Examine other possible variables to understand the limitations on your maximum shooting range. If you hunt and shoot from a sitting position, check your accuracy under those conditions. Does it bother you when the wind produces sight pin movement that hinders your performance? If so, test under those circumstances. When determining your maximum shooting range, the test should be done with broadheads. Many archers discover that their broadheads may not group as tightly as their target points.

The author passed up a marginal-shot opportunity at this Illinois bruiser because he did not feel good about it. Three days later, he was offered a much better shot on the same buck at 35 yards, and he was able to close the deal. The big 10-pointer grossed over 160 inches.

The 160-class buck headed toward my tree stand, frequently stopping to work over an occasional sapling. As he drew to a stop just within good shooting distance, he presented a 20-yard quartering-to shot. I didn't feel good about the shot, so I continued to wait patiently for a better opportunity. Moments later he walked forward into a broadside position, and I vocalized a doe bleat. He halted after several steps, but there were several small twigs in the way. Though I felt I could make the shot, I wasn't 100 percent sure, so I waited. Then the buck spotted a doe high on the ridge, and down went my hopes.

Should I have taken the shot between the twigs? I didn't, because I wasn't sure I could make a successful hit. I was rewarded three days later when I got a broadside opportunity at the same buck at 35 yards and the arrow passed through both lungs perfectly.

When should a hunter take the shot? When he or she is 50 percent certain of a clean kill? Or must one wait for 70 percent or 90 percent certainty? Personally I think that whitetail hunters should be nearly 100 percent positive, since the decision is based on one's shooting performance normally done under the serene conditions of the practice field.

The stakes and pressure levels are elevated when a trophy whitetail is standing in front of you. I have had many accomplished archers admit that they've missed a handsome buck inside 20 yards. If a positive, clean-kill shot can turn into a marginal kill, what could happen to an opportunity that commences as a 70 percent shot?

All bowhunters should know their skill levels and limitations. You can gather this information by spending time on the practice range. A good target to simulate deer hunting is a piece of cardboard with a saucer-sized circle in the middle. The distance at which you can keep nearly every arrow in the "saucer" is the distance at which you should be capable of shooting at deer. True, the effective kill area on a deer is a little bigger than a saucer, but the smaller size will allow you some leeway for error when you are nervous.

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