Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Small rant, sure most can relate

"You need to shoot a magnum."

I wouldn't think of taking a '700 yard shot' at walking deer, much less a running deer. I have more respect for the game than that.

bet he cain't shoot one worth a chit.

there's been a couple of folks on this LR forum who have stretched .300 mag-esque ballistics from the '06. don't make me back up that statement with cites, I'm too lazy.

He swore they had to be at least 400 yards away.

If you practiced shooting more often you might change your mind

Should have told him that if he would be a little more quiet, then deer wouldn't spook when he got within half a mile of them.

I have gotten a far bigger thrill when the animals were a lot closer...Felt more involved in a pursuit, and less like a detached assassin.

Had a fellow telling me how great a long-range shot he was.

Talked him into coming with me to the gun club. We set up on the firing line and I indicated the targets at 600 yards...

The realization of how far 600 yards is sank in right then and there...

Just speaking for myself, I have practiced shooting quite a bit, but simply do not understand why some folks are infatuated with shooting animals at very long range.I'm not really against it;simply don't care about it.

The technology of LR rifle shooting fascinates me;it'a also fun plinking targets at great distance,and I "get" the intellectual stimulation of ballistic problem solving,and hitting a small target at great distance. I always figured that's what varmint hunting was for.

But sniping some unsuspecting BG animal at 1000 yards would leave me ambivalent.....at least that's how I felt on the handful of animals I've killed at 500 yards or so.It did not thrill me at all....kind of like not being involved in a "hunt".

I have gotten a far bigger thrill when the animals were a lot closer...Felt more involved in a pursuit, and less like a detached assassin.

Maybe that's why I got by with a 4X scope all those years.

Why even hunt with a rifle then? Sounds like a recurve should be your hunting tool of choice.

I've done a little test the last two months and have proven to myself and others that a magnum launching high BC bullets puts other chamberings at a disadvantage

Go here and LEARN just what a 30/06 is capable of:

http://riflemansjournal.blogspot.com/p/articles-index.html

I have a two part rant that I'm sure a lot of you guys can relate to, but thought I would share it none the less.

Rant #1. While taking lunch at work, a friend and I discussed the coming deer season. Him knowing I had Mickey Coleman build my last rifle asked with a puzzled look,

"Why spend that much money to build a 30-06?"

As if the 30-06 is so undeserving to take whitetails. Not wanting to get into the long pointless debate, I told him the truth. It's a splendid round to shoot, doesn't punish the shoulder, the 30-06 has proven its accuracy potential countless times, hits plenty hard to anchor the largest of whitetails, and for 400 yrds and less which is well beyond the average shooters ability to shoot and well beyond the range I'm likely to take whitetails in my area. Why not the 30-06?

Of course his standard answer to my question was as you all have heard before. "You need to shoot a magnum."

Just as I was preparing to roll my eyes, another guy whom was thinking he was lending credence to my argument piped in and made the statement that just makes me boil which brings me to

Rant #2 and I quote. "Me and dad was hunting in Minnesota on a family farm and I shot a buck with his 30-06 at about 700 yrds running and dropped him in his tracks".

Without thinking I shouted Bullshit! Three times in fact. Bullshit, bullshit, bullshit. Now normally I don't call someone out like that. I just shake my head to myself, and disengage from the conversation. But knowing what I know in the shooting world as limited as my knowledge truly is compared to some distinguished members of this board. I just couldn't let it go.

I find difficulty shooting @ 500 yards on a good day at times from a solid bench. Wind wrecks havoc on me when I think I have it whipped, and sometimes something as simple as losing track of how many clicks I actually dialed in on my elevation turrets humbles me. I will probably never get the opportunity to take a buck at such extended ranges. But I would like to know that one day if I get that chance I'll be ready. However I wouldn't think of it unless I was positive I could make it happen. The limiting factor isn't the round I choose to shoot. That I'm sure of.

Ok rant finished.

I've had some 'goobers' on my range and I stand them on the 300 yard line and ask them..."What's the distance to the steel plate hanging on the left?" It's a 20"x12" size and I've had quotes from 500 yards to 700 yards!

That's where these 1000 yard shots are coming from!!

...if you really want to see a blank stare, ask if they were correcting for drop in MOA, or mils.

I had a sniper squad leader who told me he shot a doe running at 500m through the head. I also saw this guy shoot his personal gun at 300m one day and his version of sub-MOA and mine are MUCH different. After a while I determined he talked a lot more than he actually did things and if his lips were moving he was lying. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and called him out as often as he told bullshit stories.

That is the advantage of magnums--enough power so you don't have to fuss with all that scope stuff...

Encountered a hunter once who had just taken a buck with a 264 Win Mag. Six hundred yards, aimed dead on, and drilled it through the neck.

I've been in the gun business for 20 years and constantly hear such claims. I long ago came to the conclusion that 90% of the dumbasses that claim to make such long shots have absolutely no concept of how far 500 yards (or 400, or 700) really is....

It's amazing how so many peoples 700 yards measure 500 feet or less .

A better than average range finder will not accurately judge a critter much past 500 yards. Some will not get close to 500.

I met a guy who said he shot his deer at 450 yards with a .223 AR15. Said he uses a 30 round clip and just walks his shots in until he gets one.

