How good is good?

[WylieKy]

I am fairly new to bow hunting and have had no mentor or anyone (other than my wife, who is brand new) to compare with.  Everything I have learned has been through a book.  I am from Ohio and have hunted since it was legal, and a little before , but we used............crossbows.  Back to my question.  What is a good goal to strive for.  Something between "sucessfully gets the arrow off of the string" and "multiple shaft shots at 50 yards, each and every session."  At this point, I have 2-4 inch groups at 30 yards(with field points) which is a far as I can practice.  My broad heads are pretty close to that.  I am confident that given the opportunity I can down a deer out to 30 yards, but I want something more concrete to strive for. 

FYI...I have a Bowtech Tomkat. 29" draw, 70lb pull.  I don't know my speed, but I shoot 1 pin from 10-30 yards.

Thanks,
WylieKy

[dukkillr]

I'd say you're doing quite well.  Most whitetails are shot under 30 yards because string jump becomes a much larger issue the farther out you go.  I know several very good bow hunters who limit themselves to shots under 20.  I don't have a concrete rule about how accurate you need to be but I would suggest that 99% of your arrows need to be in or right around the bullseye at 30 yards and under.  At 20 yards every arrow should be in the center.  The biggest tip I can give you is to practice at different angles ESPECIALLY from above in a stand.  The shots are only slightly different but they are different, and you don't want to wound and lose deer.

I'm interested in how your xbow - verticle bow transition goes.  Check back in here and give us your thoughs on the challenges or lack of challenges you encounter.

[mg66]

Good going at 30 yards. It is completely different when a deer is standing at 30 yards. I can hit under 2s all day at 30 yards but When a deer is in front of me, I have to talk myself through every shot. things like I dont overdraw, underdraw, breathing, nice clean release etc. I think the biggest single factor is guesstimating ranges. It all looks completely different 25'+ up a tree and up and down slopes etc. All critical with a bow as you probably know from xbow hunting. I always use a range finder so I know excactly where my 10, 20. 30 and 40 yard rings are around my treestand.

[dk17hmr]

For me I like to be able to have bullseyes all the way out to 40 yards and be able to hit a paper plate at 70 yards.  I try to limit myself to 30 yards on a game animal, althought I stuck a buck in the ribs at 43 yards last year.  I shot alot last year and alot of 3-D target shooting.  We have a few clubs around here that have an open 3-D shoot every Sunday for 2 months before season opener.  My buddies and I hit those up every chance we get.  You really should try on if you can it helps alot with guess ranges and target hold.

The paper plate group at 70 yards is because one of the shoots we go on has an elk at 73 yards and you pay a dollar to fling 3 arrows if you hit the X ring/heart they give you $3 per arrow you hit.  When we do get the heart shot we just donate it to the club but it is always fun.
DK

[NimrodRx]

Something to strive for?  Strive for getting within 20 yrds of a WT without him/her knowing you're even in the county. 

FORGET about the long shots.  Prepare for the majority of your shots on game.  Put away your field tips, buy a broadhead target, and make that arrow/broadhead a magic wand of death out to 20 yards and you'll be serving yourself well.  No reason to shoot field points at this time of the year.  Are you going to hunt with them?  Get a BH that you can sharpen, and shoot them from all your arrows.  You will find a few (maybe 2/dozen) that just don't match well and won't fly true.  Put those aside for stump shooting next spring.  Once you have half a dozen that shoot true with your BHs, sharpen them, put them aside for hunting,  and shoot three other arrows/BHs throughout the season for practice. 

A hunting situation is night and day from flinging field points at a target in the back yard.  Putting 5 field points into a 2" group at 40 yrds in the back yard will do nothing but give you a false sense of security/confidence.  WT don't stand still long.  Keep your shots short and deadly. 

[WylieKy]

I thank everyone for their input. 

Right now I am shooting g5 Montec Preseason heads.  I had to switch to different aiming points for each shot on my targets because I was tearing up arrows at 20 yards.  The broadheads disappointed me at first because they opened up my group pretty bad, but one of my buddies told me I had to align the blades with my vanes.  I reveined my practice and hunting arrows to align individual heads and veins (the proshop epoxyed my inserts and none lined up to my satisfaction.)   Since then I actually hit my other arrows on a regular basis. (I can tell by the sound) and cut a couple of veins.

I am going to limit all of my shots to less than 30 yards, as that is the max distance I can practice. 

