Ideal shot distance?

[Zap]

Shooting freehand or with some type of rest?

Deer alert or relaxed?

Deer moving or standing still?

Perfect broadside or quartering?

Windy or calm?

There are way to many variables to say that any yardage is too far.
But its safe to say that closer is better in any circumstance.

[Bunt]

I tried a 42 yard shot on a Doe a couple weeks ago, I found my arrow with hair and some fat with no blood. I watched the deer flinch a bit and then walk away. I thought because she was relaxed and not on alert at the time that this would work. I shot a Buck 2 years ago from the same stand at 33 yards and that worked out good. I think a longer shot will work possibly out in the open with some wind at your face and not in the woods with calm conditions.

[Hester0305]

My ideal shot distance is between 20-30 yards with my Matrix but I have taken a deer at 50 yards in my food plot and it had its head down feeding and I held low in the heart area with my 50 yard Chevron from my Tactzone and she dropped within sight but everything was calm and she wasn't alert. I shoot a lot and know where my arrows hit I always aim in the heart area with both vertical and crossbow and hardly ever lose a deer anymore from them jumping the string because they normally will duck and try to get out of the away of the arrow as the arrow arrives on target here in the south.

[Dave1]

Beware that shooting at a stationary target at a known distance in your back yard is much different than shooting at a live animal in the woods. It doesn't matter how far you can hit a bow target. The problem is the animal can and does move. If the animal doesn't move during your shot process, trigger pull, arrow flight, etc., your arrow will likely hit where you aimed. If the animal does move (even a little bit) or if the animal jumps the string, your arrow will not likely hit the vital area where you were aiming. The results of this situation is usually a gut shot with a lost and dying and unrecovered animal. Keeping shot distance short greatly lessens the chance of making a bad hit and greatly increases the chance of a quick kill and short trail.

If you shoot at only calm and broadside animals at short distance, your kill percentage and success will always be high.

Dave

[Zap]

Beware that shooting at a stationary target at a known distance in your back yard is much different than shooting at a live animal in the woods. It doesn't matter how far you can hit a bow target. The problem is the animal can and does move. If the animal doesn't move during your shot process, trigger pull, arrow flight, etc., your arrow will likely hit where you aimed. If the animal does move (even a little bit) or if the animal jumps the string, your arrow will not likely hit the vital area where you were aiming. The results of this situation is usually a gut shot with a lost and dying and unrecovered animal. Keeping shot distance short greatly lessens the chance of making a bad hit and greatly increases the chance of a quick kill and short trail.

If you shoot at only calm and broadside animals at short distance, your kill percentage and success will always be high.

Dave

Hard to disagree with that.