Advice for long range hunting caliber

[ElvenSoul]

Nosler E Tip
Barnes TTSX

[ar15barrels]

I wonder what the ratio is between people posting about "what caliber for xxx yds and beyond", usually something well beyond 300, and the number of deer harvested by the same posters.

560:1

[-hanko]

You are dumb beyond your years. Why bother reading or commenting on a thread that you don't like. Just skip over it it instead of being an a-hole.

I'll ask again...

Where and what do you plan on hunting??

SB1964's post is dead on.

[riftol]

7mm Magnum has always been top choice for those long, cross canyon shots.

7mm rem mag. That's all my family uses.

yankee-pete: Read up on the 7mm Remington Magnum; it's an excellent cartridge.


From page 201 of SPEER RELOADING MANUAL NUMBER TEN:

"Introduced in 1962, the 7mm Remington Magnum is an outstanding development in belted magnum cartridges. It has been highly successful...Many consider the 7mm caliber to be the best compromise for a long range cartridge."

[8200rpm]

You are dumb beyond your years. Why bother reading or commenting on a thread that you don't like. Just skip over it it instead of being an a-hole.

Hey, I'm a 53 year old virgin who who eats right and weighs 135#. I'm planning on becoming UFC Heavyweight champion in a couple years. Which toe clipper do you guys recommend for the most knock out wins. I'll definitely take a win by submission if faced with a formidable opponent who takes me to the 4th round in a title fight, but I'm hoping that all my wins will be first round knock outs. Thanks.

[advocatusdiaboli]

The firearm and cartridge it is chambered for is not half as important as you think. Any decent rifle chambered in any cartridge comparable to .308 win or larger should suit you fine. The ammo and your skill are much more important than your choice of rifles. A good hunter will pass on a shot he/she is not 100% confident about. So, you're choice of words when you say "attempt a shot" means you have a lot to learn about hunting ethics and your abilities. I'm not trying to belittle you. I'm just trying to help you see the errors you are making before you make them in the field and leave an animal wounded and suffering or worse.

I've spent the last ten years learning to shoot 600-1000 yards. I have taken plenty of deer but, none farther than 150 yards. In fact, I'm probably going to get a bow and start learning more about real hunting this year. I think the challenge and satisfaction of taking a deer at 10 yards with a bow would be 1000 times better than harvesting one at 1000 yards. One is just knowing how and being able to read conditions and shoot long distance. The other is about being able hunt, stalk and cleaning harvest your game.

Yep. I got a .270 because I might hunt antelope out around 400 yards if I can ever get proficient with it in the field to make the humane shot. But in reality, I know most of the deer and hogs will be shot between 75 and 150 yards with it and any short-action or long action cartridge would do. And as you said: "The other is about being able hunt, stalk and cleaning harvest your game." That's the lion's share of hunting right there.

I picked up a Matthews Z7 a few years ago, but just haven't gotten confident I can hit a deer at 40 or 50 yards with a humane shot yet. I like the idea of a bow for hunting and an atlati would be even better but in reality I lack the time to master it. Maybe when the kids are out of high school and college, I can dedicate the time to it I need.

[CSACANNONEER]

I don't know if an atlati is legal to hunt with in CA. I've only seen one being used in person and that was in the 80's. As far as bow hunting goes, I have yet to cast an arrow from a compound bow but, I bet I'll have a 20-30 yard shot mastered before the season starts. I have plenty of places around here to make stands where 20-30 yards will be a long shot. Now, I am decent at hawk throwing but, getting exactly 7 or 10 paces from a deer won't be easy.

[advocatusdiaboli]

I don't know if an atlati is legal to hunt with in CA. I've only seen one being used in person and that was in the 80's. As far as bow hunting goes, I have yet to cast an arrow from a compound bow but, I bet I'll have a 20-30 yard shot mastered before the season starts. I have plenty of places around here to make stands where 20-30 yards will be a long shot. Now, I am decent at hawk throwing but, getting exactly 7 or 10 paces from a deer won't be easy.

[LynnJr]

Wow that sounds like kewl setup.
The only real long range hunting I have done is for coyotes at 700 to 1000yds out in AZ.

I did make a 200+yd shot mounted from horseback on a Cow Elk once. Hunting deer and elk from horseback it seems I can get in closer. Plus some horses know what is up and have good insticts for getting close to the game.

The benches are made in Ukiah,California and are the best benches I have ever seen.The guy who makes them shoots trap at the Ukiah range but I can't remember his name.
They run about $500 and have two steel rings that the top rides on.They have binocular and spotting scope holders plus your ammo holders and are made for quick elevation changes as well.
My uncle has several alfalfa ranches in northern California and southern Oregon and you can shoot squeaks at any range you can see them at.They are smaller than a normal ground squirrel and make for plenty of shooting.

We actually got into longrange benchrest shooting only so we could improve on our hit ratio.

Most of the longrange hunting states have put regulations in place so you can't hunt longrange anymore.Idiots were shooting at elk at over a mile and not checking to see if they had actually hit the elk so Idaho fixed that by putting a weight limit on the rifles you can hunt with.No fun shooting a 50 bmg weighing under 15 pounds.

In our case we hunt in a large bowl with the closest shot being around 285 yards and going to just over 1100 yards.Most of the shots are between 600 and 850 yards and we have names for every shot we are likely to take now.

It definitely isn't for everyone but if done right it is quite rewarding.
I spotted a nice 3x3 last year but couldn't reach my father on the radio.I walked back to his spot very close to the truck and he was sound asleep.Its tough getting someone 80 years old on a buck on public land who can barely walk and cherishes taking naps while hunting.

[yankee-pete]

I have never taken a deer beyond 100 yards. I know that there are a lot of guys who do long range hunting across canyons and such. It looks like something that I would really like to do, and yes, I would want to hone my long range skills before attempting to take an animal (I still want to hunt deer as I really enjoy it). My brother-in-law is also interested and we want to make an out of state trip of it.
I'm just looking for advice on good calibers to further research. Many of you have been very helpful and I appreciate the advice. Some of you, not so much. Oh well. Thank again guys.