Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Long Range Hunting Best of the West

OK, Correct me if I am wrong. Cooper rifle 1500-2000 bucks. Kirby Allen Magnum starting 4000 plus. Not exactly 3-1 but close. mtmuley

Interesting to say the least.

Ok your wrong!!! I have three rifles built by Kirby and none of them came close to $4000

Plus cooper rifles and Kirby's rifles are kind of like comparing apples to oranges. with a cooper you get what they offer and in only a few calibers.

With Kirby he will build it the way you want it, any caliber, any contour / length barrel, brake ,action, stock, trigger.

That is one of the biggest reasons that I hate these "yardage marked turret" people buy those gimmicks and think that they are ready to go, yet they have learned nothing about the affects of barometric pressure on their shots where they are hunting which may be drastically different than how the "yardage turrets" are marked.

Trying to short cut "knowledge" is a recipe for failure IMHO and experience


One needs a Kestrel weather station and a hand held computer with a ballistics targeting software program for real time info and the ability to set the turrets for not only the distance, but the conditions






If one truly wants to hunt long range a dedicated long range rig is superior to trying to take a general purpose hunting rifle and using it for double duty

Yes one must read the wind, but I am located at sea level. All of my practice and data is worthless when I travel out west to hunt a 10,000 elevation. With the tools that I have out lined and use I can now get the proper data for my turret correction at distance. I have proven this to work.

If the proper data is entered proper data is recieved. I need first rounds hits not sighters

Don't see how it is slower. I take a barometric reading early before first light. Once the animal is spotted and ranged the turret is turned or I can use the reticle. Do yardage marked turrets turn faster? Do you still not have to range the animal if it appears at an unknown range, with yardage marked turrets

The problem with yardage marketed turrets is not as much with the turrets themself as it is with the way they are marketed toward peolpe that are not savy in long range hunting and getting them to think that the turrets turn them into "long range marksmen in the hunting fields

JWP,
Not to be a smart arse or disrespectful to anyone that practices and can manage long range shots and who can do so with consistency but there is no question that there are those among us that as a previous poster said think because they just spent $7000 on a rifle and optics they can kill game at long range.
The TV shows that show those long range kills I don't even watch anymore however it appears said shows and all of the rest of the long range hype have done in some cases exactly what others have spoken about.
Bad hits, wounded animals, wrong animals, complete misses and endless searches for animals that are never found. Nothing wrong with a guy that is capable and can make the shots but my guess is they are in the minority.
Get in "sheep shape", practice,utilize the right equipment, know the area being hunted, and know the hunted and his habits. I had a real nice Muley @ 794 yards in a 30mph 9:00 wind. He was bedded but there was no way that shot was even considered.
4 hours later @ 350 yards give or take a few yards I harvested him. I wonder how many guys shooting a 7MM RM w/168 Bergers and a Huskamaw scope would have tried the 794 yard poke?
Being able and confident in the ability to take a long shot if necesary is good but IMHO an ability employed when it is the only option. Again I am not knocking those that choose to hunt LR that are capable and have prepared properly and can make the shot if that is how they choose to harvest animals. Those that haven't prepared properly need to leave the LR rig in the safe, quit eating chocolate chip cookies, get on their bicycles and get in shape and get closer IMHO.

Dave

This is my biggest beef too!

You don't 'need' the Kestrel and computer etc but if you don't use something like that, you better have a LOT of practice and experience shooting long range- most of the people buying one of these systems do NOT have that kind of experience or they would have put their own stuff together long before! It is a LOT easier to get a wind velocity and pressure off a Kestrel then it is to learn to read mirage and wind on the leaves etc.

No you don't if your practice location is the same as your hunting in terms of elevation. Either way one must be able to read the wind. If I am not sure of a wind call I do not shoot it's that simple

JWP,
I find it way more challenging to plan a stalk and get closer. I can't read the wind well enough anyway and know my limitations. Those that know all of the particulars about their loads who have a computer and a program like the Sierra Infinity or some of the others that are just as good or better can do an info sheet based on where they are going to hunt and get pretty close but knowing doesn't make a LR shooter. I would think with good equipment banging plates and getting good at whatever ranges are anticipated would be key ingredients.
I find it tough enough to carry the stuff that is in my pack now without the Wind meter, pocket computer, weather station, and inclinometer. Way to complicated when all a guy has to be able to do is get closer and within the range he is comfortable with.
Info sheet and/or simply knowing the rifle and scope combination well and knowing what shooting at 30 and 45 degrees does to your shot and getting closer and a guy doesn't have to worry too much about reading the wind.
For me stalking to within 400 yards or less is the scenario I like with the ability and the confidence to go out to 500 yards if that's all I got. Scopes with bullet drop reticles and practice set up for any situation 500 and under.
Many times the shot isn't hanging around waiting for a guy to get situated even if it is a LR poke. No time to get the Kestral out. In my case it is much easier to lay off the home made brownies and potato chips and get in shape.
One more issue worth mentioning IMHO. If a guy is in shape it is much easier to get an animal out too.

Dave