What is your purpose for being on this forum?

[Nimrod1203]

I became a member on this site to preach against the unethical hunting past 250 yards. I believe a man shouldn't shoot past where he can count the points with a naked eye.........bahahaha. Just kidding. I know I'm fairly new to the site, and as of now I really don't have a lot of experience past 300 yards, however my drive to perfect my form, equipment, and application come directly from the passion of shooting and this forum. The members here share in my opinion the greatest form of shooting there is in the world today, and the fastest growing aspect of hunting. Archery, I'm good. Rifle hunting, I've as of yet to miss a deer with my remmy 700. I trully feel this is the "final frontier" of hunting I wish to work at being proficient at 1000 yards, maybe beyond. As with any innovative sport, there are some skeptics that such a shot is not possible to do without what they deem is too much risk. My family is full of people that believe a shot past 400 yards is fantasy land. I honestly believe if done right, long range hunting will provide more ethical kills and less lost animals than a lawyer buying a gun, getting it bore sighted, and paying 5 grand to hunt a 400 inch bull elk and taking un-practiced shots past 100 yards. The dedication the members on this site put into their passion makes a shot at 600 yards chip shots to them, and a dream for others. I try to contribute when I can, learn when I can't....and ask a TON of dumb questions which the members here answer time after time. I've said it before in PM's. Len and all the moderators do an amazing job of keeping the members here in sync with the overall tone this forum strives to present, and as such we have the most friendly and helpful group of members anywhere. I've seen a TON of bickering and fighting on other sites. Personal attacks on what we hold dear, family, country, and personal beliefs. This site keeps that at check, yet still giving all sides a voice. Without controversy, there can be no growth. One has to want to do something so badly to go against all skeptics to grow. Afterall the revolutionary war was a controversial idea, with less than half the nation supporting it. -off my soap box-
A fellow Nimrod

 

[Korhil78]

To tell you the truth, I would still be shooting under 300 yards if it wasn't for this forum. I feel comfortable taking shots on animals at 600 yards now and am going to be praticing on pushing that out some more this year. This site has a lot to offer for those that take the time to read and are willing to learn. For the most part, people on this forum handle things in a pretty mature manner. When someone has a different opinion than you do on something, it is discussed and even though you still have the difference, the individuals are still respected.

Len and the moderators give a lot of space for people to discuss things and I think that is a good thing if it is kept respectable which most of the time it is. Thanks for that.

I don't really mind those guys that get on here doing the tree hugging thing or rant about the long range shots. After a while, people on here figure out what these kind of people are about and just leave them alone and they tend to fade away.

 

[HARPERC]

Maybe that is why I am in charge of very little in life. To semi quote Mark Twain also: I don't belong to clubs as I'm suspicious of any group wanting me as a member. When you find yourself agreeing with the majority it's time to pause and reflect. I'm a dinosaur, and I like the company of other dinosaurs is why I'm here. I think keeping "ethics" or "political correctness" to a minimum, makes this a unique place. Under the technical differences, I think there is a common sense libertarian value system here that most people don't get. I think most here are explorers by nature, which means wandering away from the herd. Look at Shawn Carlocks LRKM, he could stay more than busy building/fixing 30-30's and such, Kirby and others trying to see how fast a projectile can be driven before the wheels fall off. It shouldn't be a surprise when we get visitors cautioning "you'll shoot your eye out" like we're a bunch of 6 year olds with BB guns. I've been at work all night so my apologies if it shows.

 

[webs]

I joined because I was intrigued by the science behind long range shooting. I am also a fanatic when it comes to hunting especially high end hunts that I can only dream of doing. It is fun to live vicariously through other hunters when reading the write ups about their experiences.

I started shooting my 22-250 at 500 yds last year and it really showed me how much wind does affect shooting especially when loading moderate loads shooting 52 gr bergers.

I am about half way through a build for a 7mm WSM and cannot wait until it is finished.

This is a website where you can learn something new everyday and you don't have to feel like an idiot and get ripped a new one when asking a "dumb" question.

 

[elkaholic]

I joined because I was intrigued by the science behind long range shooting. I am also a fanatic when it comes to hunting especially high end hunts that I can only dream of doing. It is fun to live vicariously through other hunters when reading the write ups about their experiences.

I started shooting my 22-250 at 500 yds last year and it really showed me how much wind does affect shooting especially when loading moderate loads shooting 52 gr bergers.

I am about half way through a build for a 7mm WSM and cannot wait until it is finished.

This is a website where you can learn something new everyday and you don't have to feel like an idiot and get ripped a new one when asking a "dumb" question.

