Love to hear what distances game you shot were at, part of country, cartridge, and game shot.

How often could you NOT take a shot due to game being farther than the cartridge capability on deer and larger game and what was the range?

I hunt Alberta and Saskatchewan,with the terrain varying from open fields to foothills,with some mountain hunting thrown in .My average shot is around 200 yards.My farthest shot verified by a laser rangefinder was 480 yards on a pronghorn and the cartridge was a 7mmstw.I have also taken several other animals at distances exceeding 400 yards.My closest shot with a rifle was 20 yards and with a bow 10 yards.
I have never passed up a shot due to my cartidges limitations although I have passed up many since I did not feel comfortable that I could make the shot.

I suck big balls, been hunting public land for 4 years, and no kills. I actually got to take the safety off last week!! Actually I had seen more game last week than the past 3 years prior together. Damn spike bucks...

Average in woods - 50-75 yds.

Average is open woods/edges of fields - 125-150 yds

Average in MT for antelope and mulies - 250-275 yds.

In ideal conditions, I'll shoot (and have taken big game) out to 450ish yds. In my early 20sI took some game at farther ranges, but I think taking those shot was poor judgment in retrospect, and I would not do it now. I got lucky...

Most of my hunting is on the Oregon coast shots can be from a few yards to as far as one wants to shoot in clear cuts. I have killed a lot of game with all sorts of calibers but my longest kills where two Elk one was at 500 yards the other at 513 yards both where one shot kills with a .300 Weatherby and 200 grain Partitions.

6.5BR;

At first I hardly read your questions - and then I realized on rereading that you asked some interseting questions -and stirred some old memories for me.

Longest shot? I used to hunt woodchucks as a teenager with a Win.Mod.70 in 220 Swift (using factory loaded 48 gr. bullets going out at 4140 fps) I had a pre-war German Fecker scope. I routinely shot at 300 and even 400 yards (always firing at the head as a matter of sportsmanship).

As an Eastern US deer hunter I had no problems about range or caliber of rifle because my shots were always close in.

On bear stand in Ontario (Can.)once I did hold fire when a bear showed up. I had a 35 Rem., a perfectly well established bear killer. This bear decided to stretch himself in front of the bait and put his front paws on a log and did so - He looked about 8' long! He was about 45 yards away. I held fire. All those who never sat on the ground in the Ontario woods as dark was coming on are free to judge me. I came back the next season with a 35 Whelan - and never again saw so big a bear! That's some of my experiences!

Most of my kills have been at 100 yards or less. and the rest around 150 to 200. My farthest kill was a black bear at 250 with a 308 win and 180 rem CL .

I passed up a Blacktail buck at around 400 yards while hunting with a 22-250 and 70 grain speers. Did get four other deer that trip with that gun and load farthest was around 200 yards.

This fall, I killed 11 head of big game. The closest a Mulie buck was perhaps 30yds. The longest a cow elk was a lased 420yds..The rest were all over. One antelope buck was a lased 287, a mulie doe was 212.I did not laser all shots But I would guess most of the others were less than 200 and proably closer to 150 or under.

My average shot at big game is about 120 yards. The longest was about 400 yards and another (pronghorn) at 365 yards.

Only once did I want a longer range rifle.....in Labrador hunting caribou I wanted to take a shot about 1/2 mile.....absolutely no gun I know of would have taken that shot.....it was far far too long for anything.

Average on whitetails is about 50 yards. Average on African game is about 80 yards. Longest shot is something over 200 yards on an impala.

Longest on big game was a whitetail at 280 with a 7-STW. Average would be 50-75. But I do very little deer hunting other than archery.

Longest on fur was a chuck at 510 with a Model 70 .300 Win. and 150 gr. Bal-Tip (missed low on the 1st shot, killed on the 2nd).

Also another chuck at 470 with a 77V in .220 Swift with a 52 gr. Hornady HPBTM

Average on chucks runs in the 150-350 range, depending on the field.

