Author Topic: What do you consider Long Range (Read 9622 times)

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #90 on:** April 16, 2009, 02:50:21 PM »

Coyote,

Very well said.

I agree totally, I seldom if ever shoot at running game, mostly not even game that is moving at a fast walk.

I would sooner shoot at 300 yards at a standing elk, than at one moving quickly at 100. $:-\$ While this applies to my favorite game the coyote, I still take lots of running shots at him.

Tiapan64 · « **Reply #91 on:** May 16, 2009, 04:42:15 PM »

With my 7mm mag and 162 grain SPBT 500 is my limit. I practice from 100 to 500 and with my range finder in my scope it makes it easy. Without it...350 would be my limit. I have taken prairie dogs at 450 with it...124 grain HP. The scope isn't very expensive....Bushnell Sportview with a BDC and Paralex adjusted it has served ne well and still does. Don't know if they even make it anymore. And my rifle is a cheapo too, a savage 110E but it will drive tacks, if you give it time to cool after 4 or 5 rounds.

wyohandi · « **Reply #92 on:** May 25, 2009, 02:30:28 PM »

I can't believe I missed this thread for so long?
Have to agree with most everything said so far, I know guys who SHOULD consider
100yds long range

and I know a guy that thinks if he zeros his top mil-dot at 100yds
his bottom one is on at 1200yds I need to look thru that scope once must be dots top to bottom

We do alot of 4-600yd shooting not very hard if you don't have much wind, it will definately
make you a better shooter. The wind is the tough part, shooting at 600yds one day about
a 10mph breeze(not windy here til it hits 20mph+) could not hit the 8x8" plate to save my a$$
nice groups on both sides but no hits

It doesn't take alot of fancy gear either, scope with adj turrents and a rangefinder will get you
out to 800yds with most any centerfire bigger than a 223. After that it's just trigger time,
which is never a bad thing.
I would much rather have a 600yd standing shot than a 100yd moving one.

Oh yeah I would say long range for me would be over 600yds (I can usually drive closer than that)

Tiapan64 · « **Reply #93 on:** May 27, 2009, 05:21:15 PM »

Quote from: wyohandi on May 25, 2009, 02:30:28 PM

I can't believe I missed this thread for so long?
Have to agree with most everything said so far, I know guys who SHOULD consider
100yds long range and I know a guy that thinks if he zeros his top mil-dot at 100yds
his bottom one is on at 1200yds I need to look thru that scope once must be dots top to bottom
We do alot of 4-600yd shooting not very hard if you don't have much wind, it will definately
make you a better shooter. The wind is the tough part, shooting at 600yds one day about
a 10mph breeze(not windy here til it hits 20mph+) could not hit the 8x8" plate to save my a$$
nice groups on both sides but no hits
It doesn't take alot of fancy gear either, scope with adj turrents and a rangefinder will get you
out to 800yds with most any centerfire bigger than a 223. After that it's just trigger time,
which is never a bad thing.
I would much rather have a 600yd standing shot than a 100yd moving one.

Oh yeah I would say long range for me would be over 600yds (I can usually drive closer than that)

Man..up there in Wyoming you have lots of room to shoot at some l o n g ranges. I do to here in the Texas Panhandle, but most of the land is private so you have to hunt on goverment land mostly...cept for pigs!! Most shots here are around 200 to just over 400, I have personally shot a deer at 500 with my 30.06....I had him in my bushnell sportview scope at 500 yrds and just as the trigger broke....he mounted the doe...hit him in the gut..tracked him for 4 miles found him under a mesquit tree laid up, popped him with my 357 to finish him off....longest drag to my vehicle of my hunting career!!! I was tuckered out to say the least. yes I was by myself...stupid me!!!!!

