Assuming no range finders, no fancy scopes, etc. Just a rifle and simple variable scope, are there any guys here who have a personal limit of 300 yard shots and less?
I am trying to decide between a .308 and .270 (maybe a .30-06). Being honest with myself I don't practice shooting much and am one of those guys that picks up a rifle only during hunting season. Vast majority of guys in my area are probably like this.
Is shooting to 400 yards pretty darn tough for these types of hunters? Would a 130 grain from a .270 make going from 300 to 400 yards much easier than a .308/.30-06?

It seems like all the guys on internet forums make it seem like shots to 400 yards are no big deal for them. I know the internet makes people more confident for a lot of things compared to real life.

Just looking for advice from all you hunters here who are way more experienced than I.

Why no range finders? Leupold CDS scopes are hardly fancy, either.

If you’re hunting in terrain that precludes longer shots then I would understand.

And yes, I practice to 600 yards regularly. It’s easier than you think.

150 yards is my maximum......with handgun from rest! 😉 Rifles.....a bit farther! memtb

Great questions. Having access to a 500 yard range and seeing some guys come in like you describe, they have a hell of a time even at 400 yards. They may get dialed in at 100 or even 200 yards, but when it comes time to hit any sized plate at 400 yards, they fall flat on their face. It requires them to put multiple shots downrange before even coming close. If you don't shoot a lot, don't practice much, don't have the equipment, you have absolutely NO business shooting at a critter at 300-400 yards. There's a lot of us here that say shooting at 400-500 yards is a chip shot, but the majority of us here shoot a chidt load and at varying distances. I can't count how many guys just like the ones you describe, I've seen having problems. The funny thing is when they get all dialed in for 400 yards, which I don't know if you'd call hitting a 24"x24" target "dialed in", they go back to the 200 yard target and do no hit it and it starts all over again... The shame is those are known distance targets, they didn't even have to pull a LRF out. Moral of the story, if you don't know what you are doing, do not attempt a shot on a game animal that far out. Shoot at the range you are comfortable shooting. Know where to draw the line. I know where my max range is and it changes depending on conditions..

I really wouldn't feel comfortable estimating the difference between 300, 400, 500 yards if I wasn't able to at least walk it and have a rough idea.

Just looking? No.

Now TELL me its 400 or 500 or inbetwixt and I can dial...but that ain't what was asked.

Generally I am hunting in places where I have a fair idea though, but past 300 is still quite rare here anyway.

BSA, question for you, sir: Or those who do it a lot.

I've shot to 400 and 500 yards with a couple of rifles, not enough to say I am anyone worth listening to, but a fair few times lets say.

Without knowing the particulars, I'd imagine (400 yards being 1 inch click with a 1/4" adjustment scope) it seems whether you have a 308, 270 or a 30-06 of just about any load, if you walk it up 24" from your 200 yard zero and hold dead center on a 1 foot x 1 foot plate, you have 6 inches of leeway up and down. Just about all of them are gonna be inside that. Think thats fair to say?

At least it seems to me from 308, 223 and 7mm-08.

Hearing people have that much trouble with a 24" plate is no bueno.

Over gunned, over scoped and under practiced is a common condition.

At my range I've offered to hang 300 yard targets for people since I was walking down there anyway and I've rarely been taken up on my offer.

I've had people marvel at my shooting a 308 "way out there" at 300 yards, not needing a 7 mag or some such. It gets even better when I wail on a 4"x4" steel target at 300 using a 4x scope.

I'm of the opinion a person should first select a rifle for any one of several cartridges of modest recoil and thoroughly learn how to shoot the thing.

That right there. I am comfortable shooting game to over 500 yards WITH A RANGE FINDER AND A DIALING SCOPE AND WITHOUT MUCH WIND. Lacking any of those, about 350 is my personal limit as long as I have a drop chart.

