Max range you would shoot at game?

[Danehunter]

1.) Cartridge Dependent -> is your 223 good at 400 yards on elk? (NOPE!)
2.) Rifle/Scope Dependent-> Is your rifle accurate enough and is your scope giving you all you need?
3.) Shooter Competence Dependent-> Are you PRACTICED at long range shooting with your hunting rifle?
4.) Conditions Dependent-> Is it very windy? is it a high angle shot at which you have to guess less hold-over?
5.) Game Dependent-> I'll shoot at an antelope at 900 yards with my 6.5 PRC Browning X-bolt Pro and Bushnell Elite 4.5 - 18 x 44 LRTS scope and 147 gr. Hornady ELD-X ammo IF conditions are nearly perfect. Add a 10 mph wind and no, I won't try it. And no, I won't shoot at any elk at over 400 yards with that ammo/rifle/scope combination.
I state these ranges for big game even though I am confident at hitting MOA size (10" x 10") targets at over 1,000 yards from a bench or prone off the bipod with my 6.5 Creedmoor competition rifle. Humane kills is my guide.

 

[CBH Australia]

@AZ82New
Sounds like you have done your homework and know what you are confident with.
I'm in the wrong company to discredit long range hunting and I think it's gaining popularity.

I've shot a target/gong at 400 to shot an impala at 235.

I want to learn some skills and use my .280ai to capacity.

Every hunt is different every animal deserves a clean kill.

Myself, I don't want to hunt game at extremes, maybe nothing past maybe 500. I still have to walk over to get it anyway.

I guess LR hunters want to test their limits, I understand they may not want to pass up a shot on a good animal but there are many variables at long range.

Myself I hope to become competent in taking pest animals at longer ranges but I still don't want them moving from where they are hit. I want them down and dead.

 

[memtb]

If the energy threshold for elk is 1500 ft/lbs and the velocity needed for reliable expansion with my bullet is 1600 fps....my cartridge is good to a bit over 950 yards. However, my self imposed limit is 600 yards! memtb

 

[BallisticsGuy]

My standard rule is 400m. With the right game, rifle, conditions and situation I'll go a lot further. So far I've not encountered the right game, rifle, conditions and situation to go more than 500m on an animal. Too much can go wrong in the real world of wind variability.

This one was at 500m. Air at the FFP was dead still but I saw mirage through the scope and held for 5mph. I was confident in the shot and the rifle but the critter was still a little small for that distance. It all worked out but I wouldn't probably take that shot again.

 

[lancetkenyon]

When you say "Game", that makes a difference to me. These are real numbers below for my longest shots I have taken on game and connected with 1st round impacts. I have definitely taken further shots on jackrabbits and coyotes, just waiting for that 1 mile+ hit.

1501 on Jackrabbit (25SST)
1365 (x2) & 1327 on coyote (.300 RUM & .250AI)
1201 on squirrel (.300RUM)
921 on coyote (6CM)

Now, for big game, I am far pickier with longer shots. My personal longest shots are as follows:

Pronghorn @ 875 (25SST)
Elk @ 661 (7RM)
Deer @ 488 (.25-06AI)

My daughter has taken deer out to 637 with a 6.5SLR.

But family members using my rifles have taken game much further than these with me present and coaching. Out to 1022 yards.

I have rifles fully capable of taking big game out past 1400. I would not hesitate to take a good shot at game out to 1100-1200 if conditions were right.

 

[LVJ76]

Our hunting rifles are set up with loads good from 600 to 1,000 yds. But our current max range is 600 yds.

 

[Joefrazell]

Furthest I've killed a game animal was 555 yards on an elk. I spotted for my wife on a 926 yard shot on a mule deer. Last season I spotted/ walked a first time hunter through a 476 yard shot on a mule deer. Lots at 400 and in.

 

[Aoudad shooter1975]

Depends on what I am using…my 338 Norma 800 in the right conditions would not be out of the question—my 22 creed maybe 600…same with most of my shots in my 257 wbys ..I'd say if I could pick —300-500 would be the max I like to take on average.