Now for the bad news.  Opening day is Friday, I have spent 45min-60min a day, every day practicing through 90-100 degree heat.  Now it looks like Ernesto is going to be overhead Friday morning.

WylieKy   

[bscman]

If you're shooting 2-4" groups at 30 yards, you're doing better than the majority of shooters in out club...the sad thing is, most of them are also avid hunters!
In fact, I was shooting last night when a father and son showed up with a pair of SwitchBack XT's they've had all summer...they watched my shoot for a few minutes, then we started talking. They live less than a quarter mile from the clubhouse (indoor/outdoor shooting lanes ranging from 15 feet to 60 yards, and a hiking course with 20 targets [decoys and paper] at various distances, shooting through, over, under trees, brush, and creek bottoms). Either of the two were lucky to hit the paper-plate size target with one of five arrows at 30 yards...they were talking about how excited they were for friday (season opener).

I'm a handgunner for fun, and an archer for hunting--I enjoy the challenges involved with both. I usually spend the winter/spring shooting handguns at a local indoor range. I use the summer to brush up on my archery skills. Using fields points, I won't stop practicing until I am constantly damanging arrows/knocks at 30 yards...I practice out to 50 using paper plate size targets. Once i'm confident here, I'll add broadheads to the mix...fine tune, and get ready for opening day.

FWIW, I think you should practice to at least 40 yards...I'm not encouraging longer shots, but there will come a time when you have a REAL monster hanging up at 40-50 yards and at this point you'll be glad you prepared.
Also, I too suggest you practice from different angles and at targets of "unknown" distances. Being able to judge distances accurately is critical with archery.

[WylieKy]

Just to update everyone, I took my first deer with a bow (excluding x-bow) Friday, Sept 1 around 7pm.  He was a cowhorn (spikes about 11 in).  It was the longest I have ever watched a deer.  He came in at the bottom of a clear cut and took about an hour and a half to make the 120 yards to a shooting lane with a broad side shot.  He went in and out of brush, browsing the entire way and would have been dead 100 times over if I had my 25-06.  He would take a few steps, chew a while, then take a few more steps.  Nervewracking in the extreme, and entirely enjoyable.  I took him with a high double lung shot (I overestimated the angle of the shot, I was thinking the exit would be lower).  He went about 60 yards.  I can't wait to get him on my grill.  It was one of the best hunts of my life.

WylieKy

[mg66]

Congrats. Post a pic man !

The longest i ever watched and waited for a deer to come into bow range was about 90 minutes. She was grazing between 50 to 70 yards out. I finally pegged her after letting her come right in at 12 yards.

[NimrodRx]

Congrats!  Way to stay cool.

How far away was he?

[dakotashooter2]

Something to strive for?  Strive for getting within 20 yrds of a WT without him/her knowing you're even in the county.

Ahhhhhhh!!! A man of my own heart. After 25 years of bowhunting it has become "how you play the game" not "if you win or lose"

Last year I was within 10 yards (on the ground and no blind) of at least a dozen bucks and too many does to count. Most never new I was there. Never did arrow a buck but consider it my best season ever.

[WylieKy]

Congrats. Post a pic man !

Only intenet access I have is at work and I can't post pic.   He was a neat deer though, my first bow kill, my first SC buck, and my first velvet buck.

How far away was he?

22-26 yards, That was the sight window I cut in the tree in front of me.  I'd say specifically, about 24.

[quote author=dakotashooter2 link=topic=96491.msg1098253689#msg1098253689 date=115818477
Last year I was within 10 yards (on the ground and no blind) of at least a dozen bucks and too many does to count. Most never new I was there. Never did arrow a buck but consider it my best season ever.

The Monday after I took this buck (09-04)  was very steamy.  Not overly hot, but very humid and foggy.  I took my time getting to my stand because if I had become overheated, I would have had to hunt without my glasses due to steaming them up. (I can see well enough to shoot wihtout glasses, but lose some detail I enjoy.  I aim for the middle of the reddish-brown blobs-just kidding-)
As I approached the stand I could actually smell deer.  I stopped and listened, and could occastionally hear them moving around.  I sat down and waited for enough sunlight to make out my pin before attempting to get closer, but they moved on.  I was 20-30 yards from them and even though I never saw the deer much less got a shot off, I considered it a great hunt!!  Got the heart rate up for sure....

WylieKy