you will never be accurate. i try to only take sure shots and i have found 2 and lost one this year but the one i lost was a buck over 200 lbs and i hit him in the same exact spot on his body that i hit a doe a week before and she didnt go 40 yards. difference was, i didn't get an exit wound on the buck.(i did call in a track dog and i looked for him for 3 days) guess what i'm getting at is i shoot my bow all year and only take good shots. i know people who pick their bow up on october 14th and take a handful of shots and consider it good and then head to the woods and shoot "at" any deer that gets within 50 yards and they never find them. not everyone is an ethical bow hunter

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This is the very reason why I chose under 50%. I'm betting that the vast majority of hunters are just average joe hunters and only pick their bows up a couple weeks before season. I'd say you'd be lucky if 10-20% of the bow hunters in the woods shoot much more than that.

I disagree. I'd say the VAST majority of bow hunters spend much more time practicing and becoming familiar with their weapon than the average lead slinger.

I agree with 3FFarms - over 80%.
You can (and I have) lose them both ways.

The numbers for this are already out there if you look. 50% of shots taken actually connect with their target. Of the ones that connect, 50% are recovered. That's for all archery hunters in all age classes.

That's a number I've been given on several occasions by hunting instructors, bow hunting mentors, and professional bow hunters. And I would say it's about right. Lot of shots get taken by folks that never say a word because they are ashamed to admit they missed.

You have to remember that number includes all hunters, experienced, inexperienced, young, old, public land, private land. You would NOT believe some of the folks that come by the check stations on public lands. Those folks are slinging arrows too. There is a segment of the bow-hunting population that has a success rate of 80% or higher, but it is NOT the majority.