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What is considered Long Range now days?
- Thread starter Okie Whitetail Hunter
- Start date
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I bought a factory 300 RUM the first year they came out. Think it was 99. Don't remember if it was my original load, but I'm shooting a 180 grn Accubond that is very accurate. Getting a 4" drop at 300, 9" at 400 and 19" at 500. I've shot a lot of game at the 500 yd mark aiming 10" over the animals back. Finally got my first real long range rifle last year and I'm shooting consistent groups to 1300 yds. Waiting for a 338 Edge to be finished and we'll see what the new number is sometime next spring...
Coyote_Hunter
Well-Known Member
It is unfortunate for a lot of game animals that people take shots at ranges longer than they should. Mea culpa. Several years back I had an "easy" shot right at 400 yards. The shot was across a small valley between two peaks. The wind was blowing upslope from the south, but from our position on the eastern peak and away from the slope, we couldn't feel it or see it as the trees in the valley were below it. The cow turned and went int the trees. When we arrives we found the largest blood trail I've ever seen - multiple thick ribbons of dark blood, each about 3-4" wide and 3 feet long. We trailed the cow over a ridge, across another valley and over a second ridge before the blood trail petered out completely. We lost the trail about 100-150 yards shy of a fence and could not determine if the cow went over the fence or turned. Because dark was fast approaching, we left and returned to hunt for the cow the next morning. No joy.
At the time I was shooting out to 600 on a regular basis and was doing well getting first round hits on 10" steel with a variety of rifles. I hadn't allowed for the wind, which we couldn't feel from our position, but as we crossed over to the next ridge we crossed over the top of the valley and felt the crosswind - probably 25-30mph. As a result I hit the cow too far back, probably in the liver given the dark blood color. Lost the cow, even though there was blood high on the brush on both sides of the trail, indicating an exit.
Clearly, I wasn't well prepared for the shot, although if you asked me a moment before the shot I would have disagreed with that assessment. It was a humbling experience, especially since I work hard for broadsides and pride myself on the percentage of one-shot kills.
At the time I was shooting out to 600 on a regular basis and was doing well getting first round hits on 10" steel with a variety of rifles. I hadn't allowed for the wind, which we couldn't feel from our position, but as we crossed over to the next ridge we crossed over the top of the valley and felt the crosswind - probably 25-30mph. As a result I hit the cow too far back, probably in the liver given the dark blood color. Lost the cow, even though there was blood high on the brush on both sides of the trail, indicating an exit.
Clearly, I wasn't well prepared for the shot, although if you asked me a moment before the shot I would have disagreed with that assessment. It was a humbling experience, especially since I work hard for broadsides and pride myself on the percentage of one-shot kills.
You make a great point. At the shooting range where I practice there is always a wind coming from the west-southwest, anywhere from 10 to 20 mph and sometimes gusts up to 35 mph, so I already know how much I need to correct. But in the field its different. Here is southern AZ most of the winds come from again the west and southwest especially in the desert, but the mountains are a completely different ball game, wind going right on this hill but left where the deer is at on the other hill, its not an easy skill to acquire, takes tons of practice and some mistakes to learn.
I've only lost one deer, it was 9 years ago, a gut shot and it still haunts me, I still regret it.
misterc01
Well-Known Member
I "scaled" a golf distance measuring scope for a quick range finder. Since a golf flag is about 6'8" so knowing the approximate size of the game you are shooting at, you can get a pretty close range estimate with it out to around 600 yards.
I believe it is due to ones evolving abilities more then equipment, but the modern equipment does make things a little easier.
Its like any sport when one rises to the next level. Junior High, High School, JUCO, University, Minors, Majors
crkckr
Well-Known Member
I believe it's an increase of quality in just about every aspect of shooting and hunting. Better loading techniques, better gear, ability to range a critter exactly instead of guessing (although some of the old timers were pretty doggone good at it!), better bullets, just about better everything. Except, in some cases, judgement. Shooting a 1000 yard gong is a lot easier than taking the same distance shot on a living animal. There's a learning curve and as long as that distance gets stretched a bit at a time, I don't see a problem. But when a rookie that's hit the gong a few times starts out shooting at critters at that distance, I suspect there's going to be disappointment & possibly wounded animals in their future. Especially when they'll turn down a 200 yard shot, just so they can say they made a 1000 yard shot. It's a lot easier to screw a long range shot up than it is to make a good hit. It's simply not for beginners.
