And yet,,, somehow, archers manage to get the job done. Midwest, open timber, plains, sage flats and prairies, the varied terrain including muskeg of Alaska, all types of terrain and cover.
Seems like once a fella gets a gun in his hands,,, his brain tells him that shots closer than 50 yards are impossible to get unless the woods are doghair thick.
Next he goes to bragging about the far shot he got that buck with, instead of how close he managed to get. (Not accusing you of that, just am example of the things I see happen or written) Or telling folks that once they leave the dense woods they can't get rhe job done without a rifle that can, "reach out there," as they say.
O.p. think like an archer, hunt like an archer, and you'll get your game with that smoothbore. Yes, you will have to pass some shots. Yes, you will see game you can't get a shot at. It's part of the deal and can be part of the allure.
What is better to hear or tell, the story of that 100 yard or more shot on an animal, that 300+ yard shot at an animal that had no chance to know the shooter was there,,,, or the tale of that hunter who snuck in, or did his homework and was able to position himself, to 75, 50, or less yards,,,, even if at the last moment the breeze turned traitor and blew the whole thing at the last second?
Something else I always ask hunters starting down the road of archery hunting or smoothbores regarding range. At what distance can you see a stick or something that could deflect your arrow or ball? Even if your bow or smoothbore is dialed in for that 75 or 100 yard shot, if you can't see that stick at 50 yards,,, should you be shooting at a living animal past that?