My thinking is if they want to be stupid why not just help them.

I'm sure I speak for most on this board when I say there is nothing as satisfying as the sweet sound of a gong singing back to you when you did all your calculations right, dialed in the proper elevation and windage corrections, settled in behind your firearm and gently squeeze the trigger until you feel it buck back against your shoulder. You patiently sit there for what feels like minutes when actually it's a fraction of a second and then you hear it.. That's what does it for me... Bliss

Well everything except the "buck back against your shoulder". All my rifles have brakes.

If it weren't for the noise, I wouldn't mind it on my 06

And EVERYBODY knows that the 30/06 is an old worn out cartridge that is hard up to shoot accurately beyond 500 yards!!

I don't know anyone who hunts without some kind of electronic hearing protection.

Then you don't know a lot of hunters. I wear them when shooting off the bench, but not while hunting. Most of the people I've hunted with over the past 24 years do not. Those whom I know that have tried them didn't like them and do not use them any longer. The largest complaint I've heard is they didn't like hearing every chirping bird, every rustling leaf on the ground magnified in their ears. Mine do not magnify sound, only cancel it once the noise level exceed a certain DB, but I do not wear them while afield. If hearing protection while on the hunt is ok with you, I'm certainly not the one to argue against it. It's just not for me.

As for the brake. The one thing I hate most about them is sharing a range with someone on each side of you using them. They may not be louder in your opinion, but in my opinion even with ear protection they are noticeably louder than a gun without a brake. Anything directing gas out and slightly to the rear to counter recoil also directs the report in the same direction. Not saying they're bad above that, again just not for me.

Long range shooting is within reach for those with the time, money, interest, place to do it, some knowledge and a plan.Don't even try to short-cut any of those. Those criteria do tend to eliminate most, but for those that are left its hardly rocket science. Just another skill-set that is in many ways easier than shooting offhand at close range.

...although have had one or two times leaving gear behind and having a heck of a time finding it...:)

I found that I spend far more money making my ammo than I did before reloading. Not that the ammo cost more, because it's cheaper per bullet cost however I shoot more often so I buy larger quantities of powder, primer, and bullets. In a years time I spend more money than I initially realized I would.

When I shot factory ammo, I didn't shoot nearly as much because the cost of ammo didn't foster the desire to spend. I got into reloading because first I wanted to save money. However that was a fantasy because sense I'm making the ammo, I may as well make the best ammo I possibly can for my rifles. Which leads to testing ammo, which leads to wanting to shoot more often. The savings are offset by the frequency in which I shoot so my cost actually went up. On the plus side I did improve my skill.

Wait until your powder order starts involving a fork-lift, and buying/building a 1/2 mile + range makes more sense than borrowing one all the time.

700 yrds running and dropped him in his tracks".

I would have a very difficult time justifying the cost to my wife. She already thinks I've gone nuts with the money I spend. It's all pointless until she runs out of ammo for her .243

Presentation is everything. Bulk buying is "Being economical", buying a range is a "Real estate investment".

I fail to see why most folks think snipers are such good shots.

Had a guy tell me about a month ago that with the book minimum charge of H4895 and a 150 SST his drop @ 500yds was 20" with his rifle zeroed dead on @ 76yds from his 30/06. I got 2 bullchits out before his Dad chimed in and told me it was true. That got 2-3 more bullchits out, and a nice exchange of back and forths.

Funny when I invited them out to our 600yd spot they had other stuff to do and shooting that far is nothing but wasting ammo. I told him they would be wasting ammo because they would be lucky to hit the damn ground at that distance.

.............Why not the 30-06?

My response is always "wow, how far does the bullet drop at that distance?"

The BS is even better then

If you practiced shooting more often you might change your mind

Just speaking for myself, I have practiced shooting quite a bit, but simply do not understand why some folks are infatuated with shooting animals at very long range.I'm not really against it;simply don't care about it.

The technology of LR rifle shooting fascinates me;it'a also fun plinking targets at great distance,and I "get" the intellectual stimulation of ballistic problem solving,and hitting a small target at great distance. I always figured that's what varmint hunting was for.

But sniping some unsuspecting BG animal at 1000 yards would leave me ambivalent.....at least that's how I felt on the handful of animals I've killed at 500 yards or so.It did not thrill me at all....kind of like not being involved in a "hunt".

I have gotten a far bigger thrill when the animals were a lot closer...Felt more involved in a pursuit, and less like a detached assassin.

Maybe that's why I got by with a 4X scope all those years.

My feelings too. Sure, they might be able to kill an elk at 1,000 yards.

But can they find it afterward?

Gotta agree with BobinNH on the LR killing stuff. Even though I plink around doing it, when I get serious trying to kill something, I get a big thrill on sneaking in as close as I can comfortably get. Burns obviously knows what he's doing, but based on the hunters I've had, and 42 years of killing stuff, the vast, vast majority of people have no business trying to kill big game over 250 yards. Then there's the wind factor......which will baffle the best of the best lots of times.

My point is that if you're not capable of both, you are an incomplete hunter.

Kinda like Sporting.

If you get to a teal station and can't hit teal, you have a hole in your game.

I've called elk in so close I could have killed them with an axe.