You arrive at your Hunting destination and your normal pre-sighted in, well used rifle either has a problem, didn't show up, no ammo, scope broken, barrel U-shaped, whatever.

One of the guys already there has taken a HUGE Trophy Buck with his rifle and has to run to his kids game, recital, broken arm, whatever.

Before he goes though, he hands you his rifle and says, "It is perfectly sighted-in and here are the cartridges and a pre-verified Drop Chart for it." Everyone is all ready to go Hunt. They encourage you to take his rifle and Hunt. You are known to be careful with firearms, especially one that is not yours.

Next thing you know, it is 6:15Pm and Sunset was at 5:50PM with no cloud cover. EDIT IN: This would be a " Legal " shooting time. All of a sudden you spot a HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY Buck standing broadside at what you are guessing to be 337yds. You have a solid rest with the Deer in the reticle and the clarity of the scope is amazing.

You have NEVER shot this particular rifle before.

Would you take the shot?
-----

Good Hunting and clean 1-shot Kills to all you folks.

25 minutes past legal? I'd be hating it for sure, but no, I would not. At least where I sit, deer hunting ends at sunset. In my book (and my state's) that's called poaching.


Edited to add: as far as using the loaned rifle, there are only a couple friends I have that I trust enough to believe what I've been told as far as a rifle is concerned. If one of them handed me the rifle to use, told me how it shoots, and that whopper of yours stepped out 25 minutes earlier, with the steady rest and no wind, I'd drop his arse.

KG

If it was "one of the guys" at the deer lease or hunting spot I'd say no, absolutely no.
If it were my brother or my gunsmith then the answer is yes as both of these guys I would trust, "some guy" no matter how well spoken of carries no weight with me.

Whopper standing sideways I'd throw the guys borrowed spare tire at it (yes I would take the shot).

quote:

Originally posted by Kamo Gari:
25 minutes past legal? ...

Wooooooops, sorry for the confusion. It would still be a "Legal" shot where I'm used to hunting.

Did not mean to mislead anyone there.

It would depend EXACTLY on which of my friends it is.

I have some that shoot with me, and frankly, they shoot my loads and I've shot THEIR rifle plenty of times. In a case like that, you bet, I'd take the shot.

I have other very good hunting friends that there is no way in hell I'd take the shot.

If it were still legal shooting time and with the info left me about the rifle, I could figure out what the drop would be at that distance then:

YES!

The situation would never have arisen.

I would have shot the rifle in camp when it was loaned to me and verified the zero.

Yes, I would take the shot with his rifle, and hopefully there would be a new hat rack on the wall.

Many say they wouldn't shoot at a game animal at over 300 yards. It would be hard for me to believe that many would take the shot at a 'guessed' 337 yards with borrowed rifle they have never shot before.

Yes I take a the shot.
\
Even if I missed I have one hell of a good excuse.

There remain many unspoken variables about this situation, but a standing broadside shot at putting distance with sound rifle would be a chinch. I must agree that I would not have left camp without test firing the rifle, and I am making an assumption that the rifle is of a conventional nature with a normal chambering.

So listen for the muzzle blast!

To me, hunting w/ a rifle I have never fired is just foolish. Taking a shot @ an animal after legal shooting hour is just stupid. It takes what, 3min to at least verify a 100yd zero?

Nope

Life is too short, get some lead in the air!

I've seen me do it before! But only with folks that I know are as ticky about sighting in/accuracy loads/accurate rifles as I am.

No.

IV

I routinely travel to Texas to hunt deer, and use several friend's rifles a lot of times. One shot to test the trigger and 100 yard zero is all you need, and then I'm comfortable with the weapon.

With the untried rifle in the dark on the first night, NOPE! But I guarantee I'd be looking for him again the next day

No. I have a hard enough time shooting my own rifles sometimes. To half ass it with someone else's rifle is just inviting disaster. As a sportsman who's about to take a game animal's life, you owe it to the critter to kill it quickly with one shot. If you're ever in doubt about the shot, don't pull the trigger. It ain't right to louse up a shot and cause your query to die slower death than it has to.

With an untested rifle the answer it 'depends'. If I really trust the guy and see a well used but cared for rifle and I have seen him take good long range shots with it then if I cant zero it I might if its a once in a life time chance. Lots of 'If's'.
Only if it were shooting at me would I try a kill shot at+300 yds
Here in the UK it is usual to stalk the beast down to say <100yds and take the shot.
With a rifle I have never fired before half the distance again.
There is nothing more depressing than wounding a fine animal.

Mark

Not from a stranger's rifle without verifying zero and the trigger first.