Certainly I’ve killed more deer at and under 300 yds
but I hunted a deer lease 95–2011
Cut overs & regrowths were common.

I practiced 400 yds and killed 367, 389,
399, & 402 yds.
Lazered AFTER shot Back to Stand.

Here since 2012 I have some open pastures where
400 is a real possibility.

RARELY have I had time laser before shooting.
Last year I did once. 200 yds dead on.

My practice is I LRF landmarks, stumps, trees,
pond edge, etc while waiting.


Now, to the OP
W/O LRF 300yd is my Scope sighting so that’s not
too difficult. For Me.

I have known guys who can’t hit at 200 yds

It’s hunter specific.

Jerry

I hunted NY for 45 years harvested many deer longest shot 150 yards average about 50

I don't shoot at unwounded game at over 300 yards. Not because I cannot make a shot at 400 or 500 yards, but because the Murphy variables grow exponentially in the field after 300 yards. Too many things can go wrong after 300 yards that the hunter in the field is unaware of or unable to control. Unexpected side breeze at 450 yards, animal moves a step during the time of flight, stem of heavy grass unseen, etc.

From what I've seen at the range and in the field most hunters spend far too much time on the bench and not enough time shooting from some realistic field positions. And from what I've seen of hunters shooting without crutches, most should limit their shots to less than 100 yards, maybe less.

I run into a growing number of hunters who carry a ton of equipment to the field and brag about what their rifle will do at 600 yards. For a day pack, I wear a surveyors vest with my lunch, some water, flagging tape, compass, GPS (though I rarely use it anymore), fire starting equipment and a write in the rain small note book. I have my rifle, knife and binocular and often a small 22 handgun on my hip. If I remember, I'll throw in a varmint call for fun. I have never liked packing a bunch of unnecessary junk (bipods, rangefinders, etc.) with me and I'm far more impressed with someone who can get close to an animal before the shot than I am with someone who snipes an animal at 600 yards.

I spent from 1981-2002 hunting the wide open country of Eastern Washington and while I made some long shots early in my hunting career, I came to realize it was far more enjoyable and productive to close the distance. Not hard to do using the terrain to one's advantage. And if I couldn't close the distance I waited for another opportunity. I'm not owed an animal simply because I have a tag. Maybe I should repeat that. I'm not owed an animal simply because I have a tag. I see too much of that attitude in the ranks of hunters and many seem justified in taking low percentage shots or shots beyond their skill level because it's late in the season, the last day of their hunt, a lot of hunting pressure, and on and on.

I like to see us as hunters learn how to hunt again and how to shoot. Unaided and unsupported. Bipods and rests are great but lets learn to actually shoot as well. Learn to take advantage of what rests are available, but be able to make a shot off hand if needed. And limit one's self to a realistic distance based on our abilities. Not every shot lends itself to a back pack or bipod assisted shot.

It'd be hard for me to find a shot on my farm over 250 yards. Longest shot I've ever taken/made a game was roughly 195 yards.

Went a bit past 400 for elk in calm conditions. Otherwise 300 is it. Longest opportunity on this place is 250 yds, unless I were to purposely set it up for longer shots. Which would be stupid.

Nothing like a precision rifle in .308 to disabuse you of pokes at whitetails beyond 300 in a good wind.

No shot past 250 where I hunt.

My personal limitation of range is decided at the moment of truth when the crosshairs go on the animal. If my wobble circle is too large...pass. If it's steady enough to stay in the clean ethical kill circle it goes off. Factors are too numerous to say, oh, I shoot 'em at 300 yds, all day long. My current breathing and heartrate, shooting position, a rest or offhand, terrain, visibility, wind, speed of the animal if any, angle if any, what may be behind the animal. One and done. I hate drama.

