LONG YARDAGE SHOTS

[sumner4991]

Kelly . . .if you research my posts, you will see that I too thought longer range whitetail hunting would be easy with my new Exomax. After a couple of field tests, I will not shoot over 40 yards.

I under estimated yardage once and shot under a doe grazing at 60 yards. She didn't jump until after the arrow hit under her. Therefore, I thought it would be feasible to shoot deer at 60 yards without issue. However, so many folks here on the forum were so dead against it, I decided to perform another test. This one on purpose. I found another doe grazing at 65 yards. There was a stump behind her at 50 yards. I shot the stump. I swear, the doe had taken a half leap before the arrow hit the stump. If I had shot at that doe, then I might have hit her in the arse at best.

After that I concluded, deer can hear the arrow coming or the string. Some will move, some will not. I decided not to take that chance, even though I can bury arrow after arrow into a 1 inch dot at 50 yards. Why take the chance?

Scott
P.S. ML's are stinking up the place. Just kidding.

[Kelley]

Thanks Scott. I am rethinking and will know more when I can shoot my new bow. Still waiting on defective part to be replaced. 45 yards was my max with my old bow. BTW I found your homebrew STS system on Google with the Sims Limsavers. Is it still working? Any changes?
Thanks
Kelley

[dougedwards]

sorry about the diversion. Let's stick to the original subject which originally arose from a question that I asked in another thread. Here is another question. Do you think that the sound of rustling leaves, falling acorns, mooing cows, squirrels playing in the leaves, and other natural sounds might be an assistance to crossbow shooters as it might provide some distracting sounds for the deer who then might not react directly to the sound of a distant crossbow release? I am asking a question here.......not making a statement. I have noticed that on cold, still, crisp mornings whitetails seem to be super in tune to any sound whatsover and tended to be super reactive to any sound at all (including my rubber boots pivoting on my metal tree stand. What do you guys think?
Doug

[dougedwards]

OK.....I won't be able to witness your responses today as I am off to hunt doves as it is opening day of dove season here in Va. I will be using a super duper Franchi Variomax 12 gauge gas powered automatic shotgun but I still promise not to take excessivly long shots lest I might wound a bird and not retrieve it Well.....my dog does the retrieving but you know what I mean.

Have fun
Doug

[sumner4991]

Kelley . . .the only modification I have made to the STS is replacing the metal brackets with hard plastic ones. I cut the plastic out of the L molds in a plastic chair. The metal ones eventually break.

dougedwards . . .the answer is yes. Wind, rain, and other natural sounds help a lot. For those of us that hunt in suburban areas, construction work is great for covering up a hunter's movements/sounds. I hunt an area close to a construction site and a school. In the a.m., there is a ton of noise . . .downside, the deer know this and are less active. The arguement is a good one, unfortunately, it's still hard/impossible to tell at the time of releasing your arrow if a deer will jump or not.

[Kelley]

dougedwards . . .the answer is yes. Wind, rain, and other natural sounds help a lot. For those of us that hunt in suburban areas, construction work is great for covering up a hunter's movements/sounds. I hunt an area close to a construction site and a school. In the a.m., there is a ton of noise . . .downside, the deer know this and are less active. The arguement is a good one, unfortunately, it's still hard/impossible to tell at the time of releasing your arrow if a deer will jump or not.

I agree with summer. The only problem I have with those noises is I am hard of hearing and removes one of the sences I depend on when hunting. I guess it is really not a great big deal as I rely more on sight than hearing.

[dougedwards]

[quote="sumner4991
dougedwards . . .the answer is yes. Wind, rain, and other natural sounds help a lot. For those of us that hunt in suburban areas, construction work is great for covering up a hunter's movements/sounds. I hunt an area close to a construction site and a school. In the a.m., there is a ton of noise . . .downside, the deer know this and are less active. The arguement is a good one, unfortunately, it's still hard/impossible to tell at the time of releasing your arrow if a deer will jump or not.[/quote]

All good points sumner. Another good point that I had not given much consideration is the fact that deer will actually hear the sound of the arrow twisting through the air coming at them.

What about a nice buck who is very preoccupied on the trail of a hot doe? In that scenario wtih natural noises in your favor would it possibly influence you to take a longer shot than you would normally take on say a feeding whitetail? You see......sometimes on still quiet days I am afraid to breath lest the deer might hear my heart beat. In those times I am very reluctant to shoot beyond even 25 yards at most. In other situations I might feel more confident knowing that my target is distracted and take a longer shot than normal. Many here have stated that they have self imposed limits on the distance of their shots. Mine can change hour to hour.

Doug

[HW]

Mine can change hour to hour.

I have to agree as hunting gives you the most incredible aray of choices. This sport has as many variables as any I have ever been involved with in any sport.

[sumner4991]

Doug . . .I hear ya! I know the feeling.