 

[SSgt G Cody]

For most of us hunters, once we establish our max range for paper targets using our favorite hunting rifles, we hold our max range on live game at about half of that! So if 1000 yds is my limit with paper targets, 500 yds is my max limit on game. We see way too many wounded animals get away, and perhaps suffer for days before dying in the rough. A recent survey established that most deer-sized game taken beyond 600 yds had to be shot 2 or 3 times before taken down because of poor bullet placement! Be ethical in all your hunting; we owe our game at least that much!

 

[tonyf3]

Wind has always been my limiting factor where i hunt in eastern montana. Even with elk as a bigger target the wind can turn a heart shot into a gut shot. I'm using 230hybrids doing 2900fps out of an accurate rifle and with a 15mph wind is swirling around i try to limit shots to under 500yards

 

[Joefrazell]

That not necessarily true of bc.
In fact most of my mono loaded rifles have very close to the same max distance.
Example. 6.5 creedmore with the 147gr eld
Hits min FPS to open between 600-650.
Because I can push the hammers faster at the start they also run out of min FPS at between 600-650. So essentially the same distance. Now this can change based on round but holds true for my most common stuff.

In that 147eldm out of a creedmoor what min velocity are you using and what muzzle velocity because that seems fairly low.

 

[Joefrazell]

That not necessarily true of bc.
In fact most of my mono loaded rifles have very close to the same max distance.
Example. 6.5 creedmore with the 147gr eld
Hits min FPS to open between 600-650.
Because I can push the hammers faster at the start they also run out of min FPS at between 600-650. So essentially the same distance. Now this can change based on round but holds true for my most common stuff.

I ran it through my calculator with my particular load with the 147.
Muzzle velocity: 2751fps
800 yard velocity: 1887fps

At 600 it's still got 2096fps
So I guess it just depends on what a guy is comfortable with as far as the lowest impact velocity. I know this bullet will perform very well down to and even below 1800fps. In fact it's probably best between 1600-2200 fps

 

[Hondo64d]

I'm very new.

So new, that the longest range I have shot at a target is 425 yards.

I dialed in the elevation based on load data I plugged into an iPhone app called SBC, and "pinged" an eight inch piece of steel every time I pulled the trigger.

Therefore, "long range" to me right now is 425 yards.

I'm co Gide t I could kill game, first shot on a cold bore, at 425 yards.

If I can do the same at 600, that will be my new standard.

Beyond 600 yards, the cartridge I shoot 280 ai, and the bullet/load combo, I would loose confidence in. It's a 139 Barnes LRX. It's going really fast and accurate with my hand load, but it falls below 2,300 fps. My understanding is that 2,300 fps is the cutoff for reliable expansion with that bullet.

From the limited hunting I have done, a perfect broadside shoot is not always possible. So I chose Barnes bullets because they can penetrate extremely well, negating the need for a perfect shot.

I do not believe that Berger or Hornady bullets perform optimally if they have to penetrate through the shoulder of a big elk.

Am I thinking about this incorrectly?

What day you,

I'd say you're sorta on the right path but you need to make your max range the range which you can consistently and repeatably get first round hits on a vital sized target in widely varying conditions. Additionally, you need to consider minimum desired impact velocity. 1800fps is a commonly mentioned figure but I like a little buffer so generally want about 1950 or so.

Both of those factors considered put me at about 600 yards with my 6.5 Creedmoors.

John

 

[snox801]

I ran it through my calculator with my particular load with the 147.
Muzzle velocity: 2751fps
800 yard velocity: 1887fps

At 600 it's still got 2096fps
So I guess it just depends on what a guy is comfortable with as far as the lowest impact velocity. I know this bullet will perform very well down to and even below 1800fps. In fact it's probably best between 1600-2200 fps

That's true and I believe you are right it will work lower but to keep a level field I go off manufacturers min FPS.
Also keep in mind alt. I assume yours shows farther than mine I'm at sea level and am about 30fps slower to start. When I run both I'm very close to same max distance. That's the applied app so mileage may vary that's why we need to check drops.