I was curious, at what distance are you dead on , with your bow,,,, I do not mean pie plate accurate,,, I mean postage stamp accurate......

When I could shoot heavy recuves, I was good out to 25 yards.....

Now I shoot a long bow, am over 65, shoot 43lbs, and the eyes are not the same....

My dead on accuracy is 15 yards or less......

It does create quite a challenge on deer, I admit,,,,, have to let a lot of deer walk

No one answer for me, but if you’re serious about postage stamps. I’m Out.

Right now, I live on 1/8 acre and I can’t shoot much beyond 50 feet without going to the local club, which has an Open Shoot once a month and I usually end up with a conflict. Last Sunday of the month and October got rained out.

So right now, I’m at 50 feet and in with accuracy inside the 10-ring on a 3D whitetail usually 5 out of 6 or 7 out of 9.

On a deer, I might trust myself into the low 20s, yardage-wise.... depending on a whole bunch of things that have nothing to do with distance.

off the bench at 20yrds with .22 w/scope. cant do it with bow of any kind. ymmv

About 20 is my dead on mark

right now about 10 or 12,,, but working on getting to 20 I can hit a bottle cap at 15,,,pretty good,,, so I think shooting at deer 15 is about as far as I want to shoot,,,

10 yards

How big is a postage stamp? Maybe 1/2" by 1/2" if that big? That's mighty small.

I'm confident for deer hunting out to about 20 yards. Further than that I let`em walk. I've probably passed on approaching 75 deer this season so far (many probably the same deer on different days). Seriously. Many times it was does with fawns, small yearling bucks, many within 5-6 yards. Some I just didn't want to kill for varying reasons. I'm picky about what I shoot on my property. Within the last 3 days I have passed on 2 decent bucks, one a really nice buck, because they were just out of my comfort range. One buck because he just never turned to offer me an angle that would result in a quick, clean kill, the other, a really nice buck, because he stayed out about 30 yards and didn't come any closer. Patience is a virtue, as well as knowing your limits. If I eat tag soup this season, that's OK, because I know I stuck to my limits.

I have done his for years, to help with form, in my basement, hanging a ping pong ball on a string, and shooting close to get good form, and train the mind to pick a spot,,,, or any small spots on the target.....

I ask this because, on the property around my house, in the last 3 weeks, all night deer searches, with none found on deer hit, with the bows,,, 2 were recurves and one was a compound,,,,,

I think accuracy is the number priority, and I do not believe it is in many cases,,,, too many satisfied with mediocore shooting

33yards.

Well, I shot in a league for 10 years with at least 2 of the best shots in MN (state record holders). Part of our evening was a shot at a pop bottle cap facing us at 10 yards.

While many of us drilled it on occasion, NO ONE ever hit it constantly. Claiming you could do a postage stamp it at 25 yards, I'd sure have to see it.

I can't consistently hit a postage stamp size spot even with my .22s off hand. But five to ten yards is my kind of stickbow range.

Postage stamp accuracy at a target, sometimes, has very little to do with what happens with hunting shots. Last year I missed a sitting pheasant at five yards, but hit the same pheasant on the run at 35 yards. Another day I missed one walking and pecking at 20 yards, a half hour later I shot another about the same distance. Since I am not a machine, The only guarantee is that there is no guaranteed shot. Heck, the other day I shot at a jumped a slow climbing pheasant, the arrow tried to cross paths at about 35 yards and I shot way out in front and missed by 18". Last year I was involved with three deer searches. One they said was a little low and back on a one antlered buck, I found a bit of broken rib in a spot of blood, The next week I saw it, still alive. Another, "The pin was dead on. but the arrow hit high and back". Almost no penetration according to the shooter, never found anything. The third was a perfect shooting situation, supposedly. Low tree stand shooting almost level to the up slope deer, with a 45 pound recurve, 1916 arrow Bear head. He did not see his arrow in the deer. No immediate blood trail or arrow was found. About 50 yards from the hit some blood was found, the blood trail got better and better, about 200 yards the deer. The arrow entered about mid body and exited out of the left rump. The arrow was found the next day at the hit buried in the leaves. The first two were league spot shooters, the third was a guy who does not touch his bow until a few weeks before deer season and has a shorter draw than he thinks.

35 max try not to go over that unless on a hunt and have to or be sicker I didn't attempt to take that long shot.

Arrow don't fly the animal don't die I tell myself. I arrowed an antelope 63 yards stepped off. By the time arrow got there he was going under fence an 18 inch goat and real bomber. Hit him in back hind was sick and blood everywhere on his side and where he laid down. He laid down right away and I crawled out of blind to where I could try another shot on him and he spied me and stood up and I shot and it went right over his back. I must have looked up. The guide saw all this happening and came down to me and saw all the puddles of blood and said you got this goat he don't have that much blood. Oh yeah we will see in the morning won't we. We aren't pushing him. I want to! No we aren't doing it we will get him don't worry you got him.

