Yeah 50 yards, Umm... No!

[GW11]

Hey GW11 - generally I see this mostly from your side - but your math is wrong.

***corrected math***

425 fps is about 170% of 250 - so you're gaining about 70% so a 30 yard can be stretched to 51.

A couple other things that have been left out is that all our math is being done with muzzle velocity (don't know the term for bolts) which will:
- decrease faster for bolts with a higher speed
- increases the error on calculation exponentially as distance is increase

Another thing deer can figure out is distance to noise - a noise at 20 yards is far more alarming than a noise at 40 yards.

Personally me - I limit my shots to about 25 yards - that's with a 305 fps xbow.
I also don't shoot if the deer is looking in my direction - then it's not the speed of sound you're competing with, but the speed of light - but that's a whole other can of worms.

Creative math maybe? Haha.

My point was that an increase in raw speed in a crossbow is still not a huge increase when measured against the speed of sound. Your version matches the chart posted by Species, which also addresses Canadaman's comment earlier. Both 30 (for 250 fps) and 50 (for 425 fps) have about the same travel time, but are both too far when compared to reaction time. Also, as you said, the assumption that a bolt maintains 425 fps for 50 yards is highly unlikely.

Thanks for clearing that up.

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[fieldtrip]

Arrow or bolt I think anything over 30yds is talking a chance no matter how good your bow is. Too many variables

[bellerivercrossbowhunter]

I did some target practice yesterday with my Scorpyd Death stalker at 40yards. Shooting sub 1" groups.

Would I shoot a deer at 40yards?

Everything would need to be perfect and things are never really perfect when your deer hunting...

I much prefer the 20 and under shots...

[toddy]

250 fps is 22% the speed of sound. 420 fps is 37% the speed of sound. You've gained 15% on the speed of sound. So... you can stretch a 30 yard shot to 34.5.

It really isn't that difficult. You're a marketer's dream.

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wish there was a like button on this forum lol

I think your math is off but the marketers dream comment cracked me up.

[skull]

If you wanna kill it
You have to shoot at it

[hockeymjt]

I think even a 30 yard shot can be tricky in the bush, I ve held up some shots at 30 yards as too many little saplings on the way to the deer, you hit a sapling and can deflect an arrow right into a shoulder. I have shot my Excalibur at 50 and 60 yards and been dead on, but that's in a field with nothing between me and the target. I have only ever taken 1 deer at just over 30 yards and that was a cut bean field. In the bush it has to be a pretty perfect shot at over 25 yards for me to even think about. Ive lost a deer and hate the feeling...Id rather sit at night and think dam should of taken the shot than to sit and wonder why the heck did I take that shot...that's just me

[Deer Hunter]

I think even a 30 yard shot can be tricky in the bush, I ve held up some shots at 30 yards as too many little saplings on the way to the deer, you hit a sapling and can deflect an arrow right into a shoulder. I have shot my Excalibur at 50 and 60 yards and been dead on, but that's in a field with nothing between me and the target. I have only ever taken 1 deer at just over 30 yards and that was a cut bean field. In the bush it has to be a pretty perfect shot at over 25 yards for me to even think about. Ive lost a deer and hate the feeling...Id rather sit at night and think dam should of taken the shot than to sit and wonder why the heck did I take that shot...that's just me

Well said, same here regardless what I’m hunting with.

[smitty55]

This came across my FB feed and it's somewhat pertinent to this thread. Great shot made but it's amazing how fast those deer crouch and take off.

https://www.wideopenspaces.com/heart...mpaign=wosfeed

Cheers

[stilchen67]

So I came across this on the wonderful world wide net.
The guy said he shot it at 50 yards with a crossbow and the deer turned.

Okay so this is a perfect example of what NOT to do and what boils my blood!Attachment 38864
I don't care how good of a shot someone says they are, or how fast their bow is, whether it be a crossbow or compound, etc., these bows despite what manufacturers say are not for long range shots on live targets. It's irresponsible! For a bow, anything past 30 yards is pushing it for the very reason shown in this photo. You're bow hunting. Learn to get close which is what bow hunting is about. It may shoot like a rifle but it's still a bow and a deer can still jump the string or turn like the one did above. The guy just got lucky is all!
What ticks e off is how many times things like this happen and they never find the animal. It's irresponsible to take long shots like this!!!

I would like to commend Jeff for starting this post--firstly because I believe that some people reading this who are new to archery will learn from this post and the conversation that it has created, and secondly that there will be one less deer shot, wounded and lost because of the experiences shared--I sell archery equipment in an outdoor store and could not tell you how many people come in and brag about their ability to hit a target at fifty or sixty yards and the fact that they do not understand a deer's ability to jump a string--even with the fastest bows /crossbows out there --most experienced hunters that I know will rarely shoot past 30 yards-simple math the longer the shot the greater the odds of that deer jumping the string---hope everyone has a safe and productive season!

[jaycee]

I would like to commend Jeff for starting this post--firstly because I believe that some people reading this who are new to archery will learn from this post and the conversation that it has created, and secondly that there will be one less deer shot, wounded and lost because of the experiences shared--I sell archery equipment in an outdoor store and could not tell you how many people come in and brag about their ability to hit a target at fifty or sixty yards and the fact that they do not understand a deer's ability to jump a string--even with the fastest bows /crossbows out there --most experienced hunters that I know will rarely shoot past 30 yards-simple math the longer the shot the greater the odds of that deer jumping the string---hope everyone has a safe and productive season!

Going back to the original post and picture of the dead deer, take a close look at the arrow/ bolt ??? is that nock on the so called crossbow bolt, not a nock from a standard type bow ?
I am not a crossbow shooter, but everyone that I know that uses/shoots crossbows, also have on their bolts, flat faced nocks, therefore it makes me wonder about the equipment used in this picture ?