I label myself as a short range meat hunter. Due to the nature of the terrain and my desire to recover the critter for making meat, where I hunt, most shots are under 200 yds. I figure 98% of the stuff I kill, the range is 120 yds. and under, with a dozen or so kills at 300 yds., a couple at 400 yds. and my longest @ 590 yds.

With all the rage of long distance shooting, what has been your experience shooting game for meat, as opposed to varmint hunting or target shooting?

GWB

Yeah, After 34 years of hunting Whitetails I have killed over 150 deer and exactly 3 were over 150yds and none have been further than 200yds....The terrain I mostly hunt is thick timber with a few clearcuts but I can usually scout out a stand that will get me up close and personal with the buck I am after, for me that is the fun of the hunt.....I would get little satisfaction from sniping deer at great distance, I enjoy the hunt too much 👍.......Hb

I would say about half. I have a feeder 225 yards from stand. There is another feeder in the live oak tree just behind that dead pig standing at the bottom of the hill and another feeder a hundred yards behind me. Feeder is the green thing by an old stand way the hell down there.

A very small percentage over 150. Killed two caribou in Quebec, a moose and bear here, and a mule deer in Wyoming.

The last 3 deer I killed here didn’t add up to 70 yards total.

So far 0%. I don't see that changing soon.

Approximately 10%

I killed one deer close to 400 a few years ago. I shouldn't have shot that far under those conditions and was lucky to make a clean kill.

Everything else in all my 51 years,quite a few have been under 150 with likely 90% under 100.

I've killed a bunch of those under 50 yards with a rifle. I've killed a bunch on the move real close,like 20 yards and under.

I've shot 2 that fell within 10 feet of me. Thought both those were going to run over me. Dogs and men drives can be quite exciting.

Also predominantly a meat hunter. Thirty years of hunting White Tails in PA and KY, I've taken one WT at 166 long steps. All the rest (several dozen) inside 150 yards. The majority of those inside 100 yards.

Most of mine are shot between 7:00-8:00am. Hung in the barn, skinned, quartered, and hosed down by 10:00am. Hang as long as the temps allow, up to 4 or 5 days..

None of my rifle shots at deer have been taken at over 150 yards. I have hunted in 7 states under a variety of conditions and have been able to complete my kill shots at less than 150 yards. 30-30 is a keeper!

Sherwood

Zero.

But I shoot a lot of Whitetailed Steel and need turrets and high BC bullets. At least according to Hornady..

Where are all the 500 yard guys that need the 20 power scopes and 800 BC bullets.

Probably half of my deer each year are shot at 150yds or less. The other half are generally inside 300yds. Shots between 300 and 500 sometimes present themselves at some spots, so I need to be prepared at those locations.

I have a hunting but about 8 ft off the ground, have a great rest in it, and the deer always come out at 180 yrds, I built that stand 4 yrs ago, prior to that only ever one deer, since I've built the stand, over half.

2-4%.

5

Don't think I've ever shot or shot at a critter past 150 yards. Not sure I'd be able to see it!

There is a difference between hunting and shooting.



.

I’m not sure of the percentage. I quit counting at about 150 deer. Over 35 years of hunting and I’ve killed two deer that were a shade over 200 yards, and those were crossing hayfields/pastures between woodlots. All of my others average between 30-40 yards.

It’s hard to even see a deer much over 50 yards in the woods where I hunt, much less get a long shot at one.

I’d say around 20% of the deer I’ve killed have been over 150 yards.

The great majority of my shots are 200-400 yards. That is the nature of my hunting strictly because I hunt huge ag Fields here in SW GA. I do have a few short range stands and use those for bow hunting, hunting with my Garrand on Veterans Day, using my vintage lever actions and pistols & such.

Most off my family's deer are shot between 150 and 200 yards. Rarely over 200. I have only shot maybe 5 over 300 yards.

Last year the deer I shot were:

12 Gauge RIO fragmenting slug 30 yards Mule deer doe

20 Gauge Remington accutip slug 100 yards Mule deer buck

25-45 Sharps 80 Speer hot core 160 yards 2 mulie does

308 Win 165 Sierra BT 140 yards mulie doe

300 Win mag 180 failsafe 300 yards 2 whitetail does

25-06 117 Sierra BT 50 yards whitetail doe.

My daughter got the closest whitetail doe at 8 yards with the same 25-06 load it was a 500 yards stalk, haha.

It depends.
Big difference based on weapon used.
I grew up hunting Indiana and Illinois so only used a bow and a muzzleloader or slugs out of a smooth bore shotgun. Can’t think of a single shot over 100 yards.
Started rifle hunting out in Wyoming and have only had one under 150 yards since.

This is one of those things that hindsight would answer but I didn't have foresight to keep that specific record. And for most of the time I didn't have a LRF.

Having hunted in Deer leases all the time until 2012, the majority of my shots/kills have been past 150 yds.
< closest was 12', easy to remember>

Even at that the majority have been less than 200 yds, quite a few between 200-300 yds, and a FEW @400 yds. (375-402)
after getting a LRF.

REGARDLESS of past distance kills, on any given day I could be in a thicket OR on the edge of an OPEN pasture and range up to 400 yds.
I will not hamstring myself with a SOFTBALL trajectory cartridge.



There is a pond at the edge of cover to the right of this vista. ^^^^^





Jerry

We kill between 350 and 450 WhiteTail here every year, and I would say 99.8% are inside 150 yards. Rio7

I've been hunting wide open country for many years. Most shots are 200-300.

An extremely iffy 1%

80% are over 150yds

Same here.

Probably around 5%.

Thanks guys for your replies.

Appreciate your candor!


Best,


GWB

1 at 214yards In alabama every thing in fla less than 100 98% less than 50 1 at 7ft prob. 160/175 deer

Probably 3-4%. Those were the ones either getting away or couldn't get closer. Longest was 380 yards with a 375H&H.

Over the course of my lifetime and over 200 deer about 3% over 150 yards.

I would guess about 50%.

But I can say that about 90% are under 225 yards in the last 22-24 years of hunting.


I used to shoot long ranges, but I came to my senses I guess and realized that in my entire life I have never had a need to shoot past 500 yards at an un-wounded animal. It's ALWAYS been possible for me to get closer, 100% of the time, on 100% of the game I have hunted in 100% of the states and in 100% of the countries I have hunted in.

I do not condemn those that love to shoot long distances, because I did that myself when I was younger, but I came to understand those deer and antelope are NOT MY ENEMIES. They are blessings, and I should respect them enough to hunt them and not risk wounding one and letting it get away, or even hitting it with a less then perfect hit, and allowing it to suffer longer then necessary.
I was lucky. In all the long shots I ever made I never failed to kill with one shot, and I never had an animal get away or run more then about 30 yards.
I but I do ascribe my success to some element of luck mixed with as a high level of skill. All the skill in the world cannot give you a 100% chance of reading the wind and mirage however. Experienced hunters know that is true even at normal ranges, so as you extend the range the potentials for mistakes grow exponentially. My respect for the game overcame my desire to brag about distance.

I still like shooting at 800 to 1200 yards, but I refuse now to shoot at game over 500 meters. It's just my own personal preference. I am more impressed with hunting skill then I am with shooting skill, and as such I consider my bragging shots to be those I made under 10 yards and a few under 15 feet. I actually feel a bit of embarrassment at those I killed "way out there' when I am forced to admit I made all those shots at ranges that I could have easily gotten closer, and in most cases I could have easily cut the range in half.

