Hunting distances- how far is too far?

[CoElkHunter]

View attachment 549165 I won't take a shot over 1k. View attachment 549166

Well, that maybe fine for a buffalo, but how bout smaller PG? 1.5-2k? LOL

 

[IvW]

Maybe. I killed my first buffalo with one shot through the heart at 110 yards. Then things got exciting. The big herd bull took exception to me killing old granny and he came for us. Three times. Her death bellows called them back twice and third time the herd wouldn't follow so he gave up. They are a social animal and look out for each other ... with intensity.

Did you have to shoot him? No...

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Did you have to shoot him? No...

Almost

 

[Hogpatrol]

Well, that maybe fine for a buffalo, but how bout smaller PG? 1.5-2k? LOL

I reserve those shots for varmints like groundhogs, prairie dogs, crows and and other vermin.

 

[Backyardsniper]

Hunts are expensive and the ability to proficiently take a long shot is a very handy skill to have. There are times when it is a long shot or nothing at all. I have ran into this situation on an elk hunt, and bear in mind here in the states you pay for the hunt entirely, whether you kill anything or not. The ability to shoot long is just another tool to have in your tool box. It takes a whole lot of dedication and practice to get proficient at it though. There is always the chance of wounding an animal or making a bad shot, however I don't think that chance is any greater for a guy taking a long range shot if he has trained for such situations than it is for a guy taking an average 100-200 yard shot and has not done the proper training for that either. The biggest key to the long range work is knowing when to walk away from a shot if all the conditions are not right. Bad wind, bad shooting position, animal is not settled and relaxed. There are a lot of things that can go wrong.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Hunts are expensive and the ability to proficiently take a long shot is a very handy skill to have. There are times when it is a long shot or nothing at all. I have ran into this situation on an elk hunt, and bear in mind here in the states you pay for the hunt entirely, whether you kill anything or not. The ability to shoot long is just another tool to have in your tool box. It takes a whole lot of dedication and practice to get proficient at it though. There is always the chance of wounding an animal or making a bad shot, however I don't think that chance is any greater for a guy taking a long range shot if he has trained for such situations than it is for a guy taking an average 100-200 yard shot and has not done the proper training for that either. The biggest key to the long range work is knowing when to walk away from a shot if all the conditions are not right. Bad wind, bad shooting position, animal is not settled and relaxed. There are a lot of things that can go wrong.

I guess it boils down to how important is it to shoot something. Personally, I place a premium on hunting as opposed to just shooting.

 

[WAB]

I guess it boils down to how important is it to shoot something. Personally, I place a premium on hunting as opposed to just shooting.

It is situation dependent. A Coues hunt on the Mexican border or a black bear hunt walking creeks and glassing avalanche chutes in Alaska place very different demands on the hunter than a hunt in the African bush or the whitetail woods. Let’s not whitewash every situation with the same brush.

 

[Brent in Az]

In Arizona, long shots are common. Especially in the big canyons. My furthest is about 425 yards with my trusty '06.
That's about as far as I feel comfortable with.

 

[WAB]

In Arizona, long shots are common. Especially in the big canyons. My furthest is about 425 yards with my trusty '06.
That's about as far as I feel comfortable with.

I train at 600 for my Coues hunts with no intention of shooting past 500. Normal distances across those valleys is 300 to 400.

Just as important, I have a four mile loop I hike over the ridge behind our farm. I carry my full complement of gear; eberlestock gunrunner pack holding my rifle, bipod, 15x56 binos&tripod, water bladder, etc, and a chest pack with my 10x bino’s and rangefinder. My hike ends sending three shots downrange. This gives me a very good indication of what I am capable of in the field.

 

[Inline6]

I guess it boils down to how important is it to shoot something. Personally, I place a premium on hunting as opposed to just shooting.

If someone drop 10k + on a hunt and the only opportunity they have is a 600 yard shot. If conditions are right and you are well trained, why would you pass on it?

You have told your stories of bagging animals at distance. Why did you not try to get closer? I'm sure it was condition/ terrain that caused the need for it to happen the way it did.

 

[Backyardsniper]

If someone drop 10k + on a hunt and the only opportunity they have is a 600 yard shot. If conditions are right and you are well trained, why would you pass on it?

You have told your stories of bagging animals at distance. Why did you not try to get closer? I'm sure it was condition/ terrain that caused the need for it to happen the way it did.

