What is your MER while bowhunting?

[Lunatic]

With vertical, which I hardly use anymore it was under 40, most kills under 20.  With crossbow I set up for 30 to 40 yard shots but since I don’t bait I can not predict how close or far the shot may present itself so I practice and feel very comfortable to 60 yards. I don’t take shots over 40 yards unless everything is perfect, including animal’s demeanor. 

[Hawkeye57]

Use single pin sight which, in my opinion, made me a much better shooter. 
 

have shot out to 80. Practice to 60. Hunt no more than 30. 

[Deadeye]

As others have said I've learned that range ability does not matter if you don't pick out clear shooting lanes in advance and wait for the right shots. Twice I have been burned by the unseen thin twig or branch, although one case the deer came back for the second shot on the mark. Both cases were first climb at that tree with a climber early in the am. 

[hunterbob1]

20 yard's was my Max with the recurve,30 with the compound. Can't do it anymore physically. A relaxed deer broadside @60 yards with my xbow is a horse of a different color.

[Woodsman416]

My average shot distance is 20 to 25 yards. My preferred range is 25 to 30 yards. My longest kill shot on a whitetail was 57 yards. My longest kill shot on anything else was 64 yards. 

 

 

The sight on the bow I'm currently shooting is a custom Montana Black Gold Ascent. It's a five pin slider with alternating yellow and green pins. The first three pins are .019 the last two are .010.  I've never used the slider feature on it so I don't think I'd ever order that set up again.

Edited August 18, 2020 by Woodsman416

[Monster Marine]

Where do I start on this one growing up watching Robin Hood, it made me wanna get as close as I could to the 🎯 as possible .. 

when I finally bought my Mathews monster 7.0  I still had one of my original sights that I had on my golden eagle,a top gun .... I have no idea how I got that but I was hitting the x on a regular basis 

I figured I can’t have a cheapo sight on such a fine bow lol I wanted something I thought would be super accurate I went with the HHA SPEED DAIL IT LOOKED HEAVY DUTY and it is a hell of a sight very very accurate great way to adjust to different yardage marks ...... great for target 

I used it until I lost 2 opportunities at decent big bucks the first I put off to maybe I didn’t react fast enough BUT WITH A BOW U CANT REACT FAST... so the time I wasted setting the yardage to where the buck was my shot window was lost... after the 2nd time I ordered a spott Hogg with a dovetail and 7 pins ..... and gave the HHA to the wife for her bow.

 

I prefer longer shots ... I once had a buck eating with his head down rear end facing me. I thought here’s my chance the second I moved my fingers not my hand , not my arm or elbow the buck jumped and darted away....

6th sense or he felt my body impulses that was at 22 yards in a elevated position and I consider myself a pretty sneaky marine so after that experience I set up between 32 to 42 yards of any bait to give the deer space

[Buckeyes11]

30 and under. Can’t see much further than that where I hunt in NJ. Real thick creek bottoms loaded with phragmites 

Edited August 16, 2020 by Buckeyes11
Content

[Lunatic]

7 hours ago, Monster Marine said:

Where do I start on this one growing up watching Robin Hood, it made me wanna get as close as I could to the 🎯 as possible .. 

when I finally bought my Mathews monster 7.0  I still had one of my original sights that I had on my golden eagle,a top gun .... I have no idea how I got that but I was hitting the x on a regular basis 

I figured I can’t have a cheapo sight on such a fine bow lol I wanted something I thought would be super accurate I went with the HHA SPEED DAIL IT LOOKED HEAVY DUTY and it is a hell of a sight very very accurate great way to adjust to different yardage marks ...... great for target 

I used it until I lost 2 opportunities at decent big bucks the first I put off to maybe I didn’t react fast enough BUT WITH A BOW U CANT REACT FAST... so the time I wasted setting the yardage to where the buck was my shot window was lost... after the 2nd time I ordered a spott Hogg with a dovetail and 7 pins ..... and gave the HHA to the wife for her bow.

 

I prefer longer shots ... I once had a buck eating with his head down rear end facing me. I thought here’s my chance the second I moved my fingers not my hand , not my arm or elbow the buck jumped and darted away....

6th sense or he felt my body impulses that was at 22 yards in a elevated position and I consider myself a pretty sneaky marine so after that experience I set up between 32 to 42 yards of any bait to give the deer space

I prefer longer shots as well.

[Gobblengrunt]

I shoot up to 70 meters with my recurve and over 100 yards with a compound on a daily basis.  On paper, I could kill a deer 100% of the time but in the woods at a live animal, things change.  On average I shoot most deer with any weapon under 20 yards.  Shooting farther requires me to know the exact distance, animals demeanor, wind, elevation, angle, etc.  I would not hesitate to shoot an animal at 75 yards when all feels right.  MER for me is determined by these other factors as the shot on paper will always be on.  If I am taking a longer shot, I do not like to shoot deer between 25-35 yards as they seem to react the most to the sound of the bow.  A deer past 40 has never reacted to the shot for me.  I always strive for the close “gimme” shot though, I like to see the white in their eyes!

[Gobblengrunt]

A great test for all when practicing/ shooting longer shots in a adrenaline heightened hunting state is to shoot a “steel” deer at those longer distances.  It’s amazing that even good shooters start to fall apart knowing their arrow will be destroyed if not making the shot.  The hole in most steel deer is usually 4-6” which imo should be the maximum group size that any archer should shoot at any deer. 

[_X7]

Nothing like getting them within spitting distance, but there is a point where the deer's incredible instinct to drop and turn will have you shaking your head if you don't adjust to it.  I've taken them out to 45 yards with my compound. Have not had the opportunity other than to mess up with the crossbow and a touchy trigger.

Edited August 16, 2020 by _X7

[oldghost]

Practice 60yd but only shoot no more then 40 with my crossbow

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[Lphunsjr]

I just switched to a single pin set at 20 yds. Most of my spots are set up with that distance in mind. I wouldn't shoot anything past 30 yds with my compound and 40 tops with my xbow

[chenrossi]

Never had a reason to shoot something outside 20 yards away. No point in changing that IMO. I want that animal to fall in sight and expire quickly. Anything outside of that range, it's cool to see them and I will hope they make a mistake wandering into the danger zone. Nothing to do with confidence or equipment range, just simply out of preference.

Edited August 16, 2020 by chenrossi

[birdshotnj]

35 yards while hunting