The long shots

[mtnbound]

I was just reading another recent post in this forum about the distance people are shooting their bucks, and it really got me thinking.. I didn't want to hijack that thread, so I figured I'd start this one to see if I could dig a little deeper into that subject. It seems many people are shooting 300-600 yards at deer fairly regularly. My questions is.. why is that? what is the reason you are taking shots at the distances you do? Is it because there is no way to get closer in those instances? no closer cover? being closer would risk getting winded? because when you see the buck you feel it is necessary to get him down sooner rather than later & getting closer would risk losing the buck? is it simply to test your long range shooting capabilities on an animal? or because you just know you're that good of a shot and so why bother getting closer? Is the decision to take a shot or get closer more of a terrain dependent thing? Are the longer shots taken during a spot and stalk scenario or is it a different type of hunting you are doing when taking long shots? I'm just genuinely curious about thought process and reasoning for different lengths of shots.

One other thing to keep in mind is that distances are often embellished afterwards telling the story. Yes, there are long shots but there are also lots of sub 400y shots. Practice so you know what you and your system are capable of and remember it’s ok if the animal wins that encounter. There will be others.

 

[willfrye027]

For me, when I spot a deer I want to shoot immediately I am thinking what are my best odds to be standing over this buck.

I am factoring in distance, wind, chances of getting closer without getting busted..etc

I have a good idea of my capability in both stalking and shooting. My biggest buck (190”) was a 30 yard neck shot on the run. Longest kill was 675 with no possibility of getting closer, and plenty of opportunity for follow up/finishing shots if I misjudged the wind or screwed up somehow.

The actual distance is not really a major consideration. 450 yards in thick brush on a steep side slope is way harder than 650 yards prone with calm wind. I’m thinking can I make this shot with a high degree of confidence? Should I make a move/stalk for an easier shot? It all comes into play, and often times the terrain I’m hunting lends itself to 400-600 yard shots, and often times it’s closer.

Long range is just another effective tool, like glassing off a tripod.

 

[Kelvin Wolther]

It's a decision made at the time. I will try to get as close as possible.
That being said, I'm super confident in my set up. I'm willing to make longer shots.

 

[30338]

I tag along on a few hunts with my son in the high country. This year we setup on a spot where deer could be 75 yards to 450 yards away. Its sort of a crossing area. His buck this year popped up at 300 yards. And that is where he died. Everyone hunts different country and has different needs.

I hunt the plains. Very flat. But I typically get under 50 yards on mule deer and 100 yards on whitetail with a muzzleloader.

If I ever decide to hunt up high, I'll be prepared for 600 yards and in. Way harder to close the gap in the spots he is hunting versus where I typically hunt.

 

[Brad1974]

For me, when I spot a deer I want to shoot immediately I am thinking what are my best odds to be standing over this buck.

I am factoring in distance, wind, chances of getting closer without getting busted..etc

I have a good idea of my capability in both stalking and shooting. My biggest buck (190”) was a 30 yard neck shot on the run. Longest kill was 675 with no possibility of getting closer, and plenty of opportunity for follow up/finishing shots if I misjudged the wind or screwed up somehow.

The actual distance is not really a major consideration. 450 yards in thick brush on a steep side slope is way harder than 650 yards prone with calm wind. I’m thinking can I make this shot with a high degree of confidence? Should I make a move/stalk for an easier shot? It all comes into play, and often times the terrain I’m hunting lends itself to 400-600 yard shots, and often times it’s closer.

Long range is just another effective tool, like glassing off a tripod.

helpful info for sure.

I already have mentioned my only experience with my own mule deer tag was WY high desert type of area. Yes it's very open as far as being able to see a long way if you can get a good vantage point, but the topography and other brush besides sagebrush makes me feel like getting close is an option very often. The only other mule deer hunts I have been on is CO high country. Both early September time frames. I spotted a good buck for him, and gave him a really solid plan. He did what I told him until the most important part... when he veered from the plan I suggested and he ended up getting busted. In that spot a 200 yard shot would probably not be possible, and I would guess the spot I was trying to send him to would have been closer to 75-80 yards from the buck, which was a great spot for him to get a shot with his muzzleloader.

I can definitely imagine spots that would require longer shots, I just haven't seen it yet due to my limited experience. You mentioned the terrain you hunt lends itself to 400-600 yard shots. What type of terrain is that? Also, what time of year do you hunt there? Are you trying to put a buck to bed and stalk to the set up to shoot him in his bed? or are you setting up to ambush a moving buck in some way?

 

[willfrye027]

helpful info for sure.

I already have mentioned my only experience with my own mule deer tag was WY high desert type of area. Yes it's very open as far as being able to see a long way if you can get a good vantage point, but the topography and other brush besides sagebrush makes me feel like getting close is an option very often. The only other mule deer hunts I have been on is CO high country. Both early September time frames. I spotted a good buck for him, and gave him a really solid plan. He did what I told him until the most important part... when he veered from the plan I suggested and he ended up getting busted. In that spot a 200 yard shot would probably not be possible, and I would guess the spot I was trying to send him to would have been closer to 75-80 yards from the buck, which was a great spot for him to get a shot with his muzzleloader.

I can definitely imagine spots that would require longer shots, I just haven't seen it yet due to my limited experience. You mentioned the terrain you hunt lends itself to 400-600 yard shots. What type of terrain is that? Also, what time of year do you hunt there? Are you trying to put a buck to bed and stalk to the set up to shoot him in his bed? or are you setting up to ambush a moving buck in some way?

