Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What percentage of your shots on game are over 150 yds?

Yep, you are right John. West biggs in fact. In the Deschutes canyons. A fire went through the year before, so the ground was pretty bare and you couldn't sneak up on chit. Had to shoot long.....

Some here aren't in the majority.... . But you are right, there sure is a lot of talk about shooting long distance and needing high bc bullets.... To tell you the truth, I always used Hornady BTSP interlocks for my long shots... Nothing real high bc about those, but they were accurate enough and at 600+ yards, work like a charm...

Uuuuum, I don't... I got a few lr cool rigs, but they never get used... haha

May be 1% at most.

My longest has been 487 yards, with a 9x.

Most are in the 200-300 yard range because we tend to hunt fairly open (sage) country (antelope, deer and elk).

Was reading this earlier today... and had to laugh at thinking of an answer moving forward....

between our property and the neighbors, there were 19 deer grazing in the two yards....4 were bucks... not spectacular bucks... but bucks....

elk wandered thru here Saturday morning... and wild turkeys and Canadian Geese are all over the place...

Percentage of long range shooters is small.

And yet we're all constantly admonished on here that we're idiots if we're not using the latest cartridge designs with the highest BC bullets and the fastest rifling twists.

You've pointed out much of my favor with a 100 yard zero. As I listed earlier, 90% of my shots over the last few years have been at 125 or less. I like being on for where I'm going to be shooting most often, especially when threading needles through openings.

Once dials are verified it's an easy thing to change the 100 yard zero to a 200 yard zero....or 350...when you hunt a field....then adjust as needed. I like knowing where my bullet's going to impact when the trigger breaks, as much for the shorter ranges as the longer ranges,...but folks can make the MPBR work just fine.

About 98% of my shots are 200 yards or less.

I mainly stand hunt, and I know the distance to the target and the max distance at which a shot is available. As I hunt out of a camp, it is not problem taking several rifles with me. In fact sometimes I will take two rifles with me to a stand. One for small stuff, or one for a longer poke.



With the exception of the McMillian stocked Remington M7, 6 x 47, (it currently wears a vari x-III 2.5-8 Leupold) the rifles on the left are zero'd for 100 yds.

The rifles on the right are zero'd @ 200, and in the case of the Sendero, the Leupold B&C reticle subtensions are pretty much dead on at 300 and 400 yds.

Because the vast majority of the answers here..... are from folks who hunt whitetail. And because of the strong East Coast bias.... their “experience” applies universally. Generally.... the folks who hunt primarily out West, are going to have a much higher percentage of shots over 150 yards than the Eastern deer hunters.... simply based on terrain and game.

Nothing wrong with covering your bases, and being prepared for whatever shot presents itself. My “long range” set-up wears a 3-9, runs bullets that are perfectly acceptable at 25 yards and 600 yards, and weighs exactly 8lbs (loaded).

I can leave the to scope zeroed at 100, and crank it down to 4x when I’m hunting the thick schitt for elk.....

I can spin it to 250, and use Jud’s “hair to 400”.... or whatever... when I’m hiking ridge-lines looking for deer....

I can range and dial that 565 yard shot across a canyon when it’s necessary (and appropriate).

I can sit in a tree stand and clobber stuff at 12 yards with it if I needed to.

Etc.....

Like MD has said time and time again....... those with actual experience, tend to have opinions that are middle-of-the-road.

GW and others; I would say that about 60-70% of my shots are over 150 yards, and about 50% 200 yards and over. As others have said above the ground we hunt so often governs the shots we take.

My experiences have confirmed many times over that choice of ground governs choice of options. I have hunted all over Alberta, many years hunting and guiding in the barrens of the NWT for caribou, once on Sydney Island (south of Vancouver Island), twice in Texas near Del Rio, once on the big island of Hawaii, once in the Highlands of Scotland, once in Namibia, once in the hills of the Eastern cape RSA and once in the Limpopo province of RSA. Each area had their own unique manner

...of hunting based upon the ground.

