Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Long range kill photos show dramatic results!!!

This. A fast-twist 223 is an ideal setup to learn to shoot both long and short. Perfect for learning trajectory, wind reading, etc. Low recoil, low priced ammo.

On a lot of sites, including this one: http://www.shooterscalculator.com/ballistic-trajectory-chart.php, you can plug in the angle of the trajectory.

When I knew I was going to be hunting the spot pictured below, I reran the numbers for the angle down to the to that pond about 550 yds distant. I think it only changed the point of impact a couple of inches, but I can't recall for certain. That was about a year and a half ago. I'm going back there this October if I don't draw a tag for the unit on which my property sits. The one in the pic is OTC.

If you really want to get technical. you can mount a cosign indicator to your gun to adjust yardage. That being said, I haven't found a big enough difference unless you're at an extreme angle or extreme distance.

I won't advocate salvaging antlers only, let alone filming the fiasco and making it into a hunting show, but plenty of rifle hunters do what you described too. Archers don't have a monopoly on that shïtshow.

In certain situations I feel it is the best move to back out and wait overnight, taking your chances with the coyotes. I've seen several wounded critters pushed onto private or a hellhole by folks pushing them. Gut/liver shot critters quite often bed down within a couple hundred yards and die overnight, if they're not pushed. It sucks, but at least you have a chance to find it and salvage things vs loosing it entirely to private land.

223 is a one of my favorites. He doesn’t re load and finding the heavier pills might not be the easiest. I do agree it’s the most economical way to learn.
Yet the 6.5.... before all this, I was getting S&B 140 fmj for 10.99 a box.
Also, I figure with 6.5 he can do target, deer and elk with in reasonable distances.
Doesn’t matter. He’s having a 300 built

He'll get humbled real quick shooting at a gong 800 and beyond.

Yup, sitting 20 ft. up in a tree or blind... or maybe calling a rut crazed elk right to your lap. Bow hunters get the prime time seasons because it used to be considered primitive. They now have there fair share of ‘long rangers’ - 70 or 100 yards. Hell, 50 was a no-no back in the day.

Bow hunter elites, gotta love ‘em. Bet you belong to BHA too....

Thought I’d clicked on the long range hunting forum.

Since I left Idaho in 2007 I have not given 10,000 feet elevation a thought. My Wyoming elk this year came from around 8,000 at 300 yards, my bull in Oregon at 3,00 feet at 410 yards. I live at 1200 feet elevation, and adjust my range cards for 6,000 so I am somewhat in the middle range of my hunting altitudes. I will need to be more aware.

Craig Boddington started that and has since disavowed it. Where do you think those numbers came from? That they're nice round numbers should be a clue. As is the fact that many people routinely kill elk with weapons that fall short, like muzzleloaders.

smokepole----It was Townsend Whelen, and 1500 is not an even number. I have killed several elk with an muzzleloader none over 100 yards. Let alone 600 or 700. I know you are dissing the energy recommendation, however there is more than just energy necessary for a long range hit. And the variables increase with distance. The state of Colorado references these numbers today in a great discussion regarding caliber choices, as do many current hunting and shooting articles, they are a guide just like caliber restrictions, nothing will ever be perfect,

That whole 1,500-2,000 foot pounds of energy was and is pure nonsense. I have been killing elk for many years with a puny little .308. On average the shots tend to be between 400 and 500 yards, as that is simply the type of shots that present themselves in the late season hunts and the terrain I hunt. I have used the little .308 effectively at greater distances (past 600) but the mid 4s are average.


The .308 was not producing energy numbers anywhere close to 2,000 FT #s at 400 yards. At 600 yards it was producing about 1100. I pay ZERO attention to foot pound charts. The formula that has worked for me is to simply find a load that shoots well with a decent bullet, buy in bulk such as 2,000 rds of 155 scenars at a whack:




then practice, practice, practice, then go shoot elk.

Then laugh when people (most of whom have very little or no experience killing elk) say that you can't do what you have been doing for years.

I don't think it's a good idea to conflate recommendations with legal restrictions with ethics. None are expressions of reality, but rather, they are values that humans have created that are distinct from reality, and thus are fluid and arbitrary.