The mere fact of shooting my Exomax gives me a 30 yard range without giving it a thought about a deer jumping the string. I can say boo and if it doesn't run, it's dead. The Exomax is just too fast at 30 yards on a standing deer. There is a chance that the deer starts running before I shoot, but, that is too much chance for me to consider. In other words, that can happen with any weapon and you miss that deer. I'd have to quit hunting to totally avoid this.

However, beyond 30 yards is a different story. 40 yards needs consideration, conditions need to be very good. Like you are describing. 50 yards, the conditions need to be perfect and still it's just a gamble. After that, you are talking shear luck.

The deer hearing the arrow is a certainty. Watch the "deer jumping string" videos. It's apparent that they are moving away from the arrow, not the string. The more off-set, the more noise. Those 8 degree vanes almost whistle, they are loud.

Now, I've been hunting long enough to know when a deer is about to bolt when alert. I just know their movements and most of the time, I'm right. In my experience, a deer on alert is more predictable than a deer grazing along. A deer on alert is wanting to find out what is there and "freezes". I've shot several while they were stomping their foot. One at forty yards with my compound, facing me and I hit her dead on center chest. She went 30 yards. That was in my young, stupid days. At that deer a un-natural noise would not have moved her, I don't think. She was frozen.

Basically, I look at it like this . . .I know if I get within 30 yards, then it's basically history. Outside of that, the further out I go, the luckier I have to become. I set up my stands to produce a shot of 30 yards or less. Since doing so, I just have not had many instances where taking a "long" shot have come up. The only debates have come while still hunting and I always try and get closer. Because, getting close is the fun part of the game.

I think another reason that it's not a big deal for me is I do not "trophy" hunt. Every deer is equally as exciting. So, if I don't get this one, I'll get the next one. It also helps that there is always a next one. No need to take a big chance on the one in front of me. I have food and I don't need the horns that bad.

If I were starving . . .different story. I might have to take a chance. However, if I were starving, then I'd make sure I got close. Same goes for wanting to take a trophy rack . . .I would want to be close.

Anyway, no matter what you are told, sometimes you just have to find out for yourself. Just as I have. Just do the deer a favor and shoot at an object close to the deer . . .always carry some field tips, I do.

[dougedwards]

Thanks Sumner.......very good input along with your field testing shooting a stump next to a doe.

This has been a very good thread which started out with Kelly asking about distance shooting while hunting. I had previously asked about the affect of arrow drop shooting out of high treestands which offered me no responses except to tell me that shooting longer distances just isn't advised. This led to Kelly's question.

The thread did get off track as a heated discussion erupted concerning muzzleloaders and ethics. I learned a little bit from this thread. I hope some of you have also. Thanks to all who bothered to reply.

Doug

[Black Coyote]

I have been shooting my excoet for several years and know it quite well
most of my shots are in the 30 yardage range however if circumstances are correct I will take a longer shot. Last season when everything was good I got a nice 8 pointer at 54yds. He went about 20yds before crashing.But i feel it is important to know your bow and your ability and limitations.

[sumner4991]

Last season when everything was good I got a nice 8 pointer at 54yds. He went about 20yds before crashing.But i feel it is important to know your bow and your ability and limitations.

Black Coyote . . .tell us more. Do you feel comfortable taking that 54 yard shot now. Do you think you can dupilcate the situation or do you think it requires a lot of luck? I agree, you need to know your weapon and your abilities. Heck, I know some guys that are unethical shooting a 20 yard shot because their skills are weak. Anyway, what was the buck doing? I assume the weather was perfect. How about your POI vs. where you aimed?

Thanks,

Scott

[Black Coyote]

Well; I think with any shot there is a certain amount of luck but I try mimimize it as much as possible. In the situation with 54yds , there were several other deer in the immediate area and he was standing still almost facing me with his head turned; I aimed for higher part of his chest and the bolt entered just a couple of inches below the mark and exited low on the right shoulder. I had penty of time to aim and there was no wind and the other deer were moving around which created noise.
Would I take the same shot again? Yes.

Brian

[sumner4991]

Brian,
Thanks for the input. The doe I shot at and it didn't move was with two other does(none of them jumped). Your buck was with other deer. The doe I shot at and it jumped was alone. Maybe that's a link. They may feel safer in a group and a strange noise will not bother them as much.

Maybe we can get funding for an indept study.

Scott

[dougedwards]

. They may feel safer in a group and a strange noise will not bother them as much.

Scott

While the deer might feel safer in a group it sure makes me shaky knowing that any of those deer might spot my movement while I am concentrating on just one of them. During a hunt where I was in a tree stand spying on a group of deer I didn't notice a small spike who wandered right under me looking up wondering what I was doing. It is good to know the characteristics of the prey. But also a good thing to know the characteristics of the predator.

Doug