Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What's Petzals beef with the 7mm RM?

If Petzal were to read this, I'm sure he'd be smiling. Judging by the length, he hit his mark.

Billy, what makes you say that? I haven't shot the course but the website reports that there are shots from 175 to 875 yards, and I believe they're all 6" to 12" plates. There are shots required off of sticks and other "field" positions to prone. That sounds like a pretty legitimate test of a hunting rifle and cartridge. I know I'd sure like to get a chance to go out and try my skills.

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Every one of these courses I've seen except the Keneyathlon is set up for long range hunters/shooters, not your average hunter.

175 to 875 yards is not a good indicator of hunting rifle prowess, as guys must set up to be able to shoot 875 yards, which simply doesn't matter for a hunting rifle. A rifle set up for 875 yards will often have concessions made for the close range snap shots that occur while hunting.... whether in weight, balance, over magnified scopes, etc.

I'd rather see something in a 10-500 yard format. All rifles must be packed in hand or slung, as in the real world an animal can show up at any time. Set up the course in just such a manner where targets may appear at your feet with no warning. Incorporate movers, in the brush at close to medium range. Time limit of 10 seconds for some of the shots, from packed up and moving to shot.

Incorporate targets that need identification, as in "legal" animals, even targets that one must wait for the legal target to clear non-legal targets before firing. Make this wait painstakingly long from an uncomfortable firing position...forcing the issue.

Offhand,kneeling, and sitting shots, as well as the above, along with some of the already included prone/further out shots would make for a better test for hunting.

Every one of these courses I've seen except the Keneyathlon is set up for long range hunters/shooters, not your average hunter.

175 to 875 yards is not a good indicator of hunting rifle prowess, as guys must set up to be able to shoot 875 yards, which simply doesn't matter for a hunting rifle. A rifle set up for 875 yards will often have concessions made for the close range snap shots that occur while hunting.... whether in weight, balance, over magnified scopes, etc.

I'd rather see something in a 10-500 yard format. All rifles must be packed in hand or slung, as in the real world an animal can show up at any time. Set up the course in just such a manner where targets may appear at your feet with no warning. Incorporate movers, in the brush at close to medium range. Time limit of 10 seconds for some of the shots, from packed up and moving to shot.

Incorporate targets that need identification, as in "legal" animals, even targets that one must wait for the legal target to clear non-legal targets before firing. Make this wait painstakingly long from an uncomfortable firing position...forcing the issue.

Offhand,kneeling, and sitting shots, as well as the above, along with some of the already included prone/further out shots would make for a better test for hunting.

A rifle needs to be able to do these things to be really practical for general use hunting. Which means light enough to pack, balance to allow good offhand shooting, and a recoil level that allows shooting from a not perfect setup without hurting oneself.

Every one of these courses I've seen except the Keneyathlon is set up for long range hunters/shooters, not your average hunter.

175 to 875 yards is not a good indicator of hunting rifle prowess, as guys must set up to be able to shoot 875 yards, which simply doesn't matter for a hunting rifle. A rifle set up for 875 yards will often have concessions made for the close range snap shots that occur while hunting.... whether in weight, balance, over magnified scopes, etc.

I'd rather see something in a 10-500 yard format. All rifles must be packed in hand or slung, as in the real world an animal can show up at any time. Set up the course in just such a manner where targets may appear at your feet with no warning. Incorporate movers, in the brush at close to medium range. Time limit of 10 seconds for some of the shots, from packed up and moving to shot.

Incorporate targets that need identification, as in "legal" animals, even targets that one must wait for the legal target to clear non-legal targets before firing. Make this wait painstakingly long from an uncomfortable firing position...forcing the issue.

Offhand,kneeling, and sitting shots, as well as the above, along with some of the already included prone/further out shots would make for a better test for hunting.

A rifle needs to be able to do these things to be really practical for general use hunting. Which means light enough to pack, balance to allow good offhand shooting, and a recoil level that allows shooting from a not perfect setup without hurting oneself.

It doesn't need to be a test of physical prowess. We all hunt at different intensities, and I wouldn't want any sort of rules where a team running the course would beat those walking and stalking, or doing the course from a wheelchair.

Well played.... you have no idea what your talking about.

There is no team. There is no time score. Only 4 minutes to shoot 6 targets.... which is more than enough time. Everyone is doing their best to help you make hits. But obviously, you know more about it than I do.

Go check out the web page.... look at the picks.... and the range card. I shot a sub 9lb. .260... the same gun I hunt. Running the same DTC on the SS12x that I run at home. I came away a better shooter, I bet you'd like it.

For me, and this is just me, it really takes nothing much from 10-500 just range it and shoot and favor the wind most days.

Therefore the short range stuff just doesn't do it for me for practice.

But I could certainly see that if you incorporate these ideas, you may come up with something that quite a few folks would like to play around with.

I didn't say anything about a team or time score on the NRA Sporting Rifle Match. I was referencing the physical part of an event (any event), which may be accomplished by timed movements between targets. But this would cut out a lot of shooters, so the actual physicality involved could be limited somewhat. Though an elevated heart rate is a great test for hunting.

Plenty of western hunting involves close in shooting. To not practice for it seriously handicaps one when it comes time to make such a shot under real conditions. So a rifle that excels at a long range target event may be a poor choice for all around use.

A 308Win. will do that course just fine.It all comes down to what the guy behind the trigger is capable of.You do not need a magnum case to shoot accurately to 1,000 yds.Lots of 6.5X284s being used in long range competition.Very seldom do you see a magnum being used and if you do it is almost always a 300 Winchester.Using one caliber over another will not turn a crappy shot into a better one.Only time and practice using good form can do that.

Guys gonna be using them 7 Rem.Mags for canoe paddles now that the 26 Nozler is out!!!