How far can you connect?

[orcldba]

Longest was whitetail in southern Kansas, at 435 yards with an 06.. Have shot prairie dogs at 650, but the wind there is tricky.
Shortest miss, unfortunately was deer at 65 yards in Oklahoma with a 6mm Remington. I just couldn't believe that I missed until I saw the tree branches the bullet went through: dumb, but great animal and fun. Now I'm very careful about bullet paths and I stick to larger bullets.
Living in the Piedmont of NC just haven't been deer hunting, and I really miss the pheasants of the midwest.

 

[Mike Matteson]

I generally shot from a rested position of some type. weather it's 25 yards or 500 yards. 600 yds or there about is my longest shot in WY taking an Antelope. I hold my shot to 500 yards.That was in the days of no range finders. I used a 2 x7 Leupold scope with a duplex cross hairs. I set up targets with 18" shooting squares with a 2" wide cross in the middle on each 18" target. I would use my scope on 7 power to determine how the 18" sized up in the scope at yardage from 300, 400, & 500 yards. I was able to determine the yardage on animals up to 500 yds by how it fit in the scope cross hairs. It work very well. Made several shot out to 500 yards. All hits. Now I am not saying I never missed. I have missed at 25 yds, and out to 300 yds not to often, but a few. Under 25 yards and shooting small game your rifle is shooting low. I use to set my scopes to 3.5" at 100 yards. I tended to shot over at 300 yards, I was setting up for longer shots, using the pipe of 12" to determine my effective range or point blank range. With range finders that has change the way of shooting. Now I set my scope at 1" over at 100 yds. 1. don't rush your shots. 2. rest your rifle somewhere, or sit and shot. Use a tree truck, rock, daypack, or something, to stable your rifle. Standing and shot is the poorest of all shot, and that where I have missed my shots from. Try using a tree to lean against, a rock, day pack. Anything that you can rest your rifle on. Slow your shots down, It's better not to shot than wound and lose. Buck fever can play big part too. I switch to a bow in the early 2000's. I hope this will help.

 

[Gater]

I have never actually killed a deer or a pig at over 180 yards. My typical shot is 75 to 120 yards. I have missed at ranges longer than 180, to be honest, several times. So my question is to my fellow bloggers here is, what is your longest successful shot? What is your shortest miss? What is your longest attempted shot on game? I have missed at 400 yards, I must confess, way more than once. In a sitting position I can hit a grapefruit at 200 yards four times out of five, if I take my time, with my trusty 27 inch custom-barreled .270. I have missed a sitting rabbit at six yards with my .338. Everyone on this site is, if you believe their comments, a superb shot, and that is great. That just does not apply to me, so this post is to confess my limitations honestly. Tell me if I have flunked!

I applaud your honesty you can bet that some of the people shooting Elk and deer at extreme ranges have gut shot and wounded game I can hit a drink coaster at 600-1000 yards but personally I won't even try to take big game at those ranges but that's me

 

[Canadian Bushman]

I killed two birds with a single 6br shot at 698 yards.

I once missed a mature pig at 35yds.

Hot and cold.
Dont bag on people who miss. Its always in the cards.

 

[mxjoe35]

I have never actually killed a deer or a pig at over 180 yards. My typical shot is 75 to 120 yards. I have missed at ranges longer than 180, to be honest, several times. So my question is to my fellow bloggers here is, what is your longest successful shot? What is your shortest miss? What is your longest attempted shot on game? I have missed at 400 yards, I must confess, way more than once. In a sitting position I can hit a grapefruit at 200 yards four times out of five, if I take my time, with my trusty 27 inch custom-barreled .270. I have missed a sitting rabbit at six yards with my .338. Everyone on this site is, if you believe their comments, a superb shot, and that is great. That just does not apply to me, so this post is to confess my limitations honestly. Tell me if I have flunked!

With a .270 you should be able to reach out 500 - 1000yds with no issue. No there are many variables to this. The first thing I would do is verify the DOPE on your rifle. Validate 100yds, out as far as you can go. Often the drop on the boxes of ammo is a lie! Once you are confident in your rifle and the data, then it comes down to as said before, building a solid shooting position and good shooting fundamentals.

 

[sbfireman]

Morning All -

First, as @Gater says, thanks and appreciate your honesty and humility -

I've missed long and short - and relive what happened on all. In the foothills of SB County, (primarily oak savanah, rolling hills, scrub, and lots of oak!) most shots are under 400 yds. I personally won't reach out past that - I try and use my old guy stalking skills

Agree that time at the range builds that confidence - if it weren't so dang hard to get brass / rounds!!

Best of Season brothers and sisters -

mfh

 

[Straight-Shot]

My longest shot was on a mule deer at 320yrds with 7mm-08. Big 10point... one of my favorite deer. The closest shot that day was 210yrds... all off of rocks or backpacks for a rest. But that is West Texas hunting. My closest miss was at about 50yrds.. on the first deer I ever shot "at"... I got the fever really bad at that moment, was messing with the scope adjustments and ended up bagging a Mesquite tree. I've never had the "fever" since then.....

