My thought's on long-range hunting and shooting

[Wild Bill IV]

Practice is key,I had the opportunity to go to Alaska with a cop buddy ,he's a millionaire many times over since his wife is a prominent physician. Now i didn't hunt only shot several foxes and coyotes when time permitted, he was after brown bear, he practiced relentlessly and was a crack shot in his younger days he was on the swat team and knew his stuff.The guide insisted no shots should be taken beyond 200 yards, however after failing to get closer than 400 yards from a real decent bear after a three day stalk , my buddy told the guide I paid $20k i'll shoot when I feel I can make the shot. Well he did at a hair north of 400 yards,338 Win Mag 225 grain SST superformance Hornady.The bear dropped after a 100 yard stumbling sprint. No one has ever taken a bear at that range under that guide.He's going back in 25 again.Practice makes perfect usually with good equipment.This bear was killed with one well placed shot.

I'm with you!! I practice at the range for fine tuning shooting skills and check the accuracy of the rifle and loads!! Then, apply real world shooting skills by prairie dog hunting with the big game rifles at varying distances!! Use the scopes graduated reticle as a range finder! No since carrying a range finder when the scope can measure the animal!!! First Focal Point scopes are great range finders!! If I can cleaning kill a prairie dog at max effective range and shorter, big game would be no problem since their vitals are much larger!! I practice a lot in the field with big game rifles and reloads!!! I don't leave the varmint guns at home either!! They are a blast!! Literally!!!!

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

Having hunted on a private ranch for over two decades in Humboldt/ Trinity area ..ca.. there were places if you shot a buck it had better be a good one or you wouldn't have help getting out of the hxxl hole.
In the oaks I preferred an 1886, open country 7 mag, and the only buck I ever crippled was one huge guy I tried to shoot behind the shoulder. He survived w bad leg

Hi neighbor!

These days hunting in the Humbolt/Shasta/Trinity area can be a bit intimidating...where the hunter is actually the hunted...but weed is growing all over CA these days, just be careful.

I have a friend I went to high school with who lives on the Eel river...CA mountains are special to me...You know, in A zone we can buy deer tags over the counter since the fires. I really want a bear though...would like to have a rug before I die...

 

[LHSmith]

I will say this. I have no problem with anyone taking a shot at ANY distance, do it at 2 mile if you like. I only ask one simple request. If you hit an animal and don't kill it, you had better be prepared to track that animal down until you find it. So if you like to take shots at 1000 yards, you only have 1000 yards to make up on a wounded/running animal.

You do not always get blood, let alone a blood trail- especially at longer distances. Yet the wound will eventually prove fatal. I'd be willing to bet trekking that first 1000 yards will discourage most hunters from resorting to bloodless tracking for more than a few hundred additional yards. Some animals don't even show a sign of being hit causing some hunters to neglect any followup.

 

[ohlongarmisle]

You do not always get blood, let alone a blood trail- especially at longer distances. Yet the wound will eventually prove fatal. I'd be willing to bet trekking that first 1000 yards will discourage most hunters from resorting to bloodless tracking for more than a few hundred additional yards. Some animals don't even show a sign of being hit causing some hunters to neglect any followup.

The Alaskan brown in the pictures I took , had zero blood trail,all the blood was soaked up before hitting the ground by the thick fur.

 

[Konocti's Wigwam]

You do not always get blood, let alone a blood trail- especially at longer distances. Yet the wound will eventually prove fatal. I'd be willing to bet trekking that first 1000 yards will discourage most hunters from resorting to bloodless tracking for more than a few hundred additional yards. Some animals don't even show a sign of being hit causing some hunters to neglect any followup.

I think it really gets down to ethics for me.

As I have said, I don't have a problem with anyone taking game at any distance, just be ethical about it. I understand that an animal can get away, even if it dies from the shot, just that the hunter in this case should have enough ethics to at least give it a HUGE effort to track down and find that animal. Cameras are a big part of hunting these days. Being able to clearly see a target at 1000 yards after you have taken the first shot is going to be impossible for most. I just don't take that much video equipment with me. I think you only have about 1/2 second to get back on the target after firing.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

I’ve been long-range hunting (over 40 years) and have been a 1000-yard completive shooter for a number of years and winning a IBS/NBRSA national championship for 1000 yard score and two state championships for smallest group.



First off to be successful you must have excellent equipment to do the job, that’s fairly easy to do if you have the money to buy what is required. In my opinion the weakest link in the chain is the scope, buy the best you can afford, the rifle can sometimes be purchased of the shelf, manufactured by several commercial rifle makers. That being said in my opinion if you’re going to spend your hard-earned dollars, go to a qualified gun builder and have a custom barrel chambered in your favorite caliber. That will take care of part of the equation.