I've hunted deer three ways.
In the heavily wooded southwestern Virginia mountains most of my shots have been inside 75 yards. I've hunted there with a 30'06, .243, .270, 12 ga. slug and a crossbow. I killed one at 125 with my 30'06 but you can't shoot further than you can see.

I used to hunt the rolling corn fields of Loudon county with a 30'06. The average shot there was 100-150 yards. I passed on many, many shots over 250 yards. I did kill one at 400 yards using about 8" hold over but it was dead calm. I probably wouldn't take that shot with a 30'06 today. I botched a shot at @325 yrds a short time later and bought myself a 7mm Mag.

Now I also hunt soybean fields on the coastal flats of Virginia's eastern shore. I've used a .270 and a 7mm Mag, mostly the 7mm Mag. There the shots probably average 150 yrd.s but I killed one with a head shot at 345 yards. I've passed on shots over 300 yards when the wind was gusty. I did kill one with the .270 in a steady crosswind of 25 mph at 325 yards but I needed a follow-up shot. I probably wouldn't take that shot again.

For me the limiting factor is the wind rather than the power of the cartridge. I have a good range finder that makes ranging a freebie, but accurately estimating windage is tough at dawn and dusk.

Before my skills were honed...my first deer was at 125 yards. The last 5 put together would...might total 125 feet. Shot a crat once further than that though...posted the story on the Small Game forum.

This year took doe @200 yds,6 point @162 yds,10 point @152 yds,8 point @78 yds,all with a muzzle loader.
Only took one with a reg rifle and it was a rem 260 @442 yds and I owe that to a good range finder and a still morning.

Feral hog at 234 yards a 338 WinMag and a whitetail doe at 20 yards, both with a 225gr Core-Lokt.

I estimate that my average distance has been 200yds; however, a large bit of my hunting has been in the mountains in RSA and on the plains where it is open. Dangerous game, buff, lion and leopard have been 100yds or less. The longest shot was on a vaal rehbok and was 450yds. If I have a good rest and a quiet wind, I feel comfortable shooting out to 300 yds where the shot can be followed up. I should add that I don't have a hunting rifle that will not consistently group under 1"@100yds, and most will do better than that. Kudude

quote:

Originally posted by 6.5BR:
Love to hear what distances game you shot were at, part of country, cartridge, and game shot.

How often could you NOT take a shot due to game being farther than the cartridge capability on deer and larger game and what was the range?

My longest shot was over 400 yards on a black bear. My usual is 150 or much less.

My earliest and one of the most satisfying shots, 125 yds on a fla. bobcat with a model 94 30-30, the front bead completely covered the animal, busted the shoulder textbook style. Later, after acquiring a dandy Ruger #1 that I rebarreled with a 28 Lilja tube, chambered in 275 Rigby Improved, floated the fore-end, worked up a load of something around 150 grains and 2900 fps, Kepplinger set trigger, Burris scope as I recall, then shot a georgia white tail at about 45 steps---???? go figure.

Our group hunts whitetails in rather open country. As a result, all of our feeders are located from 205 to 235 yards from the blinds. As a result, most of our shots are at similar distances.

I've had very few really close shots, simply because I rarely hunt in "close" country. Maybe the shortest was a pig in the headlights (if that counts) at about 20 yards. The longest measured was a doe across a wheat field at just short of 500 with a .270/130 (one shot, last day of season, needed to try to use a tag).

My son and I did shoot two cow elk at unmentionable and poorly confirmed ranges (maybe 600 yards) at the insistence of the guide, but it was ill-advised and I wouldn't do it again. We were talked into it because the cows were so much larger than the deer we normally hunt that the range didn't look all that far in the clear mountain air.