That was precisely what happened to me. It was an unusually warm week, plus a full moon and the Elk were not being cooperative. Now this was a group hunt from Longrangehunting.com which as you may gather is a long range hunting forum, which was what I did before I came over to the dark side here. We did in fact "get closer because when we spotted them it was 830 yards across the canyon to them. I was confident from there prone, but the guide wanted to see if we could ger closer, which we did, 200 yards more before it got too steep. This left us at 623 yards sitting of shooting sticks. Only elk we had seen and I was about $7000 into this hunt so "airmail express" it is. Ha ha
The fellow in the pic with me is an old army buddy of mine. He went along to play spotter. I was shooting a single feed so he sat beside me with binos and 3 rounds stuck between his fingers for me to reload from. Ha ha.

 

[Backyardsniper]

I took this photo from the shooting position. The Elk is dead underneath that yellow dot. It was a one shot ordeal. Rem 700 police in 300 ultra mag shooting 215 bergers.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

If someone drop 10k + on a hunt and the only opportunity they have is a 600 yard shot. If conditions are right and you are well trained, why would you pass on it?

You have told your stories of bagging animals at distance. Why did you not try to get closer? I'm sure it was condition/ terrain that caused the need for it to happen the way it did.

I said I placed a premium on getting closer. Taking those two animals meant I could move onto something else on the list. The black wildebeest @ 370 yards turned out to be my only African gold medal animal but it will never hold a premium spot on the wall (partly because the taxidermist over there ruined the horns). Culling a scroungy springbuck ram with one shot through the head at 50 yards ranks higher.

 

[Hogpatrol]

I took this photo from the shooting position. The Elk is dead underneath that yellow dot. It was a one shot ordeal. Rem 700 police in 300 ultra mag shooting 215 bergers. View attachment 549423

That's some damn good shooting. It's all about confidence in making a long shot. Some just don't have that or the specialized equipment.

 

[BRICKBURN]

I took this photo from the shooting position. The Elk is dead underneath that yellow dot. It was a one shot ordeal. Rem 700 police in 300 ultra mag shooting 215 bergers. View attachment 549423

Chip shot! Should have used a 9 iron.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Chip shot! Should have used a 9 iron.

Shoot groundhogs at 350 to 500 meters all summer and with a good rest, a big animal IS a chip shot. My last whitetail was 305 meters sitting in a predator chair shooting a muzzleloader off a bipod. Fkn chip shot.

 

[MS 9x56]

Too far is any distance beyond that which you have practiced and become proficient at.

 

[Datchew]

I am prepping for a Safari in the not too distant future and was not very experienced shooting from tripod sticks. I am a former National Champion benchrest shooter which does little to improve my off-hand field shooting. From a bench with a good CF rifle/scope/ammo combo, I am completely comfortable consistently hitting 4/3/2" plates at 400y. The smallest is a hard but doable shot with some rifles but not all. I event shoot the larger 12" and 8" plates at 400y with a 22lr (try that sometime). I can go further with the centerfires and do well out past 600y most of the time. But... Put me on the sticks, standing with the 375 and I can consistently hit the 6" groups at 100 and 200y and do OK at 300y using a low power scope 2.5x. Today if facing game animals I think I would want to keep it all inside of 250y with that rifle. I would be more willing to go further with my 308 but only on lighter framed game. I only started my preparations recently and intend to practice off the sticks for a good long while prior to my trip. Deer and squirrel hunting from them will be my habit this fall as well as range time. I keep both rifles zeroed at 200y Which makes them an inch or two high at 100y and 3 inches low at 250y for both rifles using the Barnes heavy weight bullets that I plan to use. I like the simplicity of being able to aim to about the same POA and expect the same POI with either rifle out to those ranges. Even if my confidence at longer ranges improves, I doubt seriously I would even consider shooting at a longer quarry in the field. I am not talking about shooting North American antelope on open plains at 400+ yds. That is a different deal and would call for different tools. This disertation would apply only to plains game in SA in the northern bushvelt regions. In such areas where cover is abundant, there would be less opportunities to shoot further and no reason to do so.

Now for DG such as buffalo, the game is another thing altogether. If, I get to hunt a buff and the jury is still out for that. I would want my PH to work with me to help us close to inside of 100y minimum. The 375 is the minimum cal but can be enough as long as it is well placed and good quality projectiles used and you are close enough to get good expansion and penetration. The 300g X bullet as a first followed by a cup point solid for any follow up shots. I am not an experienced African hunter but am a very experienced North American Game hunter and what I lack in expertise I hope to compensate for with practice, preparation and attention to detail. For me much of the fun of this experience so far has been in the study and preparation. The gathering of new equipment and the honing of new skills. The experience of Africa is what I am seeking and really the shot, once taken, is the sad period at the end of the sentence.

Fantastic post. Especially the last sentence.