Furthest hunting shots?

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longest shot

The longest shot I ever made on a deer was 95 paces with a 20" rifled bbl. 12 ga Ithaca deerslayer and copper solid sabots.

Most of the other deer I've taken ( about 40 ) have been with a Rem pump .06 from about 25 yds to about 75 yds. or a bow out to about 25 yds.

I did win a Savage 300 Win mag and just ordered some reloading stuff for it. If I feel lucky, I may venture out to 150 or so. :)

Nice shooting on some of that long range stuff, gentlemen.
 
Whats the furthest shot you'd be comfortable taking with your rifle on medium-large sized game?


I'd go to 300 with a solid rest. Without a solid rest, 150 would probably be my limit. I realize that many are better, but as Harry Calahan said, "A man's got to know his limitations."

What about with an open sighted gun?

I won't hunt with an open sighted rifle. I realize that many still like the irons, but it's not my cup of tea. I am going to be giving it a whirl this year with a Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Colt with open sights. My limit will be about 40 yds, as that's as far as I can keep my groups tight enough to satisfy me.

What caliber/power scope?

The rifle I'm speaking of is a bolt action .30-06 with a Leupold 3x9x40.
 
I'm the areas I hunt one place might have a 50yd max shot where 200yds away it might be out to as far as you feel capable. By and far most of the shots I take on critters are in the range measured in feet as I go into the thick stuff after feral hogs with revolvers. I'm not really mad at the deer anymore, but the hogs, well they are top of my seek and destroy list.

That said, I do practice shooting out to 350yds on a pretty regular basis. When I do I usually start off form the bench them move on to field positions where I am utilizing my knees and elbows as rest. I also am a VERY firm believer in the Harris bi-pods and use them when I can.

I am very comfortable shooting deer or hogs out to 400yds, with the appropriate rifle, and in excellent conditions. IF things are even iffy I simply walk on down the road. With my revolvers and open sights I am good out to 50 with most and to 100 with others, but then again the situation and conditions will dictate the shot.

My furtherest deer was taken at a bit over 400yds with my 25-06 and a load which I have been shooting almost since I got it. The conditions were perfect, no wind, and sun from my back illuminating the target. The deer was observed for over half an hour and was simply standing and feeding on acorns under the edge of a big oak, in the middle of a pasture.

With my TC in 7x30 Waters I took a 287yd shot on a doe after nearly a two hour spot and stalk, which is clearly one of my most fond hunts to have been on. The range was lasered and she also was standing broadside feeding under some pin oaks. I knew the load and at the shot she simply jumped straight up and collapsed in a heap. The 140gr Nosler BT did an awesome job of taking out all vitals and the offside shoulder as it exited.

I personally do not have an issue with folks who put in the time and effort to learn their rifle/handgun and their loads. I do however feel that too much emphasis has been put on the so called "premium" bullets being able to preform miracles, and all one need to do is hit the animal from any direction and it is down. I have way more tolerance for someone shooting deer with a known load and rifle, than one who purchased the premium ammo and shoots any game animal from a less than good angle hoping that the bullet will drive through to the vitals like someone on a forum suggested it would. These same folks who usually tout the premium bullets and raking shots from ham to ear hole, are usually the same ones who are first to condemn someone for shooting beyond some magical range limit that they feel comfortable with, as being unethical.

Don't get me wrong, there is a place for premium type bullets, and I use them myself, but I do not rely on them to go from a-hole to appetite and do the job. I still put them through both shoulders and/or the vitals, or simply I do not shoot period. Like I said in the beginning, I'm not as mad at the deer family as I once was, but even so, now like then, I still wait until the shot needed can be taken, or it doesn't get taken at all.
 
I have played the long range shooting game for years, even before shows like Best of the West, Long Range Pursuit, etc. came along. I burn out barrels with regularity, shoot thousands of rounds a summer at p-dogs over 500 yards, and I have killed a lot of game animals over 400 yards. However, I honestly believe the long range shooting crowd are sending the wrong message to the masses.

Now, to answer the question, with a half MOA rifle of appropriate caliber, a near zero wind value, and a one MOA wobble zone, I am comfortable shooting a long way at big game, but I don't shoot much beyond 400 yards.

My primary rifle is a custom 7mm Rem Mag with a 5.5-22 Nightforce scope. My back up/lighter weight rifle is a semi-custom 6.5-284 with a 6.5-20 Zeiss scope with target turrets.
 
harceypervin

LOL! You would definitely have a few head shots under ur belt by day's end.
 