When I went to Texas I did not really understand the use of baiting, until I walked around a bit. There was very little soil and slabs of limestone the size of dinner plates everywhere creating a sound like walking on dinner plates no matter how quietly one tried to walk. We helped the guides look for a wounded and lost deer, really got to understand how thick and nasty Texas bush is, I came away with a much greater appreciation of the way things are done in Texas as I was very convinced that I would have had zero success still-hunting. As a point of reference my two closest shots on Whitetail while still-hunting were at 8 and 18 yards so I do know how to do it.

Now when I go to a new area I study the ground and listen to the locals and figure how to hunt from there.

I have never shot an animal farther than 400 yards, truth be told I have yet to make a 400 yard shot but have a handful in the 390 yard range. I have three dialing scopes and practice out to 550 yards although I don't expect to shoot that far. Shooting at distance is a great way to hone ones skills as the greater the range the more each little error shows up.

My hunting is by the large majority walk, spot and stalk, sneak and peak, and least common is sitting in informal stands. seems to wrk for me.

Thanks for starting an interesting thread GW, thanks to all for throwing in their thoughts, I hope y'all have a great day.

George.

I have been very pleasantly surprised at the responses and that this thread has run for six pages without going off the rails.

Good stuff guys!

Thanx,

GWB

First, I am not from Texas ! ! I have relatives who live there and I've been there. There has been plenty of video of the Texas 'brush country'.
I understand hunting 'senderos' *** not the rifle mod***.

GRF has seen and experienced the situation/cover/ground/ & thickets in Texas. It's much more accurate to describe "how I'd hunt in Texas"
than from someone who hasn't AT LEAST seen the obstacles.

Jerry

maybe 15%, I usually hunt deer with a .270 but have shot deer with .30-06,7mmrem mag. ,.243, .308, .41 mag handgun and .44 mag handgun. All deer shot with the handguns were 75 yards or less.

I am a Bighorn hunter and even these are seldom taken at long range.
I use a low power variable scope on my rifle, the rifle must be light , short and compact.
I have little experience on shooting much over 300 yards, and use the maximum point blank range concept. It is sweet, practicle and always works for me.

bsa, pardon me for not quoting in normal fashion. This is shorter.

bsa said,
"In todays modern age, where scopes are better, you have turrets and also ballistic type reticles, so there's no need to zero at 350 yards......... I truly "zero" for 100 and dial or just use my reticle. Simple enough.... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your way, just as long as you don't say there's anything wrong with my way....
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I'm in no way saying your way - twisting turrets etc, - is wrong. I've said this repeatedly in our forums here. They're fine and dandy IF you have the distance and time to use Turrets.



[quote=bsa1917hunter and there's no way in hell you can sneak up on a deer there. I usually sit in the rocks and watch a couple hillsides. Shots can range from 400 to 800+ yards away:

My furthest shots, in this spot, on deer have been 600 and 648 yards. Both 1 shot kills...
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IF I hunted an area such as that ^^^ you bet your bottom dollar I'd be twisting turrets.

It has been such a small % of time when I would have had time to LRF, read chart, twist turret - THEN aim and shoot. Yes I've had that kind of time but it's been MUCH less than 10% of the time.

Having used MPBR for so many years ** it works for me**. Whatever works for you.


Jerry

May be guilty of taking this thread off the rails but what the hey!
I've no doubt that in many areas the nature of the terrain dictates the nature of the hunt and shot distances.
Here is an example of south Texas brush country hunting.
This sendero is probably about 20' to 25' wide, by about a mile long. I am set up near the middle with a 90" cut in the brush where there is a feeder in the scrum at 120 yds. The buck came off the fence line that divides pastures and is at the southwestern most part of the Sendero, heading east-northeast toward me.

This was taken with a 150-600 mm lens with a crop factor of 1.6



my recollection is he is about 500 yds.




a skosh closer



prolly 250 yds IIRC





a skosh closer



100 yds +/-, Bang, flop, DRT.

Now the rifle in the pix is a Rem 700 Custom KS, chambered for the 300 H&H, 200 gr. Accubond, zero'd @200.

My idea is that closer is better, especially if I have to find the point of impact to find blood and start tracking. What with the thorns, cactus, rattlers, and other nasty things, I try not to go into the scrum.

ya!

GWB