not to take long shots.

I hunt the thick stuff here in PA too. Shots in the thick stuff in close quarter is the norm. It goes both ways for me. Thick stuff may not give me a shot every time but it also keeps me and my drawn hidden when the wind is right when the shot is there.

Thick stuff is where the big ones are too. :)

Accepting my limited range makes me a better hunter, both ethically and skill-wise. I don't take "iffy" shots that stretch my range which, in turn, probably keeps me from wounding a lot of animals.

Just yesterday, I had a doe and fawn come to a salt lick I was hunting over. The distance was about 30 yards. I had that doe broadside to me for over 20 minutes. I kept thinking, "I can make that shot" then I would think, "No, just wait; one of them will come closer". Well, neither one of them did and they finally wandered off. I didn't shoot at them, didn't bring home any meat but I still think I did the right thing.

Of course, after they left, I took at practice shot to where they were standing and hit my target dead on. Hated wasting a good shot like that!

I most often hunt in the woods where a good open shot is 20 yards at the most so, in that respect, my limited range does not affect me.

Darren

Even when I hunted with a rifle, I don't think I ever shot a deer further than 65 yards away;-)

I like escape routes and funnels and it's really thick cover where I hunt. Clear shots over 20 yards are non existent. If I hunted field edges I would not consider a shot over 25 yards. Frank

Most of my deer, due to the habitat, have been shot under 20 yards but I have taken a few that were as far as 40 yards just because the shot looked good and I felt I could make it.For me the sight picture and the attitude?position of the deer is more important then the actual yardage(within reason which for me is about 40 yards). Over the years I have found that focusing on a specific yardage limit is distracting and effects confidence.

I too usually hunt thick stuff in Pa. The letoff of a compound would offer me more additional shot opportunities than any distance gains. I used to be able to draw and hold for two full minutes and make an accurate shot at 25 yards... and that was with much less letoff than what's available now. Even when I shot a compound, my farthest shot was only about 29-30 yards. Farthest with a selfbow and hickories so far... 26-27.

Limited range is a good thang' ---- we are all more effective and efficient if we keep the shot close. For me, that means REAL close.

I think that one positive of such a limited range weapon is that it can encourage one to seek out and hunt small, tight, out-of-the-way spots that others with longer range potential would avoid or ignore.

But truth be told, even though I hunt out West, many of my "almost" shot opportunities that didn't happen for one reason or another wouldn't have mattered if I'd had a compound in my hand.

My self-imposed range of 30 yards does not effect me at all. Where I hunt in NE Oklahoma the cover is pretty thick. I consider a 25 yard shot a long one. I set my stands to allow for shots at 25 yards and under. In no way do I feel handicapped with my recurve.

I doesn't effect me much overall. I see deer further away, but it doesn't tear me up to not shoot at them like it did years ago. Even when I lived in Montana, I still waited patiently for close shots, most being 11y and in. Sure, I could kill "more" deer if I was shooting a longer range, modern set up, but in the end I still manage to fill the freezer with the stickbow each year. Little patience and determination, and you can wait until the close shots happen instead of shooting far.

I guess it would effect me to the degree of where I was hunting. I hunt runs mostly, so no effect as I set up close enough to hit them with a rock if I wanted to. I dont hunt open area's too much but when I did...I guess I would have to say that I was effected often but it didnt stop me from filling a freezer, just took longer.

None, I have only killed two deer past 20 yards. I enjoy the anticipation of waiting.

doesn't affect me in the least. i don't consider a longbow to be a close range handicapped weapon. i hunt sagebrush and know my point on distance and use it when i need to. a modern longbow and some self bows are very capable at any reasonable distance. it's the individual that is self limiting.

Well, Thick cover ..sure limits your vision..and you must learn to have bow & arrows tuned so you can shoot thru small openings in the foliage..assuming you can see more than hair & hide..

You also are more at risk of being scented, and heard..close in..

For the stand hunter..prior to the season opener..cut some shooting lanes so you can see in various directions that are appropriate.. The distance doesn't effect my shooting..I can shoot well at five feet or 50 yards..Jim

Limited range has no effect on me at all. My self limited range is 18 yards. That is my max comfortable distance where I am fairly sure of a quick, clean kill with a broadside shot.I will not shoot farther than 18 yards even if the game animal was a world record whatever...Cripples are never acceptable to me!!!If it is farther than 18 yards I pass and don't lose a moments sleep over it.I set my ethical limit and do not waver...ever. I have to be able to look at myself in the mirror.

Not at all. I don't feel like my choice of weapons is inferior in any way to any other bow. Its funny seeing guys talking like anything over 17.3 yards means wounded game or misses.

If I can get a 15-20 yard shot, I'm happy. The deer woods here are pretty thick. Jawge

I deer hunt with a bow through the whole season. So, shooting range starts out limited but the last month or so, I could shoot 100yds. Bowhunting is supposed to be a close range event. It doesn't bother me to see a deer out of range. I grew out of that awhile ago. Speck

Applying numbers to distance in the woods can get silly. If you know your bow and arrow well, you will know before you shoot whether or not you should....irrespective of how far it is by numbers. You get that from shooting all year round, and allowing the left and right brain to correlate information to recall when needed. Some people call that instinctive. Whatever the moniker, it does work. Familiarity is everything with archer, bow, arrow and opportunity.