A lot of times it is really steep stuff. If you are on the same slope as the deer, you wouldn’t be able to see it due to the angle. So it’s either cross canyon, or archery range. During most rifle seasons a deer is probably headed into the thick cover to bed where you probably won’t be able to see exactly where, or into timber and who knows how far he’s going.

So if you’re going to get a shot, it’s early in the morning before they make it into the trees and disappear. And on a steep slope with a few minutes to make it happen, it might be cross canyon.



This was from 2024. Buck was up in the sunlit area (pic from evening before opener making a plan to hunt him). I got to the small ridge at shoot time, spotted them feeding across the bowl towards a thick patch in the gray light. I tried to stalk in to a secondary ridge that is out of sight here for a 350 yard shot, but some does busted me and alerted the bucks. They had me pegged and starting moving quickly to the thick stuff. So, it was a 575 yard prone shot or nothing in that case. In my 30-06 days I might have just waited there to see where they went and tried a different stalk…but the odds would have been low of that working out. It was super still/quiet that morning, the hillside is way steeper than it looks, and every step was dry noisy brush and rocks wanting to roll.

Where you got your archery buck last year is pretty conducive to sub 300 yard shots. Lots of draws to hide/stalk in and fairly rolly hills vs steep canyons.

 

[missjordan]

Echoing what a few people have said already that i see LRS as an opportunity to get your target animal on the ground. And lots of factors come into play as to why hunters choose to take those shots. Could be the best opportunity that is presented. Getting closer doesn’t guarantee a harvest. Differences in steepness, cover, and even time spent hiking might not reveal the deer when you get to the other side.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Indian Summer]

I bet you can’t kick a 40 yard field goal either. A chip shot for people who have practiced. I know guys, two brothers who make 1000-1200 yard shots like it’s a 40 yard field goal. They shoot to 1 mile! They also build their own guns. So they’re not the average guy. They are using heavy barreled rifles on a solid rest. For a hunter who has the right tools for the job AND has done his homework it is completely doable and ethical. But you don’t just buy a gun and make shots like that.

 

[robby denning]

...

The actual distance is not really a major consideration. 450 yards in thick brush on a steep side slope is way harder than 650 yards prone with calm wind. I’m thinking can I make this shot with a high degree of confidence? Should I make a move/stalk for an easier shot? It all comes into play, and often times the terrain I’m hunting lends itself to 400-600 yard shots, and often times it’s closer.

Long range is just another effective tool, like glassing off a tripod.

this is it right here.

And I think it's what Ryan means when he says "check your wobble."

Your crosshairs ain't lying. I can't shoot better than what they're showing me.

But my 200-400 choice in the poll is where my wobble seems the best in real world mountain hunting, (*edit, and wind is less of a factor)

Just my opinion

 

[robby denning]

.....in my 30-06 days I might have just waited there to see where they went and tried a different stalk…but the odds would have been low of that working out.

@Dioni A you're not alone

 

[willfrye027]

@Dioni A you're not alone

Took me years to overcome the flinching from those days!

that 7lb 30-06 gave me a lot of valuable tracking experiences..for a couple years there it was a miracle I killed anything!

 

[robby denning]

Took me years to overcome the flinching from those days!

that 7lb 30-06 gave me a lot of valuable tracking experiences..for a couple years there it was a miracle I killed anything!

I can't tease too much, I shot one from 12 yrs to 19 yrs old. With the yardages I still shoot, and a hash-mark scope, it'd still be a decent choice.

I just remember Dioni had a post here or somewhere and mentioned his 30.06 and some peope were commenting "what's a 30.06????" LOL.

(hijack over)

 

[ddowning]

I appreciate the response. This is the kind of discussion I was hoping for. Being honest, I am able to shoot steel really pretty well out to 800 yards or more even with my old factory rem 721 30-06... but I am not a good rifle hunter. I have missed more whitetail deer than I care to admit, but most often because I was in a tree stand & I just don't like shooting a rifle out of a tree stand. I love bow hunting, and I am much more confident with my bow, because I practice with my bow year round. I practice with my rifle a few times per year max, and somehow my hunting situations have been nothing like my practice situations. I need to fix that for sure. I have an area I would like to do an early rifle hunt in CO since I have some points saved up, but I also want to do a pronghorn hunt in WY, so I want to get good at rifle hunting as well. I feel like the way I would hunt out west would be more suited to how I shoot than this midwest whitetail hunting I do. I have done much better shooting from the ground.

I am curious, why was that buck at 485 yards busting you? was it a wind shift? terrain made you visible? what happened?

You answered your own question. When I was competent with a rifle, I was shooting 5k+ rounds of long range centerfire, 10k-15k long range rimfire, and another 10k+ dryfires. Now, my kids are very into archery hunting and less so I to rifle hunting due to the intimacy of the encounters. I have shot less than 2k rounds total per year in the last couple years. My fundamentals are rusty and I am extra slow compared to the days of shooting all the time. I can shoot a bow as well as I have ever shot one in my life.

The reality is, long range rifle shooting requires a lot of practice to become and stay effective.

 

[Rich M]

Doesnt seem like you have ever hunted out west.

A lot of time there is no cover and instead of sneaking way around, folks learned how to shoot further.

I got my muley at 220 yards. Antelope between 25 and 350 yards. Just how ilt all worked out.