Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting What is your definition of 'long range'?

when i hear the word "hammered" i almost get sick ,man i am glad those days are long gone !

I have a 6.5 wildcat that matches a .264 Win Mag for case capacity but on a small Weatherby action. I tried to catch a Sledgehammer 130 in a 330 pig I killed. The bullet entered the center of the chest and exited 30” out the side near the back leg. Three of the petals also exited around it. I killed a couple deer last year with their 124 grain Hunter but didn’t catch either of them. A couple years back I had a .300 Blackout but sold it before hunting season so used their 101 grain bullets in my son-in-law’s .308. I fired them about 800 feet faster than they were designed for. The entrance in a buck was huge on a broadside shot. I caught that one. I guess it used up most of its energy on making a huge hole. Also I killed a doe with one. It exited but I dug it up. Both weighed about sixty grains.

I have a .375-.416 Rem Mag that I plan to use for elk this years. I prefer their Sledgehammer bullets and will use the 275 grainer, Lord willing. I fired half dozen at 300 yards with each load containing one grain more than the previous load. The “group” was about 2 ½”. I fired a three shot group at 100 yards and one at 300 yards: 9/16” and 1 11/16” respectively. Velocity is 2,960 feet per second.

The other day I read about a guy killing a water buffalo with a .300 RUM firing the Hunter 181 grainer at 3,400 feet per second. The bullet went through both shoulders and stopped without exiting.

I hope this is what you are looking for.

Any distance that requires holdover after a standard sighting for the cartridge in question. This is commonly about 250 or so yards.

First shot wind call error and animal movement are the real limits on the distance at which an ethical shot can be taken (that is, a vitals hit 100% guaranteed). Far too few shooters take them into account.

I would say 80%+ of shots over 500y are unethical, and it approaches 100% at 600y barring dead calm air and a sleeping animal.

To me, anything past 250 yds is long range. 350 yds is my self imposed limit for a high percentage ethical shot. YMMV.

Already did that. But I'll repeat it to make a correction:

"Have never seen a Hammer bullet in person but the design doesn't leave me with any warm fuzzies. I simply don't trust bullets like the TTSX and other mono-, hollowpointed bullets to open reliably at low velocity - or even high velocity - based on experience with Barnes X bullets."

The correction is I meant to write "bullets like the TSX...", not TTSX. My hunt group has not seen any indication of failure to expand using TTSX bullets, near (3000+fps) or far (~2200fps).

I feel no need to try every bullet that comes along, especially when the design is similar to ones that have failed to impress. Limited range time, in any case, precludes it.

A Savage 111 action is sitting in my safe, waiting to be re-barreled. One of my SILs is contemplating a .300 PRC for long range work and suggested that, but after looking at the .300 PRC, the clear conclusion was I have no need for it for much the same reasons I feel no need for a Hammer bullet - experimentation with either the .300 PRC or Hammer would be a time and money sink with little if any useful reward fpr my needs. In the case of the Hammer bullets, I don't need them under 600 yards (my limit for hunting shots under perfect conditions). For over 600 yards we're talking targets only and there are much less expensive bullets with higher B.C. values that I would use instead.

That said, I will likely re-barrel the Savage with a sporter-weight 6.5 PRC, which Hornady data shows can push a 143g ELD-X to 3150fps. At 7000 feet altitude that equates to about 2190fps and 1520fpe at 875 yards. At my hunting limit of 600 yards it would retain about 2470fps and 1925fps - well above my 2000fps/1500fpe rule-of-thumb for elk. Pretty much the equivalent of my heavy-barrel 6.5-06AI target rifle but in a comfortable carry-weight. The .300 PRC can't match it for drop and drift until past 1000 yards if using Hornady load data for the 212 ELD-X, and the .300 PRC requires over twice the recoil and 40% more powder to do that.

But maybe I'm missing something, Just what benefit do you think Hammer bullets would provide?

My question was to Ringman. I have no opinion at all on them.

I'd say it depends on the shooter.

I have a different take on long range! A shot taken in thick brush or timber, where a bullet must be “threaded” thru a small opening could be “considered” long range ...,,though only 50 yards! It requires much discipline to accomplish this shot. A shot of 500 plus yards also requires much discipline....just a different type of discipline! How far.....is far?

Obviously, this group on the “fire” pertains to shooting at many yards, as in 500 plus yards.... but, short yardage, difficult shots should “not” be taken lightly! It’s all relative! memtb

Precisely. This is not an original observation, but lots of people who'd have no qualms taking a difficult shot through brush or at a running animal are all too quick to trot out the "unethical" flag when the subject of long shots comes up.

Nope. Even the best shooters in the world are limited in how well they can call wind in the field on a first shot. +-2mph is a reasonable limit for the most skilled long range shooters on earth when shooting in field conditions.

Then consider how far an animal can move from a dead stop during the flight time of a bullet out to 500+ yards. Literally one step is the difference between a heart-lung shot and gut shot.

There is no skill a shooter can have that prevents that. They simply have to get closer.

+- 1 mph is more inline with the best wind readers.

In addition to wind reading, there is also animal reading. And yes, this skill tells you when to shoot and when not to; when the animal is calm at rest, and when it may suddenly move.

Nope, not on first shots in field conditions. Nice try though - long range hunting is the land of excuses to cover for unethical behavior

And unless the animal is asleep, there's ALWAYS a chance it moves. And I've yet to encounter an "long range hunter" that restricted themselves to shooting bedded animals, so don't even try that nonsense.

You’re lack of skill and abilities with a rifle is obvious. Take up fishing. 😎

LOL, I don’t need to “try”- I actually get out and “do”. My statement wasn’t a question, but an observation from actual field experience. BTW, what first shots are not “in the field”? That’s a buzz word and nothing more. Even square shooting ranges have terrain features and present a challenge to estimate the net wind effect on a cold-bore shot. Public forestry land is always “field conditions”.

Don’t be ridiculous. Of course in hunting, no matter the range, there is always a chance the animal could move as the trigger breaks, or something else could go wrong. That’s why it takes skill to properly judge the scenario. There’s always a chance of a miss or a bad shot. Opportunities at LR just tend to give the shooter more time and a calmer situation to assess the shot.

I love the excuses. Keep 'em coming

"Long range" is what I do at targets, paper, and on ranges.

Hunting is what I do with game animals.

So, 100% of 600 yard shots are "unethical" unless the animal is sleeping.

Bullschidt.

LIKE!

You’re an idiot.