Lessons I've learned over the years... using a bench with solid rests is great for load workup... but once your done with that ... you need to be shooting at distance as you would in the field.. prone off a pack, sitting, off rocks if available.. things that force you to focus and build confidence.

 

[memtb]

I have never actually killed a deer or a pig at over 180 yards. My typical shot is 75 to 120 yards. I have missed at ranges longer than 180, to be honest, several times. So my question is to my fellow bloggers here is, what is your longest successful shot? What is your shortest miss? What is your longest attempted shot on game? I have missed at 400 yards, I must confess, way more than once. In a sitting position I can hit a grapefruit at 200 yards four times out of five, if I take my time, with my trusty 27 inch custom-barreled .270. I have missed a sitting rabbit at six yards with my .338. Everyone on this site is, if you believe their comments, a superb shot, and that is great. That just does not apply to me, so this post is to confess my limitations honestly. Tell me if I have flunked!

I'm thinking of getting a 6.5 shootsmore.....unlimited range My longest big game kill was an Antelope @ 430. With perfect conditions, myself and ambient.....600 yards. Though.....I'd much prefer all shots at less than 50 yards! memtb

 

[Zac Bishop]

My top 4 longest kills shots are as follows.
1,065 yards in an Arapowa ram In NZ with a 375 CT.
915 yards on an Alberta bighorn ram with a 6.5-06.
730 yards the other day on a coyote with a 7 saum.
620 yards on a whitetail buck with a 7 saum a few weeks ago.
I recently missed a coyote at about 150 yards.. he was too close I think lol

 

[Paladin300]

I have been a hunter and competitive shooter for more than 40 years but really did not get serious about it till I was in my mid 20s or early 30s. I grew up around guns. Sunday afternoons usually consisted of a trip to the local gravel pit where a friendly family rivalry and subsequent weekend champion would be crowned. Both sets of my grand parents engaged in such behavior, mostly with bolt action or lever action 22lr. The end result was usually to the embarrassment of the men as my grand mother on my dads side could out shoot us all. She was a tall, proper and polite lady, elegant and wise. Most would not have figured she would have known her way around a gun, but she did. When I was about 8 or 9 I can remember her and my grandfather sitting on the back porch of their house taking turns shooting sweetgums out of the tree in their back yard. It was at a distance of about 30 yards. The objective was to clip the stem just above the ball without touching the tree or ball thus leaving the stem attached to the tree. She would win every time! Another game we would play was to take the spent 22 short cases from the sweetgums and place them on a sawhorse at about 50 yards and see who could shot the most off without a miss. Granny always won. Sometime we would travel to the local dump at night and shoot rats, under a spot light from a perch on a cliff over looking it, at various yards out to and beyond a 100. We did all of that till I was in my late teens and early 20s.

I say all of that to preface what I am about to say. I have shot a five shot group at 120 yards with a bow the size of a softball. Won a gold medal in the state games. I have made 1250 yard plus cold-bore single shots on small size silhouettes with 6.5, 300WM, and 338. I have missed a 260lbs, 150 inch whitetail inside 100 yards!(My estimation at the time and subsequent excuse.)

It doesn't matter how well you shoot from a bench or at the practice butts or how often. It is what happens when the shot of a life time presents itself that matters! That said, I have never had cause to shoot at large game beyond 250. My furthest kill was a whitetail at just over 200. Not to say I would not shoot beyond that just never had the opportunity or need and I have hunted in 7 states and on three continents. The furthest I have ever witnessed on a big game animal was a mule deer at just a touch over 450.

I have a friend who has killed several record book animals. The last one was a massive elk which he subsequently shot in the hind leg severing the artery. The shot was inside 40 yards. He said afterwards, "I couldn't stop shaking!!!"

Hang in there brother buck fever happens to the best of us. Some of us I fear may never out grow it! It is our curse!!!

 

[Critter Picker]

OK, I'll bite but don't laugh at me, I'm being honest. Best ever long shot ( I've hit longer shots, but this was best) ran 6 Prarie dogs straight at 680 yards, took 2 misses to dope wind. Most miserable miss was huge whitetail buck at 50 yards. I had sighted my rifle in the previous weekend and when I grabbed the rifle from the hanger the scope was loose, felt it move. After tightening it up it wasn't even on paper at 50. Don't know how it came loose but I now torque everything before sight in.

 

[Huntz]

I shot an Antelope at 460 yards.Took me 3 shots as I had to walk it into him.I have shot mule deer at 340 yards 1 shot DRT.I was at the Varmint Hunters annual shoot in South Dakota and got in to the 1,000 yard club with a witnessed shot on a prairie rat.Got him on the first try and proceeded to act humble.

 

[ARKGG]

Longest shot on whitetail 250 yards. Lot of missed shots less than 50 yards! Thing's happen fast in the thick brush.

 

[Farmer72]

My longest has been 600yds on 2 Antelope (25 WSSM). I have gotten a elk at 525yds (8mm Rem Mag). Deer I don't remember other than 190yds with my open sighted muzzleloader (I have been muzzleloading for deer for the last 8 or 10 years). All have been factory guns.