Archery Accuracy

[gtonagel]

I'm fairly new to archery but want to make sure that I am a competent enough shooter when in the woods. When practicing on targets, what is a good standard of measurement? for example, what should my groupings be at x amount of yards? Mind you, I'm not shooting competitively, just hunting ethically. Any thoughts?

[Goose]

Your doing right by asking!
Confidence is key!
Others may have different opinions and thoughts, but I am gonna say that WITH your broadheads on, you should be able to put all of your arrows in a paper plate. As a beginner, I wouldn't recommend any shots beyond 20 yards until you get some field experience.
It'll be interesting to see what other people think.
Best of luck, and as a warning: Bowhunting is very addicting!
 
 

[shadow]

I always felt and was told early on that if you can consistently group your arrows within a 6" circle on your target at any given distance then your good to go at that yardage. Right or wrong?? Obviously the smaller the group the better.
 
When shooting my fieldpoints I can get great groups at 50 yards, but when I switched over to broadheads they weren't flying well past 30 yards, so I limited my shots on deer to 30 yards so I know I was able to hit what I was aiming at.
I have now switched to a differen't broadhead and I have increased my shooting range to 40 yards using them. I will also practice shooting at longer ranges but I will not take a shot using archery equipment past 40 yards.
 

[TwistedX]

The smaller the better, Id say a 6 inch circle would be fine but the way i practice is to take a broad head from last year and shoot a one inch circle. However id never shoot more than one arrow at a target that small for fear of shooting your arrow.

[Blake Dandurand]

I was raised on the paper plate theory, if you can place six arrows in a paper plate your good to go. And in regard to Shadow, what arrows and broadheads are you using? and are you tuning your arrows to the heads? Establishing proper nock and head alignment, along with shooting them out of a well tuned bow should result in grouping your broadheads with your field points to within an inch of each other everytime. I have learned this the hard way early on, but it has helped me greatly since I now take the time to do this. Just last weekend I shot a doe out to 70 yards, and I was 100% confident with that shot, for I was able to shoot it all summer. This was acheived by tuning my broadheads, which I think might be your problem. Send me some feedback, would be nice if it would help your range at all.

[Highlander Archery]

Learn proper shooting form...That said, your groups should be the best you can possibly make them. You say you are not target shooting, just hunting ethically and are being advised that your groups should be within a paper plate? I would argue that being ethical requires far better than 9 inch groups and that whatever range you can hold a one to three inch group is your max ethical distance. Anything less would be a disservice to the game you pursue.Being a target archer will make you a better, more ethical bowhunter; treat each shooting opportunity as if it is a 10 ring.

[shadow]

Blake,  I was shooting the 100 grain Muzzy MX-3. I made sure the blades of the broadheads were aligned with the arrow fletches and they flew well out to 30 yards or so. I really didn't trust shooting them further. I have shot them to 40 yards but was not getting a good group, they were all within about a 8" area however, they were never all grouped, they were just on the target and I didn't feel that without consistently getting good groups at 40 yards I didn't want to take a shot on a deer at that range. And it may be my fault, my sooting form etc.. but since switching to SlickTricks they shoot much tighter groups even at the 40 yards I had trouble with before.

[Blake Dandurand]

huh, well thanks for sharing that with me, and yes its true it is a very very common problem with any archery gear, them damned broadheads are tough to get to fly true, that is if you are shooting fixed blades like we are. I guess i just never have liked the mechanicals, due to horror stories of the cheap ones, and seen the aftermath of those of fellow hunters. But in all honesty 40 yards should darn near be any hunters maximum range. even if you can shoot 70-80 yards out. It is just so much more adrenaline kicking when you can see that deers eyelashes when you release that arrow, since that is what archery is all about, getting up close and personal to your game.

[hunt4fun]

I feel it is all a matter of confidence.  Groupings help with confidence through out the summer, but what it really comes down to is taking out one arrow and making one shot count.  The woods and your target range are two different things.  One thing that I have tried that has helped with my confidence is this:  Lets say the farthest you plan on shooting at a deer this year is 25 yards.  When you go out to practice, go to 25 yds and take just that one arrow for your first shot and act like it is the only arrow you have.  If you can make that first arrow count every time you go out to practice, you will be confident taking that shot in the woods.  If you can't after a weeks or so, you should probably not shoot that far and try again at 20 yds and see what you come up with.  On the other hand, if your nailing it every time, you may want to go back to 30 yds and see how you shoot.  I will agree with others that said to make sure you try shooting your broadheads, too.  Some broadheads may fly the same as field points, but usually that is only up to a certain distance.  Confidence in both your equipment and yourself are key to being a successful archer.

[reeper0697]

ORIGINAL: Blake Dandurand

Just last weekend I shot a doe out to 70 yards, and I was 100% confident with that shot,

 
Did you kill the doe cleanly?