how far do you shoot

[bnsafe]

ok, im gonna rant a little here, im sorry. the last two days i have watched these guys on tv shoot elk and mulies at around 700 yds. ok they have the equipment and evidently the ability to do it, although i would imagine they shoot alot of shots at that range that you never see. however, you know somebody out there is watchin and gonna start flingin lead at that range. and i would argue the avg guy has no business shootin at 300 yds. so, how far is your max. i shoot a 3006 an 250-300 would be my max for an elk, prob 250 for a mulie. and if i could get closer i would take the chance and try just cause i am realistic about shots.

[cnelk]

My longest recorded kill [ranged] was on a coyote - 610yds

[Mikeha33]

I shot a coyote at (ranged) 315 yds this winter with a .300 WinMag. I have practiced at 400 yds a few times on a big target and felt comfortable with the shot, but honestly, I dont think I would ever shoot anything beyond 400 yds. Even at 400 I dont think I'd be confiedent to shoot a game animal.

[ferris bugler]

350 is about the max for me. I prefer to shoot them at less than 15 yards though.

[easeup]

my farthest elk kill to date is 45yds.

[pointysticks]

were they all dressed up in the latest camo?

i have a 257 weatherby..i took a mulie at 400. i was young and dumb. no rangefinder. just eyeballed it and estimated the distance. it was a perfect shot. last deer i killed. i could have been wearing a clown costume.

[bnsafe]

typical tv bull. what i really hate is these guys celebrating after they make a shot like that. do you really hunt if your shooting something at 700 yds, or could you have hunted and gotten closer and made a more ethical shot. if you wanna shoot 700 yds and celebrate go to a range, or prairie dogs, but cmon man.

[FemoralArchery]

I've killed a coyote at 750 with my .270
I've killed a rockchuck at 596 with my .22-250
and
I killed a mule deer at a little over 500 with my .270. All with witnesses.

I don't have anything other than 3-9 scopes. Just learned where to shoot by practicing. I was 18 when I killed the deer, and I won't ever do that again. It was a 1 shot kill, but it wasn't any fun. The coyotes and rockchucks will never be safe, at any distance.

[LckyTylr]

I don't shoot very far. I'm from Upstate NY and I cut my teeth on wiley whitetails. My first deer was a small 3x4 that was my second longest archery shot at 23 yards. I have since killed 10 more deer with a bow, all under 20 yards except a forky mule deer at 36 yards. I have only lost one animal, a doe that ducked my string at 13 yards. I have killed 12 deer with a gun (about 1/2 with a 12 ga. Slug). I have only killed one deer beyond 100 yards, a mule deer buck at 200. Most of my gun kills have been from 40 - 80 yards. You might say that I'm choosy, well maybe, but I have notched at least one deer tag every single year of hunting since I started in 2001.

I like to see their whiskers before I send a projectile down range.

Woodchucks and Rockchucks . . . probably longest kill on one of those is 200 as well, I belly crawl as close as I can.

[Indian Summer]

"the avg guy has no business shootin at 300 yds"

That is definitely true. However if the right guy has the right tools for the job AND does his homework 700 yards is a chip shot. Yes chip shot. It's simple math. Yes there are variables such as mirage and wind etc. But if the conditions are good long range shooting with a gun is no different than the long shots with a bow. My furthest pin on my bow is 45 yards. When I hear guys talking about 60+ yard shots I think wow... not for me. Too many variables.

If you have a heavy barreled rifle with a good high powered scope, ammo taylor made for the gun, a good range finder, and a solid rest you can consistently shoot groups to 100 yards and beyond.

I have all of the tools including the ammo but haven't had time to do the homework. You have to have somewhere to do it which can be tough to find in the east. I found a 1000 yards club 1.5 hours from me in WV and I'm going to take some time with the help of an old pro and figure out my trajectory and the minutes of angle for all the distances to 1000. I asked the guy on the phone "How much ammo should I bring to get that all worked out?" He said "we'll shoot the gun 5 times through a chronograph, after that you'll need 1 bullet to hit a 7 inch plate at 1000 yards"

I know 2 guys from Wilked Barre Pa. One broke the 1 mile record a few years back. He beat the old record by 7 inches for group size. The old record was his too. They hunt the Bitterroot for elk... cross canyon and that's how we met. They had taught a buddy how to shoot like that and he regularly kills game at 1000 to 1200 yards. Killed a 10 inch billy in the Root 2 years ago and also put 2 girls on big goats at 900 yards about 10 years back. Remember now these guys actually make their own guns. Ream the barrels and all from a block of metal on up. Oh yeah.... they have range finders the size of a phone book good to 12 miles. Yes they are extreme examples of what can be accomplished. So are our military snipers, one of which is the son of my friend there. But like I said... to these guys 1000 yards is the norm and anyone with a steady hand can do the same thing if they really want.

No, it's not for everyone. Yes there are people doing it who aren't exactly good at it. I would hope they'd shoot enough targets to be good enough before ethically shooting at game and pass on shots if conditions weren't right.

[otcWill]

I practice out to 80 yards constantly. Furthest shot on an elk was 40 yards. Archery only

[JohnFitzgerald]

My farthest shot on a animial was my Antelope at 410 yrds. Nice solid rest and I had practiced at that range about 4 months in advance.

