What is your average hunting shot distance?

[Calvin45]

I'm confident shooting to 600 for now but have honestly never needed to shoot at an animal beyond 350 (farthest to date).

 

[Calvin45]

As for shooting targets, not paper so much as milk jugs and pumpkins, reactive targets.,,I've been rediscovering how much more fun it is to try hitting them from a ways out with dad's iron sighted .30-30 compared to how boring it can be with the scoped 300 win mag.

 

[Steves1911]

Not many shot oppurtunities here beyond 300yds. Most are under 200yds but we do get the occasional across the hay field 500yd shots.

 

[FrogFire7]

For varmints it's a Buzz Lightyear "to infinity and beyond" thing for me.

Big game 600 yards under ideal conditions.

I would hesitate to give a big game average, but it's short. No matter how I set up for a long range shot, the critter steps out in front of me. Multiple at less than 30 yards. One deer close enough to get splatter on my hat.

For sure the same here with varmints. Nothing is too far lol. My farthest woodchuck is 775. Admittedly took my two shots... First was juuuust low. But again, here there aren't that many places to get shots that far. Super fun, though!

 

[LVJ76]

I keep my shots at 600 yds or under, that's the distance I am confortable with, for now.

Most are under 400 though. Last year I had a shot past 800 yds at a nice coues buck, but sustained winds were 30 to 35 mph with gusts of up to 45 mph. Got a bit closer but still to windy. Tried to get closer but he was gone. Ended taking one under 300 yds a couple of days later.

Down here where we hunt it's usually pretty windy so it's hard to take long shots.

 

[yobuck]

I never said it's impossible in PA. I have game lands a couple miles from my house where you could, if the deer were in the right spots, easily shoot half a mile, if not closer to a mile. However, I stated my typical hunt style and self limited range, so even though I hunt those game lands areas, when I'm there I'm geared to traveling light, with a lightweight rifle that's capable of the ranges I would get a shot.

Your going to find that those who are serious about hunting longer distances, are set up as for guns and other equipment to hunt that way.
And they wont be changing their mind after a few slow hours and go off in a different direction on foot.
Change of location, yes, sometimes due to condition changes like sun angle require that, as well as simply a desire to change location. But the hunting method never changes, glassing with tripod mounted optics.
Thats where some of the differences show up between eastern and western hunters.
First off in much of the west the opportunity exists for moving about more so than in the east, where most serious long range hunting is done from fixed locations. Especially in the n/c region where most of it is done.

 

[Deleted member 48126]

I shoot deer at 1200+

 

[ndking1126]

With rifle - 330, 200, 147, 50 so average of 181.75 yrds. 330 was antelope out west, the rest were deer in the east.

I chose limit of 400-600 and that assumes perfect conditions. I don't see myself shooting any farther than that at game because time of flight concerns. That's about half a second, and if they take a step right as shooting it could be a wounded animal.

 

[73driver]

Last 10 years shots on deer have been 200-300 yards.

 

[Allen Kitts]

Great questions and fun to see how others answer.
I feel very comfortable to 600 as I practice to that range all the time. I found in Africa this year that to many thing can go wrong when shooting farther, at least for me to feel comfortable with taking the shot. I killed a blesbuck at 851 yards and felt pretty good about it but then took a shot at a springbok at 916 yards, literally knocked it right off its feet and we could not find it, which made me sick to my stomach and also made me readjust my maximum personal range to what I know I am comfortable with.
Honestly most of the shots I take are in the 200-300 yard range.

 

[BillLarson]

20 yds.bow.50 yds.rifle

 

[tknuts103]

I put my limit as 500 yards on deer/elk. However I have never had to shoot over 100 yards. Most deer are shot at 50 or less

 

[JAYgs8163]

4-600 hunting Coues deer. About the same for Speedgoats.

 

[TxHeartShot]

Just something I thought about the other day. I know this is a long range hunting forum, but honestly here in NE PA, I rarely take a shot over 250, often because we don't get a lot of places where we can see super far, or of we can see very far, it's onto another parcel of land we don't have permission to hunt. Additionally, I'm not proficient enough to feel comfortable taking a shot at anything other than groundhogs at ranges past maybe 500 yards. Maybe 600 if conditions are perfect.

I have been scrolling here a lot lately, and I've been seeing a lot of posts with pictures from this year hunting, often with captions like "28 Nosler, 85 yards". Which is fine, I personally don't like to be under gunned and don't like to be limited by range

So, just for fun, what is the average distance you get shots on game?

While we are at it, what's your personal limit on taking a shot at a big game animal? Feel free to answer either or neither

We have a limit of 400 yds for guests deer hunting on our ranch in S Texas, some might be comfortable at 800, some at 100, but we picked 400 to be safe. We'll let you stretch it out for a hog or coyote...if you can see it you can shoot at it. I only bowhunt down there, but when I rifle hunt out west or in Mexico I have a self-imposed limit of 600 and try to get inside that by sneakin' closer.