And one of the very very few times there wasn't any wind....about 8:40 in the morning and 24 degrees bright earley morning sun and dead calm with a light dusting of snow.....great hunting weather!! Used the hood of my truck as a bench shooting from the top of the canyon down to him at the bottom.

conradj · « **Reply #94 on:** June 30, 2009, 10:17:11 AM »

if i can keep my scope steady on the kill zone and weather permits , distance is of no concern. 400-500 yrd

Halwg · « **Reply #95 on:** July 05, 2009, 05:46:27 AM »

The longest range target at the range where is shoot is 300 yards. I have shot my 30-06 at that distance numerous times, but even with my scope on 9X it's tough to get a steady hold. Is anyone using a Lead Sled to hold your rifle while shooting at long ranges. I think that would give me a better hold. I also think something in the range of a 12X scope would be better. I have shot one deer at a measured range of 415 yards, but generally 100 yards is a long shot in the areas I hunt. I'm zeroed for 200 yards with my 30-06, and 150 yds with my 35 Remington and 444 Marlin.

Sourdough · « **Reply #96 on:** July 06, 2009, 03:58:33 AM »

In the field I use shooting sticks, out to 400 to 500 yards. Beyond that I use the Stony Point Tri-pod. During the winter I use the seat of my snow machine. What ever it takes to be as solid as possible. You can not remove all movement, your heart beat, wind, it's impossiable. You have to learn to make the trigger break just as the sight moves to the kill zone, not from it. And you must do this consistently.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #97 on:** October 16, 2009, 03:37:26 AM »

I sight most of my rifles in @ 200 yards, the 700p .308 in my signature is sighted in @ 300. She's my go to rifle for coyotes that don't like to come in close. I also use it to ruin a groundhogs day. Long range for me is a distance I haven't had enough trigger time practicing at so if the rangefinder reads over 600, I won't take the shot. I take that back, I've attempted some shots around 700 on some groundhogs but like others said, a windy day wreaks havoc once you start getting out that far and I was not successful.

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #98 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:09:11 AM »

Dropped an antelope at 300 in Wyoming two weeks ago. The bullet hit exactly where it should have.

When going for elk and deer I'll go to 500 yards, possibly 600 if things are perfect. Will be at the range this weekend doing exactly that, in preparation for elk/deer season at month's end.

bobg · « **Reply #99 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:23:05 AM »

This will probably cause a lot of flak but i don't think most people know 50 yards from 150. I sure would like to see some of these 600 yard kills.

bobg

teddy12b · « **Reply #100 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:32:21 AM »

Quote from: bobg on October 16, 2009, 04:23:05 AM

This will probably cause a lot of flak but i don't think most people know 50 yards from 150. I sure would like to see some of these 600 yard kills.
bobg

To an extent that's a fair statement, because most hunting shots are in that range. Then again, most hunters carry a laser rangefinder with them there days especially the guys making the shots over 300 yards where most rifles are well beyond their point blank range.

Last season I took a buck and afterwards I stood right where he got shot and hit my pop up tent with my laser rangefinder. I don't think laser rangefinders are that uncommon anymore. I practice at longer range because I love the challenge, and if the guy isn't using a rangefinder or a mil-dot he's not going to have the correct adjustments made to his scope. You can get lucky up close, but shots beyond 400 yards take more talent, knowledge, practice and don't get the credit they deserve.

Retsof · « **Reply #101 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:47:41 AM »

Where I've been hunting for the past 20 years or so, most of our stands are in wooded areas, where 100 yards is the longest shot you're gonna get. There is 1 stand location offering a 200 yard shot. Finally, the farmhouse is located on elevated land, where you can see clear to the edge of the biggest food plot (about 325 yards away). In all the time I've been hunting there, there have been only 2-3 times, when a big buck will wander into the open area around this big food plot in midday. The back porch has a railing and faces this food plot and would allow for a good rest but we haven't yet taken this shot. So, for me and my hunting buddy, 200 yards is a long shot. BTW there is a 300 yard shooting range set-up in the big open area, which we've used a time or 2 to see what our ammo (factory & reloads) will do at that distance. However, since we don't practice at that distance regularly (ie, not likely to get a shot that far), we refrain from taking those really long shots.

jro45 · « **Reply #102 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:50:14 AM »

With my 270 Win Mag I shoot to 600yds. With my 338 RUM I shoot to 600yds. It takes time to set up a rifle to shoot to 600yds.

