What's the longest shot on a Whitetail you've ever taken over X amount of years you've been hunting?
Whitetail - 245 yds
Blacktail - 285 yards (at least three times over ten or so years on the same little abandoned spur road in Tyee country).
Mule deer - a bit over 450 yards ( there was a draw in between). Last time I tried it. The bullets weren't expanding and the deer died way too slow for my taste. Other than that not much over 200 yards.
I have been killing deer since I was 12. I am 73. I took a couple of years off while in the Marines and the year I got divorced (I kept the kids). No hunt this year also. Hip replacement.
On a whitetail? 166yds with a shotgun with open sights.
Big game animal? 710yds on a wolf. Didn't recover it. I underestimated the range by 60yds and hit it low. Tracked it for about a mile but lost the trail. Slowed him up a bit though.
I have hunted whitetails in the Appalachian Mountains for 37 years and killed around 150 or so deer with vertical bow, crossbow, muzzleloader and centerfire rifles with the longest shot being 206 yards (I was hunting an old buck that liked to bed in a 3yr old clearcut) ....95% of the deer i have killed over the years have been at ranges well under 100yds. I have buddies that shoot deer at ranges out to 600yds but shooting a deer in another zip code never really appealed much to Me, I like the challenge of actually getting close to My quarry, I consider that much more sport than picking a deer off from a 1/4 mile or more away but to each his own .......Good hunting....Hb
Until 2009, I'd never shot one beyond 80. I normally hunted from treestands and used the same stands for both rifle and bow. As a result, I had some rifle shots inside 5 yards. My average is still inside 80 yards. In 2009 I added a ground blind that overlooked a pasture we came to call "The Garden of Stone." There's a tennis court-sized place in the middle where I can reliably plug a late-season deer. The GofS got its name from my habit of putting a rock next to each carcass. Pretty soon there was quite a pile of rocks out there and deer were falling on previous years' markers. The shots to the GofS are between 150 and 180 yards.
When I was doing the pro-staffing gig, I tried every year to canvas people about this sort of thing. The average deer is shot by the average hunter is within 80 yards.
Hunted deer since 1967. About 65 deer killed. Kept records of armament used and range, either measured, paced off, or rangefinder. Longest was 187 yards, then 165 yards (308 Win and 250 Savage Ack Imp) when I decided to try some ‘long range’ hunting on a 50’ wide right of way through a central Georgia woods. It was fun and I might be hunting it some more if not three hours away. Average range of ALL kills is 36 yards. I have used the vertical bow almost as much as rifles so that explains the short range.
719 yards on a beautiful 8 pointer. We have large ag fields down this way. Several deer in the 500-550 range, a few > 600. I choose my shots carefully. Standing broadside, zero wind, sandbag rest in my stand, capable rifle....and do a ton of LR shooting all year long on my range. I don’t consider myself a long range shooter like the yahoos on tv though...those opportunities presented themselves and the situations were favorable. When presented with a shot opportunity at long range I may take a shot in one out of ten situations or less.
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
Been hunting 31 years. I keep steel plates at 200/300/400 and know my drop dope. I need to apply it from time to time. Average shot here is probably around 170yds, but things can and do happen in the 300-400 range in fields or on pipelines.
Never paid much attention, at least not enough to measure the distance, 99.9% of the deer I kill and see killed are inside of 200 yrds i am sure i have killed a few out there over 200 yrds, but don't care. I am hunting deer not bragging rights.
We kill about 400 deer every year, some times more some times less, to control our numbers, and to protect our habitat.
Mule Deer....about 300 yards, Antelope (similar to a Whitetail in size) ...430 yards. 56 years hunting big game. memtb
Last edited by memtb; 08/12/20.
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
Never to my knowledge seen a whitetail. But if you count blacktail, I donged one once at 170 or so, with a dead rest. Everything else 70 or 80 yards mostly. I've put the crosshairs on some across the canyon, 400 to 600, but the bouncing wobbling crosshair was a brutal dose of reality, so I never pulled the trigger.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
On a WT, 70 or 80 yards. Mule deer 165 yards or so. I’ve been seriously hunting about 30 years. Longest shot on elk 308 yards, several coyotes out to 360 +/-. I’m usually not a long range shooter but I have the hardware for it. Happy Trails
Life Member NRA, RMEF, American Legion, MAGA. Not necessarily in that order.
Black tail doe 302 yards with open sight model 94 Big Bore 375. 1 shot for range 2nd shot went through the skin on her throat, 3rd shot into her right eye. that was in 1981 and i had been hunting since 1959. most everything since has been 50 to 100 yards.
the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded. Robert E Lee ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
I shot two WT doe 6around 400 yards with a 6mm Remington. That was a once in a lifetime deal. Most I have killed within 50 yards, and a couple of three out over 100 yards. I killed a big ol' bore out at 320 yards shot in the right front shoulder. He ran 15-20 yards and expired grave yard DRT dead.
What goes up must come down, what goes around comes around, there's no free lunch. Trump's comin' back, get over it!
