New bow shooter - when to shoot further?

[carter33]

I haven’t shot a bow in roughly 15 years. Recently picked up a nice bow from my local shop, at 20 yards I can put about 4 of 5 in the 3” “bullseye”. Is that good enough to start shooting out to 30 and 40 yards? As a pretty serious rifle shooter my 3” groups to me don’t seem tight enough to trust my zero at 20 yards. I am trying to get lessons but that may not happen for a while. Is there a benchmark I should shoot for before extending the range?

 

[OR Archer]

If you’re consistent and also confident at 20 step it back.

 

[Rob5589]

You won't know until you give it a shot. 3" group at 20 isn't going to miss the target at 30 or even 40 in all likelihood.

 

[98XJRC]

I'd tend to agree with the others that if your getting consistent groups at 20 you'll be ok to back it up. I've found that by extending your range your 20 yard group will begin to shrink as well. Before you know it you'll be shooting dots at 20 vs for groups so as to not damage any arrows.

If you don't already I'd recommend having some sort of back stop behind your target when stepping back. Loosing arrows isn't cheap.

 

[Nick Muche]

Yep, I think you'd be just fine.

 

[5MilesBack]

I was shooting out to 60 yards within a week of getting my first bow. Would have been farther, but 60 is my max range at home. I found that "the need for speed" carries over to archery as "the need for distance" when shooting. I get bored quickly, even shooting 60. Keep pushing it back, until you run out of pins........and then get a sight with more pins, or a slider.

 

[87TT]

You can shoot farther with a large target or good backstop. I would watch some videos and concentrate on your form at 20 until you can keep your arrows in a 1" to 2" bull. Use different aiming dots so you don't break arrows. Shooting farther is fun and the goal but form is the name of the game. Gook luck and good shooting.

 

[snarkscarbine]

I Started shooting a bow about a month ago and had zero prior experience. I started shooting at 20 to make sure I wasn't going to miss the target entirely, but within a few days I had backed up to 30-40. Shooting the longer distance has helped me iron out some form/technique issues because I could see the effects more clearly. Missing the target shouldn't be an issue unless you have a serious technique problem.

 

[carter33]

Appreciate all the replies. Started stepping out the range all the way to 60 yards, groups are nothing to brag about and I did miss the target on my first 60yd shot but I overestimated my drop and after bringing it down a bit the rest were good.

Shooting the longer distances did seem to help tighten me up at closer ranges. Curious to what you guys think are good groups at various distances?

Iv heard that an inch for every 10 yards is a benchmark, haven’t been shooting long so hard for me to say wether or not that’s obtainable but sounds pretty tough to truly consistently hit.

 

[Rusty Green]

Appreciate all the replies. Started stepping out the range all the way to 60 yards, groups are nothing to brag about and I did miss the target on my first 60yd shot but I overestimated my drop and after bringing it down a bit the rest were good.

Shooting the longer distances did seem to help tighten me up at closer ranges. Curious to what you guys think are good groups at various distances?

Iv heard that an inch for every 10 yards is a benchmark, haven’t been shooting long so hard for me to say wether or not that’s obtainable but sounds pretty tough to truly consistently hit.

When I first started shooting a compound it kinda went the way it’s going for you, you start shooting farther and you’ll get to a point where you won’t want to shoot at the same spot at 20 anymore unless you really like re fletching arrows or replacing the nocks or the arrow completely lol

 

[Torrey in Tahoe]

I'm just getting back into it myself. Focusing of form and consistency. 3 out of 5 arrows will usually be stacked at 30 yards with a couple of flyers. It is easy to get bored and the tendency is certainly to stretch it out. As others have said distance really forces you to focus on form, release and follow through. I recently watched a vide where Cameron Hanes said 1 moa is a good goal: 2" at 20. yards, 3" at 30 yards etc. I realize that that's not actually 1 MOA but you get the idea.

 

[TrapMessiah33]

I'd tend to agree with the others that if your getting consistent groups at 20 you'll be ok to back it up. I've found that by extending your range your 20 yard group will begin to shrink as well. Before you know it you'll be shooting dots at 20 vs for groups so as to not damage any arrows.

If you don't already I'd recommend having some sort of back stop behind your target when stepping back. Loosing arrows isn't cheap.

That's the truth. It certainly helps you focus when you have 25$ plus on the line lol.