Range vs Shooting Position: Changing up my preseason

You just have to shoot and see what range you can expect to make a kill shot from various positions, with the firearm you intend to use.

Doesn’t matter what someone else can or can’t do at the same distance, they won’t be with you.

For practice I always go smaller, gives me more room for error.

I Hunter caribou from the Green River Herd in 2011, in northern Quebec. Took two caribou at less than 75 yards. I had a 200 yard zero and practiced out to 300 yards with my combination: rifle, scope, and ammunition. You just may have to wait for a particular yardage, if you can't practice with your rig. once the migration started we were shooing caribou out of camp.

Or buy another rig and practice.

I'm sure everyone practices differently regarding their gear, local and overall type of hunting, I love these type of threads seeing how others "skin the cat".

Where I hunt in South jersey it is typically very dense forest and underbrush ranging from oaks to exhale and push through cedar swamps. With few exceptions the 75 yards are long shots with half that being average. In many areas in the woods the dense pin oaks make tree stands useless, not that it would help me, i have some shoulder injuries that prevent me from using them anyway.
A long way around to say I spend at least some time every range trip firing off my own hind legs, I will practice leaning supported against A pole and Some more in a chair using my legs as support .
Most of which I will do practicing with a rifle with some recoil to find the most comfortable stable way to be in any of those position. Making sure I can make a 100 yd shot from any of these positions, with my open sight muzzle loader or my scoped slug gun. Typically the only shot I have to shorten up from that range is a shot towards the right past about 45*. I like to use those 200 yd targets where the target is smaller.
I've hit an 8" bull at 200 yds with my slug gun every opportunity I've had to do so with elbows on a table or from a kneel. So if the opportunity ever presented itself I know I could make it with that gun.
At 100 yds on my hind legs I'm good for 6 or 7" with my open sight muzzle loader, and half that with my slug gun, unless things have truly gone to sh#t this last year. I practice every opportunity at the range, at some point from "field positions" In the end I would rather be able to shoot 4" off my hind legs with anything I own than be able to hit 1/2" off a bench with any of them

Most of my shots will be at 50ish yards, but 200+ a lot is always a possibility. I've taken deer at 200ish and passed on shots much farther. I am usually sitting near, or against a tree so the sitting position is used a lot. If standing off hand, or if possible I'll use a tree trunk or branch for support.

I carry a set of telescoping shooting sticks in my pack and even in the woods set them up. Even though shots may be closer to 50 yards or even much less, in the brush I will usually not be able to see the entire animal. I have to find openings to thread the bullet through so decent accuracy is required. So yes, a 1 MOA or less rifle is very helpful even in thick woods.

I've practiced with the sticks out to 600 yards and with practice they really help. It's not bench rest accurate, but once you learn how you can do pretty good. I have 2 sets of sticks. The more compact one isn't tall enough to use anyway other than sitting or prone. The other one can be used standing, but I only carry it when I know I'm in open country.

I don't feel my skill level is up to a shot at a deer over about 250-300 yards even with the sticks. I have had a couple of opportunities to hunt elk. Much bigger animal than a typical local 100 lb white tail with a much bigger kill zone. If conditions were perfect with plenty of time to set up and with no wind I might go to 400 on an animal that size.

D.B. Cooper said:

I have some answers to my questions, but there won't be any "shoot and see what range you can expect to make a kill shot from various positions, with the firearm you intend to use." because I only have about 40 rounds of handloads for it, and another 150 factory loads for it.Projectiles are unobtainium and loaded ammo is unobtainiun. (Oddly enough, I have primers and powder-go figure) so there will be very little practicing with the hunting rifle, beyond verifying zero and POI at a few different distances. This thread is all about adapting to those restrictions.

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So then you just need to stick to known accuracy at known distances. No different than most of us even when ammo is plentiful. While there is a multitude of Apps and charts showing bullet drop at different distances, and wind drift due to specific wind speed, there are none that tell us how to adjust for our, the ammo, and the gun's inaccuracy at different distances. Folks that use the new computer scopes and shoot animals @ 800 yards, still have to shoot their guns and ammo @ those distances to verify. They also have to practice at those distances to keep their form and their accuracy consistent. I don't know how many cartridges you use every year during the season, but with 190 rounds it seems you have enough to practice at practical distances that you are accustomed to shooting at.

I practice "field positions" prior to every hunting season, right now we're gearing up for a WY antelope hunt in SEP. I have my own range that goes out to 760 with steel singers. I'll practice a couple times a week, either with the gun I'll hunt with or a .223 Rem M7 I put together to mimic my big game rifles. Luckily (or intelligently) I put away enough bullets for my hunting rifles to last years, at least 6.5, .270, and .308, I am sucking wind on .358 though. I made a conscious decision a few years ago to lay off buying new toys to focus on ensuring I can shoot the stuff I have.

Me personally:

Off-Hand: Approx 100 (kinda sad cause I used to be pretty decant on chickens at 200m in silhouette matches)
Sitting unsupported: 200, I can stretch this to 300, but I'll often pull a shot.
Sitting supported (Tripod) 300-350
Prone supported (back-pack, bipod or back-pack and bi-pod) out to 500 IF conditions are good/perfect.

Honestly my personal limit on a game animal is right around 400; lasered, steady wind.

I don't shoot .22LR anywhere near what I should, mostly due to being spoiled by the .223 M7. When I was competing in silhouette I had a .22LR built to mirror my match rifle(s) just for practice. I'd go through a couple hundred rounds a month on miniature animal silhouettes with a timer to practice for matches. I need to get back to that type of practice, at least the .22LR would save time at the reloading bench.

