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Post by dougedwards on Sept 3, 2008 22:29:45 GMT -5
Just wondering if any of you have self imposed distance limits in which you will take an ethical shot at a whitetail with your crossbow and are there any conditions or circumstances that might alter those limits?
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Post by DW on Sept 4, 2008 4:33:33 GMT -5
40-50 yards on a broadside standing deer, if the deer seems on edge like it has spotted or winded me or for any reason does not seem relaxed, then I wait for a closer shot.
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Post by dougedwards on Sept 5, 2008 7:55:14 GMT -5
Here is the thing. Many of us are practicing at 50-60 yards and are finding that we can shoot very accurately at those distances with our crossbows. The question is.....would we be willing to actually shoot at whitetails at that distance. Some crossbow hunters already know in their mind what their limit of distance is. For me it surely depends on situations.
On a dry day at 69 degrees F sound waves travel at about 1129 fps. A fast shooting crossbow will shoot at around 350 fps from the bow. A 40 yd shot (120 ft) would take .34 seconds to reach the deer if 350 fps could be sustained by the arrow. The sound of the release of the arrow would reach the deer in .11 seconds alowing the whitetail .23 seconds to react before the arrow reaches him. We all know that a whitetail can react in one quarter of a second to the point of a complete miss. We could surmise from this calculation that 40 yards is too far and too risky for a confident shot.
However hunting is like many other things in that things aren't that simple. On a cold crisp morning I swear it feels like the deer can hear my heartbeat. At other times we might see several deer grazing together with natural sounds in our favor such as rustling leaves, squirrels, birds, cows, airplanes all making distracting noises. And of course there is always that scenario of a nice buck on the trail of a hot doe.
The ethical hunter hates to injure a deer and not recover him. So......what can we do about that as most of us are really rather new to hunting with crossbows. Do we depend soley on our hunting instincts or do we make hard and fast rules for ourselves prior to the hunt?
Doug
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Post by DW on Sept 5, 2008 17:29:21 GMT -5
Doug, you make some good points. I practice out to 50yds so that is my limit, and as I said it would have to be ideal circumstances to take a shot. That said, all our stands are situated for 25yds or less shots if the deer cooperate. There is no point in making things harder than they have to be. I have only hunted with a xbow for a few years and last year was the first shot I have unleashed on a deer with one and it was a close shot, less than 25yds. In all the years I hunted with compounds I think I took one shot farther than 30yds, double lunged a 8pt buck as he was feeding on apples at 40yds, the rest were I'm almost certain 25yds or less. I practice at further distances but stand location is what it is all about IMO.Since we primarily hunt transition areas and bottlenecks our shots are almost always going to be point blank. Its nice to know and be confident that you can make a long shot if you had to, but the long distance practice is pretty much a waste of time for me, but you have to be prepared if the opportunity presents itself.
My xbow clocked 335fps when I bought it, by the time I had all the Sims string and cable and limb silencers on it the speed had dropped to 302 or somewhere thereabouts. The hardest thing to quiet down was the metal arrow retainer which on release of the bolt would slap on the rails, I finally got it quieted by heat shrinking a Sims string leach onto it. I lost some speed but the difference in noise is quite noticeable and worth it IMO.
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Post by ozark on Sept 5, 2008 21:22:24 GMT -5
My maxumum range with a crossbow is 30 yards and with my 20 ga shotgun on turkey at 35 yards. But, sometimes I simply can't stick to those self established maximums. I rolled a gobbler over at a bit over 40 yards and arrowed a big doe at 36 yards. What this means is that when conditions appear to me to be perfect or a last chance I will have to admit that my limits are adjusted to what I feel is 80-90 percent in favor of a clean kill. Both of the cases I mentioned were successful but I am not real happy with myself for setting a max and then shooting at a distance over it. I forgive myself because my instincts have served me well. As a rule I will not fire at a running deer but if I am following one through the scope and the crosshairs and all else says go. I will shoot. Again, my instincts have served me well. Ben
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