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

Jamie, you'll be able to relate to what a tradegy this is: my camcorder broke! Aahgh! I'm screwed <g>.

In all seriousness it's messing me up with my LR practicing.

I'm heading out Friday for bears. Not really looking for any kind of long range opportunity; that seems a little... stupid with a bear? I don't know, just how it seems to me. I'll drill one out to 350, 400 though. Just not out at the edges of my ability. Tracking a wounded deer in the brush would be bad enough, much less a wounded bear!

Heres a clip from Sunday, I'm not sure if DDP or Horesfly80 is the shooter but I can tell from how fast the bullet hits the steel at 900+ yards its from a 300RUM.
[img][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v376/elkhunter/th_longshot.jpg[/img][/img]

I dont shoot long range solo without the video camera anymore, a very useful tool in my shooting bag.

My personal long range for deer is about 200yds, but I prefer closer. Tracking down a wounded buck up on top or in a clearcut isn't my cup of tea..

camcorders at sams are cheap....cheaper than the gas and bullets...

A good break and a little 'smith work is cheaper than a camcorder. I have the Defensive Edge break on my Sendero .300 RUM... and I saw every shot I fired on Sunday.

There was a time when I thought breaks were only for panzies... then I realized how much easier it is to spot your own hits with one installed. I hunt a lot by myself, so seeing impact in the glass is paramount. I know, I know... they're loud, this is true. But, I try to use hearing protection when shooting... even at game. Besides, when you're by yourself it shouldn't matter how much noise you make anyway.

Run a 29 or 30 inch barrel and the brakes are much quieter than when installed on 24 or 26 inch barrels in my experience.

Only quieter to the shooter... eveyone else still gets the whammy.

Only if everyone else is in front of the shooter.
Acctauly the longer the barrel the lower the pressure on exit the lower the noise.

I dunno, I got a brake on a big rifle, with a long tube, its DAMN loud behind and to the sides of the shooter... 36 inch tube IIRC..

Mine seems loudest to the side and slightly behind the shooter... but that's where an effective break is usually designed to throw all the gas.

Try it without the brake, it'll still be loud. It is certainly quieter than it would be if the barrel were only 26". I never said nor implied that a longer barrel would be like shooting with a suppressor

Yeah, I'm just rattling ya...I suspect a can on my 50 would have to be pretty big...

As for breaks being cheaper than a camcorder... 200 bucks buys a decent camcorder.... a good break is close to 200 bucks and then there is installation. But I'm comparing an expensive break to a cheap camera.

Good point... but it's awful tough to set up the camera, get the critter in the view finder, start recording... then set up for the shot... oops, deer moved... start all over.

Shooting steel (or rocks... my personal favorite) is one thing... spotting your own shots on game is a different story. Spotting my own hits and misses was the main reason I went to a big break, and a non-radial one at that... not knocking myself silly when touching off 100 grains of powder and a 240 grain bullet is just an added bonus.

I've always been anti-brake; I made my living with ears for many years and didn't want a louder rifle in the field.

HOWEVER, my Sendero is primarly a long-range screwaround rig, and you've got me thinking evil thoughts, DDP! How much does a decent brake cost? What would you guys recommend for a 26" 300 Win Mag?

Being able to see my misses is really crucial as I typically shoot alone. The camcorder works (thanks Jamie!) but it's a cumbersome solution.

I went with the Defensive Edge break made by Shawn Carlock in Idaho ( www.defensiveedge.net ). I put the .875" 3-Port on my Sendero, it fits well and the recoil reduction is amazing (although I didn't shoot the .300 RUM before the break). I went with the baffle style break rather than the radial style because I shoot prone a lot so I don't want junk flying around when the gun goes off. I've read that the baffle style is a bit more effective at reducing recoil, but I shot Jamie's .300 RUM with a radial break and it wasn't bad at all... probably more a matter of preference than anything. I believe the break was around $75 + a little shipping. I had a local gunsmith (that I trust) install the break for another $75. Every shot I've taken under field conditions I've seen the impact... some I've even seen the vapor trail while the bullet was enrout.

Business end of the Break:


I hear you on the ears thing... but how often do you shoot without hearing protection? If you're anything like me, the answer is never... even in the field I'm pretty picky about it. It only takes a second to stuff some plugs in... but you can permenantly damage your hearing just as quickly.

Thanks. I never use hearing protection in the field. I very clearly remember being stunned by the sound of my 30-06 when I killed my first deer- it was only 8 or 9 years ago- since I'd never uncorked a high-powered rifle w/o protection. WOW!

I use muffs and puffs at all other times...

I'll look into a brake. Makes all kinda sense for my Sendero at least.

there are very few times I'll shoot without plugs... IE a surprise shot. Thats it.

As to watching the hits, thats always good.

Yep, plugs are the way to go in the field.

I also went with the Defensive Edge Brake, Defensive Edge even built my rilfe

You boys with the brakes were joined by my son-in-law, recently.

One day at the range I shot my .375-.416 Rem thirty times. I shot 270 grainers at 3,000 feet per second.

He shot his 7 Mag thirty times, also. He was shooting 140s at 3,200 feet per second. After the shooting sesion I noticed he had a bruse about 3" diameter and a blood blister about 1/2" diameter in the center of that. I showed him my shoulder. There was not even the slightest redness. He exclaimed, "I want you to make one of those brakes for me. They work!"

Now he shoots all he wants with no abuse. And he sees his hits.