My best bragging shots have been made mostly with handguns and a few with rifles. My 2 closest ones were with rifles however, not with handguns.

My closest shot ever was made on an antelope at about 18 inches. At less then 2 feet the muzzle blast blew a lot of hair off that antelope. I shot from laying on my side on the ground. It was so close that aiming was not needed and may have been impossible but I hit it perfectly by thrusting the muzzle of my 9.3X74R. Ruger #1 towards it's chest and pulling the trigger.

My next closest shot was on an elk in Idaho with a 375H&H Mauser at about 6-7 feet. I shot from the hip and hit the elk mid-chest.

Both of those make me feel a LOT better than any shots I ever made at 600-900 yards.

With my bread and butter meat hunts here in Wyoming, I'd say that roughly 75% are over 150 yards. Most other places I hunt, in western Montana and Idaho in particular, about 50% are over 150 yards. When I travel far and wide to hunt random other critters, when I am not really meat hunting, the vast majority are 150 yards or less.

How's that for a simple answer?

geedubya, For the majority of my life I would have said under 200 yards, but with our relocation 20 years ago, most of our shots are at 300 plus. We don’t hunt the timber as much as we once did, so that plays into the equation! Also, it hopes of killing the “big one” before I “check-out”, we’ve passed on the “dink’s” which always seem to be close! memtb

I respond to threads quite often but seldom start threads here. Hopefully this thread will not go off the rails in regards to long vs. short or close vs. far. I was up late at night and just happened to be thinking on the subject of how I hunt vs. how others do things and why always interest me.

Guys, once again thanks for the responses.

Best,

GWB

Enlighten us..... what’s the difference?

I’d say on deer, about 1/2 our shots are under 150 yards.

On elk.... it’s probably more like 85% inside 150 yards..... in fact..... that’s probably more like inside 100 yards.

I can remember 3 deer or elk in 50 years of hunting that were taken at over 400 yards, I would say easily 90% or more were taken at under 150 yards
when I started hunting back in the mid 1960s, every magazine was pushing the 270 win, 7mm rem mag and various 300 mags as almost mandatory
over the decades I've seen a great many of the guys I hunt with transition, to carbines like BLRs in the 30-35-375 caliber cartridges and a few 45 caliber rifles ,
its got nothing to do with the ability to hit targets ,at extended ranges,it simply due to where you tend to see game while hunting

0% on bow hunting...

95% on rifle hunting for antelope, deer, elk and predator/p-dog shooting...

5% on bear hunting...

25% on lion hunting...

Of course around here we don’t use stands/blinds waiting for the feeder to go off to harvest animals nor do we wait for bears to roll in to a trash can either... That’s not my idea of “hunting”...

That depends entirely on which tag I put in for around here. I have what I call my "long range" tag, that I sometimes put in for and there's no way in hell you can sneak up on a deer there. I usually sit in the rocks and watch a couple hillsides. Shots can range from 400 to 800+ yards away:

My furthest shots, in this spot, on deer have been 600 and 648 yards. Both 1 shot kills...

If I'm hunting deer in the national forest, most shots tend to be within 100 yards. The same can be said for elk hunting here. Most shots are taken well within 100 yards. My last bull was taken at 30 steps away. Last year I passed on a small bull at 80 yards away....

Whitetails at home in Northern Mn. are almost all under 150 yards, mostly under 75, but when out west I'd say 90% of my shots have been over 150 yards.

Stunt shooter...

And then some...

At the risk of polluting my own thread,

this from just another porker perforator from Texas (JAPPFT)

When I was a wee yonker, I wore out two Daisy pump B-B guns and a lever action target Daisy shooting stuff. For several years in my early teens it was my goal to kill a thousand birds a year. Where we live, across the bayou behind our house there was a "cow pasture" that was +/- 1/2 mile deep and about 3 miles, give or take long. The western long side was bordered by a railroad track. I could roam either side of the bayou north and south and to the western boundary of the track. I'd go out before school and after making sure I got my "3 a day" allotment. If I missed a day, I'd have to double up.
I did not use sights, but rather followed the path of the B-B to my intended target. Birds, squirrels, lizards, tadpoles, crawfish, turtles, minnows, snakes, dragon-flies, butterflies, figs, muscadine grapes, hickory nuts, tin cans, bottles, cigarette butts were perforated. I was a pretty good shot, but I considered myself to be a hunter, not a shooter.

Later on in my mid-teens until my mid twenties I hunted east Texas. We had a country place consisting of say 160 acres amidst a 4,500 acre holding. In the 36 years we owned the place, I shot 1 deer. Deer were not seen in the daylight. I would still hunt squirrel, slipping along under the white-oaks, flush wood ducks on the creek, spot shoot bass and perch in tanks with a Winchester M 63 or a Win M12 16 ga. pump. I’d corn the road that led from the gate to the house and set up a shooting bench on the elevated levee of our pond, in the shade of a pine tree, and snipe crows, squirrels ,birds and an occasional coyote. I could turn 90 degrees and snipe turtles, pearl-do’s and most anything else within 300 yds. I then considered myself to be a hunter, not a shooter.

Over near thirty years now I’ve been reloading. IIRC I’ve reloaded for over 80 center-fire chamberings in rifle and pistol. In each of those I’ve developed loads and shot over a chrony to develop an accuracy/velocity co-efficient, with accuracy chosen over velocity most every time.

For years I pretty much shot weekly. Take 5 or 6 rifles for which I would be developing loads and keeping records and targets.

Years ago, I had an old insurance mentor that had a saying. “When you know you know, and you know you know, confidence replaces fear”.

Even to date, for each rifle I carry afield, I know where the point of impact will be based on actual target shooting at known ranges, I’d say, within an inch, short of operator error.

I no longer get buck fever like I did in my younger days, but I still experience the rush of Adrenalin that comes with the anticipation of making the perfect shot. Trigger time over a weighted lead sled at the range to prevent developing a flinch has served me well IMHO.

I stand hunt over spin cast feeders as is local custom in Texas.

I will walk along a road and set up a folding stool and call varmints.

I will sit over a pond or water trough and snipe critters when they come to water of an eve.

I religiously follow The “5 P’s rule”………. Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

So, which am I, a hunter or a shooter?

Quien Sabe,

GWB

Deer Alpine, almost 100% are over 150yds. I get to my vantage point and glass till my eyeballs want to fall out, and I don't move. I try to set myself up about 250yds away from where I "think" the buck will appear, but it's often further.

Deer Rut hunting, almost 0% are over 150yds. I like hunting in the timber.

Bears-50%.

Maybe 80 percent.. I mostly hunt open country.. Even when I hunted the east, I tried to pick a spot that would giveme a western shot..

Not a single one that's not since I've been in AZ with a rifle. Javelina with a pistol at 10 yards doesn't count....

In fact, more are over 400 than under, but I don't bait animals for close shots...

Right there with ya.

OK, I was wondering how long it would take..........

here we go!

FWIW, I like corn fed deer and hoglets! Taste just fine.

I also like to snare em' and trap em'

It all puts meat on the pit!

just fer giggles n' grins.......

I tend to try to find the humor in most situations, and laughing at myself comes easy.

