ive been hunting long range exclusivly in my home state of pa for more than 40 years. that said i think a knowledgable shooter could learn the basics in about 15 minits. at least how we do it. lets face it with todays equiptment 500 yard shots are challenging but not necessarily difficult.
again i should stress as we do it. all our hunting is by what might be called the ambush system. spot and stalk is not an option. the shooting is ridge to ridge accross wide valleys for the most part. prone or shooting from improvised rests is
just not done. portable shooting benches or tripods are the most popular choices. sometimes benches are stashed at remote
locations. all hunting is done with large tripod mounted
binnoculars. all shooting is done with a spotter calling shots
using the big binnoculars. just about everybody uses twin spotting scopes for their glasses. twin kowas or swarovskis are
popular but not most popular. each hunter has his own set. 3 hunters in the group, 3 sets and so on.
40 years ago probably the most popular cartridge was the 7x300
weatherby. it still is very a popular choice for the 7mm here.
today the 338s have become very populat also.
but 40 years ago this discussion wouldnt even be taking place.
reason being there were no scope choices. all of the wonderfull
scopes avilable now were unheard of then.
the only choices were the target type scopes like unertle.
they required being setup properly as for mount spacing for 1/4 min click values.
target knobs on scopes like leupold are a rather recent thing.
same goes with all the nice reticles available today.
they just didnt exist untill the long range bandwagen was created. today everybody wants a part of the action and a seat on the bandwagen. good news for long rangers.
fortunitly back then there were people like the tk lee co. and dick thomas of premier reticles.
their busisness was installing custom reticles.
thomas would need your bullet bc and the velocity plus altitude.
he would install dots in any configuration you chose. he would also install windage dots or verticle crosshairs.
many of us would have him install dots out to 1000 yds.
mostly in 3.5x10 vx3s as the 6.5x 20 came later.
i still have and use 4 of his scopes. 2 3.5x10s and 2 straight
12s.
ive even put them on other cartridges and worked it out.
although that isnt the best scenario.
all of wich has absolutly nothing to do with this topic.
but offered as a little history and how recently the modern scopes and reticles became available.
now as for what i personaly think?
i think alot would have to do with hunting style.
on the longer shots especially,take all the time you can get.
if your not being hurried then dont hurry.
in those cases by all means dial the scope.
what to do in the event of a near miss is up to the mindset of the shooter. ive shook my head as guys added 1 click then next shot remove it.
as for me, now i know why i missed and i want another in the air right now. now he knows, and your next shot could be all there is. but again, thats me.
but not every scenario is the same. and not every animal is the same. a buck rutting after a doe can be very frustrating.
by the time you dial it all in, guess what? it could be wrong already.
as for a bear, dont count on anything. especially if he's already been shot at by someone earlier.
there is no substitute for basic ability.
with a good flat shooting gun shots up to 500 yds should be
almost a given. and that without any special reticles.
id have a reticle i like. then use the hell out of it.
dont be locked in on anything.
im talking about deer and the like here. not heads of prairie dogs sticking out of holes.
