My bow is strung at 55lbs.
What's the farthest shot the set up (not me) is capable of?

I know all bow's are not created equal. I'm looking for a general answer.

it will depend on arrows, draw length, broadhead wieght, rest. id dont see you being able to take anything over a 40yard shot and will that ull need a lot of practice.

You sound like you are completely new to archery, so the "farthest shot" the bow is capable of is irrelevant in regards to hunting.  What matters is what you are capable of, and for your first season, you should limit yourself to 30yds or less –– 20yds or less if you haven't practiced much.  How far a 55lb. bow can effectively kill an animal depends on the animal and how you have the bow set up (draw length, arrow weight, etc.).



For competition/target practice, the bow can kill paper at 100yds if you do your part.



 

No solid answer for everybody and every situation.  Arrow weight, draw length and stuff weighing down the string, will also determine how fast your bow shoots.

Another thing that happens at the longer ranges is that the animal will have more time to jump away from the arrow (called jumping the string), resulting in a complete miss, or worse, a wounded animal.  The slower your arrow, the more time he/she will have to jump the string.

So if it's very quiet in the woods and your deer is already on edge (might have caught a whiff of you and is on high alert) you might want to really exercise some discipline and wait until it's within 20-25 yards or even closer.  If it doesn't get that close, just don't shoot (and usually they will begin walking in the other direction anyway when they get a whiff, but don't see you).  

If the wind is in your favor, and you placed your stand in the right spot, just wait until the thing is underneath you.

I remember when I got my first compound bow circa 1989.
I shot an arrow across a 200 yard field quite easily and I'm
sure if it had a broadhead on it, and it hit a deer in the chest
it would have easily been a killing shot/pass through.

The big part is being able to hit the damn deer in the right spot
at 200 yards. I have had deer "jump the string" at a measured
22 yards. (I refuse to believe I could have missed such a "gimme"
shot ).

I shoot a new Z7X and will hold my shots to a maximum of 35 yards,
at least for the first year. Nothing worse than shooting a deer in the
ass or guts and losing it. We owe a humane harvest to our game....

Thanks for the input. I 'm considering putting more weight on the bow, not sure.

"Putting more weight on?"  What kind of bow do you have?  One doesn't add weight to a bow.  For that matter, just how new to archery are you?



 

A 55 lb bow will easily result in pass through shots.
If you feel the need to increase poundage make sure the bow is tuned after.

I am no longer obsessed with "ultimate spped" bows and have actually stepped
down in poundage on my new bow. A Z7x with 60 pound limbs set to 62-63 right now.

I'm a big fan of Murphy and if it can go wrong it will - especially on stand.
Ever try pulling a 70+ pound bow discreetly after sitting in a tree for 4 hours?
I am more then happy with the ease at which my Mathews bow draws and the laser
beams it shoots with Easton flatline graphite arrows. POI with spitfire Maxx mechanicals
is same as field points and I group better at 30 yards than 20...

Seriously doubt even an alert deer at 20 yards will have the ability to jump the string

Why?

I'll second that you don't want to go too high on your draw weight because being hungry, cold, tired, stiff and in a contorted position up in a small tree stand will add what feels like another 10 lbs to the bow.

You should be able to hold the bow level, pull it back slowly and let it down slowly without shaking, wincing, huffing, or having to point the bow away from the target.

My old PSE is adjustable from 55-75#, maybe they're not doing that anymore but it wasn't unheard of when I got into archery

Bows still have a range of adjustability for draw weight, but one doesn't "put more weight on," implying adding something to the bow to increase the draw weight.  One just turns a couple hex bolts to increase the draw weight.  His manner of wording makes me wonder just how knowledgeable he is about archery.  If he's brand new, this isn't the place to learn what he needs to know.  He should head to archeryaddix.com or [ulr=http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/index.php]archerytalk.com[/url] and start reading the basics that can be found at places like here and then head over to archeryaddix for a more laid back, less fanboy-laden forum to learn from.



 

I was going to throw a couple ten pound plates on...

I meant add draw weight. I shoulda used bow speak.

I haven't bow hunted for probably 8 years. I'm going to get back out there this week. I'm really looking forward to it.

When I used to hunt, the guys I went with were all using 70-80 pound draw weight. I thought more draw weight would increase my range and decrease the chance of a deer jumping the string.

I really appreciate all of the input.

Proper tuning and arrow weight have FAR more effect on noise.  The main benefit of more draw weight is a flatter trajectory, giving one a better +/- for range estimation.  A few fps won't make a difference if you have a noisy setup.

Yup, aside from all the add-on sound dampeners; tuning, heavier arrows, setting the draw weight on your bow up closer to its max. where it's most efficient will all help quiet your bow some.

If your peep sight has a tube on it, that thing also makes a slapping noise against the limb when you shoot.  It's a very unnatural sound and I swear it caused deer to jump the string back when I was a newb using a tube.  Whisker biscuits also make a noise, not to mention I could never get one tuned to my satisfaction.

Some mechanical releases are also much quieter than others.  I find my Scott Wildcat single caliper to be very quiet.  The newer hook type releases are even a little quieter.

If shooting your bow sounds sort of like a small tree limb breaking, deer/turkey won't even notice it half the time.  Especially when there is some wind blowing and rustling the trees.  You can sit there and take multiple shots at the animal until you hit it.

Also, a string stop will help absorb some of the sound.  Some instructions say leave a credit card space between the stopper and the spring, but I just adjust it so the string is laying against it with a tiny amount of tension.  Seems quieter that way.

YMMV

i'm guessing it would reely on...   the beholder...

Once your bow is set up tp you and you walk back tune your bow using your 20 yrd pin and 20,30,40 if you have a tail to the right slightly move your pin to left and reset your sight at 20 . You are now set to see how far YOU can shoot . I use a single pin spot hogg sight . I am shooting a PSE dominator 3-d at 50# and shooting a 322 grain arrow . I can shoot this set-up out to 150 yards before my vanes start to hit scope housing . I would suggest making a 5'x5' target and work your way back 10 yrds at a time . The further out you shoot the longer you have to hold form and hold that bow up after you release the arrow . In my opinion this is the best way to learn how to shoot a bow this will force you to get your form right and the 50 yrd and in is a gimme shot . Good luck

OP, are you shooting target or are you using your bow for hunting?  Recurve, Compound, or Longbow?

Put a 40 yard shot on an okay buck a couple weeks ago.  Good hit toward the rear of the inboard lung on a steep  quartering away shot... didn't penetrate.  55lb draw, carbon arrows with Shuttle T broadheads.  I know there's more to the science than that but the point is it's a proven setup.  Very little blood, waited 9 hours, then just by luck of the draw found him on private property about a half mile away (private property means we weren't bringing the bows).  Got pretty darn close and then he hopped up, trotted casually ahead of me 'til he realized I was chasing him, and took off like he wasn't even hurt.  No blood where he was bedded, nothing but an arrow barely in deep enough to stay put making us both look stupid.





So proven again, "farthest" on paper and "farthest" on an animal are extremely different.