Almost certainly I would have taken the shot, I am very comfortable shooting at 300+ yds, I guess I would have liked to test fire it but if not possible I would most likely shoot.

Only a couple people that I know well enough to trust their rifle at 300 plus yards without verifying. Anyone else I would not take the shot unless I verified the zero first.

quote:

Originally posted by MarkH:
With an untested rifle the answer it 'depends'. If I really trust the guy and see a well used but cared for rifle and I have seen him take good long range shots with it then if I cant zero it I might if its a once in a life time chance. Lots of 'If's'.
Only if it were shooting at me would I try a kill shot at+300 yds
Here in the UK it is usual to stalk the beast down to say <100yds and take the shot.
With a rifle I have never fired before half the distance again.
There is nothing more depressing than wounding a fine animal.
Mark

What if another buddy knocked the rifle over & neglected to tell the owner? Now he hands it to you & garauntees it's sighted in? Sorry, still a bit reckless for me.

NO!!!!

Bad shots taken today, spoil good shots tommorrow.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc:
It would depend EXACTLY on which of my friends it is.

I have some that shoot with me, and frankly, they shoot my loads and I've shot THEIR rifle plenty of times. In a case like that, you bet, I'd take the shot.

I have other very good hunting friends that there is no way in hell I'd take the shot.

YEP..
MY gunsmith and I have been very close friends for over 30 years. Because we are similarly built and have the same shooting style I can drop behind one of his rifles and he can sit behind one of mine and we know exacly where the round is going.

some other friends there will be several inches difference in POI at even just 100 yds.

not without at least one test shot at 100yds.
unless the animal was 100yds or less- but at 330yds- no way - gotta take the 100yd test shot first
...and I don't like shooting other peoples weapons anyway......

BANG FLOP!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Hot Core:
You have NEVER shot this particular rifle before.

Would you take the shot?
-----

Nope. We all shoot differently, and sighted-in for him isn't sighted-in for me, necessarily. At 100 yards, maybe...

..The ignorance of most of the hunters in my area when it comes to rifles is amazing, and usually I am the guy who sights their rifles in, mounts their scopes and does otehr such acts of "white mans' magic" so I can see this scenario reversed. I am the one handing them the rifle and I am %90 sure that it will do the job better than the rifle they have braught along. I would be happier to see someone use one of my rifles here than risk them wounding an animal becuse the gun has never been zeroed.

I would have liked to have shot it once even off the hood of the truck at a rock on a hillside and can't see why that could not have been done in almost any situation.

BUT I would have taken the shot.

It's a toss up, he could be gone, he could be dead. I'd most likely take the shot, if there is plenty of snow on the ground, this scenario includes snow right? ssshhhhhhhhhhwwwaaaackkkk!!
6.5 x 284 let'er rip.
Timan

quote:

All of a sudden you spot a HUGE WHOPPER TROPHY Buck standing broadside at what you are guessing to be 337yds.

no. i wouldnt take that shot with but 1 of my own rifles much less someone elses.

quote:

You have NEVER shot this particular rifle before.

Would you take the shot?

Yes why Not ?!

Yes because I did. Was hunting south Texas cull hunt. My gun would not hold a zero, missed a deer a 175 yards and had no confidence in gun. Guide next mourning (last hunt before we leave) gives me his 7mag and says its good to 400 yards. My shot was only 185 yards but still first shot, deer DRT.

PS was not huge monster buck but still we were there to kill culls no excuses.

I would never have left camp without a new zero.

No. I will not shoot past 300 yards in general. Certainly not 25 minutes past sunset with a gun that I am not familiar with.

If the rifle is from a friend that I trust and is an excellent hunter and regularly takes long shots with his rifle, yes. However, I only know of two folks that fall into this category. I wouldn't use a rifle from any of my other friends under any circumstance.

I regularly allow folks to borrow and shoot my rifles when they don't own one or don't own one adequate enough for the particular game. In every case that I have done this, they have never shot that rifle previously and every single time they have made sucessful 250+ yard shots on free ranging, walking game from standing and sitting positions (with sticks). Now, I have been with these folks on the hunts, guided them, found the animals, ranged, glassed, instructed them where to aim, and called the shots - this probably made the difference.

Too many variables involved.

My main question is, which is more important here?

Making a clean kill that you are not tracking in the dark, so that both horns and meat are recovered.

or

Taking an iffy shot, in hopes of recovering the antlers the next morning.

This is a scenario I have seen brought up far to often in the past couple of years, where some one takes a shot that they shouldn't have, but are satisfied with the way things turn out if they recover the rack.

Hoping that the ani