One of the few hunts I've done outside Texas was a hunt out of Jardine Montana. I had an outfitter combo elk/mule deer tag. Two years before this hunt I had sent my Remington Sendero to Hill Country Rifle to have them do their Accuracy package and install a Vais brake. I develped a load and felt comfortable that with a good rest I could do 550 yds. Having never actually seen many mule deer, much less elk in the wild, and mainly seeing guys killing monsters on TV I passed on several mule deer I prolly should have shot. The last day of the season, my guide and I were on horseback riding across Deckard Flat when about 150 yds there were two mule deer doe and I guess what you western guys would call a 2 x 2 mule deer buck. The guide asks if I would shoot him as his grandma had no venison. I said what the hey. So we ride up to about 110 yds. away, I climb off the horse, get the rifle and my shooting stix, sit down own a big rock, employ the stix, take off the bikini scope covers, wait for the does to move so I can plug this buck. Prolly only took 5 minutes but it sure seemed longer. So I had a tag to burn and I shot him. Bang flop. I could not help but thinking, no corn fed white tail buck (most of which never come to feeders for that matter) of any age would be that stupid. One of the few times I've ever felt like I sinned with a rifle.

ya!

GWB

Least you feed em well before you dig deep into your hunting skills to put meat in the pit...

Very small percentage over 150. Only 1 over 200 I think. Not against it, just seem to always get closer.

Over the last 5 years with deer:
90% are 125 yards or less.
10% are between 300 and 400 yards.

I haven't kept up with coyote's but it would probably be about the same. Most of my hunting is woods. Occasionally I'll hunt fields, some with 700 yard shot opportunities. I'm just more "fortunate" hunting larger bucks in secluded, hard to get to, wooded areas than around heavily hunted fields.....so I spend more time in the woods and shot ranges show that. Not sure why I'm in a drought on the 200-300 yard range other than they just haven't stepped out there when I've been on a field the past few years.

You are a hunter... Who can shoot...

I relayed in a different thread that our preacher spent 30 years as a missionary in South Africa. His two oldest boys wore out a BB gun shooting dove for the pot in one of the Swana homelands.. Before they came back to the U.S. to finish their schooling, they claimed they could follow the BB from the barrel of the rifle to the bird. But knew the trajectory. And held the necessary elevation and windage to make the kills.

Back here in KY, both grown up. One deer hunts with an M1 Garand. The other hunts with a 303 Enfield. Both open sights. Both kill all the deer they need or want. Each thinks he has one of the best deer rifles ever invented. They are hunters... Who can shoot...

yup,

in my old age, I figured out a few ways to put meat on the pit and in the pot!

I catch em in pens



and traps



and snares




Can't claim to grin em' out of a tree



but with the proper bait



This crafty ol' devil can take' em best three out of four

close up and personal!

ya!

GWB

Very interesting thread.
Here in Western Oregon you're hard pressed to find a spot to even see over 150 yards. None - zero - game animals I've taken have been shot that far away. Besides, I really enjoy sneaking in on them more than almost anything.
Last August I took a pronghorn buck in SE Oregon. Even there (pic) the shot was only 168 yards.
I guess I haven't experienced a need to shoot much further than that.

I don't recall that I have ever killed a deer or elk over 150 yds even out here in the "wide open" west.

Heck, even most of my ground squirrel, PD, and coyote shoots are under 250 yds. Guess I am doing something wrong, shots like that don't leave much room for bragging about how far away the animal was.

drover

gdub

Some guys don't understand the DIFF cover situation in some places. I've SEEN the thickets, underbrush, prickly pear etc. of parts of Texas.
There are areas you CAN NOT move thru period. In those areas there is NO still hunting aka slipping along moving real slow. There are too many noise makers and visibility is virtually nil.

Here on private property where I'm hunting I have and hunt in close quarters BUT some areas can't be still hunted.

If you look close you can see a barbed wire fence. It's useless to attempt to hunt on the other side.
Even if you try to get in there the WIND will always blow your presence.




Here I have slipped into/thru part of this.
I've also killed deer coming out of it.




The BEST you can hope for here is to hunt INTO the wind at a SNAIL's pace.....and then ????




Topography and Cover varies greatly.Even on 70 acres.




Jerry

Jerry
I've seen Roosevelt branch bulls moving through tighter cover than you've pictured above. Big difference here is with all the rain the leaves would be wet and u can slip through quietly

Thanks to our neighbor to the east we also have pigs here now... We kill them every chance we get... To this day I’ve never had to bait not one of em to kill em... At your age though it’s understandable...

Kinda depends on the year I guess, couldn’t make anything happen over 100 last year, this year I’ve got a cow elk over 300 so far so we’ll see how it shakes out I guess...

Could possibly be as far as a guy cares to shoot........




or maybe get lucky at 40 paces........ I take 'em however I get 'em.

My experiences are very similar. I hunt mostly timber company land and sight distances are often limited. Most shots on big game are under 100 yards.
Many, about 20%, cluster from about 225 to 300 yards. I did shoot one deer at about 460 yards but that was in very open country which I rarely hunt.
I prefer to get as close as reasonably possible, that is much of the fun in hunting. I got a one time sheep tag here and stalked them from 185 to 107 and finally to 80 yards. I will remember that a lot longer than a 300 yard shot from a rest with a calm heartbeat.
Predator hunting is very much a long range thing though.

[quote=elkhuntinguide]Thanks to our neighbor to the east we also have pigs here now... We kill them every chance we get... To this day I’ve never had to bait not one of em to kill em... At your age though it’s understandable...


good stuff,

it looks like you're doing your part.



I't would much cheaper not to bait.



The big boars are solitary and almost never come to a feeder.



Much better chance of snaring them on their way to and from a feeder.

For me baiting is a means to an end.



and trapping is a much more effecient way to eliminate the buggers rather than sniping them







Between baiting, trapping, snaring and shooting, we've taken 51 the beginning of March. Hope to get a 100 by October, the beginning of dear season.


Ya, I'll be 68 this year. Prolly dispatched near 1,000 hoglets over the last 20 years. I've actually gotten to where I sleep in these days rather that get up early. I'll sleep in till about 7 AM, then get up put on coffee, take my meds and have breakfast, piddle a bit, make sure everything that needs charging gets charged, fill the ATV with gas. Usually about 8:30 a bud an I will go run the traps, pens and snares. Stop at a spot we call the "Y" to get signal and see if I've any emergencies at home, then go to "death valley" to check the pens and snares there. Its almost like running a trot line while fishing. Come back to camp, fiddle fart, fire up the pit an have egg taquitas, boudin, smoked link sausage, drink a beer or two then lay down for a two to three hour nap then go sit out somewhere, over bait sometimes, over water others, read a book or listen to an audio book, take pix with my camera if I'm a mind to, kill something if it walks out or call a bit see if a gray or a coyote will come in. If I don't kill I watch the coming of the gloaming and the dying of he day. If I kill I load up and head back to camp to skin and get the meat in the cooler. Usually by that time one of my buds will have the pit going. I bring fresh ear corn, cowboy beans, taters for baking. Kyle fishes off shore so sometimes we'll have Wahoo or tuna steaks, if not its T-bones, Ribeyes, or pork chops. I'm fortunate that I get to "hunt" 15 to 20 times a year. Getting old is what it is, but IMHO, life is still good.

If you'd like to come down and try your hand at spot and stalk and show me "how to", I'll be glad to meet ya at the gate. I've got a camper, a generator and a window unit.

ya!

GWB

When I hunted in West Texas (Val Verde and Sutton counties) 40 years ago, I got long shots all of the time. Since I moved to Washington State, 0% of my shots have been beyond 150 yards.


Okie John

There's very few places where I hunt that I could even get even 100 yard shot.

gbub

We will see how that goes. Interested to find out.


Jerry

Geedubya...

