Where to Shoot Deer with a Crossbow: The Best Places for Hunting Success
If you’re looking to hunt deer with a crossbow, then you need to know where to shoot them for the best chance of success. This blog post will discuss some of the best places to shoot deer to bring them down quickly and efficiently. We’ll also provide tips on aiming your crossbow for the perfect shot. So, whether you’re a beginner or an experienced hunter, read on for information that will help you bag your next buck!
Deer hunting with a bow is a challenging and rewarding experience. It requires a lot of knowledge and skill to do it properly. Understanding the deer’s anatomy, and knowing where to aim at it, is one of the most important parts of hunting with a bow.
If you are hunting deer with a crossbow, the best place to shoot them is in the side, within 35 yards. Aim for the lower part of the deer’s vital area in the front third of its body. When shooting a deer with a bow, shooting is more important than shooting a rifle. Just like using a turkey hunting blind, you can also use a tent to conceal yourself when hunting deers.
A broadhead is different from a rifle. A rifle bullet can cause the bone to break and cause shrapnel injuries. But whether you are hunting deer in the rain or while the sun is up, it is good to aim for the lungs because they are in the back behind the shoulder. You should not shoot at the shoulder like many rifle hunters do when hunting deer.
Things to Consider Before Taking Your Shot
There are several things you should think about before shooting a deer. You need to think about which direction the deer is facing, where the wind is blowing, how far away the deer is from you. How aware the deer is of your presence and whether the deer is moving or standing still. Once you know all of this, you will be able to make a better decision about whether or not to shoot.
Consider the Movement of the Deer
If you see a deer moving, the only time you should shoot it is if it is a good trophy and you don’t think you will see it again. You should never shoot at a deer just because it is moving.
Although shooting a deer while walking or running can benefit, getting the right shot is often more difficult. So, to get the best chance of getting your shot right, you should wait for them to be still.
Consider How Alert the Deer Is
If a deer is still, you should note how alert the deer is. If the deer’s head is up and is looking towards you, it hears you and is very alert.
When a deer is alerted, it is ready to run quickly if it needs to. This is not the best time to take a shot with your bow, but sometimes you will have to. Just remember that an alerted deer is harder to hit correctly. Deer tend to move once they hear the sound of a bowstring.
If you have a bow, it can be hard for deer to hear the sound of your bowstring. That’s why it is important to buy sound dampeners. If you are shooting, they also need to belong shots, or an alert deer will get out of the way.
Try to Be Within 35 Yards of the Deer Whenever Possible
It is best to use a crossbow from around 35 yards. You could make shots from farther away, but it is harder if you do for several reasons.
The deer’s further away from the bow, the more time it reacts to the sound. At 35 yards, it is easier for a deer to react than at 80 yards.
Second, the further your arrow travels, the slower it will go. This is because of something called ‘air resistance.’ The general rule is that for every 10 yards, or so, your arrow loses about 1 fps in velocity.
Third, the further away your target is, the more the bolt trajectory can be affected by the outside elements. Wind and humidity are two underrated factors that you must consider before taking a shot.
Where to Aim at a Deer
When you are shooting at a deer, the green dot on the target represents where you want your arrow to enter on a broadside shot.
If you want to be successful when hunting with a bow, it is important to understand the anatomy of a deer. The most important thing to remember is that a bow is not like a rifle. A rifle shoots shrapnel from the bullet that spreads out and breaks a bone, killing the deer. An arrow does not have this effect.
There are two ways an arrow can kill a deer. One way is that the deer will die from blood loss. To cause the most blood loss, buy large, high-quality broadheads to make both entry and exit wounds.
Two, the deer will die from suffocation. When an arrow goes into their lung, they can’t breathe, and they will eventually die because of not getting enough oxygen.
Aim at the Vital Organs
The lungs are the biggest organs in a deer. They are easy to hit with an arrow behind the deer’s shoulder. The heart is below the lungs, in the chest cavity. The liver is located behind the heart.
The larger the deer, the bigger their lungs. If you are hunting a doe, you should know that their lungs are not as big as a person’s head. But if you hunt a buck, they will have bigger lungs than a human head.
Another reason the lungs are a good target for arrows is that they are only protected by the rib cage. This makes it easy for high-quality broadheads to penetrate them.
Don’t Aim at the Shoulder Blade
A broadhead will have a very difficult time penetrating the shoulder blade of a deer. You may kill the deer, but you will not likely get a shot that goes all the way through its body.
Aim at a Small Portion of the area directly behind the shoulder/front leg
If you want to shoot a deer, it is better to aim at a small part of the deer instead of trying to hit it broadside. When you aim for a small target, you are more likely to hit it than when you try to hit a large target. This is like trying to shoot something 20 feet tall. You are more likely to hit it than if you tried to shoot something 100 feet tall.
