Long range hunting

fullthrottle

Very Active Member
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1,359
So what's everyone?s take on the extreme long range rifle hunting that has basically taken over. Seems like anymore just about everyone has a ?long range? rig. This has got to have a huge impact particularly on mature mule deer. Their defense system is basically useless if guys are bombing at them from 1,000. Personally I'm set up pretty good to take longer shots if the conditions permit, so I'm not against the long range game, but I wonder if we are screwing ourselves with this game that continues to grow in popularity. It seems the vast majority of guys buy a rifle, put a scope with some turrets on it, dial their rifle into 250, enter it in the ballistics program, and off they go launching lead at critters at extreme distances. I would also bet the vast majority of guys can hit a 2?x4? deer at 800+, but do they knock em on their ass or just mortally wound them, thinking they have missed and left a dead or suffering critter on the mountain. After all who is going to cross that deep, nasty, canyon just to verify the shot? I bet not many, especially if they didn't see the hit, or animal go down. Don?t know, just a thought. Maybe we ought to rethink what we are doing, and gives some serious thought about what long term effects this could have on the game we all enjoy so much.
 
Hitting them at UN-GODLY Ranges & Killing them at them Ranges are like Day & Night!

And if the Shooter/Sniper doesn't see the Animal Fall,How many of them are Hiking that far to make sure?

100+ Yard StickFlippers!

300+ Yard SmokePoles!

1,200+ Yard Rifles!

How Would You Like to be the Hunted?











I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces

It Ain't Easy being Me!:D:D:D
 
they wound more than bow hunters.....



497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
There is no such thing as "long range hunting" It's just Shooting. There are some excellent marksman out there but 98% of the long range shooters are not even close.

I saw a guy shooting at a cow elk over the tool box in the back of his truck. She was over 900 yards away on a side hill. He shot twice as i pulled up. I said wow, thats a long shot. He proceeded to show me his New 26 Nosler and Vortex scope. I asked if he was going up to check for blood. He said Nah, She would have tipped over if i had hit her good. SMH
 
My take:
It hasn't "taken over", but is definitely a factor.

Solutions?
The only one I can thing of is eliminating scopes or setting a max of 4X or so.
Might eliminate range finders also.
 
Had some guys hunting in our area this week. I don't think they ever moved 10 feet away from their truck the entire week. Said he had a buck spotting at get this....
1500 yards!!! He said he was just waiting for it to step out so he could shoot it! ?‍♂️
 
truer words have never been spoken.....

"There is no such thing as "long range hunting" It's just Shooting. There are some excellent marksman out there but 98% of the long range shooters are not even close.""



497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
While in the PUMKIN Patch on the General Elk Rifle Hunt We Run in to a Guy Packing a Weapon that I Guarantee you can't turn down any lower than 6.5 Power!

We were Hunting Thick Ssshhiittt AKA Vietnam Thick!

I Can't Think of a More Helpless Gun for the conditions as what He was Packin as per the Terrain!

The Gun I was Packin was too much Scope but at Least I could turn it down to 3X!

I Shoulda been Packin My .44 MAG Lever Action with Open Sights!

But the Ole Boy had one of the Baddest Rifles on the Mountain that day in His eyes!

(((LOOK AT ME!)))

Baddest but F'N Helpless for the Terrain being Hunted!














I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces

It Ain't Easy being Me!:D:D:D
 
> While in the PUMKIN Patch
>on the General Elk Rifle
>Hunt We Run in
>to a Guy Packing a
>Weapon that I Guarantee you
>can't turn down any lower
>than 6.5 Power!
>
>We were Hunting Thick Ssshhiittt AKA
>Vietnam Thick!
>
>I Can't Think of a More
>Helpless Gun for the conditions
>as what He was Packin
>as per the Terrain!
>
>The Gun I was Packin was
>too much Scope but at
>Least I could turn it
>down to 3X!
>
>I Shoulda been Packin My .44
>MAG Lever Action with Open
>Sights!
>
>But the Ole Boy had one
>of the Baddest Rifles on
>the Mountain that day in
>His eyes!
>
>(((LOOK AT ME!)))
>
>Baddest but F'N Helpless for the
>Terrain being Hunted!
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>I know so many people in
>so many places
>They make allot of money but
>they got sad faces
>
>It Ain't Easy being Me!:D:D:D
You packen that big ultra mag , you can mow ##### down trees limbs rocks ?
 
I was 12 and shot my first buck with a 30 -30 , the buck was about 250 yards held about 2 ft over and heart shot him , slop or not it was a great morning.
 
Agree or not it falls on ethics, you can't force ethics on someone and there's no way to write a legitimate law for it without crippling people that aren't doing anything wrong....

