Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting .308 sniper rifle for deer/elk/bear.

Gmoney-
Just what we need to further the sport even more. I think you were VERY nice.
Jeff

Thanks Rost.....I want to post more but am going to hold off....:)...been hot in La Grange I'm guessing?

This post has gotten way off from what the original topic was about.

But again "for the record". You can rationalize it however you want, but hunting is about killing animals that are basically minding their own business.

Personally, I see nothing wrong with that, because it's getting down to what has allowed any creature to survive.

Any way you cut it, you have to kill to eat and you have to kill anything that threatens to kill you, either directly (i.e. a hungary bear) or by eating up what you need to eat to survive.

That's it in a nutshell. If you can't see that, then please explain to me what I am missing!

I don't shoot prairie dogs, because they offer me nothing in the way of food or threat. But if you get a sense of satisfaction out of the technical and practical aspects of shooting them, far be it from me to criticize.

As far as antelope, deer, and elk, I've shot my share, but I'm not that crazy about the meat and unless it is really a fine animal, I will let them go.

As stated earlier, I stopped bird hunting because I got tired of killing quail, pheasants, and ducks with old wounds. Still if that is what you enjoy, I don't judge, because killing and suffering is as much a part of life as sex and happiness.

For my part, I enjoy hunting dangerous game where there is real danger. I try to get within spitting distance and depending on whether I'm looking at a world class trophy or an average animal (not to mention what it will cost if I wound it and lose it), I take my shot.

There are very few animals I would deliberately wound. The Cape Buffalo is at the top of the list. Why? Because I have more respect for that animal then any animal in the world.

When it comes to courage, tenacity, and a will to kill you the buff reigns supreme. Shooting a buff to hurt him but not physically impair him for the short run, is a sign of respect not meaness or pettiness. Giving him a chance to "even the score", IMHO is one of the greatest compliments to the animal and one of the most thrilling episodes in all of the world of hunting.

I've seen guys pop prairie dogs with .22s and laugh as the critters turned somersaults and dove into their holes.

I don't consider that sporting or worthy of a top predator, but that's just my opinon.

If you spend your life rationalizing and sugar-coating why you hunt, I consider that dishonest. The "kill thrill" is what has given every predator the edge to risk its life to take another.

That is the real essence of the hunt, at least for me. I make no apologies, but if you look deep down in your heart, maybe you will recognize some truth in what I write.

But if the best you can come up with is 'WTF" than you aren't thinking too hard about why people and animals that really love to hunt, really love to hunt.

Like they say "Somedays you eat the bear, and somedays the bear eats you." That's how I live my life.

No offense to anyone (excepting to thor, which never has answered a direct question), but you hunt your way and I'll hunt mine, but I honestly do believe that me and the buff have a perfect understanding of the situation. If I kill him and live, I win. If he kills me and he lives, he wins. If we both die, then at least we broke even.

Good hunting (to the hunters) and in 2 days I will begin my "long range" bear hunt. For this hunt I want to make a one shot kill at 300+ yards with a .308 sniper rifle, just to see how it works. I've scouted hard and have already found an area where a bear is feeding. The prints don't look particularly large, so I'm guessing it is a yearling or sow. I will probably not shoot that bear (unless it is one hell of a interesting color phase), because I want a bigger one.

Again thanks to the "experienced" long-range hunters for their hints and advice and I will post my results (good or bad) providing some of you don't get your wishes and I get recycled into bear [bleep]. Personally, I don't have a problem with that, but if it is all possible, I will come back and haunt the posters who have criticized me. BTW I am not kidding and I might just be strong-willed enough to pull it off.

Gmoney

Some other drivel got in the way here. But to the question. Its actually been nice since Sunday morning when we started on a fence. Low humidity and a north breeze. Probably only was about 97 yesterday without the humidity it felt good actually. I didn't sweat all that much.

This morning is a different story. Fog everywhere and the humidity choked me going out the door. And supposed to be 100-101 or so plus index.

I'm sure yours is the same!

Best, Jeff

Sure is.....we have zero breeze....it's supposed to really cool off this weekend though....all the way down to 95 or so!!!!;).....those dove better look out though...I'll be out there if it's 120....

wow.. even a year later there is still heated discussion about long range hunting....

I am first and foremost a hunter been doing it quite some time.. I am even a professional guide.

I spend alot of time in the summer and early fall scouting areas to hunt from.