Amen! I'd have a whole set of "new ones".........Rich

 

[Texanjohn]

This is my 1st post, I am in awe of the members willing to share thier opinons and experiance about long range shooting, You won't see many post from me, I'm not confident enought to take a shoot at a deer beyond 300 yds or so, I found this site while looking for ways to make myself and my rifles more accurate, Len,thanks so much for running such a well maintained and well manerd site, I know I will be more or less a "lurker" but I'll be a better educated and better perpared shooter weather in the woods or at the bench, and for that I must thank you all. Shoot stright, Texanjohn

 

[ig25]

learn

 

[straightshooter]

I will have to admit, I use to be against long range hunting. Not because I thought it was unethical, I just didn't see the need. I love tracking, stalking and trying to get as close to the game as possible. However, I decide if I love getting close, others may love taking an animal as far as possible. Really who is one to tell another what is right or wrong, as long as you are doing everything in your ability to take the game animal cleanly and ethically. I figured if I was going to stand against something maybe I should know what I was talking about. So I joined this site to get valid info from the pros.
Since being a member here, I have learned more about shooting technique, external ballistics, terminal ballistics, quality equipment, and etc. etc. for example, I use to elk hunt with a Remington Sendaro 300WM (just a lucky pick in rifle) with a Tasco 2.5-10 varmint scope. For the life of me, I couldn't get that rifle to shoot. Want to guess why? I now own a Savage 7mm WSM with a SWFA SS scope that will shoot circles around my Sendaro set up, and this is my practise rig.
I really think think that a few bad apples can ruin any group. For those against long range hunting, understand this site is for those that are trying to take game as ethically as possible. They just enjoy doing it at longer range, than the average hunter. I like to explain it like this, a bow hunter taking game at 50 yards may find that a long shot, the average hunter with his off the shelf rifle may find 300 yards to be a long shot, me with my semi custom Savage rig may find 500 yards to be a long shot, Len and his group, with full on customs with the years of practise in building rifles, testing equipment, reloading, keeping a rifle ammo log book, working up a drop chart, using high end range finding and weather gathering equipment, may find 1000 yards to just start being a long shot. This site is not for those who want to take their factory rigs and throw hail Mary's out to 1000 yards. I think everyone on this board would stand up against that.

 

[Good]

It was a beautiful brisk morning in the mountains of Arizona. My father and I had 4 wheeled a rough and not-so-well travelled road to a canyon called Wildhorse near the New Mexico border before dawn to hopefully get a shot at a mule deer buck. We're meat hunters (for the most part haha) and had missed a few opportunities closer to camp earlier in the week, so we made the long trek back to Wildhorse for some new scenery, and hopefully another shot.

The sun started to come up as we glassed with our inexpensive and rough binoculars and my father harshly and without a whole lot of regard "whispered" in his usual tone, "THERE HE IS"! (Good memories! Dad was known for scaring off deer 100 yds away with that "whisper" of his, and earlier that week was no exception.) I looked over to where he was talking about and at an estimated 800 yds or so was the biggest mule deer I have ever seen. He was walking up a ridge to our right and when he made it up to the sunlight, the gleam off his antlers made my heart burn with desire! A second glance was needed as his rack was so big I thought he was an elk!

I was carrying an old Springfield 30-06 and got down on a log and lined up for a few sighters. Having never practiced past 200yds, we couldn't spot the sighters at first but finally spotted one way low of our target. By the time I was able to get close to the deer he just walked over the hill and out of sight. Realizing the hike for chase was beyond our abilities and preparedness at the time, we decided not to give chase and I wound up shooting a big-bodied 2-point on the hill behind me at ~75 yds.

I truly love the hunt. I currently don't have the money to get fully set up, but I joined this site to learn so maybe one day I'll be prepared to shoot that 200+" mulie when the opportunity presents itself. I've been trying to get my Rem 700 30-06 rebarrelled to 338RUM with an XCR takeoff barrel, that a good member here was nice enough to give me for free, for a couple years now and have been slowly buying parts towards that end. Without this site and it's members sparking research and learning I wouldn't know anything about how to be a better hunter towards that end. So that said, "thank you" to all you members who share your knowledge about long range hunting. Now I have a plan for my rifle, and one day may actually have the money to get it finished. Still have the Springfield and Win 88 .308 Win from when dad passed, and have added a Savage 110 in 7RM to the stable. Love this site!

Tim. gun)--------------------------------------------------------------------------->

 

[winmag]

One missed opportunity at a nice 5 point bull. Thought I had a good idea on my bullet drop.....Wrong!
One missed opportunity at 8 bucks running togather that stopped to feed just past my effective range. All I had to do was take my pick & aim, but they were just beyond where I could do anything about it except watch, & try to cut them off if they moved out of that basin. There was no way to close the distance without them knowing long before it'd do me any good. Lesson learned. Time to extend my effective range before I did anything stupid. (Effective range learned, & determined the hard way with Elk opportunity mentioned above). I ate my tag that year.

I figured it was time I start hand loading, & learn how to figure drop, energy, & most of all, how to properly acurize my rifles vs. "what my buddy said/did". I wanted to learn, & learn right.
Those are the reasons I joined.