I've hunted in "brushy" country all my life. If you want to kill whitetails in the east, you need to do that. That said, there are very few times you need to shoot around or through anything unless you are desperate and/or trying to hurry a shot. Plenty of areas withing areas that allow for clean arrow flight. If not, then don't shoot. I never know how far an animal is until the shot is over and I step it off.

“If I can get a 15-20 yard shot, I'm happy. The deer woods here are pretty thick. “

If you say so, man… Compared to Minnesota or even hard-hunted public land here in CT, that looks pretty near wide open to me, at least by whitetail country standards… Much more similar to our overpopulated areas which have been browsed down to the roots. Places like that a guy could do a real business with a scoped .270, with plenty of opportunities inside of 100-150 yards, except that it’s so much safer (in thickly settled areas) to make sure that the bullets strike the ground at better than a 20 degree angle, so that keeps things pretty close-in no matter WHAT you’re shooting on a given day…

My gear doesn’t usually affect my ability to TAKE the shot opportunities that I get so much as it affects WHICH opportunities I DO get. It’s as I mentioned in another thread –I USED to go out thinking that with a 20-yard weapon, I should be looking for 20-yard shots… but that led to a more opportunities at 35 & 40 yards than anything else. Even just a couple of years back I forgot that lesson and took a wheelie up into a tree, thinking I could easily shoot 25-30 yards… so I set up for 25… and found myself watching a couple of very nice 2.5 YO bucks thrash the bushes about 40-45 yards out… So now – older and maybe a bit wiser – I normally hunt in such a way that any opportunities that I may have will be within about ½ of my comfort zone.

But that really only applies to stand-hunting. Elk – where I’ve hunted them anyway – aren’t predictable enough to make a treestand that viable an option, and honestly, it’d KILL me to be all the way back home and spend an entire day… OUTDOORS… sitting on my dead butt. A tent blind? God help us!

Besides, there is enough pressure up there anymore that you really have to be more mobile, and the best way to get after them seems to be to just get in there and get after ‘em. The stickbow-range opportunities for me have been pretty few and far between, but JMO, once you have still-hunted your way into a herd and have had a 600-pound animal just materialize out of thin air (REALLY thin air ;) ) a mere 15 yards away… Kinda makes it hard to talk yourself into staying put in a stand….

A man's got to know his limits (remember that line?) and I don't go into the woods with mine pre-established, but rather let the moment and conditions dictate the range. In all honesty, and especially hunting predominantly from the ground, I have found more lost opportunities to animals being too close than too far. I shot a cow elk at close to 50 yards once with my recurve because I just knew I could make the shot and she was standing perfectly broadside in the wide open...yet in the woods on a deer I've never considered such a shot...in fact my longest shot ever on a deer was right about 35 yards, standing in a creek with no obstructions. I've had way more issues letting critters get too close and then not being able to draw on them and somehow they get away...those are the ones that bother me some, but then it's also times like those that get me excited and keep the fire burning.

This is open area where I hunt. Creek valleys and mountains, not much flat open land here in the Eastern Alleghany Mountains. There are some places where you could shoot quite a ways in the woods, but mostly deer aren't there anyway. Back here there aren't many other hunters in bow season, here in the central part of the state, so we can move readily if needed. Season starts here Saturday the 4th. Good luck to you folks and be careful with all of your shots.

Out here in Az, when hunting mule deer in the high desert, you will find them often on high plateau where they feel safe as they observe all that is below them. One might have to walk a few miles out of the way, most often to the other side of the mountain, as to not be seen by them and to get the wind in your favor, once you are ready to crest the mountain top, which is flat with not much in the way of vegetation, a few large rocks perhaps and some cacti, a bunch of eyeballs and about half as many noses. 20 yard shots aren't likely, more like 30, 40, or 50. so I think it has a heck of a lot to do with the area you are hunting in. A man needs to know what he is capable of with a bow in his hand, don't take the shots you aren't sure you can make, even then things can happen.

my range is limited by the amount of time I have to practice ,, but I love being in the woods with my bow,,, so Iook forward to hunting whatever the effective range I may have,,I have hunted long enough to know a good close shot will present itself if I am patient,,

I always get amused at reading the titles that threads end up with. I want to answer the older I get the more it effects! :o) Used to be able to get down on knees.....can't do that anymore....used to be able to run a few miles.....now down to 1.....and the list goes on. Regards.

It's generally pretty thick in New England so 15 to 20 yds is likely to be it . Our deer are creatures of the edge for sure so finding a meeting of thickets and hardwoods does the trick . I've never felt that that range limited me . Good scouting is key .

Not at all limiting...I accepted years ago that past a certain distance I have trouble picking a spot. No point in shooting past that distance.

Let's just say right now my corn field stand is my best. 20 yards to corn they stay on the edge and it makes a funnel. When the corn comes out tons of deer hit the field but 25 to 50 yards so my son takes over that stand with his compound. He has taken some big deer out of that stand in the rut. If you like trad you have to put a reasonable limit to your shots if you are ethical about your shots

20 yards generally would be considered a long shot here; rather thick where the deer are to be found

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