Maximum Range for Stalking

Braces Airgun Masters
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Think I came across wrong there - my 30m assertion is that I have seen people miss and shoot very badly at 50m and therefore based on the fact that they can’t do it then, by assertion of some then none of us should - I was probably being a bit facetious but even on DSC tests plenty of people are unable to hit a 4 inch circle at 100m indicating that is too far for a certain portion of the community.

420m is a long way and is probably not stalking but it can be done - not by me, I’m not good enough at shooting long range.

We seem to be a very intolerant bunch of people on the whole - reading some of the comments, in a different context they could easily come from the same people who would stop and shooting of deer full stop. ‘I don’t agree with what you are doing therefore it should not be allowed because it is disgusting behaviour’.
 
Not going to get to into this

But wot I will say esp to newcomers/inexperienced shots these long range efforts ( and to some extent neck/some or brain shooting) have got far more fashionable due to internet.
In the old days ud only attempt it if/when u had the experience and knew wot u were doing not asking threads about it.
While I do think there is never a silly question, I also think they're are questions if u have to ask u probably don't have the experience.
Most expercied boys doing it wouldn't bother posting it as have nothing to prove when doing it for a living.
Many good experiences stalkers shooting decent ammounts of deer will go there whole stalking life without ever needing to take spine/brain shots ( and with the price of venision now is the potential risk worth it??)

But the most important thing to learn is that the real marksmen who can consistently make shots like this also know when NOT to take shot no matter their equipment or ability.
Poor weather, wind, poor shooting position, unsteady, spooked deer, closeness to a boundry sure a few other reasons too
All things when an experienced shooter will dial his range right back if the situation is not right.


Lateral ethics ofother countries might not be the best idea, it is normal in NZ to drop posion from helicopters for deer and boar, as well as shooting from them in the past.
My mate bought a Semi Auto .270 so he could shoot deer on the run, not something we should be using as best practice. Not even injured deer just deer he has bumped
In NZ ALL deer are non-native invasive species.
Great place to hunt thou, I just stick to my own morals/ethics wherever I go and do t bother so much about others, that's up to them.

To be honest bloody stupid posting it on faceache thou no matter ur opinion.
 
I shot a nice Dartmoor stag just this season, spotted it at some 350mts, and planned my Stalk. This mean the obvious judging the wind and position of the sun, and anticipating its eventual direction of travel, providing a good backstop.

I shot the beast about an hour and a quarter later, range around 80 mts, HL shot, dropped after about 20mts. I was chuffed to fcuk about the whole thing, a nice 14 pointer now on the wall.

As said earlier.........It’s called Stalking!
 
dartmoordog said:
I shot a nice Dartmoor stag just this season, spotted it at some 350mts, and planned my Stalk. This mean the obvious judging the wind and position of the sun, and anticipating its eventual direction of travel, providing a good backstop.

I shot the beast about an hour and a quarter later, range around 80 mts, HL shot, dropped after about 20mts. I was chuffed to fcuk about the whole thing, a nice 14 pointer now on the wall.

As said earlier.........It’s called Stalking!
Click to expand...

A proper stalk! Love it.
 
dartmoordog said:
I shot a nice Dartmoor stag just this season, spotted it at some 350mts, and planned my Stalk. This mean the obvious judging the wind and position of the sun, and anticipating its eventual direction of travel, providing a good backstop.

I shot the beast about an hour and a quarter later, range around 80 mts, HL shot, dropped after about 20mts. I was chuffed to fcuk about the whole thing, a nice 14 pointer now on the wall.

As said earlier.........It’s called Stalking!
Click to expand...
dartmoordog said:
I shot a nice Dartmoor stag just this season, spotted it at some 350mts, and planned my Stalk. This mean the obvious judging the wind and position of the sun, and anticipating its eventual direction of travel, providing a good backstop.

I shot the beast about an hour and a quarter later, range around 80 mts, HL shot, dropped after about 20mts. I was chuffed to fcuk about the whole thing, a nice 14 pointer now on the wall.

As said earlier.........It’s called Stalking!
Click to expand...

That's stalking!
 
Last edited:
Sandys dog said:
If I’d stalked several miles into something that was in the open with no chance of reducing the gap and the shot was within my skill set then that’s fair stalking as far as I’m concerned
Click to expand...

Absolutely. And in many cases just getting to the position of being able to take a long shot takes a fair bit of doing.
 
I stalked into a nice roebuck last year,
finally get to 15 feet off him,
he was out of season, but had been with 5 does earlier, (half expected them being with him) at very close range his head came up and I got "the stare" until I spoke to him, dont think he knew what I was,
enjoyed the day better than if I had taken a doe.
 