Here's what u should be able to do at long distance: 400-4" 500-5"" 600-6" 700-6" 800-6" 900-6" 1000-6". See the trend?
Does that mean you can hold a 6" group on whitetails at 1050 and 6" on "rag heads" at 1500? :eek:
 
My 270 has taken both moose and deer to 400 yards. it is a Remington 700 BDL with a 3-9 scope. The load I used is a 140 grain Hornady interlock boat tail. it expanded well and has good sectional density. On the moose it was recovered in the far rib cage so passed thru the entire chest cavity. Having said this, 80% of my deer and moose were taken under 150 yards.
 
ankeny

Yes it does. At 1050 I can nail a target or deer 9 times out of ten. In favorable conditions I have pulled 4" at 1000. For shooting at 1500 yds there's a lot to take into account. I've managed an 8" group at 1500 and a 12" at 1760. Doping wind is the hardest thing to do out past 1000. It could be dead calm where I'm at and change direction 4x on the way out there. That's what my 208 amaxs are for. I can't elaborate on the head shot thing, but long story short, I've pulled the trigger on a few less than friendly targets at distances up to 1580 approximately. Body shots are good too if u want, but head shots are the stuff legends are made of. I use the 300wsm and 300 win mag exclusively now for their ability to put my 210 and 208 gr bullets to good use. With enough practice, handloading, and good training, just about anyone can be tuned into a great shot. I currently use a gap 300wsm, savage 12 vlp 300wsm, and a surgeon scalpel in 300win mag. For optics I use US OPTICS. 3.8-22x58 30mm tubes and on the savage I have a millett 6-25x56. All of the guns I mentioned are capable of 3/8 moa at 1000 when I do my part. I generally run 190smk, 208 amax, 210 sierras and 210 vlds. The gap and surgeon rifles are my gifts to myself and the savage is my attempt to find a credible rifle/scope combo that will shoot a mile accurately for under $2k. So far it has exceeded expectations. Back to the questions on the groups. I said 6" roughly for up to 1000 yards simply cause that's far enough to shoot a deer responsibly. After that its just luck for most people unless ur shooting a 338lm. I figure anyone who can put together 6" groups at 1000 will be able to kill at that distance. So, however far u can pull 6" groups, that's how far u can responsibly kill game. If u do try for game that far away, please select the bullets carefully!! 1500yard shots should be reserved for targets unless ur occupation requires u to do so. Head and chest shots on a human at 1500 with a 210 gr carry about 1000lbs of energy so its more than enough to get the job done. On deer however, THE MAIN REASON NOT TO TAKE EXTREMELY LONG SHOTS IS FINDING THE DAMN ANIMAL! ! LOL!! Its very tough to find a buck that has run 100yds after ur 1000yd shot. Be safe and shoot within ur limitations. Above all, be responsible.
 
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10 FT
Charging boar with a Ruger Old Army one handed.

That was after a 35 Yard .50 Cal hit through the a lung.
Wish I had pictures, but crappy digital camera got trashed out in the swamps. =(
 
the above has little to do with hunting

You are correct. In fact it has almost nothing to do with reality. If one reads up on 1000 yd. benchrest shooting and the size groups they typically shoot from a BENCH, then smell of BS wafting through these posts becomes quite noticeable.

35W
 
You are correct. In fact it has almost nothing to do with reality. If one reads up on 1000 yd. benchrest shooting and the size groups they typically shoot from a BENCH, then smell of BS wafting through these posts becomes quite noticeable.

Someone please fetch me some deodorizer :)
 
The f-class x ring is 5" (1/2 moa) at 1000 yards. Difficult shots for inexperienced people usually do sound impossible. The world record group at 1000 is about 3". My personal shots at long distance at targets and deer were for my own personal satisfaction, not to brag. The whole point of telling what I did is to inform someone what is possible. For those who can't see past the end of ur noses on the long range issue, please keep it to yourself. The whole point is to defunct the idea of taking extremely long range shots irresponsibly. I have at numerous times, hit 3.5-4" at 1000 from the prone position off a bipod. At 1500 the best group I had measured 8" outside to outside from prone off a bipod. 1mile is the same story except I'm aiming at a 2'x2' square target. The problem at a mile is the bullets sometimes destabilize and keyhole. For u two who seem to do more reading than doin, please look up the positions of f-class shooters.
 
The f-class x ring is 5" (1/2 moa) at 1000 yards. Difficult shots for inexperienced people usually do sound impossible. The world record group at 1000 is about 3". My personal shots at long distance at targets and deer were for my own personal satisfaction, not to brag. The whole point of telling what I did is to inform someone what is possible. For those who can't see past the end of ur noses on the long range issue, please keep it to yourself. The whole point is to defunct the idea of taking extremely long range shots irresponsibly. I have at numerous times, hit 3.5-4" at 1000 from the prone position off a bipod. At 1500 the best group I had measured 8" outside to outside from prone off a bipod. 1mile is the same story except I'm aiming at a 2'x2' square target. The problem at a mile is the bullets sometimes destabilize and keyhole. For u two who seem to do more reading than doin, please look up the positions of f-class shooters.

