Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Your personal, perfect-conditions maximum range on game

700 yds and I'm 100% confident under ideal conditions

I could prolly go 1000 without blinking, I know my equipment will do it, but I just havent shot enough at that distance to have the confidence to do it on game.

I'm surprised the "hunting vs. shooting" storm hasn't formed here. It still might though.

I have the info on my loads to the range I would try under ideal conditions and favorable circumstances; in other words for me it would vary and be fluid according to wind, rest, animal - alert or calm, its position. When I was younger I will admit that I would have included time to hunt also but I no longer allow that as part of the criteria.

The thing I would most want to avoid, recovery or not, is a wounded, suffering animal due to a first bad hit.

Under ideal conditions, I'll go to 1000 yard. The drop charts on my hunting rifles stop at 1000. I shoot weekly up in the mountains at ranges running from 800 to 1000 and 1200 with a couple of rifles now and then.

The thing for me is that I have to see myself getting FIRST SHOT, every time hits at a given range, over a period of a bunch of sessions, before I feel comfortable about that range. I've been pushing that "comfort" point out further and further. I'm a LOOOONGGG ways away from feeling like I could get a first shot, every time hit at 1000 yards! That's awesome. Give me a couple sighters, and I'll get on the target and pelt it, but that first shot is the hard one. For me.

You going to post any new vids, Jamie?

I'm thinking about doing an egg and tomato can shoot, depending on weather.

Jeff.
My last couple of videos are just like the others, I shoot a piece of steel or a rock, nothing very interesting.

I take this an entirely different way. For the little dink animal, especially on "normal hunts" you are constantly given better opportunities so there's no reason to choose the hard shot. It's not giving the trophy less respect; it's simply not being able to choose the easy shot for him because it may never come. You can't make a choice not available to you.

This thread is about each of us deciding what the maximum amount of risk (based purely on range) is that we personally deem acceptable; with which we'll pull the trigger and still be able to look at ourselves in the mirror.

Nobody is advocating that just because this risk is acceptable if it's your only choice that one seeks it. We all want to minimize risk as much as possible. There's no reason to take the 99% shot if you get 100% opportunities every day.

If the horns are big enough, I'm going to put a thumpin' on a buck waaay out there if I'm sure I can make the shot. Will I fill my doe tag at the same distance? Hell no, why on earth would I when I know I can get one at rock throwing range any time I want?

That's all I think he meant and if so I feel the same way. The only disrespect would be taking a risky shot if you knew you could get closer but were too lazy, etc. If you know this is the best choice you're going to get and feel confident in the shot, there's no disrespect there.

As for my self I don't know any hunters with "that attitude". Here my range is limited to 200 yds thus I use data to extend the range. For game I limit myself pretty much to whats sure and thats about 300 yds.

For a 'big trip' I would have to fire some shots at the longer actual ranges as others have mentioned. Unless I could do this and confirm my settings I would not shoot further.

Thanks for your concern.

Savage, you'll find it pretty straightforward to hit out to 400 yards, if you shoot "normal" calibers that is, but then it starts to get exponentially harder after that. Maybe not truly exponentially harder, but you get the idea. There is, in my opinion, a world of difference between 500 yards and 600 yards for example... in my case, about 4 or 5 months of diligant practice, at least once or twice a week, to extend from 500 to 600. It's the wind.

At 400 yards you can just wing it pretty much as far as wind. Add a little seat-of-the-pants Kentucky correction and you'll be fine in reasonable conditions. Not so at 600- again just IMHO and shooting the stuff I shoot (bullets in the high .4's to low .5's as far as BC).

I THINK, don't know this for sure, but I THINK that if you use obscenely high BC bullets, the range at which the wind is a non-factor is extended. However, most of those bullets are inappropriate for hunting and might be a real problem if the shot turned out to be 50 yards away!

