What Is The Maximum Distance That You Would Attempt A Shot

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Master of Arms

Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2008
Messages
336
I was just wondering if I could get an average from the members of THR .

What is the maximum distance that you would attempt a shot on a deer sized animal?


This is while using your choice of high powered rifles.:D
Please explain what caliber that you would be using.
 
Distance from the rifle isn't nearly as important to me as distance from nearest vehicle access. I don't want to drag anything more than about 50 yards. I'm lazy - that's why I don't hunt anymore :)
 
Assuming I couldn't get closer, I would shoot to 300 yards with no problem. Anything more than that and I would have to take more into consideration, but wouldn't shoot past 500 yards.

But since most shots for me are under 200 yards I don't have to worry about taking long shots.
 
Double Tap .308 200gr load would be good for about 600m point target by me. I wouldnt go much further than that - I didnt go to counter sniper school like some of my buddies lol.
 
You never "have" to take a long shot. I don't want to start anything, and I am categorically NOT saying all long shots are unsportsmanlike, but many of them are. Integrity is what you do when no-one is watching. It isn't fair to the game to attempt a shot you don't have a very high probability of making. That's why they call them "long shots."
 
Fella's;

In the fall of 2002 I took an antelope at a lasered 470 yards with my .30-06. What's the longest range I'd attempt a shot? Don't know, I'd rather make a sucessful shot.

900F
 
I went on a groundhog hunt last month and I made kills (head shots actually) @ 460yds. So, on a deer sized animal, I wouldn't be afraid to make a shot to 700yds or more, maybe as far as 900-1,000yds if conditions were right. I would use a Savage Model 12 and ammo that I knew the ballistics well (Hornady for example)
 
Depends on the position possible. I'm basing this on .308.

Standing with some time to steady the shot--200 most of the time, less if I'm out of breath.

Sitting--300-350 but only if I'm confident of the range estimate.

Bellied-up with a steady rest, same as sitting if I'm not positive of range, 500 if I am, like a laser reading, known landmarks, or scope ranging based on experience.

Beyond 500, it's not getting the hit that concerns me, it's the retained downrange energy. IIRC, some common hunting rounds hit with only 600-700 ft-lbs at 600 yards, a distance where I can shoot inside a 12-inch circle 80+% of the time, but a 50-yard ranging error also makes a BIG difference in POImpact.
 
I will say this:

The difference between a hunter and a marksman is that a marksman gets far away from his target and tries to hit it. A hunter gets as close as he can to his target and tries not to miss.

In other words, it's not a piece of posterboard we're talking about, it's a living breathing animal. A hunter should only take shots he knows he and his equipment are capable of.
For me and the rifle I currently use to hunt with, I won't shoot past about 100 yds, because I know that even with glasses my eyes are no longer capable of making trustworthy shots out past that distance with the type of sights on that particular rifle. I can hit paper targets out past that distance, don't get me wrong, but my grouping opens up, and I wouldn't trust my eyes and those sights to give me good humane kills out very far.

I just bought an M1A though, and the sights work incredibly well in comparison. I will probably be able to at least double my range with it. The difference is that dramatic. I'll still have to spend some range time and put some rounds downrange to see where my limitations will be in terms of taking deer.

Jason
 
Metal plate... would try to about 1000-1500 meters...

Probably with a decent LR Rifle in .260/6.5x47/6.5 Creedmore/.300WM/.338 LPM

Living animal..... No go...
Have nothing against hunting. In fact would like to hunt... but the general equipment I have makes it not realistic.

I am not lugging a 18-20 lb rifle across fields...

If I did hunt it would be with a 12 GA which would mean a top distance of 50 meters.
 
Rather then say "I would shoot a deer at xxx number of yards", a better question would be>

How far will my bullet still expand as designed, and cause a humain kill?

Most hunting bullets won't perform right, way before a deer size animal is too far away to hit & wound them occasionally.

rcmodel
 
It really depends on where you're hunting and making sure you can follow all 4 of the rules, especially the one that says "Be sure of your target and what's beyond it." Theoretically, I'd be confident of a hit at anything out to 400 yards if the animal presented properly. If I weren't comfortable with the safety of the shot(regardless of whether or not I felt I could make the hit) I wouldn't take it at 50 yards.

Methinks this one is going to turn into another internet chest thumping competition, so I'll bow out now.
 
Two hundred yards, and probably 150 or less. I hunt in fear of making a bad shot, and would rather try again later than fail because of haste or pushing my limits.
 
At a monster buck, as long as I could still see him. I'd be shooting my 300 winmag with ammo I have tested and found the dopes for so I'm not throwing rocks in the night, I'm taking an educated guess with a mil dot reticle. Knowing the range and where to hold at that range is the only way to reliably hit a target.

Currently I would have no doubts about hitting deer sized game at 700 yards. I shot the same target (gong) at 850 yards and had a much harder time hitting it, so I get the feeling more load development is needed for longer shots, as well as a class or two.
 
I was a sniper for a bit. I took my rifle hunting and took a deer at 325 yards. Walking to the deer I realized that I wasn't hunting, I was sniping. I sold all my modern hunting guns and now hunt with guns of the type used in the late 1800s. I normally use a lever action rifle but have even taken deer and pigs with a Colt SAA. It's more fun and I have more pride in how I took the game rather than how many points or how big it might be.
 
My comfort stops at 500. Past that, if I can't get any closer (and out where I hunt this does happen), I deerwatch instead of deerhunt.

I try my darndest to get within 200 and can often do so, but not always.

Edit:

I love going to Mississippi every year. Shots less than 50 yards. Those things called trees.
 
Distance from the rifle isn't nearly as important to me as distance from nearest vehicle access. I don't want to drag anything more than about 50 yards. I'm lazy - that's why I don't hunt anymore
Click to expand...

My buddy got a nice sized sow. Shot was about 20 yards.

But we were over 1 mile from the truck and no vehicle access. Sow ended up weighing 180 dressed. That was a really long mile...
 
if I am not sure I can drop the animal in its tracks, I wont shoot. I am not starving, nor paying thousands for an out of state moose tag, etc.

200 yards is about the limit for me. I like them much closer.

Frankly, the last deer I shot was about 65 yards out, and dropped like a sack of taters to a 150gr soft point from the .30-30.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
Maximum range for DPMS .308 SASS.
Replies
6
Views
2K
cchurchi
C
M
  • Locked
at what distance does a .223 become = a 22lr?
Replies
13
Views
2K
jbech123
J
S
  • Locked
Longest distance did you ever shot regardless of caliber??
2 3 4 5
Replies
123
Views
5K
Auburn1992
A
sarduy
  • Locked
deer distance?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
CCP
C
J
  • Locked
What would you pick for a "sniper" rifle?
2 3 4
Replies
87
Views
8K
Art Eatman
A
Back
Top