Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Your first strike odds @ 400 yds???

Just read an interesting article and wondering what you guys and gals think.

Lifesize deer target broadside @ 400. Any shooting position you want except using a concrete bench.

What are the odds YOU could hit the deer,anywhere???

I would choose the prone postion with a bipod and a flat area to lay upon. A nice flat shooting rifle with no wind or mirage:



If I've been practicing and know the rifle/load well I would say I could hit it with confidence on the first shot. I've practiced at that range with a few rigs and have been able to keep em in the kill zone especially if I knew the range.



If it was an unknown rig/load or one that I have no experience with, then its a gamble for sure .



Out past 400yds, if its windy or hot (mirage) is where things start to get interesting..................



MtnHtr

Since that's my gig and have made first shot kills on big game at over twice that distance, I'd say 400 yds is a chip shot and say 100%....I havent missed at that distance YET... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Is the range known?? If you have to estimate the range, the odds go down. If the range is known, it should be fairly easy with some kind of rest like a backpack or bipod. miles

Like other that are practiced in shooting at distance I'd say 100% at 400 yards. The difficulty (unknown) when shooting known long distances is the wind but deer are longer than tall and this make wind a little less of a problem for an "anywhere" hit as you state.

Laser range finder,bipod,shooting bags,backpack,sling, whatever you want to bring along.

Likewise,with a bipod and pack, shooting prone it shouldn't be a big deal to hit a lifesize deer target anywhere @ 400 yds.

I practice @ that particular yardage and can usually keep 3 shots inside 3 " if the wind's not whooping too bad.

Here's the crux of said article;

#1 shooter- Layne Simpson- 257 Weatherby/100gr bullets, prone w/ bipod and using binocs for rear rest. Elite #4200 2.5x10 scope

Result??? A clean miss....

#2 shooter-Craig Boddington- Custom 300 mag w/ VariX III 4.5x14 scope

Result??? A clean miss...

#3 shooter-Dave Petzal- Custom Lazzeroni in 7.21 Tomahawk w/ 2.5x8 w/ new Boone & Crockett Reticle

Result??? A clean miss...

#4 shooter- Wayne Zan Zwoll- Pre-64 M-70 in 270win with an old Lyman fixed 2.5x scope.

Result??? A hit somewhere on the deer target-not specified...

I'm no long range expert but thought the results would have been much different. After all this is a Lifesize deer target standing broadside at a known range. The target ain't gonna move,browse,etc... All you gotta do is hit it somewhere in the hair.

They did hit it eventually. They ran the course a total of 3 times and batted 5 for 12. Not bad for baseball but not to spiffy for hunting...

Prone, bypod, shooting my 300 RUM, 200 Nosler Accubond at 3150...........no problem. She hits about 12" low where I have it sighted in at. Or, my 7 RUM, same deal, shooting a 160 AB @ 3300.

Hold just under the hairline, squeeze trigger...bang flop, shows over.

I practice this @ 300 very often and wear out the 2" orange dot I put on the bull.

Tony.

Forgot to mention the wind conditions that day.

5-10 mph @ 4 to 8 o'clock...

Well, I will be the one to say it first, 400 is beyond the range I would take a shot on a deer. Especially the size deer we have here in Alabama/Tennessee. Elk I will go that far but you have a much larger kill area. I have equipment that can do it but do not get to practice enough to feel 100% sure over 300. But to 300, I would take the shot everytime. I think that is called, knowing your limitations. JMHO TM

PS In Alabama it is hard to find a place to practice over 200 yards, with most ranges only 100, so that might have something to do with it too. :-)

Wow! That's kinda pathetic. Even with the ole Sharps 45-70 a hit at that range is a given. I wouldn't attempt it without my rangefinder and sticks, but with them, not a problem. Course I've ran a few thousand rounds thru it at a hellava lot smaller targets. Surely there was a misprint.

No misprint just the facts.

All blamed the wind which is why I noted the conditions.

Layne Simpson blamed his 257 Wby/100gr combo. Said the wind blew those 100gr bullets all over the place. He switched to a Jarret Custom 7 mag/ 140gr BT/ Swarovski 4x16 scope and fared better in the next event, the Tower shoot...

Wind and light bullets are the pits. At 1000 I've had the wind blow them big 535gr. bullets off as far as 2-3 feet on a windy day. Those days I'm shooting just to be shooting.

I would say 100% with bipod and turrets in all but gail force winds. Even with a 10mph crosswind it would be a gimme. Take away the turrets and bipod and it becomes a guessing game. I would say percentages would be cut in half without the use of those two.

X-VERMINATOR

cheaha,

Looks to me that they didn't know their load.

Hard to believe with that kind of talent behind the trigger.

Tony.

I don't know what to make of their poor shooting. They all were notified of the shooting/articles. Flew up to Kenny Jarrets little slice of heaven and proceded to shoot the events. They all took at least 4 different rifles to shoot the 4 different events.

If they didn't know their load,well, that strikes me as BS.

Interesting article none the less...

BTW, It's all in the August edition of Field & Stream....

I was given a subscription for Christmas and this is the first edition that has interested me in the least.

Those results are pretty amazing from the shooters.

For a "flat/er" shooter class rifle the come-up from a 100 yard zero to 400 yards would be in the 5 to 6 MOA range, the "standard 308 come-up is only 8.5 MOA or so. Figure they had thier rifle sighted 2 MOA high (2" at 100 yards) and it's now in the 3 to 4 MOA need are to make a good hit, that's only 12" to 16" of drop from their 2" high 100 yard zero.

Wind for those rifles, even at 20 mph full value would be in the 4 to 5 MOA range (16 to 20 inches)

This is all "near data" just quick number from my head but it's hard to imagine a miss from 3 of 4 shooters if they had some knowledge of long/er range shooting.

I guess the lesson is: Know the distance, use a good rest, adjust the scope to the range (range data card) or have a calibrated reticle if you're gonna shoot 400 yards or more, or hunt larger animals.

Thanks for posting that info, interesting.