300 yards is the longest distance I have range access for, and it’s a pretty far poke when you look at it. Shooting that far from a bench is no great feat, but in the field, from field positions, variable wind, unpredictable game movement etc, and it gets dicey. All academic for me, as no place I hunt offers shots at such a distance on deer anyway. On chucks I found there’s a lot of air around them even at closer distances. Someone planning to shoot at long ranges on game should try on paper first if at all possible IMO. I’ve been verifying my sighting at 200 since I gained access for that. 300 is mostly for fun. Can only shoot to 100 from field positions due to range restrictions.

Depends on conditions, if I have plenty of time to get into position and wind is not crazy I will shoot to around 500 yards. Trouble is it doesn't take a lot of wind to create a variable that is hard to solve out past400 yards. That said if you can make every shot you get out to 350 yards you are going to take a lot of game.

If you practice and are proficient in your shooting skills, I don’t mind.
I practice out to 600 on 8” gong. So 300 or 400 isn’t really a stretch for me.
But after 600 My hits drop off. So That’s my personal max.
Sure there a few guys thinking because they have a magnum and 24x scope they can hit 1000 yards

DRE 1000 yrds, Magnum and the 24Xscope , are not required, try a 4x14 Viper Vortex And A 1x8 twist .243 1000 yrds ain't that hard.




Cold bore 1000 yrds .243

I rarely shoot game over 200 Yards.Rio7

Nice shooting brother! I can’t shoot like that. I’ll Be the first One to admit that.

I was implying to non experienced shooters that have a 7 or 300 magnum and 24x vortex because that what they were sold on and think they can because it’s all the hype now days

The closer the better for me. I’ve never shot a deer over 200 yards and never shot an elk under 200 yards.

Growing up out in the Big Empty and having an iron sighted rifle always handy, you tend to get to know your distances and your POA/POI.

Closer is always better, but ~400 yards was my limit.

I have a 300 yard range at my house. Lots of folks use it for Sight in and practice. I can tell you that most have trouble much over 150 yards even off the bench. I have a 6" fence post planted to practice "leaning on a tree". Lots of guys can't put 5 in a paper plate at 100 off that. Have one neighbor who just seems to be a naturally great shot. He can off hand 300 and keep them all on 8"x11" target every time. Remington 760 pump 06.

Set scopes on my 06 and 308 2 1/2" high at 100yds. Old timer taught me to hold on hair on first shot. If I shoot under and he doesn't haul ass then set cross hairs on his back. Never got a third shot without hitting him or he hauls ass.
George

Fixed power scope, usually a 6x. A rangefinder and keep shots under 250.

98% of my shots are under 100. Much simpler.

Yep

90 percent of the deer I have killed were ant less than 100
I have shot a few at 400 plus but there almost always able to close the distance for a better shot.

It’s a situational thing. Free handed 80 to 90 yards is a long shot. Decent rest 150-200 yards is ok. In good conditions and with front and rear support 300-400 is fine if I practice. Many people are better shots at 700 yards than I am at 350. It just all depends.

Well I'm a little surprised. I 'never' take an off hand shot UNLESS it's the only possibility. The only one I remember happened in 2012 when I surprised a Doe and she swapped ends to leave......she wasn't quick enuff. It was @ 80 yds.

OTHERWISE - remember- I hunt on the ground, I carry & use Shooting Sticks, the 2 legged, 3 sectioned kind.
I also sit in certain situations and they adjust for sitting positions. I weighed them a few years ago at 17 or 18 oz.
"They ain't heavy....They are friends"


Jerry

If I haven't proven I can do it in practice, I don't attempt it on a live animal in the field.

When I was hunting Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming I practiced at distances further than I was willing to shoot animals.
I still do practice longer than I expect to hunt , 300 yards across the hay field is a very likely shot.
My hunting buddies think 200 yds is long and not worth practicing, "I'll never shoot that far" Maybe for some...

