Long Range Archery

LONG RANGE ARCHERY

As bow technology has advanced over the last decade, so has the distance of the shot that most bowhunters are willing to take in the field. When I was a kid, most bowhunters wouldn’t take a shot at a whitetail or any other animal beyond 20 yards. Bowhunting has changed a lot since then. Today’s bow setups are extremely accurate and deadly at yardages that bowhunters 20 years ago would have called extreme. Below are a few tips if you want to extend your lethal range.

 

LONG RANGE PRACTICE

Bowhunters who want to take 30 or 40 yard shots in the field should be practicing at 60-80 yards. When practicing at 60 yards, any flaw in a shooter’s form will be easily seen by the size of the arrow group in the target. A slight flitch or torque of the bow when shooting and a bowhunter can miss the dot they are aiming at by 6 or more inches. Shooting at 60 yards in the backyard consistently will force a bowhunter to concentrate on making a good shot. When a bowhunter can keep his arrows in the size of a pie plate at 60 yards, a 30 yard shot will be fairly easy to make.

 

ARROW/BROADHEAD TUNING

In order for a bowhunter and his bow to accurately and consistently make 60 yard shots, everything on their bow has to be finely tuned. When trying to extend their range, bowhunters should ask themselves if their arrows and broadheads weigh about the same? Many bowhunters assume their arrows and their broadheads weigh the same, but not all arrows and broadheads are “created equal”. I suggest every bowhunter weigh each of their arrows and weigh each of the broadheads they plan to bow hunt with. I always make sure that each arrow is within 5-10 grains of each other. If one broadhead is a little heavy, I will match it with an arrow that is a few grains light. In the end, I want all my arrows to be consistent so I will shoot more consistently. Not all 100 grain broadheads weigh 100 grains. Not all arrow shafts weigh the same.

 

SPIN TESTING ARROWS

When my arrows weigh about the same, I spin test each arrow to make sure they spin true. If an insert isn’t perfect or an arrow isn’t straight, it will wobble slightly on the spin tester. When I discover an arrow that doesn’t spin properly, I often set it aside and.

 

PEEP SIGHT ALTERNATIVES

In the past, the only way a bowhunter could accurately shoot a bow at extreme yardages was by using a peep sight. However, at some point most bowhunters have a problem with their peep sight. One of the biggest complaints that bowhunters have is that as they age, they can’t see through their peep in low light conditions because their eyes can no longer focus as well as they could when they were young. Now bowhunters can eliminate their peep sight, thanks to the Adjustable Red Dot System (ARD).  With the ARD, bowhunters simply center the dot on the target and let the arrow fly. There is no need for a peep sight.

 

SUCCESS WITH ARD

Many bowhunters who inquire about the ARD system worry about bow torque but with the ARD system, if the bowhunter can’t see the red dot inside the scope housing, the bow is torqued. If the bowhunter can see the red dot inside the scope, the bow is perfectly aligned and ready to shoot. With the ARD, aiming is quick and simple. Many of our happy customers can’t believe how easy and fun it is to shoot their bows now that they have eliminated the need for a peep sight.

 

In order for any bowhunter to accurately shoot at long ranges, they need a quality bow, quality arrows, a top notch sight, and lots of practice. Get outside and practice at extreme ranges so when a buck steps out at 30 yards this fall, the shot will be easy to make.