Sounds like a date... I’ll get squared away here and depending on your location swing by on a trip I need to make to OK...If not on the trip there my schedule will allow for a detour on the way home for sure...

Keep your Nitro pills close as this is not gonna be for the faint of heart...

elks don't go some were and say you can out hunt them your dumb ass is showing

Geedub....in answer to your primary question ...Ive hunted all my life in Montana and parts elsewhere, now in my later years I'm going Geedub style in Texas. But regardless of locale I'd be surprised if more than 5% of my kills have been past 150 yards...

Texas hunting is not to be despised by any stretch, and frankly I'd hunt with you anytime, anywhere my friend...

Don’t speak of that which you have no füking clue about... your dumbass is showing...

hit a nerve did it you are not a worth my waste time buy dumb f@@k

Not at all and don’t flatter yourself thinking you did... dumbfük

Of the last 32 deer dad and I have killed only 3 were over 150 yards (151, 174, and 285 yards respectively) or .09378 %. The overall average of these 32 came out to 107 yards.

I hunt a lot of the same country bsa hunts and the shots can be very long- or very short- even in that country. Our elk hunting varies from wide open to canyon areas with mixed timber and open meadows so shots can range from 30 yards to as far as you feel comfortable shooting.
If I hunted Texas, I would definitely employ the feeders if it was necessary. In that brush, even if you could shoot more than a few yards in places, recovery might be a very iffy thing if you don't bang/flop on a regular basis. And especially for wild hogs as they are vermin, I wouldn't limit myself to any particular type of hunting. Shooting vermin in a pen is as efficient as any and pork any way you kill it is good eating...

In answer to the question, I would have to guess about 50% of my shots have been over 150 yards.... I take them where I find them and I'm prepared to do what is necessary within my practiced skill set....

Bob

Killed one deer at 250 yards with a Mannlicher-Schoenauer .270 some years back. Every thing else has been at 75 yards or less. Usually a lot less. I hunt primarily in swamps or thickets.

What language is that?

Don't do nitro, prefer El Jimador or Camarena Tequila, Knob Creek, Bulleit or even Jim Beam Bourbon.

Any time between the 5th and the 28th of the month is good, with at least two weeks notice. I guarantee you we will eat like kings and if you enjoy adult beverages, drink like the homeless.

ya!

GWB

Longest shot on a deer was ~125 yards near 40 years ago, the first one actually. With a few few exceptions everything else was within shotgun range and I've probably put more meat down with a shotgun than rifle if pounds count.

Great thread...

works for me!

Nailed this one on the fly coming over the hog panel. I was sitting on my four-wheeler and caught him at a disance of 7' or so. 12 ga., OO Buck.

ya!


GWB

10/4.

I will admit I have been surprised at one particular aspect of the preponderance of the responses. That being the range that most folks take game.

ya!

GWB

I’ve killed around 80 deer and hogs. To the best of my recollection, 5 have been taken at further than 150 yards. The furthest was 250. I don’t think I would attempt a shot much further than that. To do so, I’d have to have a very good rest and not be rushed.

Probably only about 5% or maybe less,lots of thick brush around here. Even on mountain goats I can only recall one that I took at 250 the rest were under 100 yards.

The percentage of game animals I've taken over 150 yards would be very low. I got one whitetail at 165, an elk at about 400, a caribou at about 350 and a pronghorn at 295. The rest of the game I've shot over the last 50 years has been well under 150 and most of that under 100.

The area I hunt is too populated for me to go bouncing a bullet across a big field. I like getting close and shooting at an angle that will keep my bullets on my own property. You never know who or what is on the other side of that wood line or fence row, so short shots are pretty much the rule where I hunt.

First deer was at 150, all the others but one were at a hundred or under. The one was at 400 across a bean field. The vast majority have been under fifty, many at 20 or less. I am a meat hunter. The thrill of killing an animal in its bed at close range far exceeds any fun to be had launching a bullet at it across a field or canyon, at least for me. Grew up hunting squirrels and rabbits with a .22 pistol. Ruined me, I guess.

I'm right about 50%. The majority of mine (mule deer and elk) are either right around 100-125, or 400+. Seems like they are either right in front of you in the quakies/pines, or on the other side of the canyon, requiring a long shot.

0%
Have hunted timber all my life.
Grew up in Maine
Reside in Tn
Hunt rolling ridge terrian mature oak forrest and heavy timber river bottoms here in Tn.

Shot a 4x4 mulie in pikes peak national forrest in 1985 when I was stationed at Ft Carson.
Bout 125 yards, longest shot on a animal for me.
Win 100 .308 w/ William's peep sight .

Western wa is kinda whatcha make it, you can hunt reprod, 20-100 yards, or setup on a big canyon that's been logged, 200-1500 yards depending.... I hunt a hodgepodge mixture based on what I'm feelin\scouted.... Tues it kinda depends on a guys style... I do know, 0-400 hold on hair is $$$$ for what I do.....

The primary reason we zero @ 300 yards! It sure makes things quick and easy to 400! memtb

4.5%

Only 1 game animal shot over 150 yards and that was a whitetail at about 220 yards last fall. Hunted timber all my life and that was the first time hunting a bean field where I could see deer that far. Most shots are 50-100 yards with a few around 20 yards. As for varmints, grew up shooting woodchucks on a friends farm. We'd set up and glass a couple fields, really taught me to estimate distance and shooting a 222 how to judge the conditions. As others have said, knowing your equipment and capabilities along with what your personal ethics are makes all the difference.

Prior to moving to Wyoming, almost all of my shots were under 150......FEET! memtb

And that is why we practice at different yardages and positions. Some of these guys getting bent out of shape over why someone else takes long shots, needs to step back and try to put themselves in someone elses shoes for a bit. It's like, if we were to bad mouthing the guys hunting over bait or sitting in stands all day long. That's not our style of hunting, as we are out there busting brush and working for our food, but I don't care if guys hunt over bait or sit in a stand. Like you, I take my shots, as they are presented to me. Whether that is near or far, I don't really give a damn, as long as I know I can make that one shot kill. I will pull the trigger when I know I can make the shot. Growing up in Nevada, taught me a lot about making some long shots and most times shooting in the offhand position, because you couldn't throw your pack down and take a shot because the sage is always too tall for that chit... Guys need to accept the fact that we as hunters are presented with different shot opportunities. It is up to us to decide whether we are capable enough to take the shot when the time comes... I just happen to like being well prepared, no matter what comes along..... [bleep], I was practicing today and though I was going to have to make a 5 foot shot on a horrible looking animal:

Fan my brow ! Shut your mouth ! Slap your Grandma !

I was just about convinced that was a thing of the past.
Once upon a time it was used or talked about by many.

Today, there are few who do it OR talk about it.

The ‘irony’ of it is I learned it from Gun Writers or Hunting Writers.

From the consensus of this thread ‘it seems’ many hunters today don’t hunt open territory
where it’s an advantage.

Don’t get me wrong... I hunt woods and open pasture land. I’ve killed WT from 12’ (ft)
with a 7 Mag and plenty from 40 - 150 yds. BUT I never know when an opportunity will
come between 200 - 400 yds. I’m not willing to simply shrug off longer shots.

Jerry

Out of 7 elk and one deer. 6 were under 100 yards, and the other 2 were past 300 yards
So I guess only 25% are longer shots

So then then question is:

Why bother setting up a hunting rifle for 500+ yard shots, turrets, high BC bullets, and worrying about things that won’t make a difference anyway?

Under 200 yards is a cheap and easy place to be...and apparently where the majority get it’s done.

bsa Looks like you are hunting up in that Biggs unit for deer.. many many many yrs ago well 1985 we went deer hunting in between shaniko and antelope. There was a big swath of blm land out there, we sit on one side of the canyon and watch the deer leaving the private ground. This was before the big winter kill of 86 if I remember right. But that was some big wide open country. My dad used ol savage 99 pre-mill in a 243 using 80 or 85 gr cor-lokts.

I grew up sing MPBR, but that was when I wasn't twisting turrets. In todays modern age, where scopes are better, you have turrets and also ballistic type reticles, so there's no need to zero at 350 yards......... I truly "zero" for 100 and dial or just use my reticle. Simple enough.... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your way, just as long as you don't say there's anything wrong with my way.... One thing I will say is I can take my rifle and dial to what ever range I want and know I'm going to hit what I'm aiming at. I've shot with too many oldtimers that thought their MPBR setting would do the same, but unfortunately they miss more than they hit, at longer range. I've even seen that where I shoot steel. Guys take for fu cking ever to get their rifle dialed in to hit a plate at 450 yards. Some of these guys are supposed to be "seasoned" hunters and good shots too, but nonetheless don't hit what they are aiming at..... That just goes back to know your ability, and don't take risky shots....

Oh, by the way, this is zero to me:


Knowing I would most likely be shooting at elk less than 100 yards away, anyway, it worked real well for my timber rifle:


Shot her at 90 yards, trotting broadside single file with her friends....

Yep, you are right John. West biggs in fact. In the Deschutes canyons. A fire went through the year before, so the ground was pretty bare and you couldn't sneak up on chit. Had to shoot long.....

Some here aren't in the majority.... . But you are right, there sure is a lot of talk about shooting long distance and needing high bc bullets.... To tell you the truth, I always used Hornady BTSP interlocks for my long shots... Nothing real high bc about those, but they were accurate enough and at 600+ yards, work like a charm...

Uuuuum, I don't... I got a few lr cool rigs, but they never get used... haha

May be 1% at most.

My longest has been 487 yards, with a 9x.

Most are in the 200-300 yard range because we tend to hunt fairly open (sage) country (antelope, deer and elk).

Was reading this earlier today... and had to laugh at thinking of an answer moving forward....

between our property and the neighbors, there were 19 deer grazing in the two yards....4 were bucks... not spectacular bucks... but bucks....

elk wandered thru here Saturday morning... and wild turkeys and Canadian Geese are all over the place...

Percentage of long range shooters is small.

And yet we're all constantly admonished on here that we're idiots if we're not using the latest cartridge designs with the highest BC bullets and the fastest rifling twists.

You've pointed out much of my favor with a 100 yard zero. As I listed earlier, 90% of my shots over the last few years have been at 125 or less. I like being on for where I'm going to be shooting most often, especially when threading needles through openings.

Once dials are verified it's an easy thing to change the 100 yard zero to a 200 yard zero....or 350...when you hunt a field....then adjust as needed. I like knowing where my bullet's going to impact when the trigger breaks, as much for the shorter ranges as the longer ranges,...but folks can make the MPBR work just fine.

About 98% of my shots are 200 yards or less.

I mainly stand hunt, and I know the distance to the target and the max distance at which a shot is available. As I hunt out of a camp, it is not problem taking several rifles with me. In fact sometimes I will take two rifles with me to a stand. One for small stuff, or one for a longer poke.



With the exception of the McMillian stocked Remington M7, 6 x 47, (it currently wears a vari x-III 2.5-8 Leupold) the rifles on the left are zero'd for 100 yds.

The rifles on the right are zero'd @ 200, and in the case of the Sendero, the Leupold B&C reticle subtensions are pretty much dead on at 300 and 400 yds.

Because the vast majority of the answers here..... are from folks who hunt whitetail. And because of the strong East Coast bias.... their “experience” applies universally. Generally.... the folks who hunt primarily out West, are going to have a much higher percentage of shots over 150 yards than the Eastern deer hunters.... simply based on terrain and game.

Nothing wrong with covering your bases, and being prepared for whatever shot presents itself. My “long range” set-up wears a 3-9, runs bullets that are perfectly acceptable at 25 yards and 600 yards, and weighs exactly 8lbs (loaded).

I can leave the to scope zeroed at 100, and crank it down to 4x when I’m hunting the thick schitt for elk.....

I can spin it to 250, and use Jud’s “hair to 400”.... or whatever... when I’m hiking ridge-lines looking for deer....

I can range and dial that 565 yard shot across a canyon when it’s necessary (and appropriate).

I can sit in a tree stand and clobber stuff at 12 yards with it if I needed to.

Etc.....

Like MD has said time and time again....... those with actual experience, tend to have opinions that are middle-of-the-road.

GW and others; I would say that about 60-70% of my shots are over 150 yards, and about 50% 200 yards and over. As others have said above the ground we hunt so often governs the shots we take.

My experiences have confirmed many times over that choice of ground governs choice of options. I have hunted all over Alberta, many years hunting and guiding in the barrens of the NWT for caribou, once on Sydney Island (south of Vancouver Island), twice in Texas near Del Rio, once on the big island of Hawaii, once in the Highlands of Scotland, once in Namibia, once in the hills of the Eastern cape RSA and once in the Limpopo province of RSA. Each area had their own unique manner

...of hunting based upon the ground.

When I went to Texas I did not really understand the use of baiting, until I walked around a bit. There was very little soil and slabs of limestone the size of dinner plates everywhere creating a sound like walking on dinner plates no matter how quietly one tried to walk. We helped the guides look for a wounded and lost deer, really got to understand how thick and nasty Texas bush is, I came away with a much greater appreciation of the way things are done in Texas as I was very convinced that I would have had zero success still-hunting. As a point of reference my two closest shots on Whitetail while still-hunting were at 8 and 18 yards so I do know how to do it.

Now when I go to a new area I study the ground and listen to the locals and figure how to hunt from there.

I have never shot an animal farther than 400 yards, truth be told I have yet to make a 400 yard shot but have a handful in the 390 yard range. I have three dialing scopes and practice out to 550 yards although I don't expect to shoot that far. Shooting at distance is a great way to hone ones skills as the greater the range the more each little error shows up.

My hunting is by the large majority walk, spot and stalk, sneak and peak, and least common is sitting in informal stands. seems to wrk for me.

Thanks for starting an interesting thread GW, thanks to all for throwing in their thoughts, I hope y'all have a great day.

George.

I have been very pleasantly surprised at the responses and that this thread has run for six pages without going off the rails.

Good stuff guys!

Thanx,

GWB

First, I am not from Texas ! ! I have relatives who live there and I've been there. There has been plenty of video of the Texas 'brush country'.
I understand hunting 'senderos' *** not the rifle mod***.

GRF has seen and experienced the situation/cover/ground/ & thickets in Texas. It's much more accurate to describe "how I'd hunt in Texas"
than from someone who hasn't AT LEAST seen the obstacles.

Jerry

maybe 15%, I usually hunt deer with a .270 but have shot deer with .30-06,7mmrem mag. ,.243, .308, .41 mag handgun and .44 mag handgun. All deer shot with the handguns were 75 yards or less.