Our local range goes to 400 yards. Torso targets and steel plates of various sizes. I shoot on it quite often. With everything from an ar15 with a 1-4x to my 308 with a 2-10. I also practice shooting off of my shooting sticks and what I've found is out to 300 yards is about as far as I can reliably hit the 6 and 8" plates everytime. Once I get off the sandbags and go to the sticks (which is how I hunt) 400 gets iffy with the hit rate going to about 75%. So I limit myself to 300 in the field because I feel that is end of my comfort zone. The longest shot I've ever made around here was 305 on a coyote and 275 on a whitetail; most of my hunting is inside of 200 yards due to the landscape.

YES.

I try to keep shots to no more than 300 yards. If I had a range to shoot further for practice I might, but I don't. I have stretched shots beyond that before and been successful. Mostly on wounded animals. I did shoot an unwounded antelope at 360 yards with my 270 and 130g Sierras Game Kings ( I ranged it after the shot.) I held on the top of its back and took out the heart. I have also passed on them at 450 yards, just because I hadn't practiced that far and I can usually get closer.

If you don’t practice much 300 is too far. With no range finding device how accurate is your estimation of 300 yds?

With the rifles mentioned, with a 200yd zero you’re going to be about 8” low at 300. At 350 you’re going to be 15-20. Big difference.

But to answer your question, 400 is my limit if things are perfect. I do use a range finder and a scope with dials. It’s capable much further than I am. eyesight is my limiting factor.

300 yds?.....Ha! I have never shot at a deer that was over 200 yds. out of the 150+ whitetails I have killed I can only think of a handful that were over 100 yds....The terrain I hunt is not conducive for long shots....Hb

I have made longer shots, but I'm a heckuva lot more comfortable with keeping them under 300. I won't apologize to anyone for that, either.

300 yards on deer sized critters sound good to me.

Not a personal limit, but most of my shots are 200 yards or less, with the occasional 200+ yard shot.

I have that limit under the conditions you list. But I have three questions:
1. Why worry about 400-yard shots when most animals are taken within 150? Learning how to get closer to game works better than trying to buy your way to 400 yards.
2. Why no rangefinder? If you don’t know the exact range, then you don’t know where to hold.
3. Why didn’t you mention the wind? It’s a much bigger factor than most people think.


Don’t be like those guys.


Okie John

I can't begin to tell you how many guys I've run into in the hunting areas I hunt who literally cannot tell the difference between 200 yards and 600 yards... "that deer I shot was at least 600 yards away and I dropped it with one shot"... almost always turns into a discussion of "did you have a rangefinder?" When all is said and done, often the "hunter" gut shot a deer at around 150-200 yards thinking it was a lot farther, usually didn't find a good rest to use while shooting way past his limits shooting off hand, and wounded the deer/elk and had a long tracking job in front of him... or a lost and wounded animal....

I practice a bunch, but not as much as some guys on this site but I do know my limits... and, as said above, they change depending on the conditions. Long range shots often depend on the terrain you hunt in so I would think it prudent to be prepared for the shots you expect to encounter where you hunt.... and carry a rangefinder these days...

Our hunting conditions are quite a bit different than that of many on the forum. Our back yard range is 300 yards.....and we zero our hunting rifles @ 300 yards. This puts us only about 8” low at 400 yards. Our rifles are relatively flat shooting rifles, and on deer/antelope sized game, if they appear to be out yonder a bit, simply hold a bit high on the body.....never off of hair. In much of our hunting......400 yards is pretty close. I’d much rater have all of our shots inside of 50 yards......that’s not a reasonable expectation.

With rangefinder, and ideal shooting conditions, we have self imposed limits of 500 yards for my wife and 600 for myself! I think she’s being pretty conservative with her range limitations, as I’ve seen her make 400 yard shots look easy! memtb

I can practice out to 400 on steel, so 450 is about all I’m comfortable with, provided good conditions and a good rest.

Regarding closer-range shots from field positions, I was a better shot when I was 12-15yrs old, because I spent a lot of time with rimfires and RWS airguns. I plan to get back to shooting rimfire regularly in the coming days, not from a bench.

300 is pretty well my limit on deer as I seldom carry a range finder and seldom would need to shoot that far on deer.

I’m with the majority here the closer the better 98% of all the animals I have shot have been less than 350yds (most much closer) only a few have been over that and that was because the had been shot at/hit and was trying to prevent them from getting away.

I shoot a fair amount of silhouette - high power, small bore, lever and some long range and black powder. So maximum ranges are 500, 100, 200, 1000, and 500 meters respectively. And even though I do reasonably well at these games I don’t feel comfortable taking shots at live animals - I have more respect for them than that. It amazes me that the majority of people that say they can hit long range targets “consistently” enough to shoot at live animals aren’t showing up at the long range silhouette competitions in Ridgway, PA where 30 out of 40 hits is considered pretty darn good - this is with hundreds of
shooters each month and the best score thus far is 37 (if a person could hit that many consistently then maybe he has a claim to shoot at a live animal?!).

PennDog

My shooting range only goes out to 200 yds and I practice at that distance a lot. I can get tiny groups on a good rest from that distance with standard duplex 3-9 scopes atop sporting rifles in the chambering you mention. Thus the few times I have practiced in neighbors fields resting off the hood of a truck or shooting sticks from a seated position it not hard to hit a target the size of a deers vitals at 300-350 yds. The very few times I have tried at distances beyond that I am not good enough to try a shot on a deer. I do keep a range finder with me and know my limitations and work within them.

Okie,

No.1...It depends on where you're hunting. On leases with cutoves....300---600 yds is IN your eyesight.
BE prepared AS FAR as you can shoot !
OR you are going to HAVE to pass shots on BUCKS you want.

2. Agreed. I keep one in coat pocket, easily accessible.

3. For ME. I don't hunt in rain or hi wind. Wind drift is meaningless FOR ME,

All of us don't hunt in the same TYPE of terrain or topography. One size doesn't fit all.

Jerry

I always try to get closer. The last dozen or so deer I've shot have all been 100 yards or less. My wife has shot two moose, one at 35 yards and the other at 60. I am capable of hitting game further away, but past 250 yards doesn't happen any more. Parkinson's has increased my wobble zone.

I hunt for Mule deer in agricultural land. Topography usually dictates 350+ yard shots.

Of the four bucks we killed last year, the shortest shot was 375 yards.

Practice, a good range card, and a rangefinder are essential.

Deer would have to be painted fluorescent orange and jumping up and down to be seen at 300 yards where I hunt.

Whitetail hunting on my farm usually means opportunities just before the end of legal shooting light, as deer come off the river bottom and into my hay fields. Shooting distances are usually over 300 yards, sometimes well over. All my hunting rifles used for longer range shooting wear Leupold CDS scopes, calibrated for the ammo I intend to use. With a good rest, and my Leica rangefinder binocs, it's pretty easy to make accurate shots.
At my local range club, there is a 425 yard range. I always check my scopes at that range before heading out to hunt, setting the CDS dials to 425 yards and taking two or three shots to confirm everything is good to go.

I limit my shots at deer to about 300 yards. Mostly because visibility detail gets poor especially in the evening and I have a lot of 300 yard wind experience with ground hogs.

I’m better served to practice the 75 yard shot through a privet hedge thicket on a buck stepping quick after doe than a 500 yard shot. I can shoot pretty well out to 300 because that is just put the crosshairs on brown and shoot. Much past that, you need lots of practice, range finders, and dials. I just don’t have anywhere on any of my places where that kind of shot is going to happen.

Like I told my guide in africa I'm a pretty fair shot a 10 yards better at 8

Best advice possible. I’m really thinking of pairing down to a few rifles and shooting those religiously. Intimate familiarity with your equipment, breeds confidence.
Less recoil will normally make you a better shooter.

