Main Discussion Area > Shooting and Hunting
Accuracy for most humane shots with a self bow
PAHunter:
I would challenge yourself to become more accurate. Generally people are much worse shots when actually shooting at animals than when target shooting. I try to take 25% off my comfortable indoor shooting distance to determine my effective hunting distance. So if hunting whitetail you will likely want to be able to shoot 15 yards accurately. This would mean shooting 20 yards well at a target. Shoot some 300 rounds and keep score. That which is measured is improved. But then shoot a bunch of 3d or stumps at different distances to get used to the change in your trajectory (gap). If you can do what your doing now at 20 yards instead of 10, then you will be accurate enough to hunt with that 15y range.
Of course there is much more to successful hunting than accuracy. Shot placement is critical. Or more importantly waiting for the right shot and being willing to not shoot if you don't have it. IMO we owe our prey that respect.
Last thought: of course compound bows are much more accurate than self bows. However don't buy the message that self bows are poking and hopin. One can become very accurate with a decent self bow at reasonable yardages.
So get shootin and be thoughtful about your practice. You'll be doing that group at 60 feet in no time!
bubbles:
The worse you shoot, the closer you need to get. Thats what im trying out. Compensate for my bad shooting with hunting / woodsmanship skills. Hasnt worked yet :) i guess both skill sets need work.
jayman448:
really its wherever you are comfortable from. one theory an archer/ hunter i know is: he shoots between50 and 100 yards (believe it or not) and gets pretty good at that distance. he figures pretty good at 100 yards means excellence at 20-50 yards when he hunts. mostly i figure if you doubt yourself at a distance, keep stalking.
Eric Krewson:
To be your best, shoot one arrow, pull it, back up and shoot again from a slightly different distance or angle. Multiple shots confuse your brain and compound your errors. Lets' say you really flub a shot and shoot again immediately, your brain is subconsciously confused as will be your ability to put another arrow exactly where you want it to go.
So shoot a shot, concentrate on your form and follow thorough while picking a very tiny spot to aim at. Form is everything, if you have perfect form and you can't miss.
Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive:
as many have said before, Practice shooting further, but practice getting closer. I shoot nearly all my deer between 7 and 12 yards. As far as accuracy, too many people train to simple hit a deer not efficiently kill it. I like to keep my shots inside a 4 inch circle. At whatever distance I can consistently keep 10 of 10 arrows in a 4 inch circle, that is my effective hunting range. Even with all that in mind, you still have the variable of the animal moving which is something you cannot always predict. Often times a standing deer will jump the string just a tad at the last second. I actually prefer to shoot deer walking at about 8 yards... If you bow is fast and quiet, they will never jump the string especially if walking. People always shoot different on targets than on live animals. It's amazing how perfect you can shoot on a target in a controlled situation, and how easy it is to make a less than perfect shot on a deer at the same distance. I shoot pretty decent, but I'll take being a good hunter over being a good shot any day. Some folks brag about shooting a deer at 30 yards from a tree stand, I brag about getting 8 yards from a deer on the ground and killing it with a slam dunk shot. Keep your targets close and you game even closer!
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