About 350 yds. across the neighbors farm fields is my longest. I hunt mixed farm and woods in northcentral Pa so I get some longer shots. Plenty of close ones though too. The last time I figured it out, my average distance was around 160 yds. That's since started hunting in 1973. I hunt groundhogs in the some country with the same rifles (270, 6mm Rem).
Been deer hunting for 40 years....longest White tail, 536 yards. Ranged from a shooting house, late afternoon on a bean field, no wind, sand bag on the fore end and a bipod supporting the butt. Used a 264 win mag, pushing 120 grain TTSX ~ 3300fps. Used a zeiss conquest 4-14 x 44 with a Rapid z 800 reticle that matched calculations from their website. Put the “504” yard hash high on the shoulder and the bullet impacted the vitals 1/3rd the way up from the bottom. Couldn’t have made a more perfect placement at 100 yards. Had my cousin in the shooting house watching w binoculars. He was stunned, as he watched the deer take 3-4 steps and collapse. That same cousin took a nice 8 point on the same field a few years later at 495 yards with a Browning abolt ‘06 shooting 165 grain Hornady BTSP’s at about 2840 FPS muzzle velocity. In that case, I was watching the deer from ~950 yards away and saw it fall before I heard the rifle’s report, as I was 700 yards from his blind.
Been hunting 35 years. Mostly in VT with occasional trips ME and northern Ontario. In most of the places it is hard to see 100 yards. Most shots have been inside 75 yards. Longest was around 150 in a field hunting on a friend's farm.
297 yards from a kneeling position with a 300 Wby. Doe went down right there. 32 yards with bow. Shot a doe facing me. Won't do that again. Didn't find her until the next morning. Shot her late and probably walked right by her twice in the dark.
A little over 400 yds, Remington model 700 carbine,308 caliber. 6x Bushnell Banner scope. Lying on the ground, because I couldn't find a good rest. Deer looked so small in the scope!. Aimed maybe a foot over the middle of the deer, and shot. A friend was behind me watching the whole thing. He said 'did you hit it?' I replied 'don't know'. We were loosing light fast, so we headed uphill to see if I had a deer or not. I got to the spot where I thought the deer was, searching and found nothing. My buddy was about 40-50 yds up higher, and says,'you got it, where were you aiming ?' I said 'high over the the shoulder area'. I hit him in the neck!! Lucked out, probably shouldn't have even taken the shot.
117 yards in Iowa during the 2019 late muzzleloader season. .50 caliber T/C Encore muzzleloader with Blackhorn 209 pushing a Hornady 250 grain Monoflex ML.
Ron
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Orwell
Killed my first deer in 2007 at age 36. I'm 48 now.
Longest kill was a whitetail doe at 635yds with a 7Mag using 150gr NBT handloads. Dialed in with a Swarovski 5-25x52.
Can't remember the last deer I killed inside 100yds, it's been many years ago. I've killed a lot at 300+. My two deer last season were at 350 and 430yds, both the same afternoon with my 243 using 95gr NBT handloads.
Those who must raise their voice to get their point across are generally not intelligent enough to do so in any other way.
For 3 years in a row, I couldn't hunt very well apparently, so the ranges were 278, 304 and 286, rounds were 7mm Rem and 308. The 10 pointer over on the left was the last one.
KC
You can easily vote your way in to Socialism; but you'll have to shoot your way out.
700 yards-7 STW with 140g Nosler combined tec bullets, MV 3650, he flopped on the spot. We had a food plot planted exactly 500 yards from the deer stand, shot many at 500 with this combo. 11 twist Pac Nor super match barrel, 27" long, zero freebore chamber, win brass, massive dose of IMR 7828 with Fed 215
My longest shot on any deer was 167 metres on a chital stag (axis deer) with my .280 in 25 years hunting. One fallow at about 120m and all the rest have been under 100m.
Which is why I don't get all caught up with ballistic coefficients.
35 yrs.....about 6 dozen kills Shotgun state for a long while. We tested stuff, were not the avg bambi slayers. So even smoothbores we were confident to 150 yards.
Growing up shooting chucks w HP rifles, reloading, got good at guessing yardage.
And didnt have the mental hurdle many seemed to, about going past 100.
Shocked me at work, couple guys w dozens of kills.....wont shoot past 50 yards, even w a rest. You tell em 100 yards offhand and they stare at ya like deer in the headlights.
I had a 4x on my RSI 243 win watching a weird but decent sized rack buck coming across the field.
One farmer does both fields, the old fenceline gone. But theres a grass strip for erosion control and if rhe buck hit that he was on my side of the line and only 250 yards.
Prone in been field edge......was no big deal. But the doe turned around and he followed.
Been hunting for 36 years longest with a bow 65yds Handgun 35yds muzzle loader (inline w/scope) 180 yds Rifle just over 300yds with an average rage of less than 100yds
2 at around 325. One was a doe another guy had crippled. Shot it with my Whelen. Aimed what I thought was 18" over the backline over the shoulders. hit dead center through the shoulders and she tipped over dead.I Killed a 10 point a few years later with my 300 Wby at ranged 326 yds crossing a big field.
