What average distance do you shoot deer?

What is your average distance for taking deer (in yards)?

  • 50

    Votes: 31 40.8%

  • 75

    Votes: 27 35.5%

  • 100

    Votes: 16 21.1%

  • 150

    Votes: 3 3.9%

  • 200

    Votes: 3 3.9%

  • 250

    Votes: 1 1.3%
  • Total voters
    76
  • Poll closed .
In the thick stuff here in Northeast Florida it is VERY unusual that I take a shot over 30 or 40 yards. Most have been MUCH closer. My old .35 Remington does a fine job in these situations and it does not mess a lot of meat up.
 
Longest And Shortest

LONGEST 285 yards... two does on the last day of season 27 minutes after sunset. Two shots from a solid rest, two dead does. .270 Win

Shortest 7 yards or less same rifle as above

Most are 40 to 70 yards.
 
this is great. 2/3 indicate 100 yards and most less.

Many of those 150-250 are probably 85 to 100 in reality.
 
Stuck buck

About 1964, when I was young and living in New Jersey, I passed a hunter saftey course, bought a 12-gauge Mossberg, and went deer hunting for the first time. It was mid-December, very early morning, and very cold with snow on the ground. I sat in a depression for about one-hour scanning the thick woods around me until my feet became numb. Did not spot a single animal. I gave up and stood up and a two point buck and a doe appeared about ten yards in front of me. I pointed the Mossberg but had no clear shot and, after a quick moment of hesitation, the deer ran off. I was not too happy. Then I heard a clatter in their direction and ran to the noise. This is what I saw: a narrow gravel pathway, a 6-foot chain link fence surrounding Lakehurst Naval Air Station (USN was still flying lighter-than-air airships from Lakehurst), and a buck with antlers stuck in the chain link. From the hoof marks I determined that the doe made a successful turn at the fence but the buck lost his footing and skidded into the fence antlers first. Was it humane to either hop the fence and untangle the buck or walk away? Not at all. From about 2-yards I blasted the stuck buck.

I felt a bit embarassed about shooting a sitting duck (or buck) and, for many years, I could not tell the story of my first deer without saying that I heroically tracked and stalked a New Jersey whitetail through the oaks and swamps of Manchester Township.

My last deer was shot at about 200-yards in the White-Inyo mountains of California.
 
It's always best to get as close as possible.:) One year though I was on one side of a ravine and a black bear on the other (250 yds), and having practiced at ranges out to 300 yds I knew I could easily make that broadside shot. The 30.06 Barnes 180 XLC went through both shoulders-then came the hard work of skinning, cutting and packing it out.:eek:
 
Hard to recall over a forty-year period. I'd guess that the majority were inside of 200 yards. Maybe most in the 75- to 125-yard range. Only a couple in the Ma Bell country. Very few up close and personal.
 
I don't think I have ever pegged one beyond 85-90 yards. I haven't killed many either. I don't carry binos so I limit myself quite a bit there.
Brent
 
this is great. 2/3 indicate 100 yards and most less.

Many of those 150-250 are probably 85 to 100 in reality.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't bet on it.

Seriously, I can't say what an "average" shot would be for me. I've shot deer at 10-75 yards, and I've shot deer at 300-500 yards. I can't think of too many that were in between those extremes.

On "average", a deer either appears on my side of the canyon, or the other. If it's on my side, it's usually a fairly close shot; if on the other side, it's a somewhat longer shot.

If I averages all the deer I've shot, the range would likely come out to be somewhere around 150-200 yards. That would be good, because that's a nice easy range to hit a deer at, but I can't think of a single deer that I've shot at that range.

I'm guessing by your statement that you hunt back east, or at least in an area where visibility is limited. Out west, longer shots are often the norm. I take a shot as it's presented, and I really don't know what I'd consider "average".
 
It's hard to get a good shot in Indiana woodlands longer than fifty yards. It's also tough to reach longer than one hundred with a 12 ga. which is my weapon of choice. I have had what would have been good shots if I had a good rifle. In explanation, when it comes to firearms in deer hunting in Indiana, there is not much to choose from.
 
Between 10-50 yards. All my hunting is with shotgun or bow.

Edit: Last week I made about a 100 yard shot with a slug, so that one is the exception.
 
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I shot 3 deer this last season. Two were at 35 yards, the other was 225yards. I have killed around 25 deer so far in my time and the closest was probably 10-15yards and the farthest was the one above at 225yards with the second farthest being 160 yards. I would say if I had an average distance it would be around 50-75yards for the majority of the deer I have taken.
 
longes shot was a little over 350 and the closest was about 35. Average shots have run between 200 and 250. Untill recently I used to hunt the high sierras in areas where there was a lot of open space save the manzanita and sagebrush.
 
most a mine been around 50 or 60 yards... i only have to hunt for the first three days and ive never had to go longer than that to fill the tags i have
 
I like tight cover and shots can be very close, feet not yards. The other option is savannas and cow pastures where 200+ yds. is not uncommon. Around here there is not much in between.
 
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