Is hunting success at long range a fluke?
 

I was out shooting this morning and decided to try an experiment before starting to shoot. I had steel targets at 480, 575, 690, and 900 yards. I started at the 480 yard target, designated one round to it and the others and with a spotter started shooting. With an 8.5lb rifle and 9x scope, I dialed from zero and hit the first target and proceeded to do the same with the other three. The idea being that if we were hunting, could I take an animal cleanly with one shot at varying distances. It is definitely doable. Would I recommend it? Probably not, but like anything else, practice helps.

https://i.imgur.com/XaPZMDb.jpg

I do something similar from ranges out to 1000 yds. Practically I'd limit myself to 800 yds prone 650 kneeling and 100 off hand. Standing supported I'm comfortable to about 300.

It all comes down to knowing if you can hit that target everytime at whatever distance you consider "long" we have a 675 yd coyote target that I use as my cold bore shot whenever I'm out at the range and I can say that I do not always get my wind call right and have missed it.
I can count on one hand the people that I know that have the knowledge and skill to ALWAYS be able to make a 700+ yard shot on game.

For me, nothing beats a good stalk, a bit of a belly crawl and a sub 300 yard chip shot.
I wouldnt consider a 900 yard shot on an animal I truly wanted to kill.

If a guy puts in the practice it’s no fluke. Not for me though but If you put in the practice giver

Being able to hit a target at longer distances with a first round kill shot is not the issue - one cannot bank on an animal not moving during the longer timd of flight , that is the issue .
I am quite capable of making kill shots at long range and have made some very long first round kills on deer in the past.
Hiwever I have not attempted it in years after an almost disastrous shot on a deer that was quite a bit shorter distance than some of my kills .
The shot was perfect ,slightly over 700 yards using a high B.C. Bullet coming out of the muzzle over 3,000 FPS , in An area I
shoot at regularly
The deer took ONE step forward in that time and turned a kill shot into a gut shot .Luckily I was able to follow the shot up before the deer crested the slope and was gong forever .
I have said this before and it bears repeating .
Ethics and expertise aside , the individual is responsible for their shot after the trigger breaks It is theirs to own and to live with and decide if it is worth it, nobody else's .

What anybody else does is up to them
Cat

I prefer this more than anything. I wouldn’t advocate 900 yard shots at game either. But 500 is pretty doable under good conditions.

For the average hunter longer range shots are difficult but do happen successfully. For others that practice 500m+ shots can be pretty easy depends completely on the shooter and how familiar they are with there equipment. If you know your equipment read the wind you should be able to make a longer shot fairly easily but if the shooter is just an average guy shoots 5 shots a year out of his stock savage access package it’s going to be tuff.

It is my opinion that taking a shot at a game animal at anything over 500 yards isn’t hunting, it’s sniping. I’d question whether a 900 yard shot even qualifies as fair chase. As Cat points out, one step turns a kill shot into something else. If you practice at very long range and are confident every time you pull the trigger that your shot is true, then I take my hat off to you. Again, this is only my opinion.
Cheers

So. Hunting success at long range is part fluke?
Shooting long range steel off a picnic blanket is no fluke at all?

Your looking for a fight again.

Depends on how many sniper video games you have played in your life. More video games, more experience.

No im discussing your topic. You might not like my answer.

My buddy shot this group at 580 yards this morning with his 223. Is this a fluke?

https://i.imgur.com/rPY1WPK.jpg

Nice shooting. Is this your idea of hunting success at long range?

No, this is. Same distance, two less shots. But the two are directly related.

https://i.imgur.com/gMreiGf.jpg

Just my opinion, but hunting and long range shooting are really two different sports.

Totally agree. And I’m always making the same argument for longer range
Bow Hunting. All it takes is one step. A deer can move what...about 18”
In a step? That goes from a nice shot to an “I’m so stupid” shot.

It’s funny with these post long range shooters usually take a beating for ethics/fair chase reasons. It is any worse then driving up an down the trunk road leaning over the hood of a truck and wounding deer In a slash or on the side of the road because thats really common. Theres fair chase and ethics issues for a lot of hunting styles and people out there.

Is just to g success
 

Bingo! I feel the same way.

Depends on the shooter. With the right gear and practice it's far from a fluke. Spending big bucks on a rig doesn't make you Jon Pynch, the practice does.

I don't get why people **** all over long range hunting. It all boils down to the shooter and their ability. Plenty of stuff gets wounded with rifles and bows at ranges that people deem "ethical".

Cat told it well. Successful long range hunting is skill by the shooter plus cooperation of the animal and the conditions. The farther you go, the more luck you need.

Agreed. I shot more ammunition this morning before breakfast than most hunters do in five years. And I’m the unethical one for killing an animal at 400 yds? It blows my mind.

Who called you unethical?

I’ve done both. The ability to make grown up decisions in both cases served me well.

I feel regardless of the equipment you need to test it to the max, so that you can learn a couple things. One if your equipment can do what you need, two if you can do what you need to do with your equipment.

I strongly feel we should at least test our gear to the max distance we are prepared to shoot... ballistic charts and wind doping and trajectory are great on paper but they must be field tested. The biggest thing a hunter can learn when it comes to distance shots at game, set a limit and stay within it.

I test my archery gear and tune it to hit a 4-5” dot to at least 100 yrds (with broad heads) I would never take a FIRST shot at that distance but as far as a follow up shot goes, I need to know I can do it in case I have to, or have a chance to.

LC

can he reap it again off picnic table:thinking-006:

I’m not sure what this even means.

wow your a number one person in my books :thinking-006:

Agre
 

with all the new high tech gear longer range ( shooting ) hunting is deff do able,serious practice and commitment to long range shooting should be done,500 and even 600 ranges are pretty easy with enough practice,I like up close and personal but for the shot you never want to make it’s nice having the practice and confidence to do so.but I’m only a bow hunter :thinking-006: