whats the longest shot you have ever taiken on a deer

[csl]

I take your point Griff and accept that yes, maybe a considered shot at longer range is preferable to a rushed shot at shorter range (assuming you have to take either?) but the important thing is that by "preferable" we mean for the deer!

The original poster, in the way that he wrote his post, implied that the reason he was actively trying to take longer range shots was to challenge himself as a marksman. At least, that is the way it read.

Alex

 

[bambislayer]

I've shot plenty deer and yes some at what I would recon were at the extreme ranges of my kit and me, I wont tell you what distance because I'm now quite embarrased about acting in that way.
Shooting ranges, public bars are the only place for long range shooting.
I could tell you about plenty deer dropping on the spot at long range, I can also tell you about lost deer and wounded deer.
Do it enough and you'll f*** up, but probably not post that on the forum.
300 mags etc will break legs and wound deer as well as any rifle and they will run for miles.
I remember on my 3rd season stalking I had a guest out who was supposed to be an ex army sniper,well I let him shoot at about 350yrds, he broke its front leg , that was at 11am, 8miles later at 8pm I shot the poor beast at 100yrds. try stalking wounded stags on the flow country for 9 hours, you'll soon learn to manage your shots. My Head keeper gave me hell and nearly sacked me and made me pay for the carcass The guest was never asked back.

The good thing about this forums is that people are here and share their experience, take the advice on long range shooting, we're not all bull*******.

 

[Dalua]

Wind can be calculated accurately

I often wonder how this can actually be done in the field, without flags every 100yds, unless it is a completely still day. Certainly on the hill the wind over 500yds might not only be gusting unpredictably, but also be blowing in different directions along the bullet's path.

My main concern when shooting at an unwounded deer is that in the event of my wounding it, I should have a fair chance of getting a second shot into it. As its response to my first shot might well be to run 100yds or so, my maximum distance for shooting an unwounded deer must be 100yds less than the longest distance at which I can hit a deer in the chest. I have drop tables up to 350yds on my eyepiece covers.

I've seldom taken a shot at over 200yds, and usually a good deal less.

 

[griff]

Alex,
I can only speak for myself, I practice and then practice some more, it is only when I am confident that I will take the shot. I shoot on average 1000 rounds a year practicing,and sometimes that is not enough.
If I take a shot at long range, then it is calculated, if conditions are not right then there is no shot.
The equipment is different the attitude is different,I think for some they seem to think that long range shots are taken no matter what, that is not the case.
If I thought for one moment I would miss then I would not take the shot, wether it be 60yds or 600yds.
but the preverbial does happen,just as often in both short and long ranges, a miss at 50yds is no different to miss at 500yds, an inch either way for both shots could result in a wounded deer.
I have missed at 6 feet from a highseat, I have missed at longer distances but my intentions were for a good clean shot.

regards
griff

 

[Dalua]

Alex,
a miss at 50yds is no different to miss at 500yds

Would you say that a second shot at a wounded beast at 150yds is no different to a second shot at a wounded beast at 600yds?

 

[wraith]

why am i giving you a bad name bud as posted on hear by another member have a good look at some of the long rainge forums see what others better than me can shoot or get some good dvds beyond belefe is a good one and what maikes you think my shots dont kill what im pointing at i did not say every shot i taike is 600yards i told you my longest shot was 600yards and the deer droped like a sack of **** you may not understand that in most cases a round at distane can and will do more meat damage to the beast responcable stalking hmmm i kill every one and still to date have not had a runner ie got the beast within 20yards dead of the shot never had a licence revoked no where on my tikket is there the wording shoot deer at 100yards and being a stalker / no im a hunter i eat every thing i shoot dont sell it feed my family as for being a idiot have a closer look to home bud if you think every one shoots 200yards then your living in a box get out more with your gun put more rounds down rainge and when you can get all your rounds in a 5in disk at 500yards try doing the same at 600 with a 4in target you are using a stalking rifle which is not the best for long rainge shots most of them are good to go at 2in or more from the box i use hevey barreled guns from a by pod i rainge find the target dial in and send the round down rainge oooo and idiots dont become shooting instructors that honest enughf for you

 

[tommy q]

i would have your certificate as well .how yo u can defend that is scary

 

[devilishdave]

I have a fairly well pimped up .243AI and it can shoot .18 groups on a good day. The furthest I have ever shot a deer was 200m and that was my first animal. I have since shot one at 180m but to be honest 90% of animals I shoot are sub 100m many less than 50m.

 

[csl]

Alex,
I can only speak for myself, I practice and then practice some more, it is only when I am confident that I will take the shot. I shoot on average 1000 rounds a year practicing,and sometimes that is not enough.
If I take a shot at long range, then it is calculated, if conditions are not right then there is no shot.

