Bragging time: Longest hunting shot

Crossbow Hunting

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Tar Heel
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Post by Tar Heel »

I blew a 6 inch baloon all to heck at 55yds last week with my exomag first shot, consider this a challenge anybody want to go for 60. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tar Heel
Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

Camper wrote:A bullet travels (depending on a what deer cartridge) approx 2300 to 3200fps. the bullet will hit that deer before the animal hears the report from the rifle at 1-500yards therefore the animal will never jump or jerk as a result of the noise a gun makes. (unless you miss)
An arrow or bolt travels at max 350fps sound travels I believe more than twice that speed so the animal will hear the Crossbow or bow before the bolt or arrow gets there Therefore the longer the distance you shoot a deer at , the more time the animal has to react to the noise and jump the string or jerk causing your bolt or arrow to potentially not hit it's mark.


Camper
Good point Camper, I'm sorry to say I believe this is only valid point I have seen so far on this thread. If the crossbow can deliver target accuracy out to sixty yards and farther, this can be the only reason not to take the longer shots on game. BillT claims that it only takes 30 foot pounds to kill a deer, and even if I round that up to fifty foot pounds, the bolt will still have plenty of KE at fifty or sixty yards. However, the string jumping issue caused by subsonic projectiles is one of the crossbow's definite disadvantages.
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TYE
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Post by TYE »

tcthomas wrote:The same people who are trying to shoot with a rifle at 500 yds are the same class of people who would try to shoot with a crossbow at 50. Tye said it well. The bragging rights come from how close you can get them, not how far away.

Tim
:)
Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

Tar Heel wrote:I blew a 6 inch baloon all to heck at 55yds last week with my exomag first shot, consider this a challenge anybody want to go for 60. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Tar Heel
You're on, Tar Heel :!: :!: :D
You'll have to wait a month or so.
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Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

TYE wrote:
tcthomas wrote:The same people who are trying to shoot with a rifle at 500 yds are the same class of people who would try to shoot with a crossbow at 50. Tye said it well. The bragging rights come from how close you can get them, not how far away.

Tim
:)
Then I guess you'd say Jack O'Connor and P.O. Ackley, to name just two, were a bunch of green horn know-nothings, heh? :wink: True, they were very skilled men, but they did take 500 yard shots and longer ones as a matter of routine.
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JD Jones
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yes, I would

Post by JD Jones »

Yes, I will say O'Connor, Ackley, or anyone else who routinely shoots at game at those kind of ranges is unsportsman like, unethical, and lacks sence. There, boltshooter, I gave you the flash you have so obviously been looking for.
People who hunt ought to be capable of admitting personal limits. They always should have, and having a career as a writer is no excuse for being an ass. If the critter has ears like an ass, legs like an ass, and brays like an ass, it is an ass, not a quarter horse, even if it is a well published ass.
Now days, every jerk water PETA bleeding heart is trying to do away with all hunting, and conpound bow users, the black sheep of yester year's archery orginazitions are trying to do in crossbowers. It is foolish to give them so much as a hint of an excuse to pull the plug.
To you others, sorry for the rant.
JD
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DOXNUT
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Post by DOXNUT »

Longest shot, I have taken was 35 yds on a WOUNDED boar running about 15-20 kms. The boar was hit about 10 seconds before it crossed my path, where it received a double-lung from the paradox. I won't have shot, if it was a health animal but I beleive in fast, efficient kills.
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Nudo7
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Post by Nudo7 »

I can see your point JD and is correct, but I don't think boltshooter meant anything bad by his comment. We all like to brag from time to time especially when using a rifle. I get 3300 fps out of the muzzle of my rifle and really love long range shooting. I think maybe he should reword his comment to target shooting..lol
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DOXNUT
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Post by DOXNUT »

There are too many unknown factors, for judging someone elses situation. I know my capabilities, as goes for everyone here. The key to knowing what is to far, is knowing your equipment and knowing your prey. I'd NEVER shoot at a deer past 30 yards, they react to QUICK. Deer survive, using these techniques so work with them. Moose on the ofter hand, react MUCH slower. Deer will run, then look back when exposed to an loud unknown situation. Where moose tend to look around before reacting, movement could be deveastating to them.