BEST SHOT EVER - prairie dog head sticking out of his hole - 220 swift 650/700 yards in across the Texas Panhandle
2003 BEST SHOT - turkey about 450 yards bent down eating in a wheat field, right in the butt hole. .270 and Texas Panhandle
2005 - turkey on the run - 300 yards .270,
turkey on the run - 130 yards 22-250,
whitetail buck 220 yards .340 weatherby. Two weeks later a whitetail doe in the same spot, same gun in the Texas Panhandle

My longest shot ever was a hog last year at 525yds(laser rangefinder) with my 257 Roberts. Prior to that it was a doe, headshot at 420 with a 22/6mm. Yesterday I took a management buck at 380 with a 223 in the neck. All south Texas in oatfields and long senderos.

Every moose and bear I shot has been under 30 yards. Am guessing I shot about 60 blacktail deer and average distance was probably about 70 yards, longest shot was a lazered 213. Average caribou shot was about 125 yards.

One deer at 125yards and one bear at 217 yards. Every deer and bear since those two... Under 35 yards closest 10 yards. Taken with:
1 w/ bow
2 w/ 30-06
2 w/ 338 WM
1 w/ 416 Taylor
1 w/ 340 Jaden
3 w/ 270 Win
1 w/ 7mm Rem

Average: 70 yards ish
Long: 280 yards ish

Total harvest: About 30 deer
Wounded & Lost: 2--both this year, Damnit!!

friar

My average range has been around 125 yards. Most are between 30 and 200 yards.

My longest shot ever was 310 yards at an elk, and 275 on deer.

I've lived and hunted in southern Saskatchewan and Alberta, parkland (intermixed bush, grass and fileds) to bald ass prairie. Mainly hunted deer and antelope, never shot an elk, but not for lack of trying. Have only ever carried a .270 in Canada (Not a fanatic about it, just tried it, liked it, never bothered to change). Made 1 trip to Africa, used a .416 Rigby and a .375 H&H.

Longest: 200 yds at an antelope
Shortest: 11 yds at a whitetail.
Average: ~75 yds

I guess I'm a sneaker more than a sniper. Having never felt the need to try a really long shot, the only restriction I've ever felt was when carrying a .270 after elk. Knew I'd have to wait for the right angle to present itself. Should I ever get serious about elk, I'll get a new rifle, but for now I'll grab the .375.

Dean

For the most part we hunt farm country whitetails in the Upper Midwest. Farthest was a buck at 270 yards taken with a 243. Closest was a buck arrowed at three yards. In Africa my dozen or so shots were all under 100 yards. These days we hunt a nice little woods where 75 yards is a far poke and most shots are taken at 50 or less. Good hunting!

Average, under 100 yards. Shortest range 30 yards (bull elk), 7mm Rem. Mag. Longest range: 420 yards - bull caribou, .308 Norma Mag.

Over the last year the shortest shot was a Sika stag at 7 yards, the longest a Red Hind at 160 yards, both shots were off hand.
The Sika, in close cover, did not know I was there, hit the ground dead with a neck shot.
The Hind, in a restocked Pine forest, was aware of some thing not to her liking but not what it was, Me, took a bullet in the lungs. She ran about twelve yards and was dead by the time I got up to her.
Most shots are taken at 30 to 60 yards

Ain't life grand!

Longest was a bull elk at 320 yards with my 30-06 with a 180 grain Nosler Partition. Shortest was a hog at about 40 yards with a 50 Cal. muzzleloader. Average would be about 100 yards.

In the west virginia hills, the longest shot I ever made was about 200 yards. Average probably 30 yards or closer. John

Great stories, love hearing them all.

Getting the feeling that most game is 200 or less on average but some great shooters have needed to take farther shots very successfully.

True on that 'half-mile opportunity', nothing short of an expert perhaps a 50BMG or similar long range armament would be appropriate.

Hearing some guys who like to take game up close and enjoy the hunting aspects of the hunt.

Sounds like most people have done well whatever they shoot which tells me what we all know, that if you have confidence and are comfortable knowing your weapon of choice-they have all worked with proper shot placement, wow, long shots on turkeys, head shot deer-that is some great marksmanship by guys/gals? who know how to place them in the 'zone'

I guess those longer shots were often in more open country where they are likely to present.