Guide said no reason to push him let him lay down come back in morning this animal don't have this much blood in him.

I learned well to know and learn more than any guide. I chased that goat better half of following day and shot at him several more times on the run I could not get within 50 yards of him and get an arrow in a gimping animal. That animal was really bleeding hard but somehow healed himself up and had we pushed him we might have been able to bleed him out keeping him to still bleed openly.

Following week was gun season and the guide called me we got that animal Glenn was 18 inch to the T and scored 90 BC. Monster I knew how big he was. The animal pushed through fence running doe the long distance didn't come to the 20 yard fence crossing I was in a blind at.

Oh well that's what keeps us going back but I don't like the agony of defeat at all.

Close shots usually end better than the longer shots as a whole.

You completely miss the point,,,, by postage stamp accuracy, and maybe I did not state it well, by picking a small spot, you build your accuracy, to get that shot in, the right spot,,,,,

I certainly when I could shoot heavier bows not hit the postage stamp at 25 yards, but I tried hard enough resulting in good shots being made.....

I think trying to be the most accurate that you can be, is not what I see, out on the courses anymore, and mediocore shooting carrys over into hunting season,,,,,

I don't practice much, if I only spend about a week before a hunt practicing about 12 or 13 yards. A couple extra weeks I might move that out to twenty yards.

Thanks for clarifying ground hunter, now I understand what point you were making.

I don't shoot at postage stamps, but I do shoot at the lids off 1 gallon milk jugs hung randomly on my backstop all the time. I hit 3 out of 4 lots of times from 10 yards.

Stamps are pretty safe in my neck of the woods. A saucer any where to 20 yards is in grave danger. Hunting situations have a lot more variables. I have killed one at 25 most have been 15 or less. Not knowing the exact range,animal movement,and shooting from different positions make a huge difference between range and field.>>-->Ken

depends on type of shot, 15-19 yards. to that guy up above somewhere that posted 33 yards-you are full of poo! I only know of 3 people that could do that consistent and two of them are dead.

Make that postage stamp about 6 inches square, and if I've been shooting a lot I'm gonna put some holes in it at 30 yards. Now an actual postage stamp? I can hit it pretty consistently with my scoped 22 at 20 yards.

got it. aim small miss small. back in the sixties when shooting 220 swift ect. the bigger the target the bigger the group. takes a lot more to control a bow shot....ron

Hunting shots all can't be measured by any postage stamp at all they are all different when shooting at live animals or birds..

Ryman....they aren't different. That's why at least one really good. world renowned archer says the center of baby aspirin is the same size as the center of a dinner plate (or something to that affect).

Just gluetrap inferred.

30yds. I can hit a tennis ball at.

When deer get hearts that are postage stamp size then I will practice to do that....Ha!Ha!

15 yards 2" circle

now with a pellet rifle at 32 feet I can put five in the same hole. A cartridge rifle is not that accurate.

I think trying to be the most accurate that you can be, is not what I see, out on the courses anymore, and mediocore shooting carrys over into hunting season,,,,,

OK, stamps are a wee bit small, but it has been said that to shoot deer, you should pick a hair to hit(heard that here on Leatherwall). To over emphasize the responsibility for a clean kill, is a good thing. If a hunter is lax about shooting targets, it is easy to guess that the same attention to detail will carry over into the hunt situation. However to generalize about everyone because of the ones you see isn't fair to everyone. Rather, encourage those you see to improve.

I shoot twice a week with a bunch of retirees. Some are hunters and others not. One hunter in the group, and myself, do not engage in the overly distant shots, because we have a discipline to maintain. That is, estimate and execute the shots you would take on a live animal. Also, I'm about the only one that takes only one shot from a given spot. I think one arrow from any location is a practice to strengthen my resolve, to make the first shot the best. I prepared for IBO competition last summer and the one arrow per location really helped me.

At 69, I'm well aware of what you mean about failing vision, but, man up and do the best you can every time you can. Old only degrades wimps and whiners, not implying, just saying.

I set my bows up for Point On at 30 yards. I can hit the target with three arrows in a very tight group. Past that and my consistency degrades.

10 -15 yds. Dead on at 10 and as move out to 15 -18 my groups get bigger and not as good. This is in my back yd lot of 20 yds with a longbow. Were I to hunt a deer it would have to be at a "gimme" shot distance of 5-10. Yd .

I never think about yardage when I'm hunting. I do enough practice in the woods to allow the brain and body do the calculating, referencing all that stump shooting I do. I know when I see a deer if I can hit it well or not. Visual reference just kind of flows and defers to learned shot sequences acquired during practice. Some here call that instinctive. If you're thinking about yardages when a deer comes in, then you need to know them better I guess.