Now for the hard part is acquiring the skill set. I really don’t know how to tell you how to go about it, other than I practice when the conditions are bad at the longest range I can 300 to 500 yards or so would be good. Shorter ranges can work but not be as dramatic of changes as the longer ranges. I should mention quality ammunition is of major importance. (Good scope + good rifle + bad ammo = bad groups.) When shooting in windy conditions I pay close attention to the wind in front of the rifle, when the bullet exits the barrel gravity and wind acts on it immediately and stars to pull it down and in the direction of the wind and I think it effects it the most at that moment a few thousands of deflections at the muzzle can be huge at distance. I also look at the conditions along the bullets path that can counteract or add to what’s happening at the muzzle and I’ll adjust accordingly. I don’t pay too much attention to what’s happening at the target except for light conditions, because the bullet is already there.

In all honesty while having many one shot kills at distance, I’ve also had my share of near misses on the first shot, but if having an opportunity for a second shot I more often than not make a clean kill. In the many years of hunting long-range, I never crippled one and have it get away. On rare occasions I did have to shoot an animal again not wanting to let it bleed-out and suffer.

I’ll probably have a lot of blow-back on this and maybe called BS but this is what works for me.

What is long range in your opinion, in your area where you hunt?

 

[wjm1000]

What is long range in your opinion, in your area where you hunt?

Closest is 500 yards the farthest I've shot a deer was about 1350 yards. Depending on where we hunt the longest shot we can get is 1500 yards.

 

[wjm1000]

Thats exactly my point. At 500 yards most people miss the moa kill zone with a 25lb competition rifle, unlimited time, and a perfect prone position on a matt with flat ground. I guess some folks hunt from a blind over a farm field or a feeder with a benchrest setup. Thats not how we do it out west though.

If they miss then they need to practice more 500 yards is not a difficult shot.

 

[boltfluter]

Many people are not cut out to hunt long range and that is fine, just as many are not very good at bowhunting. As long as you hunt the animal within your personal limits, and have respect for your quarry, above everything else, you are good to go in my book.
Paul

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Closest is 500 yards the farthest I've shot a deer was about 1350 yards. Depending on where we hunt the longest shot we can get is 1500 yards.

I didn’t know shots like that were possible east of the Missouri River. I thought at 1500 yds you’d be shooting over three subdivisions, an Amish community, a small town, and thick forests.

Goes to show how much I know.

 

[wjm1000]

I didn’t know shots like that were possible east of the Missouri River. I thought at 1500 yds you’d be shooting over three subdivisions, an Amish community, a small town, and thick forests.

Goes to show how much I know.

This one of the place we hunt and practice long range shooting at one mile at a 2 foot gonger open link. When hunting here we only shoot out to about 1200 yards.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/4kJwZ6KQZbkMNzpF7

 

[Kalitrazescapee]

Hi neighbor!

These days hunting in the Humbolt/Shasta/Trinity area can be a bit intimidating...where the hunter is actually the hunted...but weed is growing all over CA these days, just be careful.

I have a friend I went to high school with who lives on the Eel river...CA mountains are special to me...You know, in A zone we can buy deer tags over the counter since the fires. I really want a bear though...would like to have a rug before I die...

Actually I'm not your neighbor anymore, I relocated to the Commonwealth of Kentucky...just too much to deal with in Humboldt.....I retired from the county of Humboldt heavy equipment shop.....I had three generations of family get a raw deal by Charles hurowits.....but I have a better name ...and his hatchet man at PALCO . Glad I never worked there.
Going to be interesting up on the Klamath,and how game survives the mud getting to water.
Last time I hunted in Kali I ran into a warden in the larabe buttes , he wasn't bad but their not your friend.
I grew up fishing on the van duzen.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Thats exactly my point. At 500 yards most people miss the moa kill zone with a 25lb competition rifle, unlimited time, and a perfect prone position on a matt with flat ground. I guess some folks hunt from a blind over a farm field or a feeder with a benchrest setup. Thats not how we do it out west though.

I have watched all of those videos. A couple of points of clarification. The “target” in that challenge is a 1 MOA circle (5”). The “kill zone” on a deer is significantly larger than that. IIRC, only three of the people shooting wouldn’t have killed their deer effectively. One was a clean miss, one was a gut shot, and one was a spine shot. The last two would still end up with dead deer, just with a bit of a rodeo.

 

[RabbitSlayer]

I have watched all of those videos. A couple of points of clarification. The “target” in that challenge is a 1 MOA circle (5”). The “kill zone” on a deer is significantly larger than that. IIRC, only three of the people shooting wouldn’t have killed their deer effectively. One was a clean miss, one was a gut shot, and one was a spine shot. The last two would still end up with dead deer, just with a bit of a rodeo.

And just like eric says. You will not have unlimited time. The deer will not be standing perfect broadside and not move. You will not be dragging a 25lb competition rifle. You will likely not even be able to lay prone, and if you can, you'll be laying in the mud with a rock poking you in the nuts. You will not get to see the weather report from those who shot before you. If you cant hit the moa target in ideal conditions, you are unlikely to hit the 2moa target in real world hunting conditions.

 

[Webster]

Start stalking. Just watch the ground cactus. Their thorns have barbs. I sat down to take a bipod shot and had one sticking in my butt for over a month.

View attachment 1586628

My favorite expressions:
George Patton: Lead ,follow or get the hell out of the way.
There are 2 kinds of people, ones that believe what other people want them to believe and people that use the common sense and brains that GOD gave them.