I don't mind getting close. I used to bow hunt much more than rifle hunting. I started bow hunting as a kid in the 80's and have filled a lot of deer tags, 2 antelope, and some elk with bows. Even took 3 or 4 deer with a recurve during my college years.

I also cast bullets and sometimes carry an open sight 45/70 or 444 hunting. I may use my 358 BLR for my cow hunt this week if they're mostly holding in the trees. I took a buck Saturday at less than 100 yards in thick sage on the run with the lightweight AR 300 HAM'R I recently built for my kids to hunt with. I had a very accurate 6.5 Creedmoor set up for long range if needed but the way this opportunity happened I quickly switched rifles with my kid because the little 300 hamr with the stubby little 135g speers was the right tool for a quick off hand brush shot and worked great.

But, we don't get to shoot 100s of pigs a year in Idaho. At best its 2 deer if you draw an extra doe tag and then you might get an elk or a bear. It maybe several years before we draw a good tag and when we do it's public ground and often steep rugged country or wide open desert country. When we get those rare good tags we want a gun that can cover different situations well. Rangefinders and dialing have made longer shots much more doable than they were thirty years ago.

One of the main advantages of high bc for me is less wind drift. The wind blows a lot around here and
Its hard to gauge. Especially across a big wide canyon with varying gusts. High bcs can make what I call midrange shots much more doable say 400-700 yards. I rarely shoot game beyond that because the set up needs to be near perfect for me to shoot further out. I need a solid rest, game that's holding still, and a confident wind call to even consider a longer shot.

I've drawn 1 rifle tag for antelope in a lifetime of trying. Then my wife booked some important family stuff and travel starting at 10 AM opening day. My friend and i left early opening morning and I took a rifle I had built that shoots very well and I'd been getting excellent groups and first round hits centered on a 16" plate at 1000. That gun without the scope only weighs 7 pounds but can cover a lot of bases.

About 8:30 we found a good speed goat buck but it was moving out and headed for private property. We couldn't get closer so I found a little elevated spot to get prone on the bipod and had my friend laser me a range. He said it's too far its 550. I said that's all, it looked further. He started getting a rear bag out of a pack and I said I don't need it and fired as it stopped for a few seconds. I hit it perfect through the top of the heart and both lungs dropping it instantly.

I was 100 % confident in that shot as I lined it up. I knew I had a solid hold and knew that 215g Berger Hybrid would have no problem doing that job. I was home by 10am. When I want a fast twist rifle it's not to stunt shoot 1000 yards away. It's often with the thought of a 400 yard shot in the wind. I practice at 1000 because that gives me even more confidence on those 400-600 or so shots that are often the only opportunity I might get to fill that one tag I waited years to draw. When I get that good desert bull tag that I've only drawn twice I want a rifle I'm confident with because I may only get 1 opportunity and it will most likely be windy and probably out past 200.

Bb