elevation change and brush

[flatsticks]

Was out hunting yesterday and we saw some deer in the field which is 300 yards from where we were to where the deer where.

Buck came out of the woods and I took a shot through a treeline that had some limbs in it.

Took my shot with the 6.5 creemoor and my Dad seems to think I hit it.

The buck and doe trotted off into the woods .

The doe came out into the field but the buck would not ,move any further than 10 yards from the woods , we watched him foralmost 30 minutes before taking the shot.

We walked down to the site where the buck stood and the surronding area no blood at all or fur.

Went though the woods 150 yards left right and deeper into the cover , never saw anything .

Fom the reaction of the deer I was thinking a miss , maybe I hit one of the linbs 75 yards aways on the treeline betweem me an the deer ?

I figure the drop from point a to point b is 15 feet .

How much of a factor is the elevation change at 300 yards ?

 

[jmr40]

Assuming you have a 100 yard zero somewhere around 14" low at 300. It would vary somewhat depending on the exact load.

maybe I hit one of the linbs 75 yards aways on the treeline betweem me an the deer ?

That's a real possibility.

 

[flatsticks]

The zero on the 6.5 creedmor is at 104 yards . the cold bore shot is usually 1/2 inch high at 104 yards . the load is peterson brass h4350 little over 40 gr and Berger 135 classic hunter bullets.

Heading back tomorrow trying to figure out what went wrong , going to try and hang out in the woods on the top of the field so I dont have to shoot through the limbs again .

Still shooting down hill and the yardage would be about 50-75 yards less depending on where they are standing .

 

[jmr40]

If you're zeroed at 100 yards the bullet won't be more than 1" above, or below your line of sight from the muzzle out to about 130-150 yards. At 50-75 yards you'll be a fraction of an inch low, not enough to even think about. Good luck.

 

[.308 Norma]

I figure the drop from point a to point b is 15 feet .

How much of a factor is the elevation change at 300 yards ?

If you're asking what I think you're asking, 15 feet difference in elevation over 300 yards doesn't amount to a "hill of beans" (pun intended) ballistically.
If you did miss, hitting an unseen tree limb sounds like more of a possibility to me. It doesn't take much of a tree limb to deflect a bullet.

 

[buck460XVR]

If you're asking what I think you're asking, 15 feet difference in elevation over 300 yards doesn't amount to a "hill of beans" (pun intended) ballistically.
If you did miss, hitting an unseen tree limb sounds like more of a possibility to me. It doesn't take much of a tree limb to deflect a bullet.

^^^This. I would think wind would be more of a factor than that minimal amount of elevation. Could have been a branch or a pulled shot.

 

[flatsticks]

Went back to that area yesterday and took up a spot in the woods across from where the deer where the last time I was there . range finders says 100 yards closer shot and no branches in the way . figured I hit a branch going through the treeline or maybe not enough hold to compensate for the 300 yard drop. im my eyes the 15 foot drop did not seem like all that much to worry about just wanted to be sure I was not missing anything .
Good news I like the new spot better bad news did not see any deer yesterday . hoping to get out a couple more times this week . thanks for the thoughts everybody ,

 

[Thomasss]

There are too many variables to come up with a decent answer. For example, you say there is a 15' drop between a and b. Where you in a tree stand 15' off the ground or were you on the ground and there's a gradual decline or maybe a sharp decline between you and the target? The 135 Berger Classic is usually loaded faster at 2800 fps. Hornady manual has you near or under 2600 fps using a substitute 130 grn. Interbond. You could get a better idea on your trajectory by running some numbers through Hornady's ballistic calculator. You may want check your rings and bases for tightness and go back to the range and replicate shooting conditions for temperature and humidity.

 

[flatsticks]

The drop was from being on the ground from one field to the next . dont have a chrono to see how fast the bullet is going . trying to finda freind who has one to use . looking at the berger site and using even a slower number seemed to give me a good idea on the drop . really think I hit a limb causing the bullet to go offline. Like your idea of going range and replicate tht shot , mine is only 100 yards though. going to look for a longer range in my area and shoot some longer distance to get a real good idea how much that drop is there for the most part. May go up a little on elevation and sight it in for 200 since most of our shots seem to be in the 100 to 300 range at the farm. going to talk to the farmer about fixing the targets that he put up a while back they need some tlc . not useable at the moment