Hunting Range that works. The usual effective hunting range for a 300+ FPS crossbow is 50, maybe 60 yards. You can definitely go beyond that—even an 80-yard shot would be lethal to medium and even large wildlife. But you shouldn't need to shoot far to kill what you're aiming at. Long-range shooters will want to plan on extending their effective range. A crossbow gets significantly faster with increased shooting distance, so those able to shoot further can take advantage of this by moving into position before their prey and taking rapid shots, rather than waiting for close approach. Some long-range crossbows can reach out as far as 400 yards or more, but they are rare. Maximum effective range depends on many factors such as weight, draw length, power, target type, etc. But generally speaking, it's safe to say that the maximum effective range of most crossbows is around 200 yards. So if you plan to hunt large game like deer or boar, you'll need a crossbow that can shoot accurately up to 400 yards.