A few situations have had me wondering what is possible and sensible (not necessarily the same thing) with ordinary hardware on deer.

By standard I mean ordinary scope (no dials or fancy reticles) ordinary rifle (not tactical), ordinary calibre (not magnum) by a practiced shot with, as a concession, a rangefinder. I dare say quite a few would fall into this category.

For me the zero can't be too high at 100 - I want to be able to neck shoot something from a steady rest (if it's the only shot offered) without aiming off. I feel a max of 1.5" high at 100 allows me to do this.

I don't like aiming off fur. This is quite convenient as it means I can't shoot as far on a roebuck as I can on a fallow or a red. With a 100gr 243, 120gr 6.5, 140gr 7mm or a 150gr 30 cal at 2,800fps it limits me to about 250m on roe and 300m on fallow.

Past this the drop off is alarming. If I shoot at the top line of a fallow that I think is at 300yards and it turns out to be 330yards there is a good chance I'm going to hit it high in the front leg. Range finders in real life conditions (ie not the best light, poor reflective surfaces etc) can quite easily throw in such variances not to mention deer in fields have a habit of feeding away (rarely towards!)

Any views on this. Personaly I'd rather stick with the limitation as the number of times I get to shoot over this distance is very limited and to tool up with the equipment necessary to extend range would be rather superfluous not to mention irritating on normal shooting.

I know there's a few here who have experimented successfully - what's your take?

This is something that I've been mulling over recently as the long range shooting debate is becoming more prominent throughout stalking. The thing is that for me in the UK I don't necessarily get into the situation where I would need to shoot that far. The exception is probably when invited to my freinds in Suffolk for some roe stalking where I've had shots at 250m on open arable. Very doable with a 243 on a bipod, (or the second buck off sticks).

However beyond that sort of range (250ish yards)the only place I feel I could make the shot 100% is out of a solid high seat and I'm not sure I would want to take it. I have one scenario on my home ground where shooting out of the iron pond I often see deer at 300ish yards down to the right. I've looked at them through the scope and just not fancied it.

I have absolutely no problem with those that can do it (quiet admiration), but I just don't need to kill a deer that much.

Foxes on the other hand I'll happily have a crack at...

Rgds,
FB

The fundamental problem I have is that I don't have anywhere I could regularly practice shots on targets beyond 300m and I am not willing to "learn" by cracking off a speculative shoot or two at deer while out stalking...

Not sure about neck shoot...

1894mk2,

You have a pm ...

regards,

Pete

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:

Foxes on the other hand I'll happily have a crack at...

Rgds,
FB

Wow that answer surprizes me somewhat,may I ask what is the diffrence between a fox and a deer ?? are they both not living animals and command the same respect ???

Absolutely correct, they command the same respect like any quarry you should aim for a clean kill, and "have a crack" is bad wording on my part. Anyone that knows me will know that isn't my style at all. But with a fox it is either a miss or a kill when hit with a 243. A deer on the other hand can easily be wounded and carry that bullet if badly placed.

I dont mean to disrespect foxes but if you hit him he's dead, if you don't he's not.

As far as the thread is concerned I basically feel that if I am comfortable that the shot is good and conditions acceptable, (light, wind and backstop) then a shot is there to be taken on any quarry. As a rule I don't enjoy long shooting on deer even if the shot is easily done so I tend to pass and try and creep in closer. Like I said I really don't need to kill it that bad.

For those that need to make cull numbers etc it becomes a valuable skill if they are consistent.

FB

I would lkie to think I do know a little about fox control as i do a lot,and a fox can run if hit badly with a 243 I have seen them run with half there internal organs hanging out and a follow up with a dog was needed,

FB - a friend of mine that has done some serious red deer culling (couple hundreds/year) in the past (Belje - Vovodina - Serbia now) used his 8x68S with 7cm i.e. ~ 3" high on 100m - worked for him out to 350m. I tried that setting for one season only but it just didn't work out for me - ended with couple of high spine shots :S - now I have (as you said) 1,5"high/100m. If forced (i avoid long shots at all costs, but sometimes it is a must) to take a long one I move the aim from the shoulder to behind the shoulder, so in case shot goes low it doesn't hit front leg. If it goes low on chest it either miss, graze (usually non leathal) or open the chest that is fatal.

Swap the 100grain 243 bullet for a sierra 1530 85 g hpbt and you got a much better set up.
I'm pretty conservative with my ranges but a month or two back I watched a roe doe for 30 mins on some wheat with growing frustration as she grazed and gambolled from about 170 out to 700 yards, I moved up and down a hedge trying to get the shot... eventually she started getting closer again. I took a shot at what I guesstimated at just under 250. Aimed 2ins. high and it dropped dead on spot paced it at 290 mrtres and the bullet hit a little high. 85 grain sierra hpbt is the bullet to use.
Plenty of foxes on three legs where lampers misjudge range then blame RSPCA releases!
Know your ground, landmarks and field lengths/widths in broken/sloping ground, across valleys distances are shorter than you think.
Personally I hate bipods but I like 3 foot long tomato canes too shoot off and keep the dog in line.

1894mk2
I think that a Khales multizero scope can solve the problem and satisy yout wishes.

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Malinverni:
1894mk2
I think that a Khales multizero scope can solve the problem and satisy yout wishes.

Also the new Colour coded Swaro Turrets are supposed to be a great system. I'm hoping for a sneaky peek if I get a chance in the next couple of weeks.

Rgds,
FB

FB,

Tells us about the new turrets...will they be available to retro fit on our 3-12x50mm PH's?

Regards,

Pete

Hey Pete,

They are from what I have heard a colour coded dial up turret. Basically you zero your rifle to shoot flat at 100dred set on the Yellow marker. Then you shoot the rifle at 250 say and set the green marker, and do the same with the red marker at 350 say. Basically if you are mountain hunting rather than count clicks you just move the vertical correction to the desired range and aim at the target.

I suppose it is like the snipers turrets but without the need to remember the number of clicks. I don't think they can be retro fitted but I will ask and tell you.

you know there is a similar function on our 3-12x50 Swaro's dont you? You lift the dial after zeroing and place the arrom on the mark. then you can adjust a number oc "clicks" if you need to and return the scope to its original setting without the need to rezero.

I may be getting something wrong on this as I'm ne expert with dial ups but I think that is the jist of it.

Rgds,
FB