I am a Bighorn hunter and even these are seldom taken at long range.
I use a low power variable scope on my rifle, the rifle must be light , short and compact.
I have little experience on shooting much over 300 yards, and use the maximum point blank range concept. It is sweet, practicle and always works for me.

bsa, pardon me for not quoting in normal fashion. This is shorter.

bsa said,
"In todays modern age, where scopes are better, you have turrets and also ballistic type reticles, so there's no need to zero at 350 yards......... I truly "zero" for 100 and dial or just use my reticle. Simple enough.... I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your way, just as long as you don't say there's anything wrong with my way....
-----------------------------------------------------------

I'm in no way saying your way - twisting turrets etc, - is wrong. I've said this repeatedly in our forums here. They're fine and dandy IF you have the distance and time to use Turrets.



[quote=bsa1917hunter and there's no way in hell you can sneak up on a deer there. I usually sit in the rocks and watch a couple hillsides. Shots can range from 400 to 800+ yards away:

My furthest shots, in this spot, on deer have been 600 and 648 yards. Both 1 shot kills...
---------------------------------------------------------

IF I hunted an area such as that ^^^ you bet your bottom dollar I'd be twisting turrets.

It has been such a small % of time when I would have had time to LRF, read chart, twist turret - THEN aim and shoot. Yes I've had that kind of time but it's been MUCH less than 10% of the time.

Having used MPBR for so many years ** it works for me**. Whatever works for you.


Jerry

May be guilty of taking this thread off the rails but what the hey!
I've no doubt that in many areas the nature of the terrain dictates the nature of the hunt and shot distances.
Here is an example of south Texas brush country hunting.
This sendero is probably about 20' to 25' wide, by about a mile long. I am set up near the middle with a 90" cut in the brush where there is a feeder in the scrum at 120 yds. The buck came off the fence line that divides pastures and is at the southwestern most part of the Sendero, heading east-northeast toward me.

This was taken with a 150-600 mm lens with a crop factor of 1.6



my recollection is he is about 500 yds.




a skosh closer



prolly 250 yds IIRC





a skosh closer



100 yds +/-, Bang, flop, DRT.

Now the rifle in the pix is a Rem 700 Custom KS, chambered for the 300 H&H, 200 gr. Accubond, zero'd @200.

My idea is that closer is better, especially if I have to find the point of impact to find blood and start tracking. What with the thorns, cactus, rattlers, and other nasty things, I try not to go into the scrum.

ya!

GWB

There isn’t much out in South Texas brush that won’t bite you or stick you. I shoot them in the shoulders, kills them dead right there, to hell with heart and lung shots. I don’t care to walk out in that cshit if I don’t have to. It’s really fine at night!

Early in the season there are lots of wasp nests hanging face high in the mesquite also. It’s real good to disturb one of them.

0%

Where I hunt, a 150 yards is long shot.

Most shots are 75-100 yards in boreal forest.

Closest one was 8 paces !

I think my average shot has been around 170 yards overall. Longest 430, closest about 20.

In east Texas ya got those big banana spiders

South Texas also,

One thing i've never get over is when walking through the woods, through the brush, or along a game tail, early in the morning before it is just barely light enough to see a bit.......

[URL=http://s38.photobucket.com/user/glenn1221/media/South%20Texas%20lease/KC9A1611_zpst8fn4e7t.jpg.html]
I always wear a ball cap and typically carry my rifle or shotgun in front of me when doing this drill!

ya!

GWB

I think everyone’s idea is the closer the better......

If that buck stops at 225 yards, and turns like he’s headed into the brush..... do you shoot him?

I KNOW I would.

If stuff is getting closer..... I let it. If stuff is in range, and it’s time to shoot.... I shoot it.

I forgot about the damn spiders!!

I started hunting Texas back in the early seventies. As a teenager I had no lease so I hunted Davy Crockett and Sam Houston national forests. Learned all about up close, rattle snakes, spiders, thorns and impassable brush. I used a 270, a 30-30 and a 12 gauge Remington pump with buckshot. I only got one shot as far as 50 yards. all the rest were in the range of buckshot. I did find that at point blank range the 270 is a quick and destructive killer! After I got out of the Navy I went to work in the oilfield in Wyoming. The wind really was the limiting factor there. Took an antelope at 450 yards and an elk at just a bit farther, the latter showing me just how tough an elk is. Tough recovery. I only had to shoot farther than 200 yards on deer one time, right at three hundred yards. A 7 point "monster" Muley. Back to Texas after 19 years in Wyoming. Now I have leases and run feeders. I usually set one up around 250 yards in a sendero lane and another 75 yards from the stand for night hunting feral hogs. Why 250 yards? Because that gives some room between the stand and feeder for bucks to walk through as they usually don't visit feeders in the day time unless the rut is on and even then they often hide and watch for does hitting the feeders. Currently I would have to say over 50% of my shots on game (feral hogs don't count) are over 150 yards, 100% under 300 yards.

Interesting stuff!!!

2 percent at best.

gdub....

"May be guilty of taking this thread off the rails but what the hey! "

No sir you didn't IMO.




Yes, closer is always better but as you said D s, sometimes they stop or head off in another direction.

I don't recall ever starting out with the objective to find - shoot - kill a game animal 300-400 yds. ATST I'm prepared if that's the option.
I've had PLENTY of occasions where --- it's NOW or never !!


Jerry

+1

I hunt with others and we often have multiple tags apiece. While we do it for fun, it is also to put meat in the freezer. My grandkids are growing up on antelope, deer and elk. "Getting closer" is something we do, but only to a point. When the game is in the shooters comfort range and conditions portend success, we take the shot. With multiple shooters, multiple tags each and limited time, "getting closer" can be counter-productive. Full freezers are the goal.

Agreed on the getting closer bit, just sometimes one runs out of things to hid behind.

A couple of years ago I crawled through +/- 350 yards of canola stubble to get to about 250 yards to shoot and whitetail buck, I could not get any closer as I had made it tot he tiny bumpI was hiding behind. His girlfriend did't leave so she also got a free one way trip to my daughter's freezer.

The 2018 season my last deer; a mule deer doe, was spotted at about 1000 yards away, the classic SE Alberta dry creek bed (I'm sure shocking similar to a Montana dry creek bed ) gave me quick and almost silent access to about 165 yards.

Not to belabour the point but the Texas ground I have seen would not allowed those manoeuvers.

Great conversation gentlemen.

George

I like to tell stories.

I title this one......

He drove 190 miles to shoot a pig!.........



I've mentioned before, I have a "beer lease" and a "deer lease".

Well, the powers that be have decided to take 28,000 acres of the south Texas ranch on which I have a "deer lease" and construct a wind farm.

The night before rifle seaon opener, there was a meeting with the ranch manager. We are off as of 12/1/18, with the caveat that if they finish in time we get to hunt the rest of the 2019 season for free.

So I figured I might as well see if I could poke a hoglet or two before then.

Got there late Tuesday afternoon, and by time I got to the Sendero on which my blind is situated it was about 30 minutes before dark.

My stand is about 1/2 mile from where I turn into the sendero.



I had gone about 100 yds. in when I decided to take a look thru my binocs.

Sure enough there was a decent boar at the feeder. I grabbed my rifle, binocs, shooting sticks and a headlight(I hate trying to track or walk out in the dark) and began a 1/2 mile stalk. I stayed off the right of way and tromped through the muddy scrum. I figured being the time of year, I did not have to worry about rattlers.

