I have had 3 separate shots at deer this year less than 20 yards but all 3 were moving at a fast walk.

I let all 3 pass as I don't really make it a practice to attempt such shots. Makes me nervous to attempt it on a nice deer.

Any of you have a moving target practice routine you use on a regular basis?

I would think the follow through would be pretty critical for such attempts.

My first buck was trotting when I shot it through the lungs, but we used to shoot rolling tires for practice. If I do take a shot at a moving deer, it has to be close and not 'running. I wouldn't hesitate though since they rarely jump the string. You're right about followthrough...like following a pheasant, grouse, rabbit, etc. If they are really close, the lead isn't much of a thing at all. I'm talking walk or a fast walk, not a run.

Yes just like wingshooting follow thru and lead are everything

unless it was a very slow walk I wouldnt try it myself, but thats me I miss deer that are standing still sometimes twice if they are tolerant:)

I use a rhineheart RFT and tie it to a rope between 2 trees and let it swing, or have my kid chuck it to the best of his abilities.

I much prefer them walking. They are at least committed to planting a foot before jumping and it sure helps cover the noise. If they are walking in dry Oak leaves it is golden. A standing deer can jump all directions at once. 8^) >>>-----> Ken

I haven’t done it in a while but some friends and I used to take a tire and blow up a balloon and stick it to a piece of cardboard that was stuck in the middle of the tire. Then take turns rolling the tire for one another down a slope in the yard. It was always fun trying to pop that balloon.

As kids, we used to blow up balloons and let the breeze move them about in a side hill pasture. It was a blast, but we were warned to NOT leave any arrows about. Fortunately, they were cheap woodies so any we may have lost would just rot away.

I put two I-bolts 20 yards apart. Then run line through both bolts and tie them to a two liter bottle. My son and I take turns pulling the string making the bottle move. Started this years ago with buddies for practicing our shots on running bunnies. It will teach you to swing and follow through, same with aerial targets. Have Fun!

I put two I-bolts 20 yards apart. Then run line through both bolts and tie them to a two liter bottle. My son and I take turns pulling the string making the bottle move. Started this years ago with buddies for practicing our shots on running bunnies. It will teach you to swing and follow through, same with aerial targets. Have Fun!

Practicing moving targets is just about the most fun anyone can have with a bow. I was told that shooting coins tossed vertically are harder to shoot than coins tossed across a pile of dirt or large large. I set up a 3/3" plywood sheet at an angle to safely practice vertical tosses. Horizontal lobs across the target are more difficult for me. The coin or plastic lid is first going uplift to right and then descending left to right when shooting right handed. The vertical toss can be timed for when the object is nearly standing still. The problem with tossed targets is you must shoot very fast when at that 12 yard or less range. i have a large combination ladder and a a crappie fishing rod. I can make that have a flatter swing by shear height. Then I load old chew can with dirt and have my stand clear off to the sideband give them a swing. I can get back further with that rigging. My favorite is shooting at those small flatter Frizbies. We need an open field for those, but they allow for shots at any distances we want. I use to use HTM heads for this stuff, but I have gone to judo points for the field shots, it is amazing how one can lose an HTM tipped arrow in even a mowed alfalfa field. I don't like flu-flus for anything. Trying to pass shoot doves may seem like good moving target practice, perhaps it is, but you will lose a lot of arrows trying.

As a kid I used to put a rock in a milk jug and have someone throw it. I’d shoot than be the thrower. You’d be surprised how quickly you can reliably hit it. Barry Wensel in Bowhunting Oct Whitetails showed putting a balloon inside a tire and rolling it. That video was greasy btw

Hope it didn’t jam up your VCR!

LOL

Practice for bunnies by kicking a tennis ball across a grassy area. Lumpy ground adds realism, as does the fact that your feet are never planted when the ball “flushes”.... and no need for an assistant.

If you have room and trees, Groundstalker Mike ran a cable at an angle between 2 trees and rigged a 3D deer on it so you can pull a pin to release it and it glides down the cable on a couple of wheels. Requires a fairly heavy target.

Otherwise, maybe the tire thing. I’d expect that near misses would be hard on fletchings if your arrows are blowing through cardboard.

Just from practicing on tennis balls, I got good enough to take a shot at a doe Mulie that came skibbling along a trail at about 15-18 yards; I waited ‘til she was pretty close, then drew as I was swinging through. Picked my spot, told myself to check the backline so I wouldn’t shoot over... and creased the backline directly over the center of the 12-ring.

Live and learn!

Sorry but I killed many animals on the run or trot really never full out runs though. I just lead a little and follow through and don't stop the bow. Just like a shotgun keep it moving on flying targets.

I never practice those types of shots either. Sure there will be frowns and OMG how unethical. You shoot the way you can and I will the way I will kill. LOL

Love the tennis ball idea GF. I will definitely be trying this as I am bound and determined to be successful on bunnies and tree rats this season.

My club has a setup with some rope and pulleys tied to a 3d deer...you can pull back the rope and keep it under one foot and when ready lift your foot...the deer starts rolling back down the line. I'm not really good at it. I need to be close and the deer needs to be walking real slow.

I find a little grunt as I am reaching full draw works well to stop them. I'd much rather try that than shoot while it's moving.