[Lefty]

When I was shooting a lot I shot a cow elk at 650 yards with hand loads 7mm 160 gn Nosler partictians
Shot a red fox at 570 yards in a flooded flax field with a .22, I just kept raising the shot till I heard the smack,.. trapped the fox 2 days later with the bullet just barely under the skin
Killed a bunches of prairie dogs(100-175) some fox and handfull of coyotes with a .22 3 cani of them just over 200 yards

[pointysticks]

i used to shoot alot. reloading, running to the range, etc. obsessed with it.

i never used a rangefinder, although i probably wasnt far off from buying one. i put away the rifles in 2007. done. archery only. now i am like a vegetarian. bow only is damn daunting.

i came up in my teens with a old model 70 30.06. i reloaded for it. i still have the magic recipe for that gun. clean clover leaf shaped groups. amazing rifle. i would stomp around the el paso desert weekly looking for long range jackrabbits. 300-400 yards..no problem. i used my cheap bushnell binos to find the jacks, then i would put them on the ground and use them as my "bipod"..hahaha. it was awful for the health of binoculars. i ended up with early harris bipods. love them.

you shoot at a jack, and had to wait for the bullet to hit it. my first deer i shot at. i looked thru the scope at it looked as big as a barn. after shooting rabbits for so long, a big game animal was like a chip shot.

it is amazing to me how the technology for long range shooting has jumped ahead. tactical scopes turrets seem more common than regular turrets. everyone i see has a ballistic chart taped to their stocks. my buddy hit a mulie with a 338 lapua. it was so far away!!

i admire the long shooters..not so sure i could pull off a shot like that. i sure as hell cannot afford a dedicated long range gun. the scopes alone are above $1000.

[RockChucker30]

I've got a 10 inch gong and it is a blast to shoot out to 500 or so. On game if everything was perfect I could see taking a 4-500 yard shot but only in a specific scenario.

With a bow I practice with whiffle balls in the yard, shooting judos. I have pins out to 80, and regularly shoot that distance, but can shoot 90 holding off the top of the bubble and shoot 100 holding off the bottom of the sight housing. Man judos are fun!

[tdiesel]

I think this is personal just like how far you shoot your bow some can shoot with great accuracy at 100 some can't. It is our responsibility to know our limits and stick to them I don't have a problem with people shooting far as long as they don't exceed their ability. We have a rifle shoot every year that they call the lie detector it is a cut out of an elk at 575 yd. amazing how those guys who shoot elk "all the time " at 700 yrds can't even hit the entire cut out much less the kill zone but there are a handful that every year put bullets right in there so it's a personal thing the responsible think to do is know your limit and stay within it. Personally 602 is the furthest I've shot at a cow elk i shoot paper plates at 880 some just for kicks and its not what you would call a long range setup. Regular rifle that I've reloaded for and bedded personally 3x9 scope

[pointysticks]

not to hijack.

when i bought my glock 21. (45acp), i met my brother at his policeman gun range. i was shooting and shooting, and i noticed a steel man shaped and sized target sitting at around 90ish yards. i asked what that was for. he said to teach new cops that it is possible to hit a target that far with a handgun. i lined it up and within a few shots, i was ringing that guy. it was pretty fun.

shooting is pretty fun.

[bnsafe]

no question some guys can do it, thats why i qualified my statement with "avg". im just sayin most guys cant. and i hate to see em showing it on tv encouraging guys to throw lead downrange without the ability or equipment to do it. if you can more power to ya, personally i cant.

[pointysticks]

agreed!!

i am now in the "can't" camp. i am actually very fumbly with a rifle now. last time out, i think i dropped my weatherby.

[wawhitey]

im the average guy, and last fall i took the buck in my profile pic shot him at 370. never shot that far but it worked out. i dont plan on shooting any further than that ever, but never know when the situation will come up that you have the choice of letting a once in a lifetime animal walk or making the attempt. i think saying 300 is max is a bit conservative, but its all relative to the situation. given the choice id try to stalk closer than 300 yards for sure, but thats not always an option

[Freebird134]

when i bought my glock 21. (45acp), i met my brother at his policeman gun range. i was shooting and shooting, and i noticed a steel man shaped and sized target sitting at around 90ish yards. i asked what that was for. he said to teach new cops that it is possible to hit a target that far with a handgun. i lined it up and within a few shots, i was ringing that guy. it was pretty fun.

An old college friend claimed he took down an elk with his 10mm Glock 20 at over 100 yards. As I recall it was multiple bad shots to bring it down. I never understood why he was so proud of himself.

[bowpackerrob]

My longest elk kill was 125 yards with a 300 wsm this year. Bowkill has been 35 yards, muzzleloader around 55 yards. I parctice regularly with my bow at 70 to 90 yards but my effective bow range is definitley 50 yards and lower, just too much room for error for my shooting. How does the saying go" a man has got to know his limitations".

[JGH]

I am NOT a long-range guy. I put a 12"x12" steel gong on the neighbor's property last year ... 300 yards from my bench, across a valley.

It gives me confidence, and 300 now seems "reasonable". I shot an elk (cow) last year at around 300 yards (didn't range her) ... and with the wind, ended up hitting her too far back. She started walking for the property line (across which I could not go) ...

Time for "Hail Mary" and at 538 yards put one in her chest. Longest shot I ever took, let alone made.

The event taught me two things:

1. Even when 300 yards seems easy with a bench and a calm day, it changes when there is a wind, no bench, and an elk to shoot at.

2. Keep practicing ... you never know when you might need to make that longer shot.

Oh, and a third: Use good bullets. That Hornady 165 grain .30 GMX went through her chest at 538 yards after leaving my little old .30-06.

Bottom line:

I much prefer arrows at short range over bullets at any range!

[Bartfrncs]

I like those 25 yard chip shots but we all know they don't happen that often. I build coustom rifles and can be on target consistently at 700 so I think each hunter should know his equipment and that means train train train. 700 is more than doable. Just because some cant doesn't mean I shouldn't.

[WindedBowhunter]

I'm a little different as I don't hunt with a gun, yet!

But, I have taken big game with my bow at the furthest distance of 67yds. This helps when you practice at 80yds...