The reasons I stayed, were because of how the site was run. Politeness, & a willingness to help & pass on info & knowledge from the more seasoned Long Ranger's, & the overall wealth of knowledge concerning things I'm interested in. LRH is a great place. I hope it continues to be a great place.
I do have real concerns about wading thru ever increasing amounts of "clutter" to get to the meat & potatoes, & many of the seasoned, well respected shooters don't seem to want to check in very often anymore. Why argue with someone who has no clue, or is argumentative for no other reason than to egg it on right? There is an increasing amount of clueless newbies, huggers, & trolls, But even with these growing pains LRH is still top notch, & the ONLY forum of any kind that I being to.
Newbies gotta learn somehow. We were all newbies once.
Huggers.... Well they're a lost cause that are rarely salvagable, or worth salvaging. Hopefully the find the door without any "help"...
Trolls are right there with huggers, except they need "help" finding the door!
I can think of at least one or two members who fit in each catagory without too much effort.
Overall tho, My hat is off to Len, & the Mods for maintaining a Very well run, & respected site, & place for us to test, post results, share knowledge, & learn from eachothers successes, & failures.
I am Proud to be called a member of this fraternity on LRH. Most of the members here pick eachother up, & dish out encouragement and help push eachother past barriers & comfort zones in order to become ever better. LRH has made me a better hand loader by far, and sharpened my shooting skills more than I ever thought possible just a few years ago.
As my intrests, & personal abilities grow, my pocket book takes as many hits as my LR steel gong, & honestly I couldn't be happier about it. My first semi custom Model-70 is slated to be complete by the end if June, & I'm as anxious as a little kid the night before Christmas! LRH is indirectly to blame for my excitement.
That, in a nut shell is why I joined LRH. That is why I stick around.
And Ya, I'm proud to be a member here.

 

[clemens]

Found this web site by accident looking for the price of a Barrett .50. Stumbled across another web site that did long range shooting and i can say been a bit disapointed by the way i was treated. This site has been spectacular in professionalism. I have asked questions that have been answered with more information then one could hope for and without judgement. Thanks to kirby for his willingness to answer Emails and answer questions that some other web sites wouldn't bother to answer. Goes along way to show ones Integrity. That goes for all of you who share your experience and knowledge. Got the bug not only to learn to shoot better but the long range challenge is ever present. unfortunetly with my work schedule and lack of time all i get to do is wish wish wish. Yet i still learn a lot. Havn't even begun to read a 16th of whats on this forum there's so much stuff. hope it continues. thanks all of you for your time and knowledge.

 

[clemens]

just read what i wrote! WOW! Sorry guys didn't mean to ramble By the looks of it should take some English classes. Still enjoy the web site Happy shooting!

 

[minute of elk]

i hit a few different forums looking for knowledge/entertainment. each one has its strengths & weaknesses (in my opinion), and there are real & fake experts on every one. here are a few reasons why i like this one:

1) the aforementioned respect shown for each other. nothing quite makes me want to club baby seals in front of a second grade class like asking for advice on something & having the ethics police tear into me. that kind of thing doesn't happen much here & when it does, it's usually trolls/huggers who are easily ignored for lack of any actual content to their posts.

2) there's a wider range of knowledge accessible here than other sites- like where else can you go to get long range info for the 270? it's not a BR or tactical round, so i've found it difficult to find anyone who's done much with it past 500 yards, at least until i found LRH. i've gotten sick & tired of my friends calling me crazy for shooting rocks at 800 yards lately. thanks to a few of you, i'll be killing rocks with my 270 past 1000 soon!

3) i can actually (occasionally) add something useful to conversations here. i don't have any tactical or competitive experience (3D archery is about it), but i've been an obsessive elk hunter for most of my life. i've learned a few tricks.

4) i've been very fortunate with archery hunting & had kills from 10 feet to 96 yards with an arrow. i don't mention 96 yard kill shots with a bow many places online, but here i don't expect any flaming for it. if you mention a shot past 30 yards on most archery forums, they'll freak the heck out! the same goes for rifle kills- most rifle hunters will never take a shot over 500 yards in their whole life, and alot of them are quick to judge me for wanting to. not you guys.

5) i was rifle hunting with a buddy a couple years ago. we saw some whiteys feeding down a draw towards us. he wanted to duck behind a bush & wait for them to pass at 50 yards. i wanted to climb up the ridgeline to our left for the 400 yard shot- not saying i'm not crazy, but you guys "get" why i wanted to go up the ridgeline. most folks don't. it's nice to find a group of people with the same affliction!

6) many of you people live in my neighborhood! i'll actually be able to meet some of you- that's cool if you ask me.

7)open minds! i haven't seen any "my way or the highway" crap here.

Len & the mods do a great job of creating a good atmosphere here, and i appreciate it!

 

[Nimrod1203]

Me- "I'm building a 300 win mag and I'd like to get past 500 yards with it this year."

Dad- "What, you can't get any closer than that??"

LOL, This from the guy that used to sneek up on my in the woods and put his hand on my shoulder....without me knowing he was around.
Nimrod