Since you have primers and powder, you could put a WTB listing in the trading post for bullets. Another member here may just have what you need.

For the posters talking about trees and forests, there are none in the tundra. You are about the tree line.
I agree with above suggestion to see if you can buy more bullets to reload. IMHO it's imperative that you practice with the rig you'll be using for the hunt.

If you shoot something i have on hand ill.send you some bullets.

As to the question.......my answer is much the same as JMs
Max range for a shot from any position is directly related to how comfortable and practiced a person is IN those positions....also the particulars of the shot.

When i was in practice, and by that I mean actually hunting and shooting animals once or twice a week, anything inside of 200yds was plenty close enough for freehand as long as i could plant my feet. Id rarely even look for a rest inside of 100.
Now anything over 100yds I want to be sitting at the very least and 200yds+ i want to be supported.

Equally shooting moving targets is "instinctual" for me, if im shooting alot I have very little difficulty bringing the gun up and tumbling something, but when ive gone for a long stretch without practice, the distance and conditions ill shoot a moving target in shrink noticeably.

I hunt woodchucks with my big game rifles this time of year or practice with balloons tied to tree trunks and weeds for realistic woods practice. Balloons also help you gauge wind direction and speed. For me personally I try to keep off hand shots under 150 yards kneeling to 200-250 and use a rest at anything further when possible. 35 Whelen makes a mess of groundhogs, but I figure if I can hit them, big game is in serious trouble.

I'm a pretty average rifleman. I personally try to keep my shots at 200 yards or less. I'll extend that if everything is just right, but am pretty careful about fooling myself. I have a hard limit of 300 yards. That not only is due to my mediocre marksmanship, but also because I figure at the longer distances, things like unnoticed wind, the possibility of an animal moving as I squeeze the trigger, etc. start to play an unacceptably large role.

I probably use some variation of sitting for most field shots, with the "jackknife position" being a favorite. With a tight sling it gives me about 80% of the stability of a benchrest and is fairly quick to get into. Prone is a bit better for me, but most of my hunting is in the desert, so...no. I also get the wobbles pretty badly in kneeling, so almost never use it. I avoid standing like the plague, as I can't count on hitting anything further than about 50 yards with it. Likewise, I avoid taking shots at slowly moving animals unless I am closer than 100 yards or so, and won't try for a running animal unless I've already hit it.

Hope that helps!

D.B. Cooper said:

Wise philosophy. However, It's pretty exciting to aim ahead of a running caribou and see his head drop as he runs and then flip completely over, DRT.

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No doubt. My nightmare, though, is to see him run off with a foreleg flopping. You probably - in all seriousness - are a better rifleman than I am.

D.B. Cooper said:

This is rather enlightening. I need to invert my strategy. Instead of thinking in terms of matching a range to a position, I need to match a position to a range. Instead of saying "no offhand shots past 100," I need to shoot and shoot until I find the distance at which offhand is ineffective.

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Yes, what I was getting at in #2.

D.B. Cooper said:

Projectiles are unobtainium and loaded ammo is unobtainiun.

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If you can’t live fire, that limits you a bit in practice. If you are honest with yourself, you can practice dry fire from various positions and track your movement from intended aim point though.

There are also a few different laser training devices that would be useful in your case as well.

If I only had one shot and had no way to practice, I wouldn’t be thinking in terms of maximum in shot distance, rather minimus I could close the distance between me and the intended target.

D.B. Cooper said:

Don't get me started. That's my other problem I need to train for. Shooting while winded with an elevated heart rate.

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That you can train for by dry firing.

If your running 2 miles while hunting you’re doing it wrong. 50 yards oughta do it

A wise Rifleman takes full advantage of the sling and field expedient rest. Not talking about full NRA sling up, but at least a tight hasty wrap. For the latter, store bought bipod and sticks can be useful, as can packs, gear, even the shoulder of a buddy planted firmly on the ground. Be sure to test your zero with various FE rests, it can change. I live and hunt the woods, so I spend a significant amount of time practicing standing and kneeling with various improvised support using trees, brush and stumps.

Shooting under physical and mental pressure has been covered and is good stuff. Assuming you have access to wild lands, tote your 22 and practice the rifle version of the archers stumping, engaging beer cans, pine cones and other such targets from various positions.

Now the nuts and bolts. Offhand, I'm personally comfortable to 100 yards on deer. Sitting, kneeling, FE rest standing that feels relatively solid 200. Prone or fully supported or in a deerstand with shooting rail or sitting/kneeling with a solid FE rest, I'm confident to 300 in good conditions. I could push that further with practice if I felt the need. All of the above should be colored with the facts that I am an accomplished 3p and EIC shooter and use a rifle with plenty of horsepower to do the job. With any individual shot, it must feel right before I squeeze trigger.

Running game, always a controversial topic. I think it can be done ethically at relatively short ranges, under 100 yard's if the shooter is well practiced. In the case of running game, there is no such thing as too much gun.

9x56MS said:

If your running 2 miles while hunting you’re doing it wrong. 50 yards oughta do it

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I don't know. I duck-walk-squat-ran about 225 yards to line up on a cow moose, and just about when I had calmed down enough to shoot, my Dad shot the bull who'd just ditched her.

I do not shoot at moving game with single -projectile guns. Coyotes excepted, I don't care if I gut shoot them.

I don't recall shooting a big game animal while in a supported position, though I lined up on a bear once with the rifle on crossed sticks. (It was past legal shooting, so I had to let him go.)
From what I've seen of caribou hunting, learning to shoot from prone would be a good thing.