Cheers,
crkckr
Cheers,
crkckr
jerry forcht
New Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2016
- Messages
- 1
While I do admit today's equipment is more available and well known, I still have a 1970's model 3x9x40 that has the BDC dial with plex wires on the crosshair. I used it to shoot fairly long distances on game. Also, there were several turret target scopes back in the day many of us used for LR shooting, comp, varmints, etc. My old 1,000yd turret BR scopes saw much usage on MR and LR P-dog towns, so even decades ago, there were many options for the dedicated LR shooter.
There just wasn't as many of us.
If we really take a trip down LR memory lane for the really old timers, I'm not there yet but getting close:
A number of years ago I pulled a 150 yd shot on a cow elk and hit her high in the front leg. She took off. I ranged her at 600 yds when she stopped. Wasn't sure where to hold, but thought I was about 2' over her back and dumped her. Fact is, anyone can wound an animal at any distance. And it would be interesting to see how many animals are wounded by archery hunters at less than 60 yds...
Orange Dust
Well-Known Member
A 60yd archery shot is at least as difficult as a 1000yd rifle shot. Culprits are wind and the animal not holding still until the projectile arrives. Back when I shot competitive archery I could hit a coke can every time at 50yds. I soon found out on whitetails 20yds was the max yardage I could expect 100% kill and retrieve. At 30yds it dropped to 50%. This is due to the arrow not being supersonic, and the flight time is more than the deer's reaction time to the noise. We worked so hard trying to quieten our bows, but it didn't really seem to matter much. Some animals will just stand there and let the arrow hit them, but not heavily hunted southern whitetails.
I have had to track down more than one deer that was shot over 500yds and decided to take a step while the bullet was in flight. Not fun. Really takes practice with more than just the weapon to be successful at this. You have to know your quarry and their body language well, and this is the difference between live animals and targets.
I have had to track down more than one deer that was shot over 500yds and decided to take a step while the bullet was in flight. Not fun. Really takes practice with more than just the weapon to be successful at this. You have to know your quarry and their body language well, and this is the difference between live animals and targets.
Nope....Martians and declining gravity!
nmbarta
Well-Known Member
I don't mean to be argumentative, but disagree. It does depend on the bow and the rifle, and a realize this is a general statement, but 1000 rifle shots are not even comparable to 60 yard archery shots.
Both do require you to pay more attention to the animal your intending shoot, and what it's intentions might be. You can take your bow from sea level at 90 degrees, to 10,000 ft at -20 and not change anything on your sight and not see a noticeable change in poi. Wind will play a roll, but you don't need to know the wind within 1-2 mph to make a kill shot.
At 60 yards with a bow, you need to be a dang good shot with your bow, and know your animal, but you don't need to know anything else.
At 1000 with your rifle, you need to know your wind within 1 mph, elevation (density) within 500 ft, temp within 5 degrees, spin drift, Coriolis is a consideration at this range, you've had to tune your rifle to single digit sd's, and then of course, track your cold bore shots. This is also a general statement, and the above info all being correct does not mean you make a good shot, you still have to capable of sub 1/2 moa shooting in the field .....which most can't do, given a 10" kill zone a 1/2 moa rifle just cut than in half, now you have a 5" margin of error with everything mentioned above.
60 yard bow shot.....hold your 60 yard pin on the bullseye and make a good shot.
If you wound half the animals you shoot at at 30 yards, don't blame the animal. Kill shots with a bow on deer DO NOT drop from 100% to 50% from 20 to 30, maybe for you, but that's just not good information in general. Sorry about your bad luck and that you hit enough animals that got away that you could come up with that statistic. I love bow hunting and statements like that are part of the reason people think bow hunters are running around wounding a bunch of animals. Everyone needs to know their limits, most like to figure them out on targets.
Orange Dust
Well-Known Member
You didnt read my post correctly. Reread. I was talking about heavily hunted southern whitetails. I have killed over 50 of them with a bow. What i said is true. They will not be where they were when the arrow arrives.