Postage stamp? One hundred yards, give or take 99.

thanks for clarifying ground hunter, around 14 paces for Me, 20 yards, I can't hold it consistently tight.

I never, ever, ever shoot past 18 yards...even if would be a record book animal.Cripples are unacceptable !!! That is my max confidence distance, Bake the cake under 18 yards and I'll put on the icing !!! Past 18 yards...I'll pass !!!

About 25 for hunting groups 20 for Target groups, but if i could keep them in a postage stamp i would go pro

I usually hit within 3" of where i'm looking up to about 20 yds I shoot fast I can hit bottle caps at very short distances it's a focus thing for me I lose focus on my spot at longer distances I envy anyone that can shoot accurately at 30 yds

George that is good advice, I am the same way,,,, stump shooting is what keeps everyone sharp.......I live in the woods and sometimes, go around and put jar lids on stumps etc, just to stay focused....... I do a lot of goofy things my wife said...

So you who make adamant statements about only a certain distance like 18 yards...how do you know it's not 19 or 20? Are you using a rangefinder? If you can guesstimate ranges that accurately you have a skill that no 3D tournament archer has. If you are using rangefinders is that traditional?

Anyone hitting postage size groups at 15y should be able to shoot perfect 300 rounds, as nobody is shooting those scores we can assume that accuracy isn't happening.

Occasionally I can do a walkback 10 to 35y where I could pull the arrows out with one hand but I'm shooting high tech ILF and Stringwalking and that's only on good days.

The difficulty in “picking a spot” at longer range (say somewhere into the 20s and up, depending on the shooter) is why “instinctive” is unnecesssrily limiting.

If an archer can honestly control their bow and their shot, most people will be surprised how well they shoot at their point-on distance. It’s the insistence on “not Aiming” that causes groups to fall apart past about 50 feet.

Not saying that we should all get out and take shots on game at POD; just noting that nobody buys a new rifle and grinds off the sights before they head to the range.

Tennis balls are 2.7 inches in diameter. The 5 ring on a spots target is 3.15 inches. So if you can hit a tennis ball at 30 yards, you are doing better than guys on a 20 yd indoor target by a large margin. Speaking of indoor spots, at Lancaster the shooters averaged about 6 inch groups barebow. They shot high scores but goofed the odd shot with regularity. So we ought to be modest about barebow accuracy.

When everything comes together just right, I can hit or touch a 1" ball at 30 yards. But that doesn't happen very often. It's a thrill but I'd rather get a whole group of arrows in 3" than 1 of 10 in 1". Or would I? At least I know I don't want them spread all over the bales!

One of my training routines is to do "walkback" normally start at 10y and move back 5y after every shot, when I get into a nice grove I can shoot good groups out to 35y then they open up a little. On a 40cm Field face I can keep them in the score zone out to 60y and on my good days out to 70y. You get into a flow and it is pretty easy to maintain good groups with this routine. it is good way to extend your distances as you see the progress, it improves focus and confidence, plus it is FUN, specially if you challenge a buddy and see who folds under pressure first and throws a shot.

So I think a more real test is to shoot say a tennis ball size target, starting at 5y walking back 5y after every shot and see at what point your groups start open up at.

There was a two time NFAA Ladies Instinctive (without sights division) Champion, Betty Grubbs, who shot into the hole of a 45rpm record for demonstration at the local TV Station. She shot a Black Widow with a black painted riser, which was a common riser color then.

I shoot 40#. I won't shoot at a deer past 15 - 18 yards. At the speed of my bow, i think a deer could react too much, on the shot, and could create a bad hit. I would rather take my shots at 15 yds, or less. Less reaction time for the deer.

A postage stamp? That's outta my league. :^)

I don't know about postage stamps but I have a 15 yard shot in my basement and I used to shot at playing cards. I got pretty good, now I have a bag with five inch circles with two inch circles inside and can hit within the five inches most shots with my self bow. Good enough for this old timer.lol

i try to focus on the tiniest center that i can imagine. My tightest six arrow groups at 18 to 20 yards are about tennis balls size. the problem is that I cannot keep that up. The mind cannot be forced to that level of concentration, when i try too hard, i get worse and have one or two that would spread that out to a grapefruit. I do best with what i like to call casual accuracy. The focus is pinpoint but nothing is forced. How did Fre Bear put it concerning non-sight shooters shooting target competitions? Something like, one cannot keep it up, eventually you blow up. When a group is tight I go pull my arrows and tend to forget it, but when I start spraying arrows, I never forget that.

"i try to focus on the tiniest center that i can imagine. "

You mean like this?

LOL.... Don't get a lot of these, but they sure feel good...

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