I do hear many elk which are seen must be shot at long distances......perhaps public hunting pressure?

Given the size of the animal, I have heard many reports over the years of elk shot at 400-500 and perhaps further. A strong cartridge is easily good to 4 and I imagine good hold over 500, just being sure there is enough remaining energy for sure solid clean kills.

Thanks everyone for sharing with me your stories.

Here in the south, I have shot about 30 deer, many from 15-100 yards, a few out to 200, one in Colorado at 250-275ish and my longest deer was 400, with a #1 6BR, Kepplinger trigger as above, 26" heavy barrel set up for target work-the shot was really easy having known the gun and the 6-24 Elite 4200 scope mil-dot helped having shot to that distance a good bit at the range-centerpunched the lungs, dead w/in 25 yards or so of hit. 105 amax, destroyed both lungs and exited.

I really want to shorten the barrel for a faster handling gun, but I may leave it alone-5 at 100 yds in .5 the other day.....hard to mess up a good thing you know. That load chrono about 2815 by the way if anyone is interested.

Thanks again.

I've hunted as a kid growing up all over Oregon, now hunt and reside in Colorado with some New Mexico, Wyoming, Arizona and Alaska hunting as well. Longest shot on an Elk was 425 yards 1 shot 30/06 180 grain Sierra "bang flop", longest Antelope 400 yards 2 shots 22/250 Barnes X bullet dead on his feet so I shot him again, longest Mulie 355 yards 30/06 180 grain Sierra "bang flop", last Elk 180 yards 30/06 180 grain Accubond "bang flop" 2 bulls prior to that were 100 and 175 yards. Elk average 220 yards. Last mulie I killed was 40 yards away, average mulie is about 145 yards. Average Antelope is about 185 yards.
For the record I killed my Mountain Goat at 21 yards, Bighorn Sheep at 285 yards.
I feel like I am an experienced game shot and know my rifle well, a 450 yard shot on a game animal is a long shot no matter who you are and you better be careful when shooting those distances most shots beyond that I do not attempt, the long ones I have attempted were all successful (350 to 425 yards) but I had a dead rest, animal was still or slowly moving, I estimated the range carefully and was aware of the wind speed and above all else I shoot my gun with the same load a lot and know it well. Please be careful when taking long shots these animals are more than mere targets for our use!

Whitetail deer Average = 179, Longest = 278. All shot with my 270 from stand with good rifle rest. No misses - no lost deer.

My longest shot ever was also the biggest thing I have ever shot in my life.....

The shot was out of a 30/30 and the distance was over 500 yds.....

And now as Paul Harvey says... Now you'll know the rest of the story.......

It was 1966, and after 3 yrs living in England where my dad was stationed in the USAF.. we came back stateside.. to Ft. Bragg NC ( Pope AFB)....

Dad took me and my younger brother out hunting for the first time in our lives.... and the two firearms available were a 12 gauge Rem 870 and a new Winchester 30/30.... We always got to flip a coin on who got the 30/30 and I usually lost....

So after getting use to a 12 gauge.. the 30/30 seemed like a real long range shooting rig... I also remember being next to my dad who took a shot at a deer, after the sun had gone down, but there was still light out....I remember with delight of watching what seemed like 2 feet of flame coming out of the barrel of the 30/30 when my dad pulled the trigger... I was more excited about the muzzle flash than I was about him hitting the deer.....

At Ft. Bragg we could deer hunt from like September to December 31st....

This was a week or so before christmas.... in an open clear cut field, off of a drop zone, my brother and I kicked up 4 or 5 does with several bucks with them....

My brother was carrying the 12 gauge and we being kids, we fired at anything that moved.....

after my brother emptied all 5 shots in the 12 gauge... I let loose with the 30/30... I shot all 6 shots at the running deer.....

At the edge of the clearing was about 20 yds of treeline and then a dirt road...

We had been at the top of a low rise and the deer had headed down toward the road as there was a swamp on the other side of it.. and quite a thick wooded swamp at that......