I got to my stand which is about 100 yds. from the feeder. There were cows about and they winded/saw me and took off. The boar was not in sight when I peeked around the base of the stand. I waited a couple minutes but he went to the left side of the sendero and I could not get a shot. Probably a good thing as I had walked pretty fast through the scrum, sinking up to my ankles in mud and dodging thorn bushes. Consequently, my breathing and heartbeat made it quite difficult to maintain a good bead on the critter. I was hot and I was sweating like a politician telling the truth. I rested my rifle on one of the leg supports and attempted to adjust the shooting stix to fit my stix at the standing position. Naturally they did not extend properly and fell over and banged against the stand legs. At the noise the boar moseyed into the brush. Anywho, a few minutes later he wandered in and out and the light was fading. As luck would have it, by the time he gave me a good shot straight on, my breathing slowed and I nailed the bastid’.

Straight on shot.

Entry at his withers.



Exit at his pecker.



DRT.

Ya,

GWB


BTW, you've heard the expression, "knocked his dick in the dirt". The bullet exiting literally severed his pecker. I found it after I drug him up on the trailer. LOL

Poor little guy, all he wanted to do was use it one day lol

Prolly 25-30 percent of my shots are. I hunt a lot of antelope and that skews the number

The pecker?damn......crack shot.


“Im gunna shoot yer pecker off , pig! “

That was a extreme low blow!!!!

Hate to hear you are losing your lease, lost one of mine earlier in the year. It sucks.

Ya,

we had corned and protiened all year. I had some pretty good prospects......



which you usually only see at night on game cam!

However,

That was my "deer lease".

Now if I was to lose my "beer lease", aka The Petting Zoo,










I'd be devastated.

Anywho, should be golden for the 2020-2021 season.

The project should be completed by 1/1/20.

ya!

GWB

MAYBE 10%, always figured closer was better. Never could figure out the guys that think they have to shoot everything at 600 yards...a LOT of them don't even know 600 yards from 300.

I jumped this fat gal from her bed today. She wasn’t sure what she heard and stopped broadside at 15 yards so I let the .270 eat..

It’s a lot of internet jabber....

There’s places for a 30-30 and places for a long range ultra wizbang...they just ain’t quite the same places.

Geedubya: Over the last seven years ALL of my shots on Big Game have been WAY OVER 150 yards!
The average I am guesstimating is just a tad over 350 yards.
Leica Laser Rangefinder sure helps me along with my flat shooting Sendero in 270 Winchester and my Remington 700 in 7m/m Remington Magnum - both with LOTS of scope power.
Its tough these days to get shots at mature male Big Game Animals in mostly open country and public lands.
I prepare and am a VERY patient Hunter.
Been rather successful.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Mostly I hunt mule deer, Washington & Wyoming.

I'd say the majority of my shots on deer have been 150 - 350 yards.

A couple farther, a few closer.

Guy

5% or less although I hear there are new chamberings that will make me a 1000 yard shooter just by picking them up.

The first time I went out west hunting, I was sitting glassing a hillside. Thinking to myself that I could shoot across there if needed. Then I saw ants moving on that hillside which turned out to be a herd of elk. A quick rethink was definitely in order.

VG,
Long time, no talk.
Best to you and yours.
In no way do I denigrate folks that take longer pokes than I. I’d bet that should I inhabit such climes, I’d do the same.

Many times it seems I’m guilty of succumbing to the dreaded LCD (lowest common denominator). I’ve mentioned, ad nauseum I’m sure, that the nature of the terrain and flora are such that unless one has a known point of impact, and can not find blood within say 10 feet of that known point of impact, usually one’s quarry is lost to the temperature by day and the vermin that inhabit the night.

So although I get significant gratification when I hear the “whop” of the bullet impact on flesh, I get much more gratification when I recover said flesh and later on consume it.

Anywho, your mention your Leica Rangefinder. Even though I usually shoot at known distances(which I know because I ranged them) two things that are in my pack at all times when afield, are my Leica Binocs and my Leica range-finder.



An aside.
I figure I’m about as good at judging distances as the next guy, and under 200 yds, it does not present much of a problem. However stretch It out a bit……..
Anywho, I’ve made it to Montana, twice. Once with a bunch of guys on a group motorcycle ride, the second time on a guided elk hunt. The outfitter was based in Jardine and we hunted in and around there. For six days, I spent at least six hours a day if not more glassing Deckard Flat and over into Yellowstone park.










I’d pick out a particular landmark with my binocs, then range them with my Leica rangefinder. In that thin air, landmarks and objects that I would have guessed to be no more than say 250 yards would be 500 to 550 yds.

One thing for sure, it is a very different way of hunting that what I do here.

BTW, I too subscribe to the “5 P rule”…..

Best,

GWB

Very few, maybe 10%. But the ones on the long end are some of the most memorable, just like the ones that were on the short end of the scale.

I don't.


Okie Jon

Texas is a huge state and conditions vary considerably. I was lucky enough to spend several years hunting huge family ranches on the Edwards Plateau in the 1970s before feeders became the order of the day. That country is rocky and rough, but you can move over it quietly if you focus. Jack O'Connor's 270 or Warren Page's 7mm would be ideal there. The gentle rolling hills of pine forest in the east are a lot like the Carolinas. That's 30-30 country. The north central part of the state is open, windswept prairie, and you're back to Jack and Warren's rifles. I haven't hunted the Big Bend or the Gulf Coast but I'm sure someone here has.

And there are places like geedubya's, which looks like it has the best of everything. That said, let his place go several months without rain and still-hunting might be all but impossible.


Okie John

Doesn't hurt to practice and prepare for as many variables as possible. Hard to predict with 100% certainty what will make a difference.

Looking back at the last 10 years or so of mainly elk and sheep hunting- well over 60% of my kills have been over 300. I've only killed a few deer in that time, most of them were under 300. Even still, a handful have been at 300+.

One year I hunted hard all season trying to fill my elk tag. Had passed on my only opportunity, a split-second 35 meter chance, at a critter running straight away thru the timber. Not a shot I'm comfortable with taking, at least under the circumstances. Finally, late afternoon of the final day of season, was able to sneak to 302 yards of a grazing herd and got my elk. It would have been nice to close the deal earlier in the season, at 35, but for me the 300+ yard shot, over my pack, was a way higher percentage, safer shot.

I grew up deer hunting in 30-30 country and of my first dozen or so white tails, only one was shot at over 100. IMO, location/geography/topography are major influencers of how a guy hunts. You can see it in the comments on this thread...

If all my shots were inside 150 load development would sure be a lot easier. Do you bullets come out the end of the barrel when you pull the trigger? Yes. Ok, good to go.

I am not a true long range guy, I prefer my critters inside 300. However, it is nice when you feel confident enough in your equipment and your skills that when game shows up at 300-500+ you would still take the shot.

That prompted a good laugh...

During the 30+ years we lived in Alaska my guess is 50% were over 150 yards. And those were almost all blacktail deer except for one dall ram, black bear, and one moose.Since we moved to Tennessee we have not shot any deer beyond 40 yards.

For me 10%. I set up about 100 yards from where I think deer will cross with a rifle.

With a rifle, probably 75%. Hunt a lot of senderos, green fields, powerlines, valleys, etc...

I've been hunting one farm in north MO for 20 years with huge ag fields 600+yards long, and thin strips of cover along creeks and ditches. Most shots are over 150 yards, out to 350+. Or the deer are ambling along the thin strip of cover, and pop out at 20-40 yards. I went several seasons up there with the average shot at or over 200 yards.

My other hunting areas are more typical 70 yard average shots or so.

On my own property I'd have to try very hard to shoot over 60 yards.

Not many. I've taken a handful from 2-300 probably 6.. And one at just under 400.

Everything else has been 100 and less.

-Jake

Zero ....... which is fairly normal for this neck of the woods.