I'm quite familiar with F-Class and FYI, the 1000 yard benchrest record is 1.4" and some change. And I do understand long range shooting to some extent as I shoot High Power and even have a 600 yd. range here at the house with a scaled (36") gong complete with scoring rings. Of course I've only shot it with open sights as per HP rules.

I guess I have a difficult time understanding how you telling of your purported extremely long range shots and tiny groups at extended ranges is supposed to "defunct the idea of taking extremely long range shots irresponsibly.". It's sounds more like you're condoning them.

35W
 
I myself hold the line at deer at 250 yards and now days then and only then he would probably be a trophy very worthy of the try.
My longest shot was lasered at 244 yards using an 18.5 barreled Remington Mohawk in .308 with a Leupold VX-1 2x7 scope mounted on it.
It was a classic heart shot that had that buck make a mighty leap and then he fell dead.
In all honesty for the sake of the deer I prefer my shots to be under 125 yards.
In fact the biggest buck I have ever killed(scored 151 B.C. and 13 points) was at 120 yards with my little Remington 600 6mm.
A lot of guys wound deer every year trying for shots they are really not good enough to be trying.
 
whelen

Benchrest isn't the same thing as f class. I don't condone extremely long shots except by those who can make them with consistency. Thus the statement about bullets and equipment. Someone who buys a gun off the shelf and a normal box of ammo with regular optics has a snowballs chance in hell of a kill at long range. Handloading and precision equipment is a must along with TONS of practice at long range. I did my time hunting people, and shooting f class and extreme long range so I think I'm in a position to give advice on the subject. As I said on another post, don't try it if u don't have the skill to do it regularly. If u wanna learn how, I can help. People are too often up in arms against people that do things out of their personal comfort zones. To say a person is full of BS without knowing where they come from is a true sign of ignorance. I don't care how much time u spend posting over shooting. For all those guys that are taking shots in their comfort zones, there's no crime in that. For the most part, were all just trying to be good sportsmen and help others. That's the whole point of hunting anyway.
 
Sorry there Outlaw but I am in complete and total disagreement with you on this. It is not about my own personal comfort zone. It is about being a true sportsman and ETHICS. The animals we hunt deserve the fastest, most ethical kill we, as SPORTSMEN, can deliver. I do not give a tinkers damn how much time one spends at the range, you can NOT predict an animals movement at long range. An Elk feeding can and will take a step at any given time and there is absolutely no way that you can predict that movement. Even with that huge kill zone, that one single step would mean a gut shot. That one cross wind that you didn't see halfway between you and the animal would mean a gut shot. F class doesn't mean a damn thing in the field. And as far as my skill set, lets just say that I am by far NOT just an internet commando. I have been in the woods hunting critters since I was fresh out of diapers and can guarantee you that my range time is more than sufficient to shoot well beyond 600 yards but I choose NOT to for the sake of the animal itself. I meat hunt. I could care less about a rack. I hunt to be close to nature as THAT is what it is all about. And on a side note, bragging about "hunting humans" is not high road. There are a great many of us that are either current or ex-military and I am sure that I speak for the majority here when I say we do not appreciate the way you are putting that. Taking a human life, even in the service of your country, is not something to brag about or even pat yourself on the back about. It is something that many of us have had to do and I am sure it weighs heavily on them as well as it does me.
 
Freedom fighter...

Sorry there Outlaw but I am in complete and total disagreement with you on this. It is not about my own personal comfort zone. It is about being a true sportsman and ETHICS. The animals we hunt deserve the fastest, most ethical kill we, as SPORTSMEN, can deliver. I do not give a tinkers damn how much time one spends at the range, you can NOT predict an animals movement at long range. An Elk feeding can and will take a step at any given time and there is absolutely no way that you can predict that movement. Even with that huge kill zone, that one single step would mean a gut shot. That one cross wind that you didn't see halfway between you and the animal would mean a gut shot. F class doesn't mean a damn thing in the field. And as far as my skill set, lets just say that I am by far NOT just an internet commando. I have been in the woods hunting critters since I was fresh out of diapers and can guarantee you that my range time is more than sufficient to shoot well beyond 600 yards but I choose NOT to for the sake of the animal itself. I meat hunt. I could care less about a rack. I hunt to be close to nature as THAT is what it is all about. And on a side note, bragging about "hunting humans" is not high road. There are a great many of us that are either current or ex-military and I am sure that I speak for the majority here when I say we do not appreciate the way you are putting that. Taking a human life, even in the service of your country, is not something to brag about or even pat yourself on the back about. It is something that many of us have had to do and I am sure it weighs heavily on them as well as it does me.