I dabble in it because it's fun. I can hit plates and milk jugs pretty consistent out to 800. But hunting ive always been able to figure out a way to get closer, inside 400 usually. My biggest buck to date was with my rifle set up for long range and I killed him at 10 feet sneaking away from another hunter and right into me...

4b1db2ac644136c4.jpg
 
>Agree or not it falls on
>ethics, you can't force ethics
>on someone and there's no
>way to write a legitimate
>law for it without crippling
>people that aren't doing anything
>wrong....
>
>I dabble in it because it's
>fun. I can hit plates
>and milk jugs pretty consistent
>out to 800. But hunting
>ive always been able to
>figure out a way to
>get closer, inside 400 usually.
>My biggest buck to date
>was with my rifle set
>up for long range and
>I killed him at 10
>feet sneaking away from another
>hunter and right into me...
>
>
>
>
4b1db2ac644136c4.jpg

+ 1
 
There has always been plenty of hunters that are terrible shots. Back in the day when 400 was long range, most guys couldn't hit past 200. Hell, I know a few guys that still can't hit at or past 200!

2a0fcsk.gif
 
The only real long term affects I see coming from long range hunting is more wary animals that stay timbered up more often. I long range hunt but also love to timber hunt. On elk I would much rather timber hunt but if one steps out at 600 while I'm riding my horse in, I am damn sure taking the shot. It sickens me to hear stories where people say for instance "she would have tipped over if I hit her good". That is just asinine. I check all shots taken by me or others either with a person spotting for me, a cam on my scope, or most the time walking over there. In my area your chance of success is ridiculously higher with long range, especially on deer. Some places there just is no way to hunt the deer in the middle of a rock slide except from the ridge 800 yards away. I killed my deer at 820 this year. I tried my best to drop the range to under 500 but it just wasn't possible, not with the wind and where they were. My wife last year got her first elk at 1040. She is a great shot and I knew she could handle it as long as the calculations were right. With multiple spotters, we all swore she missed it, as it ran into the timber immediately. But without seeing where the bullet hit, I made my way across the nasty canyon to where the cow stood. To my surprise she didn't go 20 yards. It can definitely be done right and it can be done wrong. I hate shooting deer over 600, but will if that is what it takes. The same with elk over 800. Just too many factors going into hitting relatively small targets over those ranges. I shoot an old Remington 700 wood stock heavy SOB that is from the 80's. but with hand loaded ammo it shoots 2.5" at 800 yards. I can't hardly imagine missing an elk at 600 now a days though with the right setup. It is such a chip shot with todays technologies. Keep in mind I'm not talking about a free hand shot or even a knee/tree brace shot. Anything over about 300 yards takes a prone setup with packs and coats for me.
One other thing that really bothers me is when these "long range hunters" go buy a box of Nosler Trophy Grade bullets that says on the box that it drops 15 MOA at 800 yards, and they expect that to be true. At least try the damn things at that range before you go flinging lead at an animal. All guns shoot different even with the same ammo. I find it hard to believe that mass produced ammo is going to be consistent and accurate enough to consistently kill over 500 yards. Might as well be shooting some Remington core loks.
If we are going to get rid of it, we need to go all traditional hunting. Recurve bows, open sight muzzleloader, and 9X rifle scopes. That is the only solution since range is no longer a disadvantage on 500 yard muzzleloaders and 100+ yard bows. Luckily where I'm at in Wyoming has not been hit with the long range craze since we are all poor bastards :). The only guys running long range that I know of are the hard core guys who do it right. Hopefully it stays that way and while the Utards have their long range snipers on every ridge with 15k of gear on them.
 
LAST EDITED ON Oct-29-18 AT 05:28PM (MST)[p]Nice to see these LR threads don't blow up like they used to. Old news that ain't going away. mtmuley
 
The long range frenzy is why big bucks don't make it very long in the high country now a days. We have turned from being hunters into gadget geeks.
 
Yes this is old news. I have had my ? 1000 yard ? rifle for ten years now. Funny thing I have never shot a animal at 1000 yards. But she's a good shooter. Her name is the shootist. Knowing when the conditions are right or wrong really play into this. All of these news guys out there shooting 6.5 creedmoors at elk past 1000 yards need to do their homework.
 
I hate it and feel like it is an unfair advantage to break a Deer or Elk,s back at 1500-2000 yards. Seriously the animals don't stand a chance anymore.

There are hunters everywhere and now people can shoot 2000 yards.Technology in hunting is out of control and will just get worse and worse for Deer in the years to come!!!!

I don't know whats worse Loss of habitat, technology, Highways, paochers, or predators for Mule Deer at this point?
 
Like it or not, technology is here to stay and will only snowball faster as it evolves.
You cannot tell a rifle hunter how long of shot he can take with "modern equipment", that simply cannot be regulated nor enforced.

But....we CAN adopt and enforce "primitive weapons" like other state's do with archery and muzzleloaders.