I look for areas that give me a line of sight well over 1000 yards. These areas typically include the migration trails from one area to another. I also look for areas that offer views into multiple staging areas as well as multiple bedding areas. These shots are typically 500 yards+

Keep in mind that these shots can also be within 100 yards as well.

As far as what one person described as being close enough to the animal to scare them or make them fear or whatever.. thats freakin' hogwash.. why would you want to take a chance of spooking the game before you get your opportunity. If you can observe the game at a distance and take it cleanly with one shot .. why wouldn'y you? Reguardless of the distance.

A close shot more often than not leads to an animal bolting for anywhere but where it is at.

so YES I am a hunter but more often than not I "snipe" my intended target.

All you "purists" can just deal with the reality of it. Long range hunting has proven time and time again to be a sucessful and efficient way to hunt. There are thousands of feet of video tape to prove it. I spend the fall guiding for outfitters, my job then is to get the "hunter" as close as possible so don't tell me it is because I don't have the skills to get close. I prove that I can for 10 consecutive weeks a year.

Well, my old pappy always said, "If you can do it, it ain't braggin', its just a fact. Of course, living in Florida now, do not get many long shots and am to old to do it anymore. But, have a SS 30-30 that still does the trick on whitetail. Longest shot in Florida, 240 yards, handload, CT Ballistic Silvertip...150 grain.......W748...IMHO

wow!!! now hold on there buffty hunter I suspect several loose bolts in the metal plate in your head!! because you may well be the 300lb biker who was hit on the head <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
seriously though pal for someone who (allegedly) has shot 2 buffalo and 1 elephant...lets see thats got to run to (guessing here) $30,000 (open to correct figure btw) but anyway that 'aint cheap this implies someone with quite a few greenbacks in reserve <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> so what do you do? you trade 3 or 4 shots with the buffalo to prove what exactly? you must have something seriously LACKING in your life if that is the way you have to get your kicks.dont suppose daddy ever told you it wasn't big or clever to have animals suffer (as you deliberately set out to do) intentionally.
I have never once said that the guys into the long range stuff didn't know what they were about regarding quick and efficient kills.
You on the other hand are beyond redemption and have been revealed for what you are ie a gob [bleep] with a mentally unhinged brain

For the rest of the guys my shooting is mostly <250 yards with a 243 for deer,for me the stalk is the best part of the hunt,I hunt for the enjoyment of the outdoors and putting food on the table,
we may disagree on some things <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> but at least Buffty boy has been revealed for what he is.

cheers Thor222

awwwww, for the love o' Mike...

Why don't you two (thor222 and buffhunter) go out back and finish this...

As promised, I said I'd let everyone know how the bear hunt turned out. I hunted hard for 10 days, but the bears didn't want to cooperate.

Where I hunted there was plenty of bear sign, but it was all down low in the drainages. Average visibility about 20 yards. The berry crop was absolutely fantastic this year (rose hips, choke cherry, etc.) and the bears stayed in the thick stuff. Not exactly "sniper rifle" cover. I probably screwed up by going to early in the season as the acorns and high country berries weren't quite ripe.

One thing I learned is that sniper rifle and 4x14 SA Govt II is one heavy rifle to hump up and down ridges. I had to carry it the way you would carry an M60 machine gun (you grunts know what I'm talking about)!

Still I have no doubt that from a prone position with the bipod, I could hit a pie plate at 350 yards (as long as the wind wasn't kicking up too bad), all day long.

I'm trying to decide if I want to lug that rifle on my October elk hunt. It's a backpack hunt, with a serious 5 mile climb to get to my camping place. Then it's another mile or two to where I hunt. My guess is that I will take the .7mm Wby. That rifle is heavier than most deer/elk rifles, but it is a lightweight compared to the sniper rifle. Again, thanks for the advice on bullets and reading the wind.

Good hunting to all.

UHHHHHH, i'm now veeeeery confused!!!!!!!! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> WHATEVER...................................................... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

pie plate at 350 with a bi-pod.... crap I could do that off hand...
what does your load do at 100 yards?
are you shooting round nose bullets or what...
your groups at 300 should be about 3" on a normal day....
are your handloading or using factory?

here's a 5 shot 500 yard group from a bi-pod...

WyoWhisper,

Do I ever agree with you about hitting it offhand.

WyoWhisper:

pie plate at 350 with a bi-pod.... crap I could do that off hand...
what does your load do at 100 yards?
are you shooting round nose bullets or what...
your groups at 300 should be about 3" on a normal day....
are your handloading or using factory?
_____________________________________________

Using the bipod from a shooting bench, I generally shoot about 0.5 in groups at 100 yd with at least 2 out of 3 in the same hole (or oval).