coyotejoe · « **Reply #103 on:** October 16, 2009, 05:15:26 AM »

Any time you don't know how far it is, it is too far. The longest shot I've ever tried was maybe 400 yards on an antelope facing me. I held on his nose and the 160 grain Nosler from my .280 Rem hit center of chest. Other than that one time I've never tried a shot past 200 yards and far more have been under 100 than over. Thus I feel my .358 Win has all the range I really need, for that matter so does my 30/30.

sniperVLS · « **Reply #104 on:** October 16, 2009, 05:18:53 AM »

Teddy is on the right track. I've been using a rangefinder for atleast 5 years now, I went to great pains to make my drop charts from Zero(300yds) out to 600yds so I can adjust my turrets within seconds and take the shot. I also account for those closer shots(200yds or closer) so the bullet goes precisely where I'm aiming. I am not a fan of holdover, that IMO is not a good habit to get into when you're taking shots at long ranges. I owe it to whatever I'm shooting at to put it down as quickly as possible. I've used Mildots and started getting accustomed to the reticle but I'd rather just use the laser rangefinder, dial up or down and get my finger on the trigger asap.

Bobg, sounds like you haven't been around long range shooters/hunters much, If I'm wrong I apologize. If I could muster up $2,800.00, I'd love to have Shawn Carlock build me a .338Edge he is famous for.

There are many long range forums out there with videos that show hunts. I got hooked in the mid 90'
s and haven't looked back

Back then I was using a Remmy 700 mountain rifle with the real thin barrel. It was extremely accurate until that pencil thin barrel got red hot lol.

I highly recommend Shawns dvd...
http://www.defensiveedge.net/Long%20Range%20dvd/long%20range%20dvd.htm

Watch some vids while you're there...
http://www.defensiveedge.net/Videos/video.htm

These aren't fluke shots, those guys out west do this day in and day out.

bobg · « **Reply #105 on:** October 16, 2009, 08:23:10 AM »

sniper VLS I never said this couldn't be done. Where i hunt a 100 yard shot is a long one. But then i live in a shotgun only area. I have hunted in PA. Two or three times with my 270. I would do a 200 yard shot or maybe 300. After that forget it.
bobg

Wyo. Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #106 on:** October 16, 2009, 10:23:58 AM »

bobg, there are guys in Pa. that can knock of chucks at 1000 yards and deer farther.... They have been doing for almost 50 years...

I can see if you only hunt with slugs it would see difficult. The keys are time, pratice and equipment. These guys are not slob hunters but professionals. They probably put more time an money in their sport than a 10,000 hunters who use slugs...

sniperVLS · « **Reply #107 on:** October 16, 2009, 11:40:42 AM »

I live in Ohio and got sick of using slugs for deer so I hit PA for deer and bear. I hunt coyote and groundhog in both states as Ohio actually allows rifle for coyote(miracle in itself, stupid state).

Just for poops and giggles, what do you fellas have your shotguns sighted in at? Those Remington Accutip slugs are awesome(but very pricey). I can hit a gallon milk jug @ 150 yards almost dead center. Yes I even use my shotguns as a semi long range weapon

Tonk · « **Reply #108 on:** October 16, 2009, 04:01:34 PM »

I personally consider long range as being, anything over or passed 350 yards! Now I have taken big game further out but that is another story. Today I would be lucky to hit anything passed that 350 yards marker.......eyes just won't let it happen. I have a couple of Long Range rifles in the form of a 7mm mag and a wildcate .338/300-Ultra mag.

Those that speak of hitting chucks out at 1000yards are having fun and this is not the same as hunting big game anyway. It does take a lot of practicew and patience, not to mention the schooling was has to learn inorder to be able to hit targets at 600, 700 & 800 yards.

