Hello

I live in an area that is becoming suburbanized. I have hunted here with a shotgun for years but now with all the greenies moving in hunting is now frowned upon. To bad because we have an over population of small blacktail deer and only humans as predetors. The real problem with the greenies is the sound of weapon, no sound and they never have a clue about what is happening arround them. Crossbows are illeagal to hunt with in this state. We never have any WDFW officers around but the sherrif now has 24 hour coverage.

How long does it take for someone to get good enough with a bow to kill deer at 40 to 50 yards? This is my usual shot distance with a 12ga and slugs.

What type of bow is recomended for a newbe?

Do deer really run 50 to 100 yards after being shot with an arrow? I would either never find it in the brush tunnels here or have it die on someones front lawn! With the shotgun and slugs they go down on the spot and never get up.

The big bucks are 120lbs and we don't bother with does because HLS kills enough of them in winter.

Best Regards

John

Never hunted blacktails, or in your area -- but 40-50 yards is a long haul for an archery shot. It would take a ton of practice and time to get to the point where you can ethically choose to shoot from that distance at game.

20-30 yards is more realistic, and I think most archery shots at deer are made from within this range.

I personally will take a shot out to 40 yards if the conditions are right, but no farther. However, most of my shot have been taken from within 20 yards on whitetails. Location, location, location! Nobody ever said bowhunting was easy.

Yes, an arrowed deer can run 100 yards, even with a well placed shot --- or it might drop in its tracks. However, that is true with deer shot cleanly with a firearm also, maybe to a lesser extent.

I try to keep a bow shot @ 10-30 yds- I practice regularly out to 50-60 yds