Or....keep evolution in place and just accept the cutting tags and opportunity.

I am guilty, I shoot a Knight muzzy topped with a 4x12 Vortex which is very capable of 300+ yards and a 338 Lapua with a Nightforce scope capable of 1000+ yards kills and I also complain about the lack of deer on most of our unit's.

Something's got to eventually give.
 
I'm curious how many of these "long range" shooters walk the bullet into the target by watching the dirt fly from their misses?
 
Easy solution - cut rifle tag numbers and add more primitive tags (Archery and Muzzy).

Give the critters a chance!

Just my $0.02
 
>I hate it and feel like
>it is an unfair advantage
>to break a Deer or
>Elk,s back at 1500-2000 yards.
>Seriously the animals don't stand
>a chance anymore.
>
>There are hunters everywhere and now
>people can shoot 2000 yards.Technology
>in hunting is out of
>control and will just get
>worse and worse for Deer
>in the years to come!!!!
>
>
>I don't know whats worse Loss
>of habitat, technology, Highways, paochers,
>or predators for Mule Deer
>at this point?
A 1500-2000 yard shot on a deer ? Have you ever seen how small a deer looks in your scope at 1000 yards ? I don't think there are to many taking deer at 2000 yards.Let not stretch things to much. One mile is 1760 yards. Hitting a target even a large plate at 1760 yards. Is not always a one shot one kill kind of thing.
 
Long range hunting is me driving from Texas to Wyoming to go hunting. Long range shooting is another heated topic...
 
I'd say most of the long range 'shooters' are all talk.

Take a trip out to your local rifle range this time of year, and look at the targets on the 100yd range. Quite a few of these guys will have a hard time placing the bullet properly at 200yds, much less 1,000yds.

Having worked behind the gun counter for the past 13 years, the stories I have heard will make you realize that most every $300 rifle/scope combo, with a box of Cor-Lokts, is a sub-MOA shooter out to infinity. I would never have guessed that to be true, but I have heard it so often, with my own ears, that it must be true, lol.
 
Most long range shooters are all talk. It's a lot of hype and exaggeration. It's kind of like a lot on here talk of seeing multiple 200" bucks every year. Go to an f class competition and see how many guys finish with an MOA grouping at 800 or 1000 yards, even 600. Some people can't imagine how difficult that really is. Like everyone, I mess around at those ranges. I don't think I'll ever attempt an animal that far. I killed a buck last year at 400 yards and had all the confidence I needed and that was the longest shot I've taken on a deer.
 
I have a best of the west 7mm with a husky 4-16-44...what it has done for me is not extend my range to really long but super accurate to 400-500..
 
Animals aren't gongs.

I get tired of hearing stories first hand from guys who are backing up to get a number. Of course they never talk about the misses or the wounded.
 
My thoughts on it are pretty simple. Anytime you have enough distance between you and the animal that the animals senses are completely eliminated from the equation, you have no business pulling the trigger. I don't care how good of a shot you are. I'd be more than confident shooting at an animal 700 yards away, but it doesn't mean I'm going to do it. This is especially true when you set up in an area with the intent on taking a long shot. You're just an a-hole. If you practice regularly at long range and take a 400 yard shot because that was what presented itself, I get it. I'd love to see more public shaming for this type of behavior on these forums. Every time people congratulate some jack wad for his 800 yard elk kill they're just encouraging more of it.
 
Anyone wants to find the problem with long range shooting at animals, start with the glamorization of B&C record book nonsense...

You rarely, if ever, hear of anyone bragging about the 752 yd shot they made on a late season cow elk or doe deer hunt.

You will here about and see the Insta-hero-hunter 752 yd shot they made on their "booner" 198" muley.
 
2 years ago my father was hunting and 3 Utards (I am a native Utahn and yes this term totally fits many hunters here) unloaded 30 rounds at a single 4 point buck. They even went down to inspect where the buck was. They never hit the buck because he was 800 yards away and they all sucked serious ass at shooting. Personally I think long range shooting animals is completely asinine. However I am sure the old timers thought scoped 30-06 was cheating in their day too. Eventually success rates will get to a point that the DNR will either have to limit technology or tags. Those are the only 2 options really.
 
"Eventually success rates will get to a point that the DNR will either have to limit technology or tags. Those are the only 2 options really"


Good thing UT will be the only state affected by this.
 
>Easy solution: BAN SCOPES.

I agree, But only in Utah where all this stupid longrange BS happens. mtmuley
 
>Easy solution: BAN SCOPES.

I Just got Rid of that 1X POS and put a decent Scope on My SmokePole & now you want to Ban it?:D:D:D









I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces

It Ain't Easy being Me!:D:D:D
 
If you were shooting a true smokepole Elk...you wouldn't need a scope....maybe reading glasses to see the end of your barrel.HEHEHHE
 

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