With my last shot... both my brother and I heard something go thunk and crash.. so I knew I had hit something.. and one of the deer had stumbled right after my shot.....

All of our shooting had caught the attention of our dad who came strolling up and asking what we had shot at... My younger brother was all excited but I was feeling sort of solemn after not having one of the deer laying dead in the field......

But my brother tells my dad, John must have hit something, because one of the deer stumbled on his last shot.. and we heard the bullet hit it!

So my dad walks with us off the hill side and shows us how to look for blood trails.. of which we find none....

Then he wants to know which direction they went and we point out toward the road and the swamp.....

So we get out one the road to look for tracks and any blood and low and behold, off to the side of the road is parked a brand new white Eldorado Cadillac convertible....

With a bullet hole in the drivers door!

My dad becomes livid and immediately gives us the speech about knowing what is behind in the distance when we take a shot....

He walks over to the car and is mumbling " Goddammit".. over and over.... the car is sitting half in the ditch so that the right side is much lower than the left side, that is half in the road.....

Dad walks around the back of the car and then says "Goddammit Boy" real loud and is glaring at me.....

The shot thru the door... evidently split the bullet and it ended up blowing out the right doors window and the right windshield had a huge broken hole in it.....

NOW my dad is grumbling "son of a bitch" over and over to himself outloud.....and motions me over to him.....

I am now pissing in my pants.. walking in his direction, when my younger brother is standing in front of the car and says Oh Shit dad,, loook!

My dad walks to the front of the car... and I meet him there.....

He and my brother are staring at the front bumper of it with blank looks on their faces....

There on the front bumper is the military sticker applied to all vehicles authorized to be on base.......It has 2 STARS on it! The Caddy belonged to a Major General......

Now I am really pissing my pants....

My dad looked at me for several minutes and then back at the sticker and then back at me.....

Then he looked around us for 360 degrees and no one was around..... He told me to come here.. next to him.. and as I slowly did so, I was expecting to get the crap slapped out of me.....so I had my eyes closed.....

My dad did the one arm around my shoulder hug.. and smiled and Said " that's my boy!" pointing a the 2 Stars on the bumper.....

Then he looked around one more time and Said " lets get out of here before the owner shows up!"

I didn't get in trouble... in fact I was sort of a small celebrity to some of my families friends.. as the kid who shot the Army general's new cadillac.... remember, we were an Air Force family!

So my first 'killed' game was my biggest!

cheers
seafire

Helluva way to lighten things up for a new year......long story but I laughed my butt off.

Brings to light the importance of safety.

Snellstrom-like the post about respect for the game we hunt, and also your commitment to knowing your abilities, when to shoot or hold fire. My long shots were ONLY possible due to solid rests and I have passed on shots when good rests were unavailable.

Longest: Mule deer doe @ 420ish yds

Average: Whitetails 35-80 yds in woods, 100-300 yds open terrain

quote:

I didn't get in trouble... in fact I was sort of a small celebrity to some of my families friends.. as the kid who shot the Army general's new cadillac.... remember, we were an Air Force family!

GEN probably died of apoplexy whe he discovered his "dead" car!

I've been hunting one thing or another since I was 8 years old and distance didn't seem very important.

I am now 38 and still don't own a laser rangerfinder. My closest was a spike bull at about 17 yards with a rifle, furthest to date was this years Blacktail at close to 350 yards. My average has been about 80 yards or so. Several shots have been about 200 yards.

I practice quite a bit with my rifles at varying distances at targets, but also do a lot of shooting at jackrabbits as well. To me, this type of practice has allowed me to "know" where to hold for different ranges. When I've been within a few inches of my POA even with a breeze blowing. It's not because of anything other than practice in the field.

I'm actually proud of the fact that most of my shots have been quite close, and somewhat embarrassed I couldn't get closer this year. Nate

quote:

Originally posted by seafire/B17G:
My longest shot ever was also the biggest thing I have ever shot in my life.....

After all these years I FINALLY find out who shot my car!