Read Barry Wensel's book Once Upon A Tine. Barry learned the rhythm for shooting moving deer from fly fishing. He was better at shooting one way because most of rivers he fished ran the same direction. He learned to match the flow speed of the river and translate that to moving game. I think if you watch some of he Wensel twins video you will some incredible shots on moving animals. I have only shot at a moving target once. It was a McKenzie boar way back in 2009 and I had just got this bow. I scored an 8. I have never shot worse than an 8 on a moving target since I never shot at one since.

DDave

Read Barry Wensel's book Once Upon A Tine. Barry learned the rhythm for shooting moving deer from fly fishing. He was better at shooting one way because most of rivers he fished ran the same direction. He learned to match the flow speed of the river and translate that to moving game. I think if you watch some of he Wensel twins video you will some incredible shots on moving animals. I have only shot at a moving target once. It was a McKenzie boar way back in 2009 and I had just got this bow. I scored an 8. I have never shot worse than an 8 on a moving target since I never shot at one since.

DDave

I just sold this Kodiak Special to Shandor. Bought it back in 2009, my very first Bear.

Lead and follow through just as you would with a rifle or shotgun. If you cannot hit moving targets with them you will never hit a moving target with a bow.

DDave

Was watching an old war-time short feature years ago on how they trained aircraft gunners. They started with trap shooting, then practiced from the back of moving pick-ups. Cant remember what else they did.

A club I belonged to used to have moving 3D targets, loved shooting them but got 'volunteered' to man the ropes and haul them buggers back up the slope all day long, for several years. ;-)

When I shot them, I always put my sight pin on the front edge of the target and swung through. (This was 25 years ago, still shot wheels then.)

When the boys were still at home I built a wooden sled with uprights and I would attach a cardboard deer cutout with clips. Tie a long rope on it and have the kids pull it in front of me through the woods. We would do this at our little PBS shoot we had pulling it with a atv with a long rope.

Used to do the swinging tire swing thingy, but these days I just wait for the deer to stop moving. Easier on both of us that way.

I no longer shoot at deer when they are moving at anything more than a walk. Years ago I shot at a buck moving at a fair trot. Poor shot and I hit him in the ham. I was absolutely sick about the shot and vowed never to take a shot like that again. As luck would have it, the broadhead sliced the femoral artery and he ran about 25 yards. Blood trail was like someone poured blood out of a milk jug. I was really lucky but I will not do that again.

JusPassin, just pull her up and let her rip! HaHa

My swing draw Hill style of shooting lends itself to moving targets I do a lot of small gaming,mostly grouse and come grouse season I practice two ways When by myself I have a Rhinehart 9” ball target hanging 5’ from a branch tied to mule tape that goes over the branch and I have it lead down to the 15yrd mark and I pull the mule tape for a side to side motion that spans 5’ on each side And when hit with an arrow does a lot of turns and spins while moving back and fourth Good grouse practice And when with other archers I have 3 different tires in 3 different sizes spanning from 14” to 8” and I tape a piece of paper over the open hole and roll them down a hill Some seasons are better then others but I probably average 10 shots to each bird taken And I have a good BBQ couple times a year

Taking moving shot on big game to me is determined by the time and place Meaning I’ve passed up many a shot on moving deer and have taken and been lucky on a few But I’ve turned down many more shots then I’ve taken,,if there’s any chance or thought of a bad hit I’d rather enjoy watching them bounce away flying the white flag I took a 6pt a couple seasons back on the move and thought long and hard on the shot,,,maybe 5,6 seconds ; ) but he was wounded bad in one leg by what I assume was a coyote and had to be taken out of the herd,in my opinion,so I took a shot I might have passed on other wise I caught him little low but in the pocket,caught both lungs and he went 100yrds He was rotten inside and out he must have had the wound along time,his eyes were both clouded white I assume the blood poisoning was getting to him very badly,he was unusable as meat but I concider him a great trophy just for the fact I ended his suffering and I made a good shot on a moving target I other wise woulda passed up

I'm a fair hand at shooting moving targets, and wing shooting, but I much prefer a "still animal" to shoot.

I'll shoot them at a slow walk, but nothing more. At a slow walk, and at my primary hunting shot distances, I don't have to lead the animal to get the arrow through a good spot in the vitals, even if their movement is abruptly changed at the moment I release the arrow.

The only way to learn to shoot moving targets, is to "shoot moving targets".

I like swinging targets, and I like them swinging a wide swath. The wider the swing, the harder it is to determine/calculate the lead.

The thing is - those moving targets you set up for yourself to practice on have a set pattern of movement, and that movement is relatively easy to calculate.

Animal movement is "never easy" to determine for sure, and much less easy to confidently calculate for a shot, because you don't know what they might be about to abruptly change in their movement.

Rick

“The thing is - those moving targets you set up for yourself to practice on have a set pattern of movement, and that movement is relatively easy to calculate.”

That’s the beauty of kicking a tennis ball across lumpy ground :D

Funny thing is how often I used to nail it when there was that last-instant, unexpected hop as I released. The unexpected will grab your full attention, and where your attention is, the arrow will go.

Seen an old friend, Johnny Grubbs, shoot swamp rabbits when they were moving. Some here will remember those circular cardboard targets with the raised centers that would show up a club events. Can't remember what they were called. Didn't make fancy flu flus then. Just wrapped my ugliest feathers around a shaft.

I used to have a disc made for throwing and got pretty good at hitting it. Shooting moving targets takes practice and timing. I've been shooting sporting clays and the clay pigeons come from all angles, as soon as you shoot the first bird the second bird flies out. Targets travel at different speeds and angels and you have to let your instincts tell you when and where to shoot.

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