At what range do you typically take deer?

Anything under 300yrds. Hunted central Texas when I was younger. Now live in Kansas. It's usually windy here so I keep it short. Besides if you just wait a little while they're be another one around soon enough. I've killed a lot of deer under 100yrds.
 
Coastal Georgia hunter here. Closest shot was 20 feet using a muzzleloader while sitting on the ground and longest shot was probably 90 yards with .243. I like to see the whites of their eyes! I have never had the opportuntiy to take a shot longer than 125 yards or so.
 
I've taken deer between 25 and 75 yards max. I hunt in the rolling hills of Kentucky so I don't have a chance at shots any longer than that.
 
The majority of my whitetail have been around 75 to 150 yards. One at 350 and one at 450. Walking hunting for mulies in the Davis Mountains, one at about 90 yards across a clearing in timber and one at maybe 25 yards in a telephone line sendero.
 
Depends on what species of deer & where I'm hunting. Closest was a Sambar deer at 5 yards in thick fern/rainforest vegetation. Furthest was a Red deer stag at 320 yards, as it came out of the forest at sunset to feed in the open- I was waiting on the next hill with a fallen log as cover & rest.
I've culled plenty of Fallow deer in open farmland with rolling hills where shots are typically 125 to 200 yards, hillside to hillside.
While I've limited myself to 320 yards on deer, I will shoot at varmits & feral hogs & goats at greater ranges.
 
The closest Ive taken was about 6 feet from a ground blind with a a .41 mag revolver. The farthest was 502yds with a 300WSM, over beans from the loft in a barn with a shooting bench. I was shooting deer on nuisance permits and had plenty of time to identify, ( no bucks allowed) laze and make the shot.
The vast majority Ive killed with a rifle are between 100-200 yds.
 
The two longest were about 250yds. The closest was about 20ft.
Hunting in Western Wa. and Or. I'd average between 40yds and 90yds. Hunting on the East side I'm averaging about 125yds.
 
bow & gun

I bow hunt whitetails from trees, and have kept a pretty good "deer diary".
My bow shot average is 14 yds. My longest bow shot was 30, and I have only taken a 30 yd shot on one other occassion (missed). These days I shoot one pin set for 20 yds.

My longest deer shot was paced at 225, on a ROW (.270/130) , bamaboy has the family record at a lasered 260yds on a ROW with a .243/100. But, almost all my other rifle kills have been under 100, half those under 50. Biggest buck I will likely ever kill was at 19 paces w/ a bolt 7.62x39/135. The last rifle kill I made was at 30 paces w/ a .308/150 scout.
 
Mitchell County, Texas

on our ranch typical range for shots is between 80-175 yards. The furthest anybody has taken is a deer is 355 by my father using a Browning MKII BAR in 270. This range is not the norm for us however and that was only once.
 
I hunt with a 10mm pistol and have gotten three deer in the last four seasons. Every deer has been less than 25 yards or less. Last season was about 5 yards. Stalking and woodcraft is a must :cool:
 
Shotgun only state here so my ranges are 10-75 yards. Occasionaly 100. But that has nothing to do with how far I would shoot em if I could. With the open fields around here there's a good many times I wish I had a 300 yard centerfire in my hands.

LK
 
It is my opinion that taking an animal at any distance over 400 yards is not impossible, but it is not a great idea. I like to hunt for trophy animals and find it very dificult to judge the quality of any trophy out that far.

I have taken animals out past 400 yards, and every time I have been dissapointed in them. What looks to be very large through the binos or spotting scope, often turns out to have major ground shrinkage.

I think that T.V. has caused many hunters to think that they can take the long shot because they saw it done on T.V. The thing with television, though, is the shows are all edited and never show the misses and the wounded animals. I suspect that they also substitute beter quality animals for the closeup shots!

I guess it is really up to the individual, what are the risks you are willing to accept?

I like them closer than further!
 
Where I live now between 50-75 yards. I grew up hunting across soybean fields tho. If you couldn't make a 300 yard shot you best stay home.
 
Southeast Missouri I'd take deer out to 125 yds at the most, but as a rule under 75 yds mostly. Now up here in northern Missouri we see and can shoot deer up to 50- 500 yds. Shooting at deer at over 300 yds (for me) has to be taken from a solid rest with no wind nor distractions, It would definetly have to be a broadside heart lung area type shot. My rifles are super capable of these distances but I'm not, as I only practice from 100 yds.. My scopes are zeroed 3 inches high at 100 yds so they should be money at 300 yds, but I'm the weak link in the chain, I have to use a solid rest,, so last year I bought one of those Primos "trigger sticks" tripod, and it's super solid man, Last year I was carrying the damn thing, but dropped it when my buck jumped up and I shot him off-hand at about 75 yds or so.:) I wished I had a 300-500 yd range here to use, but I don't so I practice every weekend at the local MDC range.:)
 
I am the op in this thread and I see that every one else is posting there guns. My gun I "harvest" deer with is a Marlin 1894C in 357 magnum (the barrel was cut to 16.5 inches for me when I was a kid) Most of these shots are from my back porch at a range of about 20-60 yards.

When I have to go out and actually hunt I bring my Marlin 1895 in 45/70. These shots typically are about 50-125 yards.

I guess I am use to shooting in the brush with a "pumpkin tosser" for a gun I typically load 405 grain bullets doing about 1600FPS. To me a 300 yard shot just sounds crazy. I know people do it but probably with some thing like a 30-06 or a 300 magnum.

I can shoot "longer distance" for my gun but that is from a bench and with laser and lots of prep. but even from a bench I doubt I could make a 400 yard shot with my 45/70. There are people that could (I have seen in in CAS)

any way I dont know why I am saying all this.
 
about 35 ft is the furthest I have ever had to shoot, I typically sit in dense woods with very limited close shots, let alone long ones. sometimes I sit on a ridge which has some 100 yard shooting lanes but the deer I took there was about 20 ft away.
 
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