LONGTOM · « **Reply #109 on:** October 16, 2009, 05:16:56 PM »

I have killed at 600 on groundhogs and at 500 on deer with no rangefinders or dot scopes but these are on my farm in fields I have hunted for over 40 years.
The ranges don't change and I have shot many hundreds of rounds in these fields.
I have always been a pretty good judge of distance and very seldom am I off more than a few feet on my farm.
I do use a rangefinder while hunting other property for groundhogs but only after I take the shot to see if I was correct in my estimate.
I once hunted with a guy who used all the bells and whisles and while he was checking the range and doing his adjustments I was taking the shots.
After several shots he said am I going to get to shoot?
I told him sure, whenever you get done playing with your toys!
You only learn by doing!
Tools are a great thing but you should learn how to do it on your own.

LONGTOM

bobg · « **Reply #110 on:** October 16, 2009, 05:25:57 PM »

You are right Tonk. Shooting chucks is an all together different game. I have killed a lot of them at 400 yards with my 243. And a few with the 22-250. Sure did stir things up. Didn't i.

bobg

Sourdough · « **Reply #111 on:** October 20, 2009, 10:42:44 AM »

I shot a Grizzly this year at 620 yards, 576 corrected for 22deg angle. We were in a blind up on the side of a mountain. We were looking across a valley with a large beaver pond in it. There were three gut piles across from us. The closes one, with the best view was 620 yards across on the other side of the beaver pond.

Grizzly Bear came out of the woods and started feeding on the gut pile. My first shot hit the Bear. Later I found out I had hit right behind the left shoulder, getting both lungs. A complete pass through, and a killing shot. I felt confident I had made a good shot.

Bear got up and ran straight away, heading for the spruce trees. Did not want to track a wounded bear in the woods, so I took a second shot at a running Bear. I aimed for the spine, as the bear was running away from me. Later I found out I had missed the line I was shooting at, but did hit the edge of the spine. The bear rolled and got up on it's front legs, back legs not working.

As the Bear was presenting a broadside shot, but from the shoulder back was hidden by brush, I aimed for the neck, Bear dropped. My shot had broken the neck and Bear went down.

Grizzlies don't go down easy. I've worked and practiced for five years to make this shot. It has now paid off. Moose last year at 780 yards, one shot.

Oldshooter · « **Reply #112 on:** October 20, 2009, 10:52:37 AM »

Shot at a coyote once at 1100 yds and held over 36 inches with a 6mm varmit special. Hit at his feet and to the right 1 foot. Decided that was too far so now i shoot at 3 to 400 unless i can get closer!

some of you guys can shoot is all i have to say and i mean that in a good way!

teddy12b · « **Reply #113 on:** October 20, 2009, 06:37:47 PM »

Quote from: Sourdough on October 20, 2009, 10:42:44 AM

I've worked and practiced for five years to make this shot. It has now paid off.

That's the part I don't think a lot of people understand when they stick their noses up to long range shooting. It takes a lot of work, load development and practice to take ethical hunting shots at those distances. Let me know if you ever want a little hunting buddy. I'd love to go to Alaska just to be a pack mule just to learn how you all hunt.

anweis · « **Reply #114 on:** October 21, 2009, 02:40:51 AM »

Quote from: Sourdough on March 07, 2009, 06:25:31 PM

"Hunter's Guide To Long Range Shooting" by Wayne van Zwoll.

Maybe that idiot will one day decide to write a book called "A hunter's guide to hunting and getting closer to game".

Coyote Hunter · « **Reply #115 on:** October 21, 2009, 03:58:46 AM »

Quote from: anweis on October 21, 2009, 02:40:51 AM

Quote from: Sourdough on March 07, 2009, 06:25:31 PM
"Hunter's Guide To Long Range Shooting" by Wayne van Zwoll.

Maybe that idiot will one day decide to write a book called "A hunter's guide to hunting and getting closer to game".

One thing I have learned over the 27 years I’ve spent hunting Colorado big game is that getting closer is NOT always an option.

There are simply too many variables that can muck things up – season dates, legal shooting hours, time available to the hunter (regardless of season dates or shooting hours), property boundaries, terrain, other hunters, weather, game movement, etc.

While I generally prefer to get closer if possible, I also prefer to be prepared for the long shot in case that is all that is all I get.