My longest was 425 yards. The terrain here is so thick, that unless you are hunting cleared land, logging roads, or powerline / gaslines - most shots are going to be 100y or less.
October 1996 Unit 55 Cassia County Idaho 4 X 4 Mule Deer 560 yards with my Sako Classic Grade 7MM Rem Mag. The rifle has been bedded and tuned for accuracy by a man who really knew what he was doing and at that time wore a straight 6X Leupold 4 witnesses held roughly 3 foot over it's back. After that I swapped the scope out with a Zeiss 3-12
Out of all the deer I've shot over the years, I've only shot one at long distance. That was a whitetail doe sneaking out of a clear cut and it measured 413 yards. Every other deer I've ever shot was less than 100 yards. We hunt all most entirely inside the woods, and long shots just don't present themselves that often. On the other end of the spectrum, I shot an old 8 point jjust feet away from me. He was so close the wad from the shotgun slug was stuck in his neck. .
Roughly 220 yards with .444 Marlin - a 'flock' of about 8-9 came out of a neighboring woodlot, I swung on the lead deer and the second one in line took the hit. Never could hit a moving target.
Been deer hunting 35 yrs. My state allows HP rifle now for private land. Farthest shot so far w HP rifle.....75 yards. Killed a few w shotgun twice that far. No big deal.
I figure if hunting my buds dads place can go to 400 if using bipods. Used to shoot chucks to that. Deer I shoot tend to be slightly bigger than woodchucks, slightly. LOL
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
I then built a second 6.5-06 on a Rem700 action, and have this month built a third 6.5-06 on another Mauser action... that I am about to hunt with.
I am sold in the 6.5-06 cartridge.
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. -Ernest Hemingway The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.-- Edward John Phelps
Started hunting when I was 22 so 24 years of hunting.
540 yards WT doe. 260 Rem 28” barrel with a 100gr NBT @ just under 3500fps. No dialing. I had a 350 yard zero, held high shoulder 1 mil and flipped the switch. Pretty cool to see it happen through the scope.
Most of my deer kills are between 200-300 yards. My favorites are when I walk the woods and put the sneak on them at 10-15 yards and hit them when they get up and run. I like that better than the longer stuff.
Talking to you is like trying to nail jello to the wall.
I was thinking you would have us all beat. I put in for a tag every once in a while where it guarantees long shots. No getting around it. I'll always get a buck there, but the pack out isn't fun, so I don't put in for it too often. Shots range from 400 all the way out to 1,000 yards, If I want to shoot that far: I call it my "longrange" tag. If you can sneak up on a deer there, you are a far better indian than I am. One year I shot a muley buck at 600 yards on the nose. Thats with the angle comp on. Actual straight line yardage was a hair bit more. I was using my FN PBR XP 300WSM, that I used for centerfire competition: 42 clicks (10.5 MOA) up and sent the bullet right through the heart. The next one was shot in the same canyon and laser ranged right at 648 yards, shooting downhill. Again, had to use the angle comp on the LRF. The rifle I used that time was a trusty 7mm rem mag model 70 classic stainless. 1 shot, again right through the heart. Both rifles shot consistent sub moa 10 shot groups. For shooting long range on a big game animal, that requirement is a must for me.
Originally Posted by raybass
I try to stick with the basics, they do so well. Nothing fancy mind you, just plain jane will get it done with style.
Originally Posted by Pharmseller
You want to see an animal drop right now? Shoot him in the ear hole.
I started hunting with my dad at age 6. Killed my first solo at age 10. Going on 35 now so I guess 25 years of solo hunting. Longest with compound bow is 61, closest was straight down less than hard from tree. Longest with rifle was 774 with a 338 lapua and a 285gr hornady bullet. Nightforce scope. I have taken a few more through the years at 500 plus as I hunt a lot of bean fields. My closest was at 8 yards, my first deer
"If you got it, you got it!" In memory of Pops, gone but never forgotten
I think my longest was probably at a quarter mile, I was on one fenceline, and the deer was on the other, in a quarter-section field. That SHOULD add up to 440 yards or thereabouts. I was using a .30/06 with an old K-4 Weaver scope, and Federal Premium factory loads, with the 165 Sierra BTSP. It was memorable, because it was a new rifle I'd been practicing with all summer long.
I MUCH prefer to shoot them a lot closer, I think the average distance I've killed deer is about 160-170 yards, mostly in farm fields or pastures in N/C Missouri, and I've been doing it for fifty years now (or trying to do it, I miss once in awhile). Now I don't even try those longer shots, there's no need, and I don't care to track if I don't have to track anything.
You can roll a turd in peanuts, dip it in chocolate, and it still ain't no damn Baby Ruth.
Revisited this thread. I've narrowed down by choices to a 7mm08 or .308.......maybe a 6.5 based on these replies from you guys with way more experience than myself. I also hunt the Northeast and can't imagine shooting over 300 since I don't carry sticks and there are very few places to shoot prone or off a backpack.
My longest was 425 yards. The terrain here is so thick, that unless you are hunting cleared land, logging roads, or powerline / gaslines - most shots are going to be 100y or less.
Pretty much same here. We hunt a lot of pipeline ROW intersections and logging roads. Most don’t reach past 250yds, but a couple can go 500+.
Killed a ton in the 300 to 350 range. Few in the 400 to 450 range. 2 over 500. 1 over 600. A doe at 625. Hit her shoulder and exited in front of the offside shoulder. Pretty load pop when the bullet hit.
Been ay it 48 yrs. now. My longest is about 80 yds. I only killed about 25 though.
But the fruits of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Galations 5: 22&23
Most of my shots are inside of 50 yards. Matter of fact, it's pretty much of a stretch to get a shot over 50 unless you're sitting on a field. There's enough deer here that there's no need to do anything crazy.
Longest in the open - 125 yards
Longest in the woods - 100 yards (I've only done this twice)
Shortest - 15 feet (straight down)
"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." Ronald Reagan
around 10 years ago in Montana hunting deer with two friends Dave and Doug both frontline Viet Nam Marine vets both had been wounded over there and now doing ok ,Doug was with Carlos Hathcock in Viet Nam when on patrols Doug would take Carlos out in enemy North Viet Nam many miles and leave Carlos to do his missions . we had a 10 point whitetail buck at over 700 yards , 8 inches of snow i was up higher about 600 - 800 ft above that buck i laid down in the snow with my custom Ruger # 1 257 Weatherby mag. 27 inch Brux barrel and Harris bipod , the 100 gr. Nosler Partition bullets were going 3,800 Fps. , i laid the 1st x-hair below center on top of the buck`s back and fired . buck went down for good i spined him ,we measured distance afterwards 720 yards. i had very little time too shoot i ran to where i could shoot ,lay down and pulled the trigger it was just a luck shot but Doug seen the shot and said it reminded him of Carlos when Carlos practiced at camp. pete53
On deer maybe 200 yards probably more like 175. Longest game animal ever was a pronghorn at 308. It’s not usually that hard to close the distance for a sure shot in my experience.
Will Munny: It's a hell of a thing, killing a man. Take away all he's got and all he's ever gonna have.
The Schofield Kid: Yeah, well, I guess they had it coming.
This will be my 32nd year of hunting whitetails and I've killed at least 250. Never kept count, but used to shoot a lot of does to keep population under control.
Longest yardages:
389 and 393 on whitetails. 422 on coyote. 525 on a hog.
However in 2001 I was hunting my buds blind. I'd been up since the day before, I was tired and cold but did not want to go home empty-handed, so I made a Hail Mary shot.
I had recently purchased a Remington 700 Sendero chambered for the 338 RUM, and loading 180gr. Nosler Ballistic tips. My bud was set up for a cross-canyoun shot of 590 yds., ranged by laser. I had the rifle zero'd for 250 yds. I figured the bottom of the feeder mechanism was about 8' and the doe under the feeder would be about 3' at the shoulder. The wind was blowing pretty good so I held over what I considered to be level with the feeder mechanism and estimated 2' windage, and let fly. Got scope-eye and when I could see for the blood the doe was upside down under the feeder. Pure luck.
Other than that only two other critters over 300 yds., but that was on Aoudad.
400 plus yards on an Axis deer on Molakai. Not a good presentation to say the least. Told my grandson that I will either hit him in the back or the ass. Had time to settle and take a good hold. But, Ass it was and required a follow up shot to dispatch. MTG
1086 yards on wt doe. But that was on a deer damage permit. Actual hunting I doubt I’ve ever pulled the trigger on one much past 325 yards. Been hunting deer 38 or 39 years.
This fall will mark 40 years since my first deer tag was punched. The majority of my deer hunting has been done in wide open country so a few long shots have been required.
The longest shot on a whitetail came at dusk on the last day of a hunt. This was before the days of pocket rangefinders, but we were on the fence line in my cousins pasture and he gauged the deer to be 500 yds away. One shot from a 300 WinMag throwing a 165 gr bullet did the trick and I stepped off 499 yards to the point of impact. The fence post made for a rock solid rest and boosted confidence in the shot.
The longest mule deer shot I’ve taken was ranged at 505 yds. I dialed up 500 on the terrible, worthless and ineffective CDS scope that everyone on the fire seems to hate and dropped the 140 Accubond from my 270 WSM right into the point of his shoulder. He was a few steps from rounding a butte and heading out of site forever when I touched off the shot - instead be rolled 150’ down the face of the bluff and into a deep washout. I had to cut him into prices in order to get him out of that trench.
Until 2009, I'd never shot one beyond 80. I normally hunted from treestands and used the same stands for both rifle and bow. As a result, I had some rifle shots inside 5 yards. My average is still inside 80 yards. In 2009 I added a ground blind that overlooked a pasture we came to call "The Garden of Stone." There's a tennis court-sized place in the middle where I can reliably plug a late-season deer. The GofS got its name from my habit of putting a rock next to each carcass. Pretty soon there was quite a pile of rocks out there and deer were falling on previous years' markers. The shots to the GofS are between 150 and 180 yards.
When I was doing the pro-staffing gig, I tried every year to canvas people about this sort of thing. The average deer is shot by the average hunter within 80 yards.
I see I've responded to this already back in 2020.
Last fall, I managed to knock off a buck at the back end of the Garden of Stone at 200 yards. It was an ideal trifecta 1) Longest shot on an animal 2) Biggest rack in a decade 3) First time out with a new 150 grain load for the Ought-Six.
I wrote for Deer & Deer Hunting and Turkey & Turkey Hunting and was the pro-staffer for Kentucky and Ohio. I also handled the Reloading section for D&DH online. It lasted from 2008 until about 2016. At about the same time, I was a pro-staffer for Heirloom Turkey Calls out of Haughton, Louisiana. The latter folded tent after the owner died from cancer. D&DH and T&TH both withered away to near-nothing.
Just so you all know, I've never had a whit of association with Arm & Hammer. In fact, when I can manage it, I buy my Baking Soda from a chemical warehouse in 80lb sacks. It's a lot cheaper that way. A sack last me a few years.
If this is another one of those gang-up-on-the-shaman deals, I wish you'd not highjack a decent thread to vent your spleen. (HINT) Why not start a new thread on the Campfire and throw poo through the bars?
Only about 300 yards….a Pronghorn at 430 yards! memtb
You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong." -Bob Hagel
“I’d like to be a good rifleman…..but, I prefer to be a good hunter”! memtb 2024
I wrote for Deer & Deer Hunting and Turkey & Turkey Hunting and was the pro-staffer for Kentucky and Ohio. I also handled the Reloading section for D&DH online. It lasted from 2008 until about 2016. At about the same time, I was a pro-staffer for Heirloom Turkey Calls out of Haughton, Louisiana. The latter folded tent after the owner died from cancer. D&DH and T&TH both withered away to near-nothing.
Just so you all know, I've never had a whit of association with Arm & Hammer. In fact, when I can manage it, I buy my Baking Soda from a chemical warehouse in 80lb sacks. It's a lot cheaper that way. A sack last me a few years.
If this is another one of those gang-up-on-the-shaman deals, I wish you'd not highjack a decent thread to vent your spleen. (HINT) Why not start a new thread on the Campfire and throw poo through the bars?
Twas merely a question. Sensationalism generally abounds in your prose - simply seeking clarity.
500 give or take on a mulie across a canyon. Had lots of time, a solid rest and a spotter. 7mm Rem Mag with a handliaded 160 gr Partition. Deer dropped straight down
You get out of life what you are willing to accept. If you ain't happy, do something about it!
If your going through hell, keep on going, don't look back, If your scared don't show it. You might get out b'fore the devil even knows your there. (Rodney Atkins)
If your going through hell, keep on going, don't look back, If your scared don't show it. You might get out b'fore the devil even knows your there. (Rodney Atkins)
Last years mule deer buck was a little over 400 yards with a 7mm08. I've shot quite a few between 300 and 350 yards but I prefer to get closer if I can.
I've never lost a wounded deer but you never know, so I like closer.
Well stated. Most hunters couldn't regularly hit a flock of UPS trucks at that range if in the field and not in houses with rifle rests.
My longest deer shot was probably a little over 300 yards. We have nothing but mule deer here. I shot an antelope at 350ish with a rifle that was appropriate and a rock solid rock as a rest, and an elk at 360ish with another good rock-rest with my FN/Sako 375 Wby.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
I limit my shooting of big game to 300 yds or less. But one time had my then new 6.5x06 out and spotted a deer. ranged it at 330 yds so took the shot, one shot one dead. Sorriest excuse for shooting it ever. Just to say I did. Should have got closer and left myself wondering. After that longest shot maybe 250yds. Don't even remember what rifle I was using, but, probably my 308 or 25-06, I used the 308 a lot!
263 yards according to my Leica RF. Started in 1958. Somewhere close on 150 total. Average range more likely around 125-150 I suppose because I study most them long enough that I don't shoot them. I have set up a couple rifles to shoot much further, and gone out with the intent to shoot one far away. half the time I decide to pass and the other half if seems like one has a death wish and walks right to me.
way back in the day when you have your eyes tell you how far it is, instead of a laser rangefinder, i'd say it is about 365 +/- yards. it was 350 yards to the locust fence pole and 15 or so yards behind it. i shot the doe and she looked around, took about 4 or 5 steps, looked around again and fell over. i hit her right behind shoulder (my dad's (RIP) friend was with me) and was told to aim at her nose. i was 16yo or so, so i aimed at her nose. i was using a Remington m721 in 270 Win with 130gr Remington SP factory ammo. it was my dad's friend's rifle. i'm glad that i shot doe, but i remember it felt icky, like i needed a shower.
i can count on one hand, i killed deer at over 200 yards. most of my deer are around 30 to 40 yards.
When I was into the long range hunting thing, I had several kills past 1,000, with some very interesting conclusions. First was that my hunting buddy and I had to really look for a long shot past 300 yards! The second was the time of flight that even a big magnum has to get " out there", and after the decision to shoot is made, and the trigger is tripped , the hunter owns the shot AND the results good or bad.
After killing a deer at 1,113 with one shot, I almost lost the the next one at 710 because the animal decided to move, not far, but enough to turn a kill into a gut shot!! Luckily he headed straight up the slope and I was able to break his back with the next one. If I missed we would never have recovered him. Thst was in 2004 IIRC. Since then I have strictly passed on deer that are at the 400 yard mark, and I have only killed one that was 372 since then. The vast majority of my Ani.als have been under 150 yards I fact with just a few past 200. I know lots of guys who kill big animals at long distances, but that is their choice . Cat
When I was into the long range hunting thing, I had several kills past 1,000, with some very interesting conclusions. First was that my hunting buddy and I had to really look for a long shot past 300 yards! The second was the time of flight that even a big magnum has to get " out there", and after the decision to shoot is made, and the trigger is tripped , the hunter owns the shot AND the results good or bad.
After killing a deer at 1,113 with one shot, I almost lost the the next one at 710 because the animal decided to move, not far, but enough to turn a kill into a gut shot!! Luckily he headed straight up the slope and I was able to break his back with the next one. If I missed we would never have recovered him. Thst was in 2004 IIRC. Since then I have strictly passed on deer that are at the 400 yard mark, and I have only killed one that was 372 since then. The vast majority of my Ani.als have been under 150 yards I fact with just a few past 200. I know lots of guys who kill big animals at long distances, but that is their choice . Cat
Great post!
Nobody goes 1,000 yards to where the deer was standing if they think they missed. Many times the animal was hit somewhere and ran off to die eventually, sometimes in terrible agony. It's incumbent on the long-shooters to go to the spot and check for blood and fur, but it doesn't happen.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
325 yards verified w rangefinder as deer was walking broadside across a combined cornfield. Shot was made from an elevated box stand with front end of rifle rested on a window opening Right elbow rested on window opening to my right. 264 Win Mag shooting 130 Accubonds at 3300 FPS Dead right there.
Your mind is your primary weapon. Never let it get rusty.
My longest shot on deer was 453, one the Mule Deer in the middle. Typical shots I take on deer are around 200 yards. Bow Hunting typical shot is under 30 yards, with my longest bow kill on deer @ 96 yards.
Nobody goes 1,000 yards to where the deer was standing if they think they missed. Many times the animal was hit somewhere and ran off to die eventually, sometimes in terrible agony. It's incumbent on the long-shooters to go to the spot and check for blood and fur, but it doesn't happen.[/quote] The thing is with that initial gut shot , he was heading up a slope that was not accessible for use if he went over the top - danged near straight up and down! I have killed a lot of deer on those breaks before and since, the last one being a mule deer buck at 11 yard on opening day last year. You are right about people not looking after if they THINK they missed! I shot one a few years back on a power line at just over 360 yards across a mall valley from a good solid rest, and at the shot the three that were with him took off towards me, but my deer moved off into the bush with NO indication of being hit. I know my shot was good even though I didn't hear the impact, and suspected he was hit by the way he didn't take off with the rest. When I finally got up to where I figured he was standing, I found a few drops of blood , and a good trail about ten feet from there in the 2 feet of snow. My deer was about 30 feet down a slope in the bush, shot in the heart with the 150 TSX passing through. If a less experienced hunter had witnessed this, they most likely would have not even made the trip down and up across to check He was up near the top of the far face in this pic Cat
When I was into the long range hunting thing, I had several kills past 1,000, with some very interesting conclusions. First was that my hunting buddy and I had to really look for a long shot past 300 yards! The second was the time of flight that even a big magnum has to get " out there", and after the decision to shoot is made, and the trigger is tripped , the hunter owns the shot AND the results good or bad.
After killing a deer at 1,113 with one shot, I almost lost the the next one at 710 because the animal decided to move, not far, but enough to turn a kill into a gut shot!! Luckily he headed straight up the slope and I was able to break his back with the next one. If I missed we would never have recovered him. Thst was in 2004 IIRC. Since then I have strictly passed on deer that are at the 400 yard mark, and I have only killed one that was 372 since then. The vast majority of my Ani.als have been under 150 yards I fact with just a few past 200. I know lots of guys who kill big animals at long distances, but that is their choice . Cat
Great post!
Nobody goes 1,000 yards to where the deer was standing if they think they missed. Many times the animal was hit somewhere and ran off to die eventually, sometimes in terrible agony. It's incumbent on the long-shooters to go to the spot and check for blood and fur, but it doesn't happen.
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
If your going through hell, keep on going, don't look back, If your scared don't show it. You might get out b'fore the devil even knows your there. (Rodney Atkins)
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
There was absolutley NO indication that the deer I shot across the valley on the powerline was hit. He didn't duck, lurch, jump, nothing, he jut walked off the line while the other ran toward me. Cat
When I was into the long range hunting thing, I had several kills past 1,000, with some very interesting conclusions. First was that my hunting buddy and I had to really look for a long shot past 300 yards! The second was the time of flight that even a big magnum has to get " out there", and after the decision to shoot is made, and the trigger is tripped , the hunter owns the shot AND the results good or bad.
After killing a deer at 1,113 with one shot, I almost lost the the next one at 710 because the animal decided to move, not far, but enough to turn a kill into a gut shot!! Luckily he headed straight up the slope and I was able to break his back with the next one. If I missed we would never have recovered him. Thst was in 2004 IIRC. Since then I have strictly passed on deer that are at the 400 yard mark, and I have only killed one that was 372 since then. The vast majority of my Ani.als have been under 150 yards I fact with just a few past 200. I know lots of guys who kill big animals at long distances, but that is their choice . Cat
Great post!
Nobody goes 1,000 yards to where the deer was standing if they think they missed. Many times the animal was hit somewhere and ran off to die eventually, sometimes in terrible agony. It's incumbent on the long-shooters to go to the spot and check for blood and fur, but it doesn't happen.
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
I can't agree. I've shot tubs full of deer in 64 years hunting them, and a lot of them just walked off into thick brush with no outward indication they were hit...no sound, no flinch. Going to where they were standing, I found out some were hit and recovered them, some close and others 400-500 feet down steep canyons and mountainsides. The biggest neglect to check is by those who shoot long shots across canyons. It might take hours to get to the spot in rough mountains, many at 8,000 to 10,000 feet.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
Longest was 120 yards . Around here you seldom see farther than that. Most I have killed have been under 80 and a lot under 40. I had two does come up and sniff my popup last year while I was sitting there smoking a cigar and drinking coffee. Neither spooked , just sniffed and one walked off while the other nibbled on a vine awhile. There were six other does with them but they were always 30-40 yards away. In the end they regrouped and all left together without a snort.
Grumpy old man with a gun.....Do not touch . Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6. Don't bother my monument and I'll leave yours alone.
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
Wait...what?
how many have you shot at 600 to 1000 yards? out of every one I have shot at mid to long range I have never not saw the bullet impact the deer through the scope, have taken 54 beyond 450 yards and assisted others for around 30 more.
Last edited by Ridge_Runner; 08/26/23.
If your going through hell, keep on going, don't look back, If your scared don't show it. You might get out b'fore the devil even knows your there. (Rodney Atkins)
at 1000 yards you know if you hit them, beyond 600 yards they do not associate the shot that far away with being wounded, they walk or bound a few yards and lay down. the only ones that run are those that are lung shot, they smell or taste blood and get spooked, they don't go far. this is my experience from shooting them at long range since 2006.
Wait...what?
how many have you shot at 600 to 1000 yards? out of every one I have shot at mid to long range I have never not saw the bullet impact the deer through the scope, have taken 54 beyond 450 yards and assisted others for around 30 more.
Enough one shot kills past 600 and several past 1,000 with the one I almost lost at 700 to know I am not inteterested in killing game at those distances anymore. I do all my long range shooting on targets with sling'n'irons these days . I know many that do not share my options howevr and that's okay Cat
I’m definitely not saying everyone should be launching bullets at game at extended range… whatever that means to each shooter is up to them. But from a solid rest (which obviously is needed to shoot deer or anything else at much further than a football field under field conditions)I almost always see my bullets impact. Depending on the recoil generated the range at which I have time to recover and actually seethe bullet impact varies. A heavy rifle in 6mm shooting 105’s I almost always see the bullet impact. Out of a suppressed 300 win mag shooting 230 bergers if the deer is closer than about 600 yards I miss the action in the scope but beyond that range I have time to “get back on target” and see my impacts. I shoot as much as my schedule will allow. I practice with my rifles and make SURE I know where they’re sighted in and where they hit at longer ranges. The deer (3 or 4 total) I’ve missed in the last three years were all due to getting bad hits from my range finder. Yes, I missed. Yes it was my fault. Luckily those deer all were missed cleanly. I also take buddies and their sons hunting and have seen missed deer and wounded deer at 50-150 yards with scoped 270’s 243’s and 308’s. From solid rests out of a box. Long range means different things to different people. If a hunter has good equipment and knows what he’s doing 600yards or more doesn’t seem like long range anymore.
Rifle- whitetail at 683 with a .243 and it fell dead. Killed several 450-600 with it. Muzzleloader- 215 yds with a .45 using 195gr Barnes and 150gr pellets.
70 yards tops. Just the nature of the are I hunt in the Huron National forest consisting of 3 beaver ponds and the associated slashing within a square mile and a half of each other. Also happened to be the biggest whitetail I have killed.
My longest shot was just a tad over 400 yards. Was shooting from a prone supported position. The buck had been spooked by two hunters who had not a clue he had been laying in some tall grass. I never would have seen him had it not been for them. He ran away from them and me and stopped long enough to look back. His body was facing away from me and he looked back directly over his rump. I centered the crosshairs on his chin. At the shot he dropped like a rock. The bullet entered directly between the front shoulder blades breaking the spine. He was very much alive when I got to him and quickly finished him off. I was 27 years old and extremely fit. After dressing that deer that was the most painful deer drag I have ever made. I vowed from that point forward, 100 yards or less was my goal.
My longest deer shot was on a Wyoming mule deer at 419 yards. I know it was 419 yards because he was running up a coulee and I was standing and on a Bog Pod tri and when he stopped, I asked my spotter with the range finder how far? He said 419. I knew from memory that my 300 Win Mag round sighted dead on at 200 would strike 17 inches low at 400. I held accordingly. No wind that I can remember. Bang. Dead.
Nothing really particularly amazing or skilled or lucky about the shot. I knew the range, I knew the gun, I knew the load and it's ballistics.
I was prepared.
"You cannot invade mainland America. There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass" ~Admiral Yamamoto~
When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty. ~Thomas Jefferson~
Mine was a doe on a pipeline at 375 yards. My rifle was a Remington 742 in 30/06 that I had won when the band had a raffle and sold tickets. I handed loaded using the cheap Lee Loader, 165 gr Hornadys and 57 grains of 4350. The Remington would shoot quarter sized 3 shot groups at 100 yards with this load. I had good eyes and eye hand coordination back in my younger years. I also shot 3 positions rimfire competition and was ARNG battalion champ. I was sitting and used my sling. We were running Walker hounds and I knew the deer crossed at a certain bottom. Sure enuff, I heard the hounds and set up beforehand. A doe appeared, crossed to the other side and turned back to look towards the hounds. I took the shot and she lunged into the tree lines. By the time I got there, her 2 pursuers (the 2 Walker hounds) each had a hind leg. My long shot was the camp record. Had a cheap Weaver Marksman 4X scope.
IDK. Pre-rangefinder, and it was on a cow caribou - a deer-sized critter. Caribou are frequently referred as "deer" by Eskimos, so I'm counting it!
The RU77V in 25-06 was loaded pretty hot (max or one grain under, IIRC) with 120 gr. Speers, and sighted in 5" high at 100, MOA
She was standing broadside, head, neck, and ears stretched upright, turned toward me. The first shot went into the hillside snow under her belly, not close enough to startle her. Putting the crosshairs just above her upright ears drilled her through both shoulder blades, the base of the bullet lodging in the far side blade, wind and range accounted for.
You do your own figuring - but I figured she was well over 500 yards.
The longest ranged shot I've made was with my M98 with heavy "sniper" barrel in 30-06, 150 grain Superperformance factory loads, going into an inch at 300 yards. IIRC, it was 443 yards. One shot and down, through both lungs.
The gun is capable of more, I am not.... and have no intention of pushing it past 500.
Both above caribou I was using a snowbmachine windscreen for my rest. Kept my arse warm too!
i shot a doe at 365+/- yards with a Rem m721 in 270 Win. i was a senior in high school and the rifle was my dad's friend, Charlie. i and Charlie were in his homemade tree stand that will fit 5 or 6 people. it also has walls and roof. Charlie tells me to hold(crosshairs) for the nose and shoot. so i did. it was shot behind the shoulder and exited the doe behind the shoulder. the doe was close to DRT or about 3 or 4 feet after the shot. i didn't have a laser range finder, it wasn't invented. the 365+/- yards is measured by by known distance, a locust pole fence with a strand of barbed wire was measured from the tree stand to be 350 yards. when i shot the deer, it was about 15+/- yards behind the locust fence.
the number of deer i have shot at ranges 200 -350 yards you could use both hands and have a couple fingers left over. 100 - 200 yards there is about 16 or 17 deer and under 100 yards i can't count how many deer i've shot.
"Russia sucks." ---- Me, US Army (retired) 12B & 51B
Russian Admiral said, after the Moskva sank, "we have the world's worst navy but we aren't as bad as our army".
732yds on a whitetail doe with the 16# 243AI/105 A-max I was using for F-Class @ the time.
562yds on a Mule Deer with a M70 SS Classic Fwt in 270Win in a Brown Precision stock shooting 140gn TSX. I had a bipod out front, my pack under the toe of the stock, very steady, LRF distance, 2-spotters, almost no wind, and a calm animal unaware of our presence.
I can walk on water.......................but I do stagger a bit on alcohol.
Over 50+ years of deer hunting, longest shot was 104 yards with a Ruger 77/44. 40-60 yard shots are typical for Michigan deer hunting.
One year I was hunting a hay field up north and had deer out about 400 yards. M700 with a 7-08 heavy Kreiger barrel and Jewell trigger resting on a tripod and my butt on a stool inside a popup blind.. This shot would have required shooting past BIL in a blind on the edge of the field so I passed. A little later a mature whitetail head(long nose) appeared in the edge of my blind window about 20 yards out. I wasted no time on a spitting distance head shot with that long range rig. 1 1/2 yr old doe. If I had waited 10 seconds I would have had a crack at the larger older doe following.
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