Griff,

Don't have a problem with any of that, however if you had a choice between taking a shot at 500yds and a shot at 100yds which would you take?

Apart from some exceptional examples I think most people a) would have a choice and b) would choose 100yds and the reason they would give is because the shot is LESS challenging and, as a result, the probability of the shot going where it is intended would normally be higher.

wraith seems to be telling us that he would choose 500 yds, not because of any of the reasons you have given for longer shots but because he no longer finds 100yds challenging enough! This is admitting that he is choosing an option that is harder than is necessary and therefore it follows that if he finds the shot more challenging then the chances of the shot not going where intended must surely be higher. It is this that I find somewhat indefensible, personally.

Alex

 

[griff]

Dalua,
obviously not!
But I bet your intentions were not to to wound that deer at 150yds.
So where do you draw the line?

 

[Dalua]

The point I was trying to make was that if you wound and it goes for a bit run, you stand a good chance of getting a second shot in if the first shot was 50yds. If the first shot was 500yds, you'll be doing a lot of sums before taking another shot.

 

[griff]

Alex,
take the percentage shot every time.100yds versus 500yds, deer in the larder,100yds every time.
That does not mean that I would not take the 500yd shot if it was the right conditions.
% is the name of the game,rush up ride to shoot a deer, low %, nice still day 500yds, high%.

Can I ask(all) what kind of accuracy would you expect from rifle @ 500yds, and would that grouping be acceptable to shoot deer?

regards
griff

 

[tommy q]

dalua you can stalk with me anytime mate 100 per cent correct

 

[griff]

Dalua,
agreed.
The question now is, at what range can't we miss, and should we be limited to that range.
I have seen people on range days shooting a standard roe target, I would get a better group with a shotgun, they should not be allowed to shoot beyond 20 yds, we can't judge everbody by their standards.

 

[csl]

Alex,
take the percentage shot every time.100yds versus 500yds, deer in the larder,100yds every time.
That does not mean that I would not take the 500yd shot if it was the right conditions.

Griff,

Accepted, but do you agree that choosing the 500 yard shot simply because:

close rainge work is not chalenging enughf

is wrong?

Alex

 

[Rick]

Sorry! But distance shooting is for targets, it's far to easy to wound
a deer a them sort of ranges! If we are to take it's life, at least
have the respect for the animal and do it cleanly!

 

[griff]

Alex,
I agree,the challenge should be in the work and preparation you have done so that you can minimise your mistakes.
I understand where Wraith is coming from, and perhaps they were not the right phrases to use.
For instance a deer @ 200yds on a still day when you can consistently shoot a 10p at that range is no challenge, 200yds when its a 30mph wind now thats a challenge.

 

[Dalua]

Dalua,
agreed.
The question now is, at what range can't we miss, and should we be limited to that range.

There's no range at which a misplaced shot is impossible. This is why I keep going on about the likely success of a second shot - more likely for me and my rifles if the first shot is within 200yds.

The longer the range, the worse everything gets.

 

[Sam]

Well my furthest was 230m (ish) a red hind with my .243 Mannlicher, It dropped straight away to a chest shot. With my current experiance I would not think of taking a shot above 250m. I shoot out to 300m with that gun quiite often (paper) and it can shoot 4inch groups at that off a bi-pod (probably better with a differnt shooter) I would not be confident of the umph at that range to kill. Im sure its been done before though. I will be a little more confident with my .308 at that range. My .243 is zeroed at 1inch high at 100m, I mainly use the .243 for woodland stalking for roe and fallow, so most of the shots are between 50m-150m with that zero Im hitting what I point at without having to think about much at all. That guns' shot Roe, Red, Fallow, Sika and Chinese Water Deer ( only Munties to go!). I've recently bought the above .308, a Ruger M77 lightweight, Its topped with a Swarovski 6x42 and is zeroed on the money at 200m, I use this gun on the hill and more reccently for the large red's that we get round these parts (though its yet to be christened on a low land beast ).

I think that in a stalking situation its more important to have fluidity and confidence in your setup, rather than the ability to snipe deer at distance.



Sorry If im a wee bit off topic


Sam

 

[Gazza]

Hear what you are saying here Griff but to me this does not come down to debate, it comes down to what an animal deserves. Stalking to me is getting into the world of the quarry you seek and pitting your skills in it's territory. The shooting is the last part of the stalk. I believe that deer deserve nothing less.

Sitting on a vantage point at 500 yds with the skill and kit capable of killing an animal at that range gives no respect to the quarry or challenge in stalking it. OK my deer and yours will be just as dead but your sole interest is in hitting a target at distance which can be achieved on a range.