When deer hunting with a crossbow or compound bow, it is important to aim for the vitals. This means that you should shoot for about 1/2 inch towards the leg on the side of the deer you want to hit. If shooting at a deer facing you, aim 3-4 inches on the front leg and into the middle of the chest. Consider the location of the lungs and heart when taking the shot and attempt to strike them with a clean pass-through.
Take a Broadside Shot Whenever Possible
When hunting with a bow, you want to take broadside shots whenever possible. Broadside shots give you the best chance of hitting the deer’s internal organs and causing a good blood trail.
Where to Aim on a Deer from a Treestand
When you hunt from a tree stand, there are some things to think about. You might be 15-20 feet up in the tree. If the deer is below you, it won’t notice that you are there. You can shoot at where its shoulder blade is on the front of its body and then go towards the back of its body for a kill shot.
Remember that arrows going downwards will cause more blood loss when shooting from a treestand than arrows shot straight on. This can work to your advantage, so aim low behind the front leg of the deer. Because of this, you can also consider using a ground blind over a tree stand, depending on your preferences.
Avoid Straight-On/Straight-Away Shots if Possible
It is not smart to take a shot straight on or straight away from a deer. You will want to wait until the deer is by itself and there isn’t anything else in the way.
Two things happen when you take a shot from straight on or from straight away. First, it is very hard to hit the animal’s vital organs. This is why it is better to take a broadside shot.
Second, you will wound the deer. It will run away, and it might suffer for a few days before dying. If you are patient while hunting, you will be rewarded with a kill.
Invest in a 3D Practice Target
The best way to develop your skill is to practice shooting your crossbow at 3D practice targets. This will help you improve your aim and accuracy. You should buy a 3D deer target if you have space for it. This will help you better understand how the location of your bolts changes depending on the distance and angle.
There are many 3D targets on the market, but you should try the Field Logic GlenDel Buck 3D Archery Target. The great thing about the GlenDel Buck is that it is a realistic rendition of a big buck and has a large, replaceable shooting target area. Most 3D targets don’t have a replaceable target area, so once it’s shot up, it’s scrap.
Making shots at 3D targets will help you become more comfortable making shots in the field. If you hunt from a treestand, I recommend practicing to simulate what you might encounter in the field.
Bottom Line
Deer hunting can be a fun and challenging sport. It is a good idea to learn about the body of a deer. When you shoot an arrow in one or two lungs, it will cut off their air supply, and they will bleed out really fast.
If you don’t hit the deer in the vital areas, it may still die from being shot with a bolt. However, it is less likely to die because the vital organs are still working. You can do many things to improve your accuracy when hunting, but the most important thing is to take your time and aim for the vital areas. This will increase your chances of making a kill.
Buy the best arrows and broadheads you can afford. Then practice with them on a 3D target. Success is 90% preparation, so get out there and prepare yourself!
For more information about crossbow hunting, click here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Where to Shoot Deer With Crossbow
The best way to shoot a deer with a crossbow is by hitting it in the side. Try to shoot within 35 yards. Aim for the lower part of the deer’s body, near the front. When you shoot a deer with a bow, where you hit it is more important than when you shoot a deer with a rifle.
To choose an aiming point, think of the path the arrow will take to get to the deer. Then aim where it would be on the deer’s other side. This may include aiming closer to the deer’s center than behind its front shoulder when shooting from behind.
If you don’t care about hitting a target, a powerful modern crossbow can shoot as far as 500 yards. Up to 80 yards is possible for a very skilled shooter if you want to hunt. However, you should stick to a maximum of 60 yards if you are a beginner.
You may use a crossbow during all deer seasons. Crossbows can be equipped with a scope, but you cannot transport them in your car while they are cocked. When it is also legal to hunt with guns, you must wear hunter orange when hunting with crossbows.
To make sure that the arrows hit in the center of the target, go 10 yards away from it. Then, when they are hitting in the middle at 10 yards after you have adjusted your scope, move back to 20 yards.
The spot you need to hit with your crossbow bolt is really small. If you miss, the bolt will go through the deer’s head and out without killing it.
Aim for the heart or lungs if you want to kill an animal quickly. If you shoot it in the neck, the bullet will shatter the spine, and the animal will die instantly. However, you might not be able to get a good shot if the animal is not standing broadside.
It appears that most limbs on crossbows break after 1500-2000 shots. Many people also experience failures after only 500 shots with cams and strings.
The crossbow was more powerful than the longbow and became the main weapon on European battlefields by 1300. The Pope banned the crossbow in 1139 as ‘deathly and hateful to God’, but this did not stop its spread.
A crossbow is heavier than a vertical bow. The physics of the crossbow makes it difficult to hold steady when shooting, which makes the crossbow less accurate than a vertical bow.
It is legal to hunt with a crossbow during some hunting seasons. You can hunt during the archery season for bear and deer. Fall and spring seasons for turkeys, elk season, firearms bear season, firearms deer season, and small game seasons.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
© 2023 All rights Reserved | findyourbow.com | Privacy Policy