At 200 yd, shooting as above, I get groups around 1 - 1 and a quarter in.

At 300 yd, I generally shoot 2.5 - 2.75 in groups.

Most groups hit within 2 or 3 inches of where I expect them to land.

What I was talking about was shooting pie plates under field conditions, up hill, down hill, etc. (it is amazing what lying on a prickly pear will do to your concentration.)

That was one heck of a nice 500 yd group. How close was it to where you wanted it to hit?


Consisting hitting pie plates at 300 yd from offhand is some pretty neat shooting in my book. Kudus to you.

BTW I get the above results with 150 gr Fed, 168 gr Win, and 168 gr Fed match. All factory loads. Out to 200 yds, there is not much difference in the Fed and Win hunting loads. The match does seem a little more accurate past 200 yds.

Anyways, after sighting in my .7mm Wby, I decided to go ahead and use the .308 sniper rifle for elk.

I will let you know how it turns out.

One of the ironies in this thread, which I don't think anyone has pointed out, is that a lot of the blokes who moan about shooting game at long range think nothing of whanging away at running game. I don't shoot at running game. Also, I would gladly take an elk undisturbed at 400 yards over a nervous bull I just got out of his bed at fifty... though it always seems like the nervous bull is the one I'm on! The point is to make a clean kill and I'll wager, swagger and ego aside, some of the blokes on this thread are better at 600 yards than the average jazbo is at 100 yards.

Shooting at range takes practice, patience and discipline as well as all the gear. But then so does all hunting...

I've taken some running shots at deer from my earliest years hunting and have done well. That's not bragging, but simply a fact. I've also done some longer range hunting and have done well there, too. That doesn't make me anyone special. I'm certainly not "special" enough to believe anything I aim at with a "sniper rifle" is going to fall to my bullet and I'd have to be out of my mind to suggest to others that I'm careful about either approach if I had already stated that I'd shot a buff in the guts just to get a rise out of him. This entire thread was basically shot in the guts about the same time the poster mentioned shooting a buff that way.

I still sit upon the fence regarding when "hunting" ends and "shooting" begins. I'm loathe, however, to judge someone else who ethically takes an animal through any means lawful and within the personal zone of confidence each individual has with his tools.

I take issue with anyone who does not use their tools in a manner likely to kill prey as quickly and humanely as possible. As stewards of the land, it is our duty to show compassion and respect to any and all animals we place in our crosshairs, iron sights, or whatever manner of weapon we choose. A quick kill devoid of suffering is the ultimate show of respect to the animal. Causing injury to any animal without this requisite intent is wrong. Purposefully injuring the animal with the intent to incite a charge, slow it down or any other end state is wrong. You have taken the honor out of the hunt and interjected your own selfish ego-driven agenda.

I realize poor shots occur and good people make mistakes. I fully realize some animals can take a massive amount of damage and continue to function. I'm not so naive as to think every shot I make will be devoid of suffering upon impact. Regardless, that is my goal.

As such, regardless of your opinion whether LRH is truly "hunting", any time a hunter honors his prey with a quick death, he/she is to be commended. Whether this occurs at 10 yards or 1000 is of little consequence.

Hunting stops and shooting begins at the moment you decide to take the shot.

This entire thread was basically shot in the guts about the same time the poster mentioned shooting a buff that way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------

Amen to that. If I'd realized just how judgemental and selfrightous so many of the "hunters" are, I would not have posted that bit. Not because of any shame or any belief that it was "wrong" or not "honorable", only because of the fact that the original topic of the post was lost in the debate. Come to think of it the original topic was lost when so many of the so-called "hunters" started taking potshots at the entire concept of long range hunting.

One thing is apparent, many of the people who've posted have a very strict and narrow interpretation of what hunting is and isn't. And also to what is "fair chase" and "honorable".

Someone mentioned that long-range hunting isn't hunting, it is shooting. Using that logic, stalking to within 10 yards and shooting an animal isn't hunting, it is stalking, sitting in a tree stand for 10 days straight and shooting a whitetail isn't hunting, it's sitting, so on, ad nauseum.

With that, I think I will start a new topic under general hunting.

was the final judgement .300M beats the .308 for large game past 4-500 yrds? There was some real good discusion... at least at the beginning lol