When it comes to shot distance when hunting, ethics is definitely the main thing to focus on. The bow's performance will be able to take you out fairly far - 40, 50, 60 yards and you can still kill a deer. However, ethically if you can't accurately shoot that far, then it's not a good shot. Most hunters that shoot 50-60lbs tend to set their maximum at 30-40 yards, but you have to determine what your "ethical maximum distance" is, and stick with that.