Ethics is truely a personal thing, not a regulation! I choose to beleive that animals are a wonderful gift from MOTHER NATURE, so I respect them.
Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

JD Jones: I mean absolutely no offense by what I am about to say, but you really should think before you post a comment. Ackley was the foremost cartridge wildcatter in the history of the sport, and popularized such cartridges as 257 Roberts Ackley Improved, and even popularized the first short magnum rifle cartridges, forty five years before winchester's WSMs. O'connor was even more well know, being solely resonpible for drawing public attention to the 270 wincheter, one of the most popular calibers of this century. Both men published numerous books and manuals, books that people have actually heard of, JD Jones. Does Handbook for Shooters and Reloaders, by Parker O. Ackley, ring a bell?
I have no idea of your abilities, JD Jones, but I suspect that they were both much more competent marksmen and hunters than yourself.

As to the general question of the effective hunting range of a crossbow, I had hoped that forum members would simply give their longest successful kills, and that I would be able to ascertain from there the effective range. Instead, I have received almost nothing but flak, and no concrete facts and figures that are actually usefull to me. The only productive comment was made by Camper, who pointed out that game animals have a chance to move when they hear the string twang.
As to the PETA people looking for any chance to jump on crossbows, are we to live in constant fear of the left wing kooks? As evidenced by most of the responses to my post, it would seem that the PETA crowd is already dividing us and turning us against each other; instead of first hand accounts of ranges of shots taken with the crossbow, I have gotten almost nothing but warnings of "keeps your shots close, a crossbow isn't a rifle, we don't want to offend the liberals". You think I don't realize that a crossbow isn't a rifle? Obviously, the affective range is less, but my question is, exactly how much less? I see nothing wrong with wanting to get the best affective range out of my weapon.
Again, sorry if I have offended anyone, but there is really no good reason why you should be. I'm only trying to find the facts of the matter.
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chris4570
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Post by chris4570 »

My longest shot on a game animal was fifty yards. My shortest(big game) was 20 or so feet. The longest shot was with a .303 Brit. The shortest was also with a .303 Brit.

I shot a whitetail at about ten yards with a scoped 30-06(my first deer). My first big game hunt kind of showed me the direction to go. With the exception of my .22, I've opted for iron sights on my rifles so I could force myself to get closer, which for me is the real thrill. Being able to hear the animal breath, grunt, stomp it's feet, to see the detail of the coat. That's what I enjoy.

Now I enjoy using my Exocet for the same reasons, plus the additional time I have to spend in the woods.
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Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

PS: Thanks Doxnut, good replies. Keep this kind of reply coming everybody, I want concrete numbers that I can write down in my little notebook :wink: .
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Armadias
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Post by Armadias »

Closest Buck I ever harvested was at 17 yards.

Bob
Woody Williams
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Post by Woody Williams »

"As to the general question of the effective hunting range of a crossbow, I had hoped that forum members would simply give their longest successful kills, and that I would be able to ascertain from there the effective range.'

I agree that your question is one of trying to gain knowledge but...

Crossbows can kill "effectively" for a couple hundred yards IF we could hit what we are aiming at.

Same with a bow of any sort.

Now if we all listed our greatest range kill that number will be grabbed by the anti-crossbow people and they will try to pass it off as the norm for crossbows. IOW - they will say "The guys on Excalibur shoot them at 47 yards"

In a debate with some anti-crossbower on here quite some time back he kept talking about how much further we shot animals. I did a quick search on the "Trophy Room" here and averaged out the shot distances and it was something like 22.5 yards.

That is the numebr we need to talk about, not who shot one the furthest away.

I hope you understand...
Woody Williams

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Boltshooter
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Post by Boltshooter »

Woody Williams wrote:"As to the general question of the effective hunting range of a crossbow, I had hoped that forum members would simply give their longest successful kills, and that I would be able to ascertain from there the effective range.'

I agree that your question is one of trying to gain knowledge but...

Crossbows can kill "effectively" for a couple hundred yards IF we could hit what we are aiming at.

Same with a bow of any sort.

Now if we all listed our greatest range kill that number will be grabbed by the anti-crossbow people and they will try to pass it off as the norm for crossbows. IOW - they will say "The guys on Excalibur shoot them at 47 yards"

In a debate with some anti-crossbower on here quite some time back he kept talking about how much further we shot animals. I did a quick search on the "Trophy Room" here and averaged out the shot distances and it was something like 22.5 yards.

That is the numebr we need to talk about, not who shot one the furthest away.

I hope you understand...

The English long bowman of the 1400's was required to be able to kill a man at 100 paces.

Thanks for the 22.5 yard average distance; thats the kind of thing I'm looking for.
Yes, I understand that you can't kill what you can't hit. :wink: I was originally referring to the distance at which you can hit a deer with an Xbow, not the distance at which the bolt will kill the deer.
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