Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game "Out west" fact or fiction?

I have nothing against taking a long range poke, but that
sounds just about ideal.





You guys are looking at it all wrong. You're not getting older, you're getting smarter. RC, imagine the mistakes you'd be making if your eyes were in the head of a 30 year-old.

"A bull shot in the ass or the guts with a 375 Holland and Holland is still a bull shot in the ass or the guts."
yeah but , you can get Safariman to winch it out up to a mile!

longest shot 300 yards on a Blacktail. 375 Winchester. open sights. lobbed in like artillery rounds. closest 3 ft. 30-06. receiver sight as he passed on a trail. average 100-150
yards over the last 55 years. never been hunting east of Idaho. all west coast states.
only Magnum calibers used where 338win, 300win and those shots were 35, and 30 yards on elk.
learned by bow hunting you can get into the same zip code pretty easy

I'm getting much the same way RC.

Like what most are saying here, most shots are 100-300 yards if you are hunting big country out west. I think a lot of eastern hunters overthink the range issue. With range finders now it takes the guess out of the shot and gives you confidence. Judging distance was more of the problem than the shot distance.

Out west the furthest about 425 yds. Shortest around 4 yds in the same environment (Hells Canyon). I'd guess the more rugged and open terrain of the west would result in longer shots.

Growing up in the eastern(Va and WVa) forests and ag lands a hundred yds was a stretch.

Ditto

Longest on big-game - 785 meters
Shortest - 10 feet
90% of shots - under 300 yards

In open country long shots are commonly available but very rarely needed. It's too easy to get closer.

Rifles from 25-06 to 45-70, but mainly 30-06.
Shortest shot was 10yds, longest was 230yds.
Usual shot about 100yds.
But I'm a meat hunter, so whatever deer is legal goes in the freezer.

Mid 400s tend to be my average for mule deer.

I have had exactly one cow elk under 100 yards. She had terrible timing, and poked her head around a rise in a hill, less than 100 yards away.

In the last 20 or so elk and deer, other than the one described above, I have not shot a single one under 300 yards.

I won't discuss the ones in the 500+ yard range, as that tends to bring out the ignorance in "real hunters".

.308, or something else?

The only 'big' mule deer I saw last year was about 600-700 yards away and totally unaware that I was in the area. He was also on the move in the opposite direction but given the conditions many of the LR shooters here probably could have dropped him.

He lived to see another day and that is perfectly fine with me. Luckily we only have ourselves to please when it comes to hunting.

I've seen lots of "out west" style shooting. That means lots of shooting at big game "way out there" and not doing any hitting let alone killing.
Don't get me wrong. There are hunters that do or have killed big animals out beyond 300-400 yds. Even I have done that.
But to be truly effective at such shooting, one needs to pratice alot, that means alot more than I do, under the conditions one would face while doing such shooting. Something I can't do because I don't have the conditions present locally to do so.
While I do shoot/practice from field positions the all year, shooting 40-80 rds. once or twice a month up to 300 yds. simply isn't enough. E

I've killed a couple right around 360. Shortest was under 100. Most around 200 probably.

The biggest difference in western hunting is probably shooting quickly at weird angles/positions when out of breath.

I've had a few relatives from the east/south come to MT. The problems they had were quickly getting on game and shooting before the animal walked away.

Field practice is absolutely key. And becoming quick and deliberate when presented with the shot is also important if you're after a mature buck.


Don't rush the shot but you also don't want to dick around and miss the opportunity.



Basically what Bellydeep said as I was typing....grin

Great replys fellas. I should print this thread and pass it out to a few cronies. It isn't their fault really. This mindset has been handed down from past generations here. Like 30/30s bucking brush. Fast bullets not staying in deer long enough to do any damage. Old hunting camp tales die hard.

Speaking of 30-30's....my first big game rifle I owned at age 11 was a Marlin 336 topped with a Weaver K4. Whacked 6-7 muleys with it before "upgrading". It's now a hog crushing machine.

I guess I should also point out that my longest shots on critters were taken with 9x scopes, and Kimber and Tikka rifles. No 30" barrels or 15 lbs LR rigs. A fixed 6x or 10x scope, and an accurate sporter rifle with a good slickery bullet is perfectly capable in open country hunting.

Shortest shot- 20 feet
Longest shot- 200 yards+/-

Jordan, what is your favorite cartridge/bullet combo for deer/elk hunting?


260?