gutshot

I don't quiteunderstand what you're looking for, but ifyou're asking do I always hit where I want to the answer is no. I don't think of it in terms as "margin of error"I just know that every shot isn't perfect.

GMMAT

Fair enough gutshot.....but the reason I'm looking....is I would "think" we'd all take longer shots at animals.....if we thought we were going to hit EXACTLY what we were aiming for EVERY time we shot.

I shoot from 50 and 60 yds at my house. I have to maneuver a little to do it, sometimes......but it's good practice. If I could hit the 12 ring on my 3D deer EVERY TIME from 60 yds.....I can tell you my effective kill zone would likely expand. I can't. I know ifI couldn't hit what I was looking at at 10 yds......I wouldn't shoot from that distance. But...I can. In between these two yardages, however,.....I've come to feel comfortable with a degree of imperfection......my "margin for error". I restrict my shots to fit within this range. I was just wondering what everyone considered THEIR"acceptable" "margin for error".

davepjr71

I understand what you are asking perfectly. you are asking, "what is an acceptable miss from your point of aim?"

At 30 yds I'd expect to be within3 inches of whereI aim on deer by hunting season. Obviosly, the closer to the targetI am that distance shrinks.
Meaning that at 20 yds I really do not expect to hit more than 2" from my aiming point.

I intend to practice wellpast the 30 yd mark so that 30 is comfortable. Does that mean whenI practiceI expect to be at that point, no. At 20 ydsI expect to put just about every arrow in a 1.5" dot. At 30 close to the same thing.

By following that rule I'm saying that right nowI wouldn't shoot past 30 yds at a deer sized game even ifI can stay within that area on a target. Everything gets magnified when it comes to shooting an animal comapred to a target.

HuntingBry

At one point you mention a "spot" at 20 yards that you need to be able to hit. How big is this spot?

When sighting in my bow I use the orange dots for targets that you can use on rifle targets. I start out with the big dot at 10 yards and sight in trying to hit the black square in the middle. That black square is maybe 1/2" by 1/2". I can't hit it every time, but when I do fairly regularly I move back to 20. At 20 I want my arrows inside the 2" circle on the big dot and hovering close the the square. When I've got this down I move out to 30. At 30 yards I use the 2 1/2" dot and when I've got my arrows punching this I go to 40. At 40 and 50 I use the big dot again which is about 4" in diameter. Once I'm sinking arrows into that at those distances I work out to 80 using a CD. If I can consistently smack a CD sized target at 70 yards I'm pretty happy. Now these are under perfect conditions on static targets.

While hunting I keep my shots inside of 35 yards unless I have some absolutely perfect conditions then I might stretch it to 40. I say might because I haven't yet.

As for margin of error, I want to hit where I am aiming, but realize there is a lot that can happen while hunting. If I am within 2" of where I was aiming I can accept that. Other than that I'm not happy, but if it leads to a successful harvest that is what it's all about. Within reason of course.

shed33

If the speed of sound is roughly 1100 ft/sec or 761 miles per hour.. and our bows shoot roughly 250-300ft/sec ... other varialbles..like stated above.. vital area size.. example turkey versus elk.... etc..

Factor in a living animals fight or flight response to stimulus such as sound waves from our bows firing.

The longer the shot the more time a critter has to gather/react before the arrow strikes its target.

I think no more than1.5 to 2inches of error should be considered for 30-40 yard shots on deer...sized vitals..maybe less because of distance and reaction time..

close shots.. 20yrds.. 1 inch max, theres no good reason for a well practiced bowhunter and a properly tuned flat shooting compound bow to miss by more than 1 inch at 20 yards or less...yes it allows less time for the animal to react..but still a 20 yard shot with a compound bow should be a slam dunk.

I'm going with no more than 2 inch...is acceptible for shots on live animals like elk, deerout to 40 yrds, that maybe too much on deer..

I dont know maybe I am off base here....If nothing else this post got me thinking about my own shooting..am I holding myself toahigh enoughstandard in my practicing.

For stationary target practiceI better be no more than 1 inch out to 40... ???

GR8atta2d

Not to defend your buddy..but he makesa valid case. I think you may be so intent on finding fault with his statement that you fail to see that this time he makes sense.

It wasn't stated that you shoot, at moving game..but at any point that game may move on it's own, with or without your consent.
A 3" miss from a given pin-head dot is probably fine if you had proper placement of the pin-head.However 3" miss from a 3" diameter dot is not very good! That could put you nearly 6" out!

Just like anything if you think failure, you will fail, aim- breath- squeeze knowing you'll hit that spot. That will keep you from taking that quick peek that most misses are the result of!

KodiakArcher

I limit my effective maximum range to the distance that I can keep all my shots in the black circle on my Block target with broadheads; right now that's 40 yards.

LittleChief

[>:]I'm jealous.[>:] I'll get there eventually.

quiksilver

Y'all are making me feel like I really need to start practicing more. This thread is making my trigger finger itch.

txmarshmonkey

The black dots on my yellowjacket bag are approx. 1 inch diameter. I aim for a different dot on each shot. If my arrow is not at least touching the black dot on every shot, then "I" did something wrong. This is the way I practice regardless of distance. Obviously, I'm not yet able to accomplish this on every shot at every distance. I guess this means that my margin for error is 1/2 inch.