I practice to 550 but never shot an animal that far. My biggest obstacle and limitations is not my rifle. It is the rest and calling wind.

Bench rest shooting at steel is one thing. Cleanly killing an animal is another.

i rarely shoot anything over 300 yards. deer around here are usually shot under 100yards. of course one could shoot one across a bean/rice field but i don't do that any more. i've killed a bunch of elk in the last 50 years and my farthest shot was 266 yards. i'm old school, zero my rifles 3" high at 100 so i'm good to around 300 if i want to shoot that far. otherwise, i either find a way to get closer or i go home and try another day. i admire the person who can hit a target at 600 yards and beyond, but it's not for me.

I hunt in the woods. I rarely am carrying a rifle I'd use much past 150 yards, so, yeah I'm on the list.

30-30 single shot, 44mag pistol out single shot, and a 45/70 are what I'm usually carrying lately.

I'm a "fair" hand out to around 350 w/o a RF. "however", on a clear, crisp morning, across a canyon, I missed a fine 4x4 West Tx, Desert Mulie "twice". He was in shadow, I was in bright sunlight and I shot "over him" both times...with a 300 RUM & 150gr! I "was sure" he was 400yds out....that PM I went back 'with the RF I had left in camp that AM", and it was 305yds! Yeah...my 300 RUM was "zeroed" at 300yds too! ha, so it "depends", lol.

Honesty with yourself is the key. If you don't feel comfortable or ethical shooting at (insert distance here), then thats okay, don't shoot that far. Theres nothing wrong with that, it's not a competition. Just hunt in a way that matches your comfort level.

When i zero a rifle, i learn 2 distances; hold top of the back and too far to shoot. Everything else is a center mass hold. I always shoot at 300yds, longest distance my range goes to, just to ensure that my load and my ability holds up and using my "2 distance" technique, is far enough.

I agree with you Centennial.

In 2017, I had a six point bull at 300 yards, above me and skylined on a ridge. My guide was unhappy that I didn't shoot, but if anything had gone wrong, there was little we could do about it. The bull was an honest 30 minutes away on foot, probably more. Our horses were 30 minutes away behind us. This was a bad idea in soooo many ways, and I recognized it and passed on the shot. Two hours later I shot a six point bull (he'd run off the first one) at 135. Downhill and in the open where a followup shot would have been simple if necessary. In fact when the bull tried to get up, I shot him again.

Not all 300 yards are the same, is my point.

I am better at shooting 300 yards then I am at guessing how far that is. Sometimes 400 looks like 200 and 200 looks like 400.

I remember antelope hunting with my daughter and we were making a stalk on a nice buck in a wide open stubble field. My range finder battery decided to take a dump the night before so we were playing the guessing game. I got to where I thought 300 was but decided we better keep going just to be sure. We kept belly crawling closer every time the buck dozed off. Finally ran out of terrain and had made a fair distance from where I thought 300 was. I was confident were were somewhere inside 300 but honestly couldn't tell you if it was 240, 270, or 299. I told her to hold at the top of the vitals just in case we were a little further then I thought.

After what felt like an eternity the buck decides to stand and stretch a little. He didn't get a chance to take a full step before my daughter sent a 100 grain Sierra Gameking through the boiler room. Stepped it off and it was right at 271 long steps. I am glad we kept going as my initial guess would likely have been well over 300 and further then she had ever shot before.

I am more limited by the opportunities provided by the terrain of where I hunt than a personal limit. But I am doubtful I would take a poke at a deer out past 300. Something bigger , under the right conditions maybe.

Great post👍

I shoot High Power matches pretty regularly. That being said, I refuse to shoot at an unwounded animal past 250yds. If I cannot get closer, I wave them good bye. I have taken 90% of my game at less than 150yds.
Thanks, Tom

While I shoot aperture sighted M1 Rifles out to 500 yards...

For the field, against game, 300 yards is a long way out for the scoped M70 .270 Win/150 gr. I hunt w/, and 400 is pretty much max.

Any comp round/rifle will do fine.




GR

While 90% of my game is taken at under 200, I typically know what I and a particular gun setup can do out to its limits or 5-600….whichever comes first. I don’t WANT to shoot an animal past 300, but needs must sometimes…..cull /management/varmints etc. helluva lot easier to work your way in….with both your movement on game or proficiency with a rifle, than work it the other way…..so I try to practice farther out and get closer, when I can. I enjoy practicing my shooting from various positions, that don’t require prone these days. LOL Most stuff I head out with around here is a 300 and in setup or capability for me. Hard right now to get the time required behind a setup for me to check that ‘past 300 box’. I’m fine with 308 class stuff for most things.

I've only shot one deer at 300 yards and it wasn't pretty. Using a 300 Savage, I underestimated the range and my first shot hit him in the knee a good 18 inches below where I had aimed. I over compensated and put one over his back as he got up. My third shot hit the spine and it was over. I'd been hunting this same Kentucky property for 18 years and there were only a couple of places where 300 yards was even possible. My average is probably 80. Until that shot my furthest shots had been 225 yards, and those were using flatter shooting rounds. These days I try to keep shots at 200 or a little more. The furthest I can shoot at the range I belong to is 200 yards so it seems to be a practical limit. Ohio has a straight wall cartridge requirement for rifle hunting so a 200 yard sight in works well for a 444 Marlin.

Most all of my deer hunting has been done in areas where I could only see maybe 125 yards. The few times I have hunted out west where I could get a long shot, the game showed up close. The one time I took a long shot was at a pronghorn the guide thought was about 225 yards out, but I held a little high anyway because it looked further to me. Turns out it was 350 yards. I got lucky with that one. I wouldn't take a long shot without a good rangefinder. I just don't have enough experience in actual hunting situations to accurately judge ranges that far out. I'll get closer or pass on it.

Mostly 150 and under but occasionally over 500 if that's as close as I can get and I have the range determined, no wind and a rock solid hold. No offhand shots over 150 anymore.

The shorter the better.

300 yards with a magnum rifle, from a supported position, in calm conditions is a chip shot. Have proven that with new shooters many times. Past that with the wind up...

I shoot at distance more than almost anyone I personally know, which compared to real hardcore shooters still isn't a lot, but when the target is living I stick to 300 in calm conditions or less depending on wind.

I think most people who shoot past that are ignorant of what happens and/or don't really mind wounding an animal. Obviously there is a minority who take the time to develop the skill, but they seem a minority. I only know a couple who take the time.

Add 7mm-08 to that list and your statement remains accurate.

Amen.....pass the plate

Good shooting

Yes. I haven't been practicing as much as I'd like given pricing/availability of ammunition and components, but most times I get out my .270 I shoot beyond 300 yards. I can hit a gong at 550 every time with a 4x optic.

My personal limit on game is much shorter than that. It seems logical to practice with further/tougher targets for a real challenge. If you're able to take 500-600-yard shots consistently on inanimate targets in real-world conditions (get off the bench!), a 300-yard shot on a game animal will be a non-event.

I agree Deo.

There is NO moral High Ground to NOT shoot living animals past 200-300 yds.

DEAD is Dead. Practice and to paraphrase Clint E. Know your limitations.

Jerry

The older I get the farther 300yds is especially when I don't want to cross a big nasty canyon to look for blood. Growing up in Tucson we would go out to Three
Points range and shoot Silueta Metalico (200 -500 meters off hand at chickens, pigs,turkeys and rams.) That was fun,without the suffering a bad shot would cause.

If you do not practice past 100 yards or 200 & or 300 yards, then as a responsible hunter you will do yourself & the game a favor to limit your hunting distance accordingly.

