| |  Finding your effective range with a bow. | |
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Bow hunting differs from firearm hunting in the fact that you are greatly limited in your effective range. But what is your effective range or the range at which you can guarantee a kill?
By following these simple steps you can get a rough estimate on the maximum distance that you can ethically take a shot at an animal.
You will need a target and a package of paper plates. Using your bow, set up as you would for hunting, and in your full hunting gear and tree stand, if you use one. Take 10 shots at a paper plate that you have placed on your regular target.
Start your shooting at 20 yards and every time you can place all 10 arrows in the target, move the target back 5 yards and shoot again. Once you can no longer place all 10 arrows in the paper plate the last distance that you could is your maximum ethical shot distance under ideal conditions.
I would suggest, instead of using the maximum that you determined by the above method, that you subtract at least 5 yards. Why you ask? Because you are not under stress when shooting at your local range or in your backyard. When Mr. Swamp Buck is standing 25 yards out, your heart will be racing and your maximum ethical range will decrease.
If you find that your maximum range is less than you had hoped, practice, it is the only way of increasing your range.
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