An ethical shot is one your setup and your skill can finish cleanly. This checks both before you’re ever in the stand. Pick the animal, set your draw weight, arrow and distance, and answer two honest questions before you take the shot.
How to use it: Pick the animal, enter your draw weight and arrow weight, answer the two range questions, and read the verdict on the right.
// The calculator
Ethical shot.
// The math
Five checks, and every one has to pass: energy (grains × fps² ÷ 450,240) at or above the animal’s minimum (deer 25 ft-lb, elk and black bear 42); draw weight at or above the usual minimum (rabbit 20 lb, deer 40, elk and bear 50); 20 yards or closer; every arrow on a paper plate at that distance; and the animal broadside or quartering away.
A deer at 18 yd, a 45 lb bow and a 405 gr arrow at 180 fps: 29.1 ft-lb (over 25), 45 lb (over 40), inside 20 yd. If every arrow hits the plate and the deer is broadside, it’s an ethical shot. Miss one check and it isn’t.
The full explanation: Choosing a crossbow bolt weight for deer.
// FAQ
Quick answers about energy, range and knowing when not to shoot.
No. Laws set the floor, and they vary by state. Check your state wildlife agency for draw weight and broadhead rules before you hunt.
Broadside or quartering away gives a clear path to the heart and lungs. Quartering toward you or straight on puts bone in the way.
A paper plate is about the size of a deer’s vital zone. If you can’t keep every arrow on it at that distance, the shot is too far for you today.
// Follow
// Free printable
Seventeen printable pages: session log, score tracker, a 30-day drill challenge, a bow maintenance card, a first-season checklist and more. Join the monthly email and it lands right away.
