I finally used math!!

[greyling22]

I was hunting blackbuck antelope last weekend and missing my shots. Now, they were not good shots. 150-300 yds at sprinting antelope through the cedar trees of central/West Texas. The one I finally hit I caught in the pelvis. So I sat down to do some rough math about the lead I should have been giving these things.
Assuming my Grendel had a muzzle velocity of 2500fps, a 200yd shot will take about .2 seconds to Target.
Assuming an antelope runs 25mph, in that .2 seconds it will cover......6 FEET! holy moly. No wonder I was missing them. And probably a couple of the running pigs over the years as well.

If only my math teacher had written some more entertaining story problems over the years I might have paid more attention in class.

 

[Paul7]

A Pronghorn can run 60 mph.

 

[Fine Figure of a Man]

Shooting at running game up to 300 yards away through timber with no idea of the lead required. Yes, those were bad shots.
http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

 

[Bfh_auto]

As a rule, I don't shoot running game unless it's pigs, coyotes or shotgun hunting rabbits.
The amount of lead you figured is my reason for not doing it.

 

[wombat13]

The lead required even on a whitetail at 100 yards is surprising. 3,000 fps out of my .300WM means 0.1 seconds to cover 100 yards. In that time a deer running 20 mph moves 3 feet.

Are you sure your math above is correct? 2500 fps MV will take 0.24 seconds to cover 200 yards (600/2,500). 25 mph equals 36.7 fps (25 x 5,280 / 3,600), so the antelope would cover 8.8 feet (36.7 x 0.24). And all of this ignores that the bullet is slowing over that range. Also, at that range it could be easy to misjudge the angle which would affect the lead (calculations are based on right angle, worst case).

 

[WestKentucky]

6 ft of terrain covered isn’t the only problem. Animals change altitude as they take off as well. Ask any archery hunter. .2 second is plenty time for an animal to have that “oh sugar honey iced tea” thought followed by the instinctual slump as they plant their feet hard and launch into an instant sprint. So you have standing/walking/trotting animal then you suddenly drop a foot or so and rise 2 ft or more during the launch to sprint. Your shot may have been (but probably not) been well led but not properly timed for the vertical changes of the animals gait. For that situation your shooting into a void hoping that the animal gets in the bullets way. For a critter on the move, that’s a whole lot of variables... and a target roughly 1/4 sq ft in an area of about 12 sq ft. With sheer luck you had a 2 percent chance of a kill shot. Practice would improve that to an extent, but not significantly.

 

[Highland Lofts]

I pass on running game. I want one shot/one kill.
I have found plenty of dead deer that others have gut shot over the years. What a waste of life for the animal wounded to run off and die to rot.

 

[greyling22]

The lead required even on a whitetail at 100 yards is surprising. 3,000 fps out of my .300WM means 0.1 seconds to cover 100 yards. In that time a deer running 20 mph moves 3 feet.

Are you sure your math above is correct? 2500 fps MV will take 0.24 seconds to cover 200 yards (600/2,500). 25 mph equals 36.7 fps (25 x 5,280 / 3,600), so the antelope would cover 8.8 feet (36.7 x 0.24). And all of this ignores that the bullet is slowing over that range. Also, at that range it could be easy to misjudge the angle which would affect the lead (calculations are based on right angle, worst case).

No, my math was done in the dirt next to the atv. It is approximate, and I think I based it off 20 mph at the time. Still, if you had asked me I would have told you the 2' lead I was giving the critter was big plenty.

 

[trapperjohn]

I think game animals deserve better treatment than this.

 

[Laphroaig]

That reminds me of a talk I had with my Dad years ago. He recounted a story about that topic discussed with his friends when he was much younger. One of his buddies thought that you should lead a running whitetail by a "jeep".

Now that's a WWII era Willys not a 4 door Wrangler. I never forgot that!

 

[Jack Ryan]

Shooting at running game up to 300 yards away through timber with no idea of the lead required. Yes, those were bad shots.
http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

Wonder what those bullets DID hit?

 

[Jack Ryan]

No, my math was done in the dirt next to the atv. It is approximate, and I think I based it off 20 mph at the time. Still, if you had asked me I would have told you the 2' lead I was giving the critter was big plenty.

May be you should try golf.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I pass on running game. I want one shot/one kill.

Since I use a flintlock, that's my only method option.

I have read, Theodore S. Van Dyke's Still Hunting. (IIRC) Van Dyke talks about shooting at running game, but (again iirc) he would judge where the buck was going to land after one of its many "bounds" as it ran, and he'd line up his sights at that estimated location. As the deer arrived at that spot he had only to slightly adjust and squeeze off the round. His rifle was essentially "stopped" rather than trying to swing it and to gauge the movement speed of his quarry at the same time, and to match that.

Not that I would be doing that with anything other than birdshot on a flying bird or dashing rabbit.

LD

 

[gspn]

No, my math was done in the dirt next to the atv. It is approximate, and I think I based it off 20 mph at the time. Still, if you had asked me I would have told you the 2' lead I was giving the critter was big plenty.

Well you're on the right track. Many people never stop to think about these things. Now is the time for you to stop and really consider shots on running game. It's not fair to the animal to do a bunch of "guess work" on them, though I'm certain many do that over the course of many years. You've had your "eye opening" moment. Now sit down and do some research. Learn about your ammo, about your prey, about ballistics, etc. Spend time thinking about the topics and researching them until you have adequate answers to all of your questions; and you should have many questions along the way. This research may lead you to become a much better shot on running game, or it may lead you to not take any shots at running game at all. The important thing to come from this process is knowledge. Knowledge is one of the things that can make you a very proficient, and dangerous predator.

Also, consider this; sometimes knowing when not to shoot produces the wisest decision. The best hunters I know, know when to not shoot. They don't miss shots simply because they know what a good shot looks like before they ever pull the trigger. All of this comes from knowledge and experience, which are easy enough to attain for those who look.

I'm glad you found a moment of clarity, and I hope you exploit it to it's fullest potential.

 

[BigBore44]

You won’t find a lot of support for shooting at running medium/big game here. It’s great you made the effort to do the math. But there’s a much bigger and important lesson to learn in this thread. And we hope you take heed of it.