Like many of the “Long range “ animals shot in the YouTube videos they only post the things that went well. Even if you are a very competent shot you are still not in control of all the variables the main one being from when your brain goes “shoot” to the rifle firing then the bullet flight to the target all the animal has to do is start swing it head. I think deer deserve more respect IMHO
 
dartmoordog said:
I shot a nice Dartmoor stag just this season, spotted it at some 350mts, and planned my Stalk. This mean the obvious judging the wind and position of the sun, and anticipating its eventual direction of travel, providing a good backstop.

I shot the beast about an hour and a quarter later, range around 80 mts, HL shot, dropped after about 20mts. I was chuffed to fcuk about the whole thing, a nice 14 pointer now on the wall.

As said earlier.........It’s called Stalking!
Click to expand...
I bet you were buzzing! I remember my first proper stalk like that (A Proper Stalk) Awesome. If stalking is your thing, then that's the way it should be. Stalking needn't even involve taking a shot. You can stalk without a rifle. Take a camera instead. It's all about getting up close.
"Shooting deer" and "stalking" aren't the same thing at all. But some people do simply need to shoot deer. It's their job. I guess they get very good at it, and sufficiently competent to take shots that other people would let pass.
 
bobt said:
I stalked into a nice roebuck last year,
finally get to 15 feet off him,
he was out of season, but had been with 5 does earlier, (half expected them being with him) at very close range his head came up and I got "the stare" until I spoke to him, dont think he knew what I was,
enjoyed the day better than if I had taken a doe.
Click to expand...
Done that a few times.:thumb:
 
define 'fast moving bullet' because at that range bullets, will have slowed a fair bit, particularly a flat based bullet like a pro hunter.

Lets run the figures, assume creedmoor or 6.5 x 55 launched the bullet at 3000 fps, at 420 yrds that
Tom D said:
I've always said that I wouldn't criticise someone for a long shot. When you line up a shot and have the beast in the cross hairs only you know your chances of making the shot, you know your own abilities and those of your gun, or you should at least. You know the range and the drop, dial up or hold over. You know the wind and the drift at that range. And therefore you can make an informed decision as to whether to pull the trigger.

I don't know the answers to those questions in this case, only the shooter does. So I can't comment.

What I will say is that I have shot crows past 400 yds, and I have missed crows past 400 yds, and closer actually. And yes perversely I appear to value the life of a deer over that of a crow, I cant say why , I just do. Would I take a neck shot at 420? I doubt it, I would take a boiler room shot though.

I took a head shot on a yearling hind at 190 yds once, That was far enough for me for head / neck shots. It was filmed and is now on line on a popular shooting channel, not with me as the shooter though. The magic of TV...
Click to expand...

I think the difference though is the fact you are using probably .223 or similar with a varmint bullet on the crow so a hit anywhere should be a clean kill due to the power and frangibility verses the size of the quarry - a hit should be a fairly quick kill. This is simply not the case with an animal the size of a deer, most deer rifles are only 2-3x the power of a varmint rifle and a deer is a lot bigger than a crow, with lots of areas that will cause a slow death from a misplaced shot.
 
25 Sharps said:
define 'fast moving bullet' because at that range bullets, will have slowed a fair bit, particularly a flat based bullet like a pro hunter.

Lets run the figures, assume creedmoor or 6.5 x 55 launched the bullet at 3000 fps, at 420 yrds that


I think the difference though is the fact you are using probably .223 or similar with a varmint bullet on the crow so a hit anywhere should be a clean kill due to the power and frangibility verses the size of the quarry - a hit should be a fairly quick kill. This is simply not the case with an animal the size of a deer, most deer rifles are only 2-3x the power of a varmint rifle and a deer is a lot bigger than a crow, with lots of areas that will cause a slow death from a misplaced shot.
Click to expand...
That was my point really, I wouldn't take a 400yd head neck shot. And you're right I'm using .20 for crows. Even at that range they pretty much explode. I remember taking that 190yd head shot and it felt like a looooong way. I wouldn't have fancied much further, There is so much more margin for error with a boiler room shot.
 
bobt said:
I stalked into a nice roebuck last year,
finally get to 15 feet off him,
he was out of season, but had been with 5 does earlier, (half expected them being with him) at very close range his head came up and I got "the stare" until I spoke to him, dont think he knew what I was,
enjoyed the day better than if I had taken a doe.
Click to expand...

I was sat on my little swivel stool in a furrow on the edge a field all cammo-ed up, full face veil etc with my HMR shooting rabbits. Wasn't in cover but sitting down hunched up in loose clothing presenting a non-distinct blob. I've sat stark in the middle of a ploughed field like that and rabbits take no notice.
This time the rabbits weren't showing but a little roebuck came wandering towards me along the headland cropping and browsing and walked right past my position almost within touching distance.
He spent about half an hour browsing the hedge a few feet away and I gave up on the rabbits and just watched him. He even had a tentative go at scraping but kept looking around nervously like he knew he was pushing his luck on someone else's patch.
 
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