Distance practice Question

Moxie · Post by **Moxie** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 3:48 pm

I practice both on the ground and from a ladder stand but the past season had possible shots which would have required distances longer then 20 yards. when you do your serious practice for hunting, what distances do you practice for or out to what as you maximum range wity your crossbow?

Golden Eagle · Post by **Golden Eagle** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:19 pm

I practice at 20 30 and 40 to make sure the speed ring is where it should be. I would not take a shot over 30 unless everything was perfect like a feeding deer not alert and standing broadside. My longest shot the past 5 seasons has been 27 yards. The closest was 5 yards.

dick195252 · Post by **dick195252** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 5:36 pm

Same for me 20-30-40 yards I shoot a lot at 40 yards because i find i concentrate harder at this distance, and shoot really good at the shorter distances because the concentration is a habit and ritual at all distances because of the practice at 40 yards..

curmudgeon · Post by **curmudgeon** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:13 pm

40 yards.

Rich · Post by **Rich** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:30 pm

Once I'm all tuned up and have my best bolts sorted, I'll shoot 40-50 for practice. I don't shoot 50 yards for hunting situations it's just for fun, all my shots are normally under 25 yards. It just get boring shooting through the same hole up to 30 yards.

Rich

crazyfarmer · Post by **crazyfarmer** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 6:43 pm

my normal shoot is roughly 12-15 yards

my farthest ill shoot is 35, maybe 40 if its a decent shooter and I have a solid rest!

as for practice, just shoot 10-20-30-40.. but as I find out everytime, when you have a nice buck in front of you, practice and everything you learn goes out the window LOL. I usually use the main crosshair for all my shots also. Say he's 30 yards out, ill just raise the center crosshair about 4inches below is spine. Having to many pins and crosshairs 9 times out of 10 gets in they way so focus shooting 1!

Moxie · Post by **Moxie** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 8:07 pm

Thank you fellas! I do appreciate what you have to say!

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 10:05 pm

I usually do most of my shooting from a benchrest at 25 yards, but practice offhand at the longest range my scope allows (45 yards).
Not that I would ever try a shot at game that far away, but if I can hit a 2" target at 45 yards offhand a deer at 7 or 8 yards might be in trouble!

I have a white piece of plastic about 2" in diameter stuck in the dirt backstop on our shooting range. When I finish hunting I take the trail out that crosses the shooting range and have the spot for a 45 yard shot marked. Even in low light I can see that white dot and I unload my crossbow by sending a field point at it. Last night I hit at 11:00 o'clock in the white and was shooting from a standing position with no support. Not a shot I'd want to try on game, but if I had to it's good to know I could! (no - I don't always hit right in the dot, but I'm always close)
BTW - with the 49# recurve I shoot from 65 yards! I can cheat and use the point of the arrow to aim and usually be close at that range. It really gets to my 7 year old that I can hit something at that distance.

Adrian J Hare · Post by **Adrian J Hare** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:44 am

This is just a question and a wondering opinion as well

As I do not shoot an Excal but I know that they are fast bows, could a shooter not set his sights if he has multiple yardage sights to a 25-35-40 to take the guess work out of the aim point ? These set ranges should put the first pin into a 0-25 yards with a dead on aim point only the arrow may hit up or down slightly enough, but still make contact in the vitals. The same should maybe work out at the 35 yard , so any shot from 30- 40 yards should be in the vital area. This should change a lot of guess work as you would be only using 2 sight points on your crossbow instead of a number of them. The average bow hunter only shoots out to 35-40 yards.

This should help the archer with over compinsation of a shot.

I'm just guessing on this as I don't shoot a crossbow, but I know my Compound had to be set like this, which changed my sight from 3 pin to 2 pin.

Interested to see what you guys have to say and more interested if someone tried it...

Boo · Post by **Boo** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:01 am

Actually Adrian, Excal makes a scope with different shooting markers in the scope. No different from pins on a compound. The same bugaboo with compounds applies, how far is it? I shoot my compound using one pin set a couple of inches high at twenty yards just like my crossbow.
Most of us here do not try to shoot past 30 yards in most circumstances. I am more accurate with my compound than I am with my crossbows so shooting past 30 yards is less likely from my crossbow.
I practice almost exclusively at twenty yards with possibly ten percent of my shooting at 30 yards but never past that because I don't have the room where I shoot.

TYE · Post by **TYE** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 9:43 am

I practice the most at 30 yards before hunting season.

wabi · Post by **wabi** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 10:05 am

Adrian J Hare wrote:This is just a question and a wondering opinion as well

As I do not shoot an Excal but I know that they are fast bows, could a shooter not set his sights if he has multiple yardage sights to a 25-35-40 to take the guess work out of the aim point ? These set ranges should put the first pin into a 0-25 yards with a dead on aim point only the arrow may hit up or down slightly enough, but still make contact in the vitals. The same should maybe work out at the 35 yard , so any shot from 30- 40 yards should be in the vital area. This should change a lot of guess work as you would be only using 2 sight points on your crossbow instead of a number of them. The average bow hunter only shoots out to 35-40 yards.

This should help the archer with over compinsation of a shot.

I'm just guessing on this as I don't shoot a crossbow, but I know my Compound had to be set like this, which changed my sight from 3 pin to 2 pin.

Interested to see what you guys have to say and more interested if someone tried it...

Adrian,
I believe you're saying too many aiming points can be confusing/distracting and I agree. That is my problem with the Excalibur scopes. One crosshair - but several yardage marks, and under stress/excitement I have on more than one occasion used the wrong mark or used the crosshair and forgot about the other marks, and missed

. I switched to a TenPoint scope with 3 crosshairs and sighted it for 15 - 25 - 35 yards. With the 3 identical crosshairs I'm forced to think a little bit before I shoot.

For hunting deer a single aiming point isn't really all that bad. Sighted in for 25 yards with a single crosshair a little hold over/under will easily put arrows in the kill zone out to 30 - 35 yards. I've often wondered how a "turkey" type scope would work with the crosshair and a circle or diamond that would help in judging hold over/under????
For target shooting all those sighting points are nice, but for hunting they CAN be confusing (at least to this old man that still gets excited when a deer is close!).

Woody Williams · Post by **Woody Williams** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 12:03 pm

I bench rest at 20, 30 and 40 to make sure I have removed all shooter error. Believe me I've got shooter error.

I practice off hand at 30 and 40.

Fishn-Hunter · Post by **Fishn-Hunter** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 1:49 pm

I practice regularly year round, both with my compound and excal. I shoot 10 thru too 60 yards with both, from both ground and various elevated positions. I am quite confident I could make a vital shot at all ranges as long as the critter is standing still and I know it will not move lol, but we all know you cannot predict that. However I have set my personal limitation to 40 yards at game. The only reason I shoot at longer ranges is for fun, I also shoot local friendly 3d tournies with both and some targets are out at 50-60. There are way too many variables in shooting at game beyond 40 with a bow at least for me. Deer are very unpredictable and you never know how they are going to react to the shot. Alot of times if they are standing not walking they will jump the string, I have had deer completely duck the arrow at 20 yards. On the other hand I have taken the shot at 30 with the deer looking in my direction somewhat alert and not even blink at the shot. One thing is for sure and that is shooting at a stationary target is one thing and shooting at a living critter is quite another. Anyone who says they have never missed or wounded an animal has not shot at many. Missing or wounding is unfortunate but it happens and it is reality.
Just my 2
Fishn-Hunter

Moxie · Post by **Moxie** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:54 pm

Thanks again everyone. I do appreciate the feed back!