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

Thanks! I'd have never tried it for a first shot.

That's probably close, but I'm not sure about "better?"

Maybe a tossup.

Interesting thread,considering some of the first long range shooting and hunting was done in Coudersport and Williamsport ,PA.I can remember hunting in Clinton County PA back in the 50's when guys were using 308 Norma Mags shooting across valleys at whitetails.I do believe there is still competition of that sort still in that local today.

They have several long range shoots in Pa. I have never been to the original thousand yard benchrest club, but they have long range shoots in Ridgeway.. They are still shooting from mountain to mountain is some of that country.. Saw one group shooting a .30-378.. When I was a kid, my older friends were shooting deer up to 1000 yards, and some of the shot chucks to 1200!! Long range stuff is nothing new..

I'm pretty sure there are a few handfuls of bison from years passed that would agree that LR hunting and shooting is nothing new

Throw in coues deer and the game changes.

+1

Where I hunt in Colorado we can spot Elk & Mule Deer out to 700+ yards but will stalk to under 300 yards and many times at 200 or less.

I hunt with either a either a 25-06 or 30-06 both using 3.5-10x42 Z3 with BRH and practice to 500+ yards.

For years I hunted with a FX-II 6x36mm LR and have one on my .260 REM for this years hunts, again it means lots of practice at the range and a good range finder.

Some is fiction but for Easterners seeing deer, elk and antelope at several hundred yards because of wide open terrain is quite different from thick woods hunting.

My farthest deer are a handful just over 300 yards but if you throw in elk it goes out to 550 yards and as close as 11 yards. We hunt close to a couple of private ranches that hate public land hunters so I shoot a 300 Weatherby these days with with a 3-15x 50 Zeiss so I've got the big magnum and big scope stereotype and we practice to 800 yards from field positions just in case a shot cross canyon is available. One of the canyons is almost 400 yards wide private land with public on both sides so any legal shot is over 400.

If we hunt woods nearby the shots drop to under 150 yards. Throwing out my closest and farthest elk my average shot is about 250-275 yards. Deer would be at the low end of that range. A good rangefinder is a good investment.

That's a pretty insightful post specneeds. The high,low,and average yardage,and why they are what they are. Ditto on the rangefinder.

I've lived and hunted in the west all my life. First off; conditions in the west might be bald ass prairie,endless stubble fields, swamp, foot-hills, mountainous, sage brush flats, brushy coulies,desert, coastal rainforest, mixed forest parkland or solid coniferous forest. On a good day you might hunt 2 or 3 or more of them. Ranges can vary from zero to whatever you are capable of doing. Opportunities for extreme range are also there if you are so inclined.

Not gearing and training up for 500 yards, or not being able to make a fast offhand at closer ranges are equally able to cost you a first class opportunity. It just sort of depends on where you're standing at the moment. Then there's wildly differing game sizes, and how much if any handicap you are willing to accept in equipment. Factor in your shooting ability, personal objectives and current degree of rifle lunacy.

Luckily, it doesn't take much. Zero to 500 yard general purpose hunting rifles are a dime a dozen, as are scopes ranging from about 3-9 to 5-15. Its probably left around 6 most of the time anyway. You sure see a boatload of 7 and 300 Mags, but the local enthusiasts might show up with just about anything. In my circle of friends the STW is more common than the Rem Mag. .300 Wins are very popular with serious hunters who don't neccessarily think about guns every waking moment. The Weatherby calibers have a definite following.

+1 Well said.

It is well said. As my early western hunts piled up, one thing I noticed about visiting hunters was that many blew the exact chances Model 70Guy describes. They had chances and lost them. Many were flummoxed by distance.

But the bottom line was they were lousy shots.

It's more funner to get up close and personal.

Both elk and deer...the longest was 550 the shortest..not sure maybe 20 ft. But the average is right around 200yards. Seems that the elk were often taken at longer range compared to deer.
Shot several whitetail in Idaho 50 to 100 yards.

Lefty C

+1

LC

Except for a TI 260 & 3x9 cds for backpack hunting I prefer mags and high x glass.

Everyone knows that you need a 338 Super Pooper +P+ with a 11 X 44 X 100 MM Hubble scope with built in range finder and unlimited windage and elevation turrets allowing you to precisely place bullets at two miles plus.I prefer the new 400 grain Super Dynamic bullet with a BC of 1000 plus and Sectional Density right at 500 for proper penetration.I have the whole set up tied into my Super Smart phone.I don`t even have to leave my Man Cave to kill a Buck at 2 miles plus.Anyone who does not hunt like this is just a wanna be.Huntz

[quote=SamOlson]
A 270 Winchester with a 6x(LR dots) is my favorite setup. Point and shoot out to about 400-450 yards. [quote]

I'm at a hospital w/my elderly Aunt and am just now reading this thread.

Sammy + 4 on what you said.

I sincerely wish that more shooters here understood that. It does work.


Jerry

Xactly - I'm 66 so IKWYM.

Here we have a 3 point/1 side law and 8-12 X comes in handy sometimes.

I've killed a few older bucks that you couldn't see the 3rd point at low magnification.

Jerry

Seems like binoculars are more prudent to use when looking at deer heads than the scope on a rifle