This is a topic with no absolute answer because of so many variables. Last year with my rifle (a custom 7WSM) I let a friend shoot a Rocky Mtn.Bighorn sheep at 1285 yards. the very next shot out of my rifle was 2 weeks later when I shot my Rocky Mtn.Bighorn sheep at 675 yards, 2 shots 2 kills.
Monday I guided a client in on a California Bighorn sheep and watched him miss with 3 shots with the average shot missing by feet not inches at only 350 yards using a fully custom 7-378WBY and the same bullets I use.
Range time, load development,compotent rifle handling, and current weather all play a part
Well, there is one absolute answer: Don't shoot until you've stalked as close as possible.
1285 yards? 675 yards? That was the closest you guys could get? Surely, some creative sneaking could have closed the distance. Just because the gun and the shooter are capable of such long shots doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to get closer.
My Rocky Mnt ram was the farthest of my Grand Slam at around 365 yards. He was in a giant open cirque above timberline, and there was no cover to get any closer. My Dall was at less than 50 yards and the other two were around 200.
I know a outfitter in the Wyoming Bighorns who was guiding an elk hunter 2 years ago. When a 300 yard shot presented itself, the shooter wanted to BACK UP to at least 500. The guide refused to accommodate the request. Naturally, the hunter made a surgical one-shot kill but was surly the rest of the hunt. He didn't leave a tip for the guide either....