As to the ethics of shooting XXX (or even XXXX) yards at game, that is an unavoidable topic in a thread like this, I suppose, but that's been beat to death and then some so the more we can leave it lay, the better? :-)

Bottom line, given the circumstances of each particular shot, if I"m 200% sure I can make it, it goes bang. If not its a pass.
Thats regardless of if its a doe or a B/C animal. I see NO difference between any animal, and have passed shots on coyotes at under 200 since i was not confident and if, IMHO, I'm the one that decides to end somethigns life, it needs to be done right NOW, whether its a snake or a trophy or in between.

As to high BC bullets not being adept at close in shots.. its very simple and been mentioned before, I carry stout bullets in the gun. If I have to stretch my legs I can single load a LR round with specific bullet, and as such I"ll be having to adjust my zero to hit anyway.... its very simple to make the adjustment to that specific bullet..... I shoot or used to shoot 4 different bullets in a highpower match, we had 4 stages and I had specific bullets for each. I also had specific bullets for different conditions, IE not only did I use 4 different for the stages, in each stage I often had at my access either 2 or 3 different loads for the days conditions, whether it was wind bucking, accuracy, or average day as to requirements.

Jeff

If conditions are perfect and I do everything right I can be about 10 feet distant...

I shoot at 200 yards regularly. feel confident at 300. Don't get to practice at ranges further than that so I guess I would have a hard time shooting anything beyond 300. Which is a shame because I have a 300 Wtby and 300 Ultra that I know would be up to the task if I had a place to practice.

We're talking "perfect" conditions. Okay - with perfect conditions - I'm confident to 600 yards. Why 600? Good gear, and I do a LOT of shooting to 600 yards. My gun club has a 600 yard range, and I shoot there year round, it's really not a problem. I have to admit that I've never taken a mulie out that far, but with the right gear in hand, and "perfect" conditions - meaning a steady rest, a laser-accurate range to target and no wind... Yeah, I'd go 600 for sure.


Winchester Model 70 .300 WSM with 4.5 - 14 Leupold. Shooting 190 grain Berger VLD's at 2950 fps. It does just fine at 600 yards.


Rem 700 with a Krieger barrel, chambered in .308 Winchester, I've shot "high master" level scores in NRA prone matches with it at 600 yards, sling & scope. Very satisfying rifle to shoot, and good on 'yotes & rockchucks at longish ranges. I've been shooting this rifle for about 12 years now and have gone through a few barrels, even in .308 Win - yes - I'm confident with it at 600 yards in good conditions.

Regards, Guy

I hate to guess the round count if you have been through a "few" barrels in .308. I have about 5700 through mine (remington factory) and still getting submoa at 300. I keep waiting for it to wear out to put on a Krieger blank I have shoved in the corner but the rifle is not cooperating.

Hey, if it ain't broke...

That's one of the wonderful attributes of .308!! Need to get me one of them.. again..

4500-6000 is an average sub moa round count for 308. gilt edge accuracy often doesn't last much longer than 3500-4500 though...
But it means a few tubes would be 10-15K for sure.

Pretty easy if you shoot like I did, around 8K a year.

A good bolt gun in 308 with a scope should be shooting 200s IE perfect scores with high x counts almost every time out at 600... Its what a good gun and shooter can do... frankly hitting a 12 inch target at 600 yards isn't very hard to do.

Jeff

Yup. I do like to shoot the .308 a lot. Sadly I'm only managing scores in the 190 - 199 range for the most part. Certainly not the fault of the rifle or cartridge!

Regards, Guy

Those scores are far above what even a fairly practiced shooter will be able to do consistently....

I was amazed at how much easier a scope seems to make things after irons all these years... I guess thats why the scope F targets are 10 ringed smaller than the 12 inch standard!

Jeff

Funny thing - I enjoy shooting the scoped rifle more - but my highest score in a match was a 199, with sights. Go figure.

Someday I oughta put a bipod on it and try F-class, but for now I'm having too much fun with the sling.

My apologies to all for sidetracking this long-range hunting thread... Now back to our regularly scheduled programming...

Guy

Not to say that I would never take a shot longer than 400 yards, I just can't imagine needing to. Other than antelope and a few varmints, most all my shots at big game are well under 200 yds. I guess my limit would be 400 yds with my ideal max at 300 yds. Lou