Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Van Zwolle's Elk kill with 6.5 Creedmoor

Fellas like Mr. Van Zwoll and Mule Deer who make their living shooting rifles ain't the general hunting public.

I've seen a hat full of muffed shots at 50 yds. I don't have a great deal of confidence in most of us being able to pull that shot off without 2 or 3 tries.

Problem is, you only have one.

Best,

JM

In most ways we are all victims of our experiences. In my experience I have never seen anyone who could not have had a very high probability of making that shot using that rifle with a small amount of practice.

Do you have a hard time hitting a 3 inch dot at 100yds from a rested prone position? That is the same shot from a marksmanship standpoint.

Understand Wayne is a much better shot from field positions than most but this shot was simply not a great test of marksmanship.

That is why I said earlier in this thread that WVZ is a 1% hunter, but some people who aren't that good, the 99%ers, will read about him making a 600 yard shot and attempt to duplicate it with less skill and, perhaps, lower quality equipement. No criticsm of WVZ for taking and making the shot, just the thought that there is likely to be a downstream effect of less skilled people attempting to duplicate his shot with less favorable outcomes when shooting at critters that are more than 1/3 of a mile away.

Jeff

I can't hit a barn with a shotgun lately. Lol.

Not to turn this away from the elk that WVZ took but..

I do feel that shooters today are more talented than those of yesterday past. Especially at the longer ranges, woods ranges heck no I'd not wanna try to compete with my fam passed on who kicked azz at woods ranges.

But, when the ranges go beyond the woods and start to stretch things out a bit I do feel that our shooters or today are way more talented especially when one considers the equipment we have today that they didn't have then.

Once one undertands reading conditions and has the proper training and time behind the butt then making long range hits isn't all that tough. As long as...the conditions allow it.

As for the 12 pack bubbas and such when I was guiding from Montana to Sonora I saw some people very competitent with the gun and I saw some that were understanding of their gun but not neccessarily competitant. Especially as ranges got long, pressure was on (either time or crowd). Some could get it done very well and quickly and a lot just couldn't kill on demand and right now.

Point being, I see some very sharp gunners that are on guided hunts and I see some that are not. And with the guys that don't travel out of state I see some that are very in tune to their guns and some that are not..

Just some rambling thoughts.

Dober

(side note, practicing teaches one what their ability's are and if they pay attention and stay within those disciplines they generally do very well. Practicing long also makes the closer shots seem like slam dunks. Case in point, just started working with a young fella (he's 11) and he's doinking the gongs @ 300/400 quite often and he mentioned the other night that it's good for him to practice long cause it makes the shots he's more likely to take seem easy...grin)

They better stop having NASCAR on TV. before someone tries taking a left turn at 180 MPH. LOL.

Having been involved in this type of shooting it is my opinion that more hunters will use that as a reason to get to the range and start practicing.

It is so much fun learning what your limits are and working on techniques and equipment that will extend those limits.

I believe the folks who fancy themselves crack shots but aren't, would be taking pokes at critters beyond their capability whether Mr. Van Zwoll shot his elk or not.

Those kind don't need much encouragement; a distant animal is usually sufficient.

(Not a knock on the folks who are capable of shooting game at those ranges)

I hope those who are pre-disposed to distance shooting read WVZ's article: they'll realize how tough it is, and how important ideal conditions are to the success of the shot.

The guys I worry about when it comes to long-range hunting are those that can't/won't read articles about it.

One other thing, just cause right now there is only 1% or whatever capable of a shot like that doesn't mean that if more of the 15M practiced and had the proper coaching and equipment that the # would stay @ 1%..

Just like a lot of people can't bench 250 lbs but that's cause they've not trained to do so, not cause most can't..

Make a sense?

Dober

I agree Mark. I shot W3 gun and everyone improves with practice. However, some hit a wall and get no better while others continue cutting their times down lower and lower.

I don't feel that long distance shooting is as stressfull or complicated as 3 gun, but the mental aspect is just as important.

When I guided I could look at a guy getting ready to take a shot and read him. Some did it like they were drinking a glass of water.

And then some gave me the "Oh Schit" feeling. Practice is one thing. Stick a trophy animal in front of a practiced shooter under pressure in the field and some just don't perform well.

The skills are easy enough to master, mastering the mental aspect of going "Live" seems to be the real difficulty for alot of folks.

ie: Pressure discombobulates them.

Practice makes perfect. You just have to go out and shoot a bunch of animals!

In lieu of actual animals, I've found that animal crackers make interesting, and challenging, reactive targets. You need a good scope, however, to differentiate the animal cracker from its background--their color blends well with dirt berms.

If you have the Dinkonator, you will never have to shoot past 40 yds again!

Problem solved!

Dang, JM, you almost made me spit out some valuable moonshine!

I hope you are kidding...if you showed up at my range with a box of animal crackers and started shooting the I would leave.

Laffin'

I swear I would name it that if it was worth a nickel.

I'd just like to say "nice shot".

I know a fair amount of shooters who under Ideal wind conditions and exact range figures would make a 600 yard boiler room shot on en elk sized animal look pitifully easy with an iron sighted rifle!

I know this isn't a long range hunting thread but let's not make a mtn out of a mole hill either!

I prefer "woods" hunting and closer ranges but that is because of the style of hunting in my area and the woods experience..

Mike

I shoot frequently at a thousand meter range; targets at 300, 600, 800, and a 1,000 meters. I can't say that I'd ever take a shot at an animal at 800. If, as others have said, conditions were perfect, I'd squeeze a shot at 600.

I agree with the concept of proving to yourself "it can be done". It happened to me, and I've watched several shooters get very good, after the initial "man, that's a long way!".

Gear doesn't have to be outrageous either, .30's, 6.5's, and .284's in very modest platforms work well. Consistant, concentric ammunition is a must.