Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting How are you determine maximum range?

Here's a shameless plug for some practice bullets. I have three boxes of Hornady V-Max 110 grain boat tail with 100 per box. I will sell them all for $110 to your door.

Nope, took a while to wash the sin off

But I tripped everything but the barrel. It’s gone to ku geo once it comes off at LRI

The 270 is rubbish.

I’d rather a fast twist 243 with 108gr eld-m

I live in the Seattle area where ranges are awful.
I rebarrel and rescope (3) rifles in September, drive 900 miles, drive 5 minutes from town, sight in at 50y, 100y, and then 200yards, on a windless morning.

On opening day I go hunting. I am zero'd at 200 yards, and will not range correct more than 8 moa. Depending on the cartridge, that is usually a max range between 400 yards and 600 yards.

My max range is wind dependent. A gusty 15 mph side wind pulls my max range back for ~500 yards to ~300 yards.

Killing over 50 big game animals in the last 10 years, only two were beyond 600 yards, and those were hail Mary shots.

Using a floppy metal fence post as a rest, my max range in 200 yards.

Guys who can practice within 500 miles of their home, ..... it must be nice.

Sorry for the delay, just got back on here. 1400 is absolute limit with the Hornady ELDM’s and Sierra TMK’s. 7 mag (162gr ELDM). 308 (168gr ELDM and TMK). 30-06 (178gr ELDM). 300WM (195gr ELDM and TMK). Now, will I ever have an opportunity to use these all the way down to 1400fps in the field. Not on a game animal. Seems like too many variables always pop up that takes me out of my comfort zone. Maybe this year will be the one where the stars align. If you want to check out the actual research on these bullets in the field, go to “terminal ballistics research”. Nathen Foster is his name. He has some YouTube videos out also. He’s out of New Zealand and has done performance testing on game for many years with most all projectiles, at long range

When the impact velocity drops below the functional velocity of the bullet/cartridge (meaning the bullet will no longer expand) I’m using, it’s too far.

Put a cantaloupe at an unknown range and then quickly shoot at it. Keep doing that for at least 10 times. The longest distance at which you can hit it with your first shot 9 out of 10 times is your maximum range with that outfit.

When the above happens or when conditions are bad enough that I'm not extremely confident that I can make the shot, whichever comes first, it's too far. The former can be calculated using ballistic software, but the latter can only be determined through extensive practice in various different field conditions.

There are enough variables involved with each shot in the field that I have to make the judgement of what is "too far" for each opportunity that comes my way. Sometimes this is 1000 meters, sometimes it's 300.

2200 fps/1500 ft-lbs/8" target - from field positions.




GR

I shot a big buck at 625 yards with 7mmRM
I shot a tiny doe at 629 yards with a 6.5-06.
Those were hail Mary shots with guns I had only practiced at 600y.

Typically for at dawn with no wind, almost all the short actions I build are good for 400 yards and all the long actions are good for 500 yards.

i have a small drainage behind my house and can shoot, 300, 450 and 640. I am confident out to 640 with one of my rifles and 450 or so with the other. My longest measured shot on an elk was 540. Lots of them inside of that.

My comfort zone is 600 yards. I can hit 8” gong pretty consistently. After that I miss more then I connect. So that my limit.
Honestly it Might be 500 yards in the field since I’m not sitting on a bench.

You should practice shooting over your pack at those ranges. That is the only way you are going to know for sure.. Your, "it might be 500 yards", doesn't sound too reassuring. And when putting any big game animal down, think 1 shot, you need to be certain of your own abilities with your rifle and load... Also, I need to bring this up. I've heard some here say they get differing POI while using different rests. If that is the case there is something mechanically WRONG with that rifle system. Either pressure on the barrel or it is not properly glass bedded. You shoot off a bag, ruck, bi-pods, or front rest and rear bag, makes no difference in POI on a good rifle.

If it's 'seeable'......it's 'hitable'!

How do I determine my maximum accurate range? I take the yardage I tell my buddies I'm comfortable shooting and cut it in half.

If you bag an animal, don't forget to double the yardage when you tell people about it!

Changes with every opportunity. Rest quality? Bullet effective velocity? Size of target? Wind? Wind? Wind?

So my max range could be 80 or it could be 650. So many variables.

Just make a clean kill or your ‘long range hunting story’ will suck.

Just my .02

No matter the conditions.....when you can keep all your shots within .75 MOA!!

sheet, that counts me out.

Maximum range? Depends on how much I want to shoot the thing!

Here wind determines maximum range , and that can change by the minute..........