Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Practice makes the difference not Ballistic charts!!

I have really increased my long range practice since I have acquired my 300WBY Thor's Hammer. I use to shoot long range like 300 to 400 yards with my 30-06 and it is capable of those ranges but I had to practice.

The 30-06 is viewed by many as a competent 300 yard cartridge and I certainly agree with that statement. The actual effective distance remains in the hands of the shooter who has practiced or has not practiced. I agree with a lot of you other guys on this forum, that even if a person has a cartridge perfectly capable of accomplishing a 300 yard shot, it is all dependent on the shooter and his proficiency.

If you practice enough with it and have your ranges right I am sure you will do fine at the ranges you limit yourself to because of ability. There is a lot of BS when it comes to making long shots and any person who goes to the range and trys to practice at long range knows this to be true. I have pacticed for years at long range shooting (not at the level of some others I know) and also hunting making some long shots like 426 yards on a coyote with my 06 using a 165gr Sierra game king. But I have also missed taking some of those long shots. I really try and get as close as possible without scaring the game off because my chances of hitting the game increases in probability of a kill by shortening the distance to the target. Even when I think I am as close as I can get I do use a range finder every time. A person can't estimate good enough to make real long shots without a range finder. Shooting long distance is hard to do. I don't care what anyone says it is hard to do and without a range finder and a rock solid rest you will not kill at long ranges. Practice is the most important thing a hunter can do to insure good results in the field.

Better to hit your target with a slower but capable cartridge like the 06, rather than miss with a faster one like the Rum or WbY!! Right? If that is true then so is this: "Better to hit your target with a faster but more capable cartridge like the Rum or WBY, rather than miss with a slower capable cartridge like the 06!! Right? Neither has any meaning or validity if the shooter can't do it with the cartridge he is trying to make a long shot with. Skill level is the key more so than cartridge!! But if you are skilled then faster is better because it is more than just a capable cartridge and it makes up for small margins at long distances of over 350 yards.

The 30-06 is a great cartridge but in a skilled shooters hands he can even shoot farther making quicker more humane kills with a Rum or WBY type cartridge. Of course it all gets down to whether or not a person can really make a long shot and knows he can because he spends time practicing at long ranges with his rifle and cartridge. Reading ballistic charts and assuming you can make a long shot because your rifle and cartridge are capable of doing so does not mean you are. Take it out and see if you can and if you can't then practice until you can or until you have found the limit of your accuracy at long range with the given cartridge, rifle and optics you are shooting.
__________________

I go to a gas pipe line on our lease to shoot my long shots while practicing different positions and all shooting sticks and bipods are not equal. Bought me one and went to try it out at long distance and man I could not steady my rifle like I thought I could when I bought the stick. When I got home I put it in my shed and have never picked it up again. Practice, practice and more practice is needed but shooting practice is fun to me. By the way I am shooting my 416WBY real good at 300yds. I just love that rifle and cartridge but also looking forward to my 257-300WBY soon. The 300WBY I have shot very well at distance also. A friend of mine said I could not hit with it at 600 yrds. Well we ranged a rock against a cliff in a box canyon that was around 2 ft x 2ft. I took a very steady rest from a sitting position after placing my back pack on a large rock in front of me. Then placing my rifle on this steady rest I slowly squeezed the first round off and parts of that rock went in every direction. I guess that 180gr TSX hits harder than most think it will. Here is my round and some groups that I fired with my Custom Mark V German receiver and shilen barrel with a McMillan stock. I am shooting a 180gr TSX and moving it on the average at 3287fps.


Three shot group at 100yds measures .0095"


The second one is 100yd .296"


The third group is at 200yds .678"

Sorry forgot to post pictures but corrected that in the above post:)