Extended Range Bowhunting

Diablo54 · Jan 13, 2014

This is a lost cause.

Griz · Jan 13, 2014

Lundy said:
I think it absolutely an ethical call and unfortunately is becoming more and more a personal call with the vast majority making the wrong personal decision.

Go for it. If your wounding animals, because your just letting it fly, your past your limits.

It is this mentality that makes me friggin sick to see what bowhunting has become!

Hell yes, we can't hit em now so lets see if we can find a way to shoot even farther and wound and recover even less of those suckers, AND I'll be able to post a picture of the deer I killed at 60 yds, unfornately I can't post the pics of all of them I lost,......because....well, I lost them.

It is impossible for me to respect a hunter that shows no respect for the animal he hunts. I hear so many here and on other sites really talk down about the "orange army" and then you read this and holy crap, are you kiddin me.

My opinion, which I am sure will ruffle some of your cocky feathers, but I don't really care, just really goes against something I have been passionate about for a long time.

The quote you have replyed to has been missunderstood by you. (Go for it). Was ment to be with the first sentence. The word (but) should of been added in front of (if your wounding animals). I quess I didn't express myself well. Sentence structure and grammer are not my cup of tea.
I do understand what your saying about respecting the animals, I agree 100%. But as I said before, if you honest with your self and know your limits, its a personal call. Only the person drawing the bow can make that judgement.
Last but not least, discussing Pros and Cons about a subject is healthy. We all learn something from it.

COB-TY · Jan 13, 2014

We can "ALL" find justification for the positions we take! 54 is not wrong. Jesse is not wrong. 54is not right. Jesse is not right. It's not black or white. It just is what it is. The trick is being able to accept the other guys opinion and not be narrow minded. If you can make a 60 yard shot and you take it, be responsible to live with the results. Ethics can not be taught. YOUR ethics are who you are!

hickslawns · Jan 13, 2014

Diablo54 said:
You know what I have to say. But I'll say it again. There are to many variables at that range. IMO anything past 40 with a compound is just to far. It can be done of course but your taking a big risk. Spend less time playing with your pins and shooting your bow at 70 yards and more time learning how to hunt. A good bow hunter can set him or herself up for "bow hunting" shots. Not slug gun shots. If you can't get the deer into 40 yards or closer you need to improve your setups.

You need to drive to NW Ohio sometime Taylor. I have some setups which are observation stands or gun only stands because. . . .well, you can't set up a tree stand where there are no trees. Can't set a blind up in the middle of a field as the farmer is not going to like it one bit.

I have a lot of respect for you and your traditional hunting methods. They are inspirational. Seriously. I am not blowing smoke up your butt. However, I think the point most on here have made has been knowing the effective range of the shooter AND the equipment. I have drawn the line for myself at 40yds. Killed one at 36yds. All the rest have been 28 and under. I honestly feel the most difficult shots from the tree stands are sub 5yds. I would rather shoot at 15-25yds than 5-10yds any day.

I seriously think it is up to the hunter to make this decision but sadly, many hunters do not know their limits. Some of the guys I have watched hunt around me? There are people who should honestly never take a shot at a live animal. Then again, I have no doubt there are guys out there who can regularly make 60-80yd shots with their compound bows. All I know is my own personal limits though.

matthewusmc8791 · Jan 13, 2014

ohio mossy oak said:
The actual time of flight for a modern crossbow at 60yrds is about the same time of flight as a 170fps recurve at 20yrd..So if the first is unethical then the 2nd should be as wellm based on the animal doing alot in a 1/2 second..Right?

Good point, but who is using a crossbow to take hunting shots at deer at 60+ yards regardless of well they have splitting shafts at targets.... Maybe these fast and superfast bows at 400+ fps, but most guys on here don't have them... Question, if someone wants to shoot a deer at 100 yds+, why not use a muzzleloader, shotgun, rifle, pistol, etc???

matthewusmc8791 · Jan 13, 2014

COB-TY said:
We can "ALL" find justification for the positions we take! 54 is not wrong. Jesse is not wrong. 54is not right. Jesse is not right. It's not black or white. It just is what it is. The trick is being able to accept the other guys opinion and not be narrow minded. If you can make a 60 yard shot and you take it, be responsible to live with the results. Ethics can not be taught. YOUR ethics are who you are!

Holey shit... That was so well said... Kind like - Never shoot a larger caliber man with a small caliber bullet!!!

Huckleberry Finn · Jan 13, 2014

COB-TY said:
Ethics can not be taught. YOUR ethics are who you are!

For a cranky ole bastard, that's some good stuff!

bowhunter1023 · Jan 14, 2014

COB-TY said:
We can "ALL" find justification for the positions we take! 54 is not wrong. Jesse is not wrong. 54is not right. Jesse is not right. It's not black or white. It just is what it is. The trick is being able to accept the other guys opinion and not be narrow minded. If you can make a 60 yard shot and you take it, be responsible to live with the results. Ethics can not be taught. YOUR ethics are who you are!