I have been shooting for recreation and in competition out to 1,000 meters for over 50 years with Palma match, Service rifles and long range scoped up rigs .
I quit shooting at animals further than 300 meters many years ago, basically for me and my choice of hunting rifles ,the time of flight is simply too long for me to deal with an animal making a step after the shot breaks and turning a kill shot into a wounding shot with the chance of a lost animal .
I keep shots on animals as close as possible , but do not begrudge those that advocate long range shots on animals .
Cat

for those for whom a 500 yd shot is easy, do you do this from a field position, or do you set up a shooting position and wait for the shot? in the eastern woods i have hunted deer in, long shots only happen when you are shooting over a farm field.

there are many more deer now than the 50s and 60s. still, hunters have gotten better technically but have problems hitting from a field position. at the shooting ranges i have access to, few shoot offhand or sitting except the silhouette shooters and military match shooters. add that for those who shoot from tree stands...here in fla, most of these are in pines and those suckers move.

for whitetails it's rare to see a 100 yd shot in the woods. from travels and the exploits of the gun writers and folks on the web, hunting out west is a very different thing from what you get east of the mississippi.

I dunno... Couldn't reach that dang p-dog with my .17 Rem at 420 yards in MT back in '04... So I changed to my M70 in .22-250..

Done...

Local WT hunting is terrain limited to inside 300 yards. I can practice on steel to 370. Longest shot on game taken was 166 long steps. Most are inside 120.

Even in Colorado, the one MD doe I took started off a long ways away. Just sat still while her group kept feeding their way closer to me. Finally took my doe at ~110 yards.

Yes, definitely 300 yards or fewer. This is why I’ve gradually sold off the .264 Winchester, .270,.25-06, 7mm-08, and .260 Rem. I’ve kept the 22-250s, the 243s, and the 250 Savage. Why put up with the recoil and excess powder consumption when these three cartridges do so well at reasonable distances.

I'm a lazy and cheap deer hunter.

250 is my theoretical limit. To date, I've not had a shot greater than 187 yards.

From treestands in the woods, it's hard to come up with a venue that is going to require a shot greater than 80 yards. 250 yards is about the longest shot I'd have to make from any of my longer venues where I didn't have a stand choice closer.

All the rifles I'm using to hunt deer, when set up to shoot 2 inches high at 100 yards have a point blank range of well over 200 yards. That means I can practice at 100 yards and not have to worry about elevation. This is a no-muss/no-fuss approach and it saves gobs of time before season. I spend the extra time scouting and doing things like squirrel hunting.

I give myself a limit of about 150 while deer hunting, just because I am not a particularly great shot. I had some medical issues that led to neurological damage in my teens, so my hands shake like a plastic bag in a stiff breeze. I'm ok out to 250 or so off a bench poking paper when I have rests and all the time in the world to wait for a steadier moment, but there's no way I'd ever take a shot that long in the field.

Of all the deer I've taken, the longest shot has only been 165 yards, and the vast majority have been inside 75. I won't take a poke much past 100 now that I'm in a shotgun deer state. The accuracy is there, but the terminal performance I have witnessed firsthand on a few sabot shots much farther than that is a pretty strong deterrant to me.

Damn good shooting! What bullet are you using?

zcm


WELCOME to the 'fire'!

Sorry to hear of you physical limitations but in actuality we ALL have ours too. Some is distance of shooting accurately,
others in other ways.

REGARDLESS (emphasis), we need to stay within OUR limitations. Good Luck


Jerry

Well said Jerry! Welcome to the “fire” zcm82! memtb

Thanks guys. Been lurker for several years, since I started collecting Savage 99s, just finally bit the bullet and joined a few days ago.

Lapua 6547, .243 1 x 8 24" using 107 SMK over Retumbo Rio7

107s are a damn good bullet!

That'll cost you one 99 !

Nothing is free!

Jerry

350ish is the max distance I’ll take on a game animal. I hunt in Georgia but do have places I where I can see further than 350 yards. 332 yards is my longest shot to date.