Please don't take my words in the wrong context. I often refer to it as such for the simple fact that my tasks were simply that. I have the most respect for our infantry and all lower ranks for that matter. CS duties tend to make one numb to certain feelings. If I have offended anyone else, please accept my apologies. Not everyone deals with the effects of being in those situations, the way I have, and I don't expect them to. Our service men and women are taking on a faceless enemy right now on his own turf. I pray daily for everyone's loved ones who are stationed all over the world for this purpose.
I didn't mean to make it sound like I'm patting my back for what I've done, so calm yourself soldier. I've more days staring down the tube at another guy trying to find me than I'd like to remember. "Hunting humans", is probably a little brash, but judging by the actions taken against many of our own brothers in arms qualifies them as less than such.
The whole point of mentioning that in this post is to compare the movements of a human to game animals. We are very unpredictable and so is a game animal. I totally agree with the possible gut shot that you mentioned. We do owe it to the animal for a humane, and quick death. 99.9% of the time I will give that to whatever I'm hunting. On occassion, I do like to test myself just as a form of practice. It's pretty much a null point, but I do tend to encourage people who want to expand their own abilities. I see no reason to not help someone who is dedicated to learning a skill such as long range shooting.
 
I set a max range for me of 400 yards and that has to be great conditions. I want to be sure the animal is what I want to shoot at and that takes a bit of time too beyound 200 yards if in a new clear cut or grass field it can be hard to tell a single big doe or a nice fat yearling with out time to size it up and good glass or if that big doe is really a butt head or spike buck at distance's at 400 yards from a shooting blind, pod or stands.

I use a good range finder. Good binos and I have my scope set so I am never over 3"high to 6" low out to 400 yards with my 7mm mag and I can do that with my 7mm mag and don't have to touch the scope at all.I have made 1 shot at 385 yards and one at around 395 yards. most tend to be 30 to 200 yards.

Darn sure ain't the same thing as shooting at set disatnce and dialing in a scope.. We use to play out to 1000 yards and thats fine ,not for hunting with out some special equipment and training at useing it. And still shot a small deer. See a deer and think or screw up and believe the distance is 500 yards and it turns out to be 560 yards and you hit nothing.

I have known some guys that made great long shots and hit a bami's or yearl'ns at longer distance's some that killed great animals and not sure what they hit.
 
1,000 yards...hunting...not a match so you don't get sighters. Misjudge the wind by 2mph or get 1:00 and 12:30 mixed up on a 5mph breeze mixed up and you're out of the kill zone. Not fair to the amimal. I know a guy at work that shoots his savage 99 .300 at 700 yards and kills en every time. Yup.
 
Does anyone here have the (self included) have the slightest idea of the terminal behavior of a bullets 1000 yds. and beyond? I'm constantly reading/hearing of people shooting game at absurd ranges with nary a mention of how well the bullet did.
I think it goes without saying that to shoot anything at over 600 yds. or so requires a very high quality, high B.C. bullet...in other words a match hollow point. Match hollow points are not game bullets and never were intended to be. The same bullet that will stand up to the uber velocities of your fire belching magnum when it hits a deer at 100 yds., will likely not open at all at several hundred yards.
Stuff no one ever mentions in their blovating about their 1/2 mile kills...or attempts to kill.

35W

35W
 
At 1000 yards with a 190smk fired at 3000 fps the velocity falls to 1470 fps and impacts with 1000 ft/lbs. This bullet goes subsonic about 1350 at this velocity is still carrying 500 ft lbs. The 208 amax and 210 vlds and sierras are even better.
 
At 1000 yards with a 190smk fired at 3000 fps the velocity falls to 1470 fps and impacts with 1000 ft/lbs. This bullet goes subsonic about 1350 at this velocity is still carrying 500 ft lbs. The 208 amax and 210 vlds and sierras are even better.

Nice math, but you didn't address my post regarding the terminal performance of match bullets on game and neither math nor energy figures humanely kill game.

From the Sierra website:
"[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Can I use a MatchKing bullet for deer hunting? They shoot just great in my rifle, so they should be just super for hunting use, right? [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]No, it's not recommended. The MatchKing bullets are designed for pinpoint accuracy; with no consideration given to what might happen after impact. If the bullet has arrived on target accurately, its job is done at that point. Hunting bullets must perform in a certain manner after impact. Penetrating ability, expansion characteristics, and even profile must be considered when designing a hunting bullet. Use MatchKings for matches, and game bullets for hunting."[/FONT]



All the super accurate bullets you mention are target bullets, NOT hunting bullets.

35W
 
At those speeds the bullet will expand better than at 400 yards. Besides that, the size of the bullet vs speed = heavy impact. U are correct that match bullets aren't designed for this but I've cut a Berger vld hunting bullet in half and its not constructed any different than the match bullet. It also has the same heat tolerance so that tells me the metals all the same.
 
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