Well hot damn Ted. That's the end of the discussion IMO! Well said sir! :smiley_clap:

COB-TY · Jan 14, 2014

Thanks guys, I think. After 44 years at this passion my views have changed over the years. Early on "my way" was the only way! I've met some really nice folks alone this trail called life and bow hunting. If I have learned one thing it NEVER say never! Keep the wind in our faces and our quivers full!

finelyshedded · Jan 14, 2014

Well said Ted!

"J" · Jan 14, 2014

Ted, the dahlia lama of too!!!!! Well put sir!!!!

Jamie · Jan 14, 2014

Well Ted, Mom always liked you best. now I see why. sort of. rotflmao

Thunderflight · Jan 14, 2014

bowhunter1023 said:
Who set the ethics in regards to proper shot distances? Can you show me where that's been written in stone? More things can go wrong at 27 yards than at 21, so should we stop at 24 then and just split the risk down the middle?

In my experience, traditional bowhunters wound deer at a higher rate than compound hunters. Not a fact, just how it relates to me through my experiences. They have shorter effective ranges and by your logic, should always be more effective than a compound past this "unwritten" ethical distance. However shit happens regardless of the weapon and/or distance. If I had to pick what caused more wounded deer based on my experience, sticks shooting sticks or compound shots past whatever this ethical distance has been defined as, traditional hunters would be in trouble.

You're a regular Howard Hill, so I know you're skewing the results. But I bet even you know more people who've wounded deer with a stick bow at CLOSE range than people who've wounded deer past whatever distance you deem acceptable. I don't see us long range unethical hunters calling for a ban on sticks.

I hate to say it, but Jesse is right on this one. 75% of the stick bowers out there shouldn't be allowed to be within 50 feet of one.

Diablo54 said:
That's pure BS. You have flopped the whole argument over to stick bows and compounds. That isn't what this is about. The effective range has nothing to do with wounding deer. It is going to happen to the best of us but we should do what we can to prevent it. Shooting at long range is not going to prevent it. Don't tell me my equipment causes me to wound deer any more than yoursI know what I can do inside of 20 yards. And you know what you can do. Me shooting at 40 yards is wrong wouldn't you agree? Just like you shooting at 50+ is wrong.

See the above.

Diablo54 said:
If your willing to take the chance then so be it. It will bite you in the ass sooner or later. Wee all need to learn self discipline and hold back on semi decent shots.

You take a chance every time you release an arrow. Trad, techy, or string gun it's all the same.

Big_Holla · Jan 15, 2014

Thunderflight said:
You take a chance every time you release an arrow. Trad, techy, or string gun it's all the same.

So very true.....somehow that often gets forgotten.....things can and do happen!

Lundy · Jan 15, 2014

Big_Holla said:
So very true.....somehow that often gets forgotten.....things can and do happen!

And no one can deny that regardless of the equipment, gun or bow, any bow, or the shooters expertise level, that the odds increase for a bad result as distance increases.

Just no way around that fact.

Big_Holla · Jan 15, 2014

Very true Lundy!! Hopefully the fact this thread went around the mountain and back it will make a few think about their own ethics and morality when it comes to shot choices in general as well as come to a reality of how good a shot a person actually IS at longer distances.

finelyshedded · Jan 16, 2014

Big_Holla said:
Very true Lundy!! Hopefully the fact this thread went around the mountain and back it will make a few think about their own ethics and morality when it comes to shot choices in general as well as come to a reality of how good a shot a person actually IS at longer distances.

I agree!

Thunderflight · Jan 16, 2014

I've actually had a deer do a complete 180 before my arrow got there. The shot was only 25 yards too.

If I was using a compound bow I'd have no problem shooting 50 yards at an elk or caribou. If the conditions were right I'd do it at mule deer too. The reason being is mulies aren't as cagey as whitetails.

Big_Holla · Jan 16, 2014

Thunderflight said:
I've actually had a deer do a complete 180 before my arrow got there. The shot was only 25 yards too.

I still remember the story of my dad's first deer from many years ago which basically did the same thing. He was using a recurve and had this forkhorn coming, as soon as he stepped out from behind a clump of brush he let go and that deer whirled and he hit it in the hip on the opposite side he was aiming. Bled like a stuck pig and he found it right away. If I recall the distance was well under 20 yards too.

ohio mossy oak · Mar 29, 2014

matthewusmc8791 said:
Good point, but who is using a crossbow to take hunting shots at deer at 60+ yards regardless of well they have splitting shafts at targets.... Maybe these fast and superfast bows at 400+ fps, but most guys on here don't have them... Question, if someone wants to shoot a deer at 100 yds+, why not use a muzzleloader, shotgun, rifle, pistol, etc???

Because I cant use those weapons during archery season in Ohiomischeif.gif ..And nobody said 100+ yards with a arrow

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