Although I have not read his particular book, books like Wayne’s serve a very useful purpose. In general they point out just what kind of preparation is necessary to be successful at long range – and that doesn’t include buying whatever is on sale at Wal-Mart, taking a few practice shots at paper at 100 and declaring a 6” group is “good to go” and then heading afield with the expectation of success at long ranges.

Sourdough · « **Reply #116 on:** October 22, 2009, 07:01:18 PM »

What really got me started shooting at long ranges is hunting wolves in the winter time. You are in the mountains, way above tree line. the snow is deep, covering everything. No brush to hide behind. You peek over a ridge and there is a pack of wolves down below in the valley on a kill. It's 500, 600, or 700 yards away, and no way to get closer. You really need to take out those wolves to help the Moose and Caribou population in the area. Also each wolf is worth $250.00 to $400.00 apiece. If you can knock down two you have paid for your trip. If you can take the whole pack, usually four to seven animals, that's all the better. For wolves I use a 30-06, at longer ranges. Up close I use a Mini-14.

Also, now that I am a fat old man, with heart trouble, one lung, arthritis, heel spurs, and four herniated disk, I can no longer walk that far. I have to take the shots I can get. Although I did surprise myself on that bear hunt. It was a half mile uphill climb back to our four wheelers. I made that climb with a day pack and a 14lb rifle and scope, without having to stop for air.

teddy12b · « **Reply #117 on:** October 22, 2009, 07:04:07 PM »

For that kind of money per dead wolf I'd be doing the same thing! I'm not familiar with the wolf problem in Alaska, but I assume by that dollar amount they want them all dead.

Sourdough · « **Reply #118 on:** October 22, 2009, 07:22:16 PM »

teddy: No way, there is too many of them. That is not a bounty, that is what the Arctic Wolf pelts will bring on the open fur market. They are usually in the most remote areas, and hunter success is very low. It takes years to understand how to hunt wolves. They are extremely smart, and very knowledgeable of their area. They have good noses, and sight. In some areas a wolf pack will not eat cold meat. They have learned that hunters stake out kills and try to ambush them when they return. So once the pack has killed an animal they eat their fill of that hot meat, then move on, never to return to that site. They only eat hot meat, from animals they have just killed, leaving it to the Coyotes and Foxes when they have eaten their fill.

That BS about wolves only killing the weak and injured is hype from the environmentalist movement. I've seen wolves take down huge healthy Bull Moose. They don't kill him, they cripple him to where he cannot get up. Then they start eating him while he is still alive. Often times, especially if it is a small pack, he is still alive when they leave.

anweis · « **Reply #119 on:** October 23, 2009, 06:24:39 AM »

Quote from: Sourdough on October 22, 2009, 07:01:18 PM

You really need to take out those wolves to help the Moose and Caribou population in the area.

No, you don't. Your thinking is just as old and wrong as the one of people who think that wolves kill only the sick and the old.
Excerpt from a Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leupold. I hope that you will understand the last paragraph. You probably won't.

KILLING THE WOLF
[....] We were eating lunch on a high rimrock, at the foot of which a turbulent river elbowed its way. We saw what we thought was a doe fording the torrent, her breast awash in white water. When she climbed the bank toward us and shook out her tail, we realized our error: it was a wolf. A half-dozen others, evidently grown pups, sprang from the willows and all joined in a welcoming melee of wagging tails and playful maulings. What was literally a pile of wolves writhed and tumbled in the center of an open flat at the foot of our rimrock.
In those days we had never heard of passing up a chance to kill a wolf. In a second we were pumping lead into the pack, but with more excitement than accuracy; how to aim a steep downhill shot is always confusing. When our rifles were empty, the old wolf was down, and a pup was dragging a leg into impassable side-rocks.
We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyesâ€”something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters' paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.
* * *
Since then I have lived to see state after state extirpate its wolves. I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails. I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death. I have seen every edible tree defoliated to the height of a saddlehorn. Such a mountain looks as if someone had given God a new pruning shears, and forbidden Him all other exercise. In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, dead of its own too-much, bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers.