I've never taken a shot that wasn't wide open. Last year I got a little frustrated. Through bow season up until the beginning of rifle season I had 15 different deer inside my bow range and felt like I couldn't shoot any of them because they weren't in the wide open. I've always practiced just out in the yard from ground level. I have practiced a small amount from a ladder stand just to see if anything was especially different but not very often. This evening I was thinking about it and wanted to see what was possible so I set up my target behind some tree limbs that were about 1/2 the distance of the shot and then I climbed up on my roof so I would have some more flexibility with respect to where I was shooting from, distance, thickness of the potential obstacles. I started off shooting through a pretty large hole 12"+. Predictably there was really no problem. So then I moved to a spot where I thought I would never shoot through while hunting because there really was no hole, more like a small gap. I guessed at the range on the first shot, hit a limb and missed the target. I then ranged the target and discovered my guess was 8.5 yds off (yes, I need some work on that). I shot 8 more arrows through the same spot, with the correct yardage and none of them hit anything before the target and all would be lethal shots. I still probably would not take that shot while hunting because I don't think a total of 9 arrows is enough to make a fair judgement, but I will be expanding the sorts of shots I will be willing to take this year.

When you release an arrow at a deer do you require that you can see the entire deer unobstructed or just his heart and lungs? What kind of stuff are you willing to shoot through? 2 years ago I passed on a 30 yd broadside shot on the biggest buck I've ever seen in the wild because of a few scattered clumps of sage grass. I waited for him to get completely clear of everything, shot him but made a poor shot and never recovered him and don't know if I killed him or not. In hindsight, the sage grass which was up close to his body would not have altered that shot significantly if at all and I should have taken it. Will a green leaf alter a bow shot? How about the twig that the leaf is attached to? How big do you think something has to be before, having hit it, it will alter your shot? Leaves and twigs are not ridged, they give way easily. What kind of shots are you willing to take?

For me if I have a clear shot to vitals I'll take it. I don't like the idea of my arrow hitting anything before hitting the deer. I had a shot at a doe at 25 yds from the ground a couple weekends ago with nothing but grass covering vitals. I just couldn't justify taking it because I hate grid searching with no blood.

I’m looking for a hole the size of a basketball to get an arrow through.

Good on you for practicing, learning and expanding your comfort zone. Confidence is everything in hunting.

Has to be a clear shot at the vitals. Arrows can be deflected by the slightest thing. You really have to watch those overhanging limbs on the longer shots too. I wound up tagging this limb right in front of my stand on a chip shot on a big ol’ flop earred nannerhead a couple of years ago. Hit her way high and never found her. Believe it was only flesh wound. I never saw the limb in my sight when I took the shot.

Make sure before a shot you look at the other pins and if they hit limbs. If you are shooting a deer at 30 and even though your 30 pin is clear. If the 20 pin is on a limb at 20 yards then you will hit it. And I like to practice as close to real as I can.