If you don't like the way another guy does something, don't do it that way. Do it the way you think it should be done. As you state, nothing will ever be perfect. This is certainly true for all hunting using projectiles.

There are things other guys do that I would consider unethical if I did them. Taking shots well outside the range of the average hunting shot isn't one of those. As long as everyone is acting conscientiously, what gripe can I really have about the way another does things? For every skill I possess, there are guys that have a lot more of it than I do. This is certainly true for all hunting using projectiles.

I think that's who I first read asserting that too.


It is, was and always will be.

Especially whe you consider that it's OK for the US Miltary to use the 5.56 as its primary small arms chambering for killing people but the State of Colorado prohibits its use to kill deer.

What many have said about selective editing of these long range hunting videos is certainly correct. The ones that I was watching were impressive indeed at the effect of the bullet having on those critters at those long ranges. I admire those that have the skill set that they took time developing to produce such results.

Clint Eastwood said it right in one of his movies "A man has got to know his limitations". I agree with Clint or rather Dirty Harry but some of us are more limited than others.

Some will have the time, money, and access to build long range rifles and become very proficient with them due to lots of lots of lots of practice. Then to them what is a slam dunk shot at 775 yards is way beyond the comprehensive of someone who has always rifle hunted for whitetails out of a tree stand or blind where the long shots are across beanfields at 250-300 yards and a box of 20 shells lasts them for 5 years.. Both are right in their own opinion. The long range shooter has been out shooting canyons to canyon or in competition or just out in the hills practicing his craft. It's always great to watch someone who is good at what they do.....rather than to criticize them because the do things differently than you do them in your different setting.

I was a bowhunter for many years and took over 40 animals with a compound without sights shooting fingers at ranges from 5 yards to too far to be believed. That was when only one deer or elk per year is permitted. I would shoot in archery competitions and practiced about two nights a week in my backyard range. I would shoot and cleanly take animals with my bow at distances that some would say were "unethical" in their opinion; whereas my response to them was simple.....they were more limited.

Long range shooting is a newer and developing way to take game animals at greater distances than ever before due to technology in all the associated equipment and the skill set that can be developed with the required practice to become effective. Many will say "that ain't hunting" when an observer could reply that guy is simply more limited. I find it interesting and challenging and great fun to move forward acquiring tools and the skill set to become proficient at the art.

The heat that Hornady refers to was from aerodynamic drag. The back of the bullet will actually cool as it's been heated by the powder. Copper is a tremendously efficient conductor, so the whole jacket will stabilize pretty quickly. The copper is definitely not hot enough to change its ductility.

If there's any observed difference, it's likely due to velocity.

I can't quite agree more on that. Media is the real pandemic.

I agree. Everyone’s capabilities are different and if we have a bit of discipline and stay within our own abilities then a better chance of good outcomes.
With that being said, the only thing I don’t really understand is needing a title of “long range hunting” or labeling oneself as a “long range hunter”. Seems kind of meaningless to me because I assume all hunters try and get as close as possible within our comfort/ability zone.
Unfortunately I think the reality might be different. There may be a lot of “long range hunters” out there that intentionally set up very long shots.

I understand and agree with what you’re saying in regards to the risk of a clean kill vs wounding, but you have to admit that there is big difference in the amount of “hunting” required to get into a shot position with a bow vs a long range shot with a rifle.

It depends on how you define "hunting". I think of hunting as the pursuit and endeavor to seek out and kill something. Hunting can require several different skill sets. If you're stand hunting, then patience, holding still, and marksmanship are paramount. If you're still hunting, spot-and-stalk hunting, etc, then stalking may be a major skill set required, in addition to marksmanship. If you're calling, baiting, or driving, then stalking isn't all that important. If you were to use a knife or spear, shooting skill wouldn't be required at all. Yet all of these are different styles of hunting. Essentially, I think a lot of times people on this forum conflate stalking with "hunting". I would agree that LR hunting requires less stalking skill than SR hunting does. But it requires more shooting skill. Some guys enjoy hunting that involves more stalking, and other guys like hunting that involves more shooting. Both are hunting in my book.