Two of 20 plus moose. In excess of 50 of 75 plus caribou. One elk of one elk right at 150. Two of 6 sheep (including those taken by wife and son under my direction), one goat of one goat, none of several black bears taken.

Easier this way than figuring percentages....

I'm 60. I started bow hunting when I was 14. I've killed 1 or more deer a year most years since then and have never shot at a deer beyond 60+ yds. It mostly has to do with the areas of Michigan's National Forests that I choose to hunt. I would some day love to shoot an animal at a distance greater than 150. I do shoot at distances to 300 yds but never at game.

Right there with you. I could have killed everything with my 357 pistol in the past decade even though I’m set up for longer distance. Primary hunting rigs are 6.5 Creedmoor and 280 AI both with SWFA fixed 6 MOA quad and 20 MOA rails. Just in case I guess. I have ELDX’s and other high BC bullets for each but all shots last year were within scorching distance. Good news is all that stuff works just as well up close as it does at distance. Although I’m switching to partitions this year. They have a tendency to hold together a wee bit better at close up and personal distance and can reach far enough for me. No lost game with ELDX ‘s but they sure blew to hell when they hit bone. Now do I practice and shoot at distance? As much as I can. There’s always a chance at seeing a dandy across a 40 acre clear cut or down a power line. Last year I eye balled some deer about 600 yards at the bottom of a gorge. Glad none were good shooters or it would have been a good poke for me and a hell of a drag uphill. Thinking there would have been a lot of rope and s winch involved.

If I'm able to hunt my friend's out of commission dairy farm...100%. Average shot there is around 200 yds.

Most other places in my area 50 yds and under.

Dan

Great avatar. Nothing better than boobs and cold PBR.

I’m about 50%. Depending on what I’m chasing.

In the last 10 years 0%.

But if I recall properly over the last 47 years it's been about ZERO.

I’ve made one shot at 350, I think there have been 2 others that were beyond 200, and another 2 maybe 3 past 100. I’d say my average shot is around 70 yards.

GWB

I grew up in Kentucky and I think I made one shot over 150 yards in my first 30 years. In the last 20 years I have been in TX, then NM and back in TX. About 20% over 150 yards, 10% of that at over 300.

If you need help with the piglets, I have two sons, age 10 and 11 that would be happy to help.

Dave

For the last several years hunting Coues deer in Arizona, all of mine have been over 200. It is the nature of the beast with the steep terrain and the deer themselves. The closest one was 275 yards. Before that hunting mule deer, elk, etc where i grew up it in Northern Utah ot was a mix of up close to 500 yards, just depended on where I was hunting that day.

Since being able to switch from slug guns and handguns to rifles.... 0%

After years of watching game I couldn't reach, wishing I had a rifle, the laws were changed and rifles made legal. Since then I haven't shot anything that I couldn't have taken with a handgun. Of course.

Wow,

never expected the quantity or quality of the responses to my question.

Thanks all for the responses.

Most informative!

Best,

GWB

More than likely, zero percent.
Ohio has been a shotgun state since the dawn of time (more or less) and even with a 12ga. Sabot slug 150yrds is pushing it.
On the other hand, I've had squirrels run across my boot toes, without knowing I was there, and I've been stepped on by white tail deer (hopped a fence I was leaning against).
I don't call, rattle, or make noise of any kind. Sometimes you can almost reach out and touch 'em.
I have averaged 3-4 white tails per year for the last 40 years.
I will have a bit more range available with the AR15 .450bushmaster. (Effective range is 300 yrds.)

I'd say it will depend on what I'm hunting and where. Overall I'd guess that 150 yards would probably come out average, or perhaps it is even somewhat less than 150 yards. I've shot at inanmate targets out to 1000 yards with a rifle, but apart from the odd few goats in mountain country I don't recall any game shot at at more than about 400. In fact it would be rare that I'd feel compelled to reach past 300. I prefer to get closer, and enjoy the challenge of getting really close, which is a big part of why I'm enjoying using a bow lately.

I've also hunted cover where you really won't get opportunities at any sort of distance. Shooting pigs in lignum swamps for example, you'd rarely be able to even see one more than maybe 30 - 40 yards away. Other than pigs I've grabbed by the leg and killed with a knife while dogs kept them busy, I've shot them at distances close enough to leave powder burns. I've also shot deer at less than 20 yards more than once, and I think all the buffalo I've ever shot were at under 100 yards - some well under. The close encounters tend to be more memorable than the long range ones, to me.

Longest shot/kill is 140 yds....twice.

Same

Your 257 Weatherby will cover that iffy 1%.

Probably 3-5%. Longest 440. However, I'm ok with having it and not needing it so that I don't find myself needing it and not having it. Then again, I don't mind an extra 8 oz on my rifle. Maybe some of you should trim 8 oz off your ass if weight is a problem, wild to me how the "manly" thing to do on here is whine about scopes because they weigh 28 oz instead of 20 oz.

I jest I jest.

Sorta.

(Ducking)

My ass isn’t in my hand all day.....

Take a big piss and you'll lose 8 ounces, but it won't make the rifle feel any better in your hands.

While hunting in Alaska about 3 in 4 animals have been 150 yards or farther for me. When hunting whitetails in the Southeast U.S. about 1 in 10 were further than a 150 yards.

geedubya it was a good topic for a thread . I thought their was a lot of info about were different people hunt

We should definitely take advice on hunting from a Southerner who's been on one Western elk hunt. Great source of quality information.

🤣🤣

Most of my shots are over 150. Just about all my food plots/ag fields/corn piles are closer to 200 yards.

Edit: My bad for trying to take the thread off the rails, didn’t think it’d be that incendiary.

Funny. So if I take a good crap it’s like having a NULA instead of my heavy Ruger M77. Maybe that’s why I never noticed the weight before.

Exlax = Mountain Rifle. LOL

I'd say about less than 5%. If my bullets somehow magically vaporized at 150 yds, it would have little impact on my hunting.

0

This chit is never not funny. On one side of the fence are the guys that say you are a chitty hunter if you can't sneak closer, and to the others, you are a chitty shot if you can't place a good hit on a buck at or over 500 yards away. Why fight over it? Learn to do both. Easy enough...

More fun to fight, maybe?

90% of the critters where I hunt tend to start at 300 yards. Many of you have seen my playground. It may be longer than some of you have experienced, and probably shorter than others have hunted. It’s just where I live and hunt.

I didn’t create the frick’n landscape. It’s what I grew up with...So, it’s normal to me to be looking at a 300-700 yard shot. If I hunted roads then maybe I’d get the 150 yarder...

I prefer to hunt away from the orange hats and road warrior crowds. Hiking in several miles provides better hunting and shot opportunities on fur that aren’t pressured by the onslaught of people hitting the woods.

When I have gotten a close shot...It’s been great...but I don’t feel like I’ve done anything different than when I’ve taken a critter at 500 yards. Both eat just the same.

Some members like to make a lot of noise about shots at distances they have determined is too far - As both unethical or not really hunting...It’s fun for me to read their BS knowing that if they ever saw the size and scope of Western hunting they would understand why they sound like an idiot...😎

I'd say well under 5 percent for me.

I'd guestimate maybe 15-20% are over 150 yards, which is fine with me. I'm pretty surprised to see how few often have shots over 150.

Where I currently hunt, only about 10% of my shots are over 150 yards.

I’d say pretty close to 50% of my kills are 200 yards and in.

Most of the elk I kill are between 300-400 yards. Only a few past 400 and only 1 past 500...

Todd

Most are over because I set up for that. Ed k