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

Since this is a question just begging for a real answer that people can throw darts at, I'll go first.

600 yards.

About 300 yds for me. I really don't want to get anything that bad.

I had the 270 WSM early one morning and some deer were feeding at a lasered 450 yds. There was some wind blowing even that early. Instead of shooting I got closer and got a shot at 150 yds.

Another time I passed up a 400 yd shot on a sleeping black bear but that time I only had a 7mm-08.

On the other hand, as Jorge said, if I were on some big trip and there was some trophy out there I would shoot further.

WOW!!! That�s really sad just because your on some big trip and there may be a big trophy out there you are going to try and stretch your normal shooting abilities�. Doesn�t the big trophy animal deserve the same respect that you would give a little dink animal on a normal hunt? I know there are a lot of hunters with that attitude very sad.

300 yards with a good scoped rifle; 400 yards if I have a range finder.

This isn't a can of worms, its a pallete.....

If conditions are right... and I have the right gear, I don't have an issue at cussing range. IE folks really cussing me...

An almost everyday answer should be about 300 yards... I mean under most any circumstance....

I have no qualms about a mile though....

Savage99 I totally appreciate your candor though!!! Its your game, you play it how you want! I want to be prepared just in case I decide at that moment it needs to be done regardless. But as I get older things in life change. I used to be after the big antlers so to speak, I get pure joy out of a doe/cow these days... good eats, a perfected shot etc..... Won't pass a big one though, but appreciate folks that are disciplined. I used to hunt only with a bow when younger... I'm much more open these days to both weapons and distances.

Jeff

I like to get as close as I can on big game, and then closer! I shot a blackbuck antelope once at over 250 yards...he was moving away, and there was no more cover. I had to take the shot if I wanted him, and I did. I laid down on the ground, stood my 10x50's on their objective end, and shot across the top of the ocular lens end! I was on a ridge, and he was down below me in a big draw steadily moving away. I was already breathing hard, and my heart was in my throat, and the sweat was in my eyes...it was summertime in Texas. I killed him with a Weatherby Mark V WeatherMark in .257 Weatherby Mag. mounted with a Leupold Vari-X II 4-12x40 with AO. I know the gun is a lot more capable than I am...I was certainly 'maxed out'.

Jeff- a lot of this for me depends on range, conditions, critters and my state of mind.

700 is a good rule for me under the bests of all worlds. (that's as far as the dotz in my Mashburn go to...

Dober

I like stuff close, I do lots of long range shooting but like my critters under 100 yards.

Assuming all the stars were aligned, and I hadn't had a pot of coffee, 700 yards wouldn't be a problem, but I have no desire to shoot a critter that far except for a wuff.

I've also seen more folks screw up CLOSE shots than I have long'ish shots.

Put a dude face to face suddenly with something he REALLY wants at 40 steps and I've seen lots of bad things happen. Seen the same folks flame stuff with zero problems at 400 yards.

my 243 is set up very simple,2" high at 100 dead on at 200 and 6" of holdover at 300 yards,and I just dont hardly get a shot over that distance round here anyway,if one presents itself I spose Ill just have to guess at the holdover.............

I like dead nuts on at 100 for threading needles.

No guessing at holdover, if you don't know it, you have NO business attempting the shot at all.

Open sights 200 yds. Scope 450 yds. Could go a little longer but why.

Many years ago, when I was active in competition long range shooting, 500 yards wasn't out of the question, from a solid rest and if I knew the exact distance. And the animal was standing still and broadside.

Now, several years older, eyes not as good, and not as steady, I think I would limit it to about 200 yards. In the past few years, I have passed on shots at two really good bucks at a measured 3 to 4 hundred yards.

I am not a successful hunter. By that I mean, my lifetime bag is not as much as some hunters yearly bag. The reason being is that I have never tried anything besides a broad side shot at a deer or antelope in the open. I don't take running shots in thick brush, nor have I ever shot a deer in the rear end, although I have passed up several rear end shots. Nor have I ever shot for the largest part of the deer I could see.

I think the limit on distance should have a lot to do with weather, visibility, (overcast, rain, late in the day) the way the animal is facing, whether the animal is standing still or moving, in the open or in thick brush, and especially how steady my shooting position is.

And, very important, the shooter's skill. I know people who should not be allowed to take a shot of more than 40 or 50 feet.

I won't shoot more than 250-300 at a broadside animal. I'd prefer they were closer and always try and cut the distance. I live by the rule of aim for hair not air. But this is just me...

I am in 100% agreement with that, with my dense-cover rifles at least.

The B&C and Zeiss reticles I've been using require me to sight in more like 1.5" high at 100 yards to make 'em work right, which I suppose could be considered a downside to them.

Being sighted WAY high, like some guys like, and then having to shoot through an opening at a critter 30 yards away with a twig to miss in the opening... that's just too complicated for my pea brain to calculate in the heat of the moment, hence the 100-yard zero for my blacktail rigs.

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I didn't want to clutter up my initial post (asking for people's personal max range) with my particulars, but now that the thread is going I will...

The 600 yards I state is truly a perfect-conditions maximum. I've never even thought of shooting that far at an animal; in fact the furthest I've shot at is around 125 yards. However relentless practicing has, by sheer repetition, got me hitting a vitals-sized target very consistantly at 600 yards with several different rifles. If the conditions are right I could see taking that shot- but boy oh boy, they would have to be RIGHT. Everything from the external factors, to my own physiology of the moment. I get major adrenaline rushes when I am killing things and I am not sure I could hold a rifle still enough to kill at 600 yards- regardless of how perfect everything else was, I might not be able to do it.

Most of my rifles are running out of steam at around that distance anyway, as far as staying above 1800 fps or so. I know that doesn't matter to some guys, but it does to me. I want reliable expansion.

-jeff

Under Ideal conditions,500 yards is my limit,because that is as far as I've ever practiced and the wind is hard enough for me to work with at 500 yards with a really light breeze.

In a really stiff breeze,300 is plenty far for me.

If you have more skill and expeience than me,your ranges will be farther,but really 500 yards is a very long shot at a big game animal.

Britt

For hunting I will go 400 and passed on the only non-typical blacktail I have ever seen at slightly over 500 under perfect conditions. I never saw him again after loosing him on a stalk and have no regrets about not taking the shot. I do have my rifles data out to 600 and it came in handy a few years ago. I stumbled across a previously wounded buck across a canyon, One shot at 475 put him down at dusk when there was no option of getting any closer.

I would rather hunt than shoot game but will not try to put restrictions on someones ability. Feel free to call me two faced but coyotes dont count and I would have no problems trying any safe shot.

Hi Jeff,

I'd have to say with perfect conditions no more than 600 yds on coues wt. Same would go for an antelope if I ever got drawn. The other big game I chase allow me to get much closer.

Jeff

Got one rifle that is not running out of steam... but sad fact is I have not been able to find a range locally that I can stretch it out to see where it starts to fail...

I know the 50s necked down some are supersonic out to about 2500 yards and holding sub moa groups...

I've shot a few 10 inch groups right at a mile in good conditions with my big gun. Its doable if EVERYTHING is right.

But you make a good point about distance.

I still say that everything out to 300 is a no brainer chip shot or SHOULD be for folks that apply themselves. Anything beyond that, and even that if the wind is really stiff, takes a lot of work and thinking.

As to whats not being said here, TOF... TOF can be 5 seconds or can be a fraction of a second, an animal can move in either situation. Granted the 5 has higher odds, but on a relaxed feeding animal or ESPECIALLY a bedded one..... ain't gonna matter.

I prefer all my shots to be under 100 yards.