Looking for more reach then my .375 ..options?

[Scott CWO]

Well Boddington in his own words would always say "listen to your Ph", words to live by in my opinion. You seem awfully defensive. I don't always agree with Boddington, but given that he has hunted a wider diversity of game than 99.9% of hunters I think his opinions are often valid. Oh, and basically every hunting publication on the planet agrees with me.

I was just stating facts. No reason to escalate or get crappy or defensive. We are all just friends here debating. Full-time PHs and guides have way more experience than even the most prolific hunting writer. Some of us guide seven months or more a year week after week after week.

I think he also advocated shooting bears in the shoulder to "break them down." Most of my guide friends and I believe in heart/lung instead of shoulder. If you are too far forward on a shoulder shot, you miss the vitals. People don't think about it but a bear has very similar anatomy to a human. God forbid if someone shot you or I through the shoulders or just in front of the shoulders while standing or crawling but we would be better off than if shot further back. A shoulder shot might completely miss the lungs and heart. When a guide goes in the alders or forest after a wounded bear, we want them dead when found and shot through the heart/lung area, which is just behind the shoulders, same as a human.

 

[NIGHTHAWK]

About 15 years ago I built my .375 RUM for a Cape Buffalo hunt. I took it to Africa twice, and shot a variety of animals with it from Steenbok to Buffalo and Eland.

Our range only has target berms out to 430 yards. I practice with other rifles almost every week at steel out to 430 yards, and before going on hunts I shoot paper at that range with the rifle that I will be hunting with. On one of my South African hunts, we just couldn't get any closer, and I made a one shot kill on a gemsbok at 351 yards with my .375 RUM. That was one of the longest shots that I have taken at game in over 50 years of hunting.


When I built my .300 Wby back in 2010, my first hunt with it was for Aoudad in West texas. My guide told me that Aoudad were hard to kill, and to shoot him in the hind quarters. The 168 gr Barnes TSX bullet that I shot just behind his shoulder killed him instantly. My guide then said "You don't listen to your guide, do you?" I simply replied "Not always."

I've said "No" on several occasions or politely passed... Passed on 2 Nice Wyoming Mule Deer 2 different times with a gude. One was due to my lack of confidence and a long down angle shot and the other was a running Texas Heart Shot on a different Mule Deer. Passed on a 100 Yard shot across a dammed section of river for a hippo, took 3 more nights after that to get the shot I was comfortable with. Muzzleloader Elk; I passed when the guide wanted me to take a frontal chest shot at 160 yards across a meadow with a stiff cross wind and off of shooting sticks. Said no and waited for a broadside shot. PG in Freestate, the landowner and PH wanted me to shoot over 400 yards (wind and animals in the background), said no, but took 2 successful 380 yard shoots on different animals.

Every situation has a different circumstance. There seems to be a lot of speculation of what someone would do, vs have done... You won't know until you are in the position to make a decision. I had to shoot opposite hand with a rented rifle on a recent hunt and at longer distances than I thought I would have. I went out and spent the morning validating the file to 500 yards and created my own chart with the guide. This way we both understood that, both the rifle and I, were capable of making accurate shots. Sure as shit, I had to shoot my Chamois at well over 400 yards.


To each their own...

 

[Raven]

Well said. But if you're not a little afraid and your'e not a little too close, what's the fun in that?

Well, you know that a bear can't always let a person get close to him. Although if he is very busy with something, he may not notice the hunter. I had it that way. Mostly I try to get closer. But if there is no way to get close, and the bear needs to be killed, the average distance will do. I know I'm not afraid of a bear, I don't need to prove it to anyone, haha.

As for long-range shooting, I can say that I am familiar with such cases. One of my friends killed a bear at a distance of 400 meters. But this is just the exception to the rule. He is an experienced hunter, often shoots mountain sheep, he has a good rifle, high-quality optics and caliber .300 WM. He knew exactly what he was doing. Although he could have missed or easily injured the bear. But all's well that ends well.