How tight do my groups gotta be at 30 yards??

[john1984]

How good of a shot are you at 30 yards??? How tight should my groups be at 30 yards before I take a shot at a deer at 30 yards?????

[Hawthorne]

If you can shoot in the lungs every time. What’s the measurement for an adult sized deer lungs? That’s about my max distance for hunting. Most my set ups I can’t shoot that far anyway due to thick cover

[A5BLASTER]

You should be striving too be good enough to robin hood an arrow at will at 30 yards.

That said. Long as you can put 5 arrows in a 2 inch group out to 30 yards your more then good to go in my book.

I'm sure someone is going to try and call BS on that but we'll I shoot presision rifle and I bring the same training and mid set to my archery training. Me personally I'm not satisfied till my setup and me are dialed in to where I can put 5 arrows in a 2 inch group at 60 yards.

So if you can do 5 arrows in a 2 or 3 inch group at 30 yards at will, your probably good too go.

[Tim H]

Groups are important but one tip is make the first shot count. Your first arrow you send should hit its mark. In a hunting situation, the only get one shot. When you practice, focus on the first arrow you send in your shooting sessions. No warmups, just send it!

[john1984]

Same as 20 or 40 or 60.... I shoot a baseball size group at all yardages. If I lose that group I know I need to either practice more at that distance or that’s my max range

That's impressive. I used to think I was a good shot. But lately I'm not content where I'm at

[john1984]

Sometime in the near future ( maybe tommorow) I want to post some pics of my groups at 30 yards. Then I want you guys to tell me if you think its ok if I shoot at a deer at 30

[A5BLASTER]

Maybe yours is softball or pie size. The goal is to be confident. But I have never pushed a shot or yardage on an animal i wasn’t 100 percent confident I could make and it’s cost me a lot of good deer With both a gun and bow. But im ok with this because I stuck to my standard

OP. Let what he said sink in real good. This will always be more important then your group sizes.

[justdirtyfun]

Well you want to be an accurate shot, we all do. But the sweet spot is not round and room for error changes with angle and direction of travel.
A broadside shot with the leg on the left will allow more leeway on the right then hitting bone on the left. And can kill a little high and low. Rectangular kill zone almost.
I am guilty of not practicing with a 3d target but firmly believe it is the best target practice for killing an animal.

[Trout]

I think people spend too much time focusing on group sizes at known yardages. In my experience, I've made bad shots on deer because of misjudging yardage or not picking a spot. Picking a spot was mostly an issue when I was young and didnt have much experience, but just this last season I lost a deer at a range I can shoot at no problem in the back yard because I misjudged the yardage. This year my practice regimen has been all about judging yardage. I will range trees at 10, 20, 30 and 40 then have my son, or myself if he isnt home, move the three targets I have to random spots within them. Then I get one shot at each, then repeat with the targets in new spots. Good group sizes come on their own with practice and picking a spot.

[Dewey]

The standard I alway’s went by was if I can’t group my arrows the size of my fist and can’t pull them all out with one hand I won’t shoot a deer at that yardage. Too much room for error on longer shots. I’m good at 40 but still much prefer the 10-12 range. Pretty rare I shoot deer beyond 25 yards.

These days I don’t shoot for groups anymore. One arrow group is all I care about because that’s the one that counts.

[DhD]

My goal is baseball sized groups at whatever distance I am shooting. Right now I wouldn't take a shot at more than 30, but I will have that dialed in to 50 by opener Sept 1.

[Ranger Matthews]

Baseball size is a good starting point. It’s also a good idea to practice at a distance further than you plan on shooting a deer at. Big thing is target archery is different than hunting so be 100% confident you can make the shot because the mental part of it can’t be overstated

[jporcello]

I have made the switch back to using a compound bow after 6 years. It has been a real struggle for me. Learning about my anchor point, my hand position, my hand relaxed at full draw, how to use a thumb release, this is a struggle for me too. Iv been watching John dudleys school of knock series on YouTube to re educate myself. https://youtu.be/BvzzpNL2J-c Definitely worth the time to go through I think 12 weeks to learn about archery fundamentals. Practice, practice, practice and then more practice. I try to shoot at least 10 ends a day with 4-5 arrows. My groups go from inch and half at 25 yds to loosing arrows at 30. I do agree with the first shots the most important cause usually that’s all you get in the hunting world.

[Huntress13]

Agree that first shot counts more than group. But also practice from tree stand. Your form isn't the same as standing at the range or in your backyard. And knowing angles for kill shot. I would worry more about that than making tighter groups on a target.

[Randyflash]

Confidence is key, if you are questioning whether you're accurate enough for a 30 yard shot then you are not confident.

I would also agree with others that too much is put on group size. Best thing you can do to test yourself is practice in stressful situations with a single shot. Couple things I like to do is wait till last light in the evening and imagine you have a single broadside shot at a deer. Also, shoot with friends and make small wagers on the shots, nothing adds stress like shooting in front of a buddy who’s gonna give you crap for a miss. Most archery shops have DART leagues which are great for this. Another good stress test is hold at full draw for a full minute before sending it. Finally, unless you will be hunting from the ground it really helps to practice shooting up in your stand at sharp angles.