By Jim Dickson | Contributing Writer
The subject of long range hunting shots is a complex one with different circumstances dictating the need or advisability of making them.
To this is added the hunting camp talk of men who through either mistake or tall tale telling stretch 100 yard shots out to infinity and beyond. Typical of these is the man who was telling me of the deer that he had shot with his .270 at “500 yards.” When I asked him how much he had held over the target at that range he replied that he had held dead on, and the bullet hit exactly where he was aiming. Well, a .270 bullet drops over 4 feet at that range, so another deer shot within 100 yards had the range wildly exaggerated.
Talk like this is irresponsible because it encourages people inexperienced at long range shooting to take shots that can only result in missed or worse, crippled game.
I have been a woodsman all my life. Most of my hunting is done in the woods and you normally can’t see game at any distance because of the brush and trees. To me hunting is getting close to the game where I can see what I am killing. The thrill of getting close to your quarry is one of the great satisfactions of the chase. A long range shot at a tiny spec of an animal just doesn’t do it for me although I may take it to get the meat if I am sure of the shot.
My feelings on this were best expressed by a friend of mine in Montana who regularly shoots elk at ranges of 500 yards and more who said, “I’m just getting meat to feed my family. It isn’t hunting. I feel like a long range sniper.”
This man is a practiced long range shooter. Anyone who intends to shoot game at long range owes it to himself and the game to put in plenty of practice at those ranges from the position he will be shooting from in the field. You will find that it isn’t always as easy as it seems. Unseen crosswinds, particularly in the mountains, can move your bullet way off course at these distances. Ranges have to be figured precisely and the exact amount of bullet drop at those ranges exactly allowed for. The use of a modern laser rangefinder is highly recommended.
Even a slight error at these ranges can make a big difference in the amount of bullet drop you have. For the average hunter who is a good shot 200 yards is a good maximum range. There are too many things that can go wrong at longer ranges to risk crippling game.
`There is nothing more cruel and unethical than a hunter carelessly shooting game that gets away to die a lingering painful death. I have passed up shots where I was not entirely certain of making a clean kill and everyone should do the same when they can’t be sure of the shot. Having made a perfect heart shot I do not hesitate to put as many shots into a dead deer running as it takes to put it down quickly. That’s why I like semi-autos. Used in this manner they are more humane.
You don’t need a telescopic sight to hit a target at long range. At the Battle of Adobe Walls on June 27, 1874, buffalo hunter Billy Dixon used the iron sights on a .50-90 Sharps single-shot rifle to fatally wound a native American on horseback at a distance measured at over 1,500 yards.
Iron sights work at all ranges, but modern telescopic sights are easier for most people to use. A fixed power 2.75X Burris Gunsite Scout Scope offers a wide field of view and is just as accurate as a higher power scope out to 300 yards. That wide field of view is important to a hunter.
My wife, Betty, used a 2.75X conventional Redfield scope on a .44 Magnum Ruger semi-auto carbine with 100% success. She would climb near the top of the biggest tree she could find overlooking a deer trail and perch out on a limb without ever using a deer stand. When a deer came down the trail she would drop it with a perfect shoulder shot every time.
Past 300 yards a variable power scope shows it’s worth by enabling you to get a better look at your target at extreme ranges. Higher magnification means a smaller field of view and many a head of game has been lost as the hapless hunter tried to find his quarry in the limited field of view offered by the higher magnifications. It is better to find the quarry at the lowest magnification setting then dial it up higher as you keep your target in view in the scope.
For higher power scopes I like the Bushnell Prime 3-9X 40MM scope. Since Betty and I never let rain stop our hunting, this scope’s performance in the rain is more important to me than some other folks. It is absolutely water and fog proof and best of all it has the EXO Coating on the lens that repels water, oil, dust, and debris. At 14.7 ounces it adds little weight to the gun. In my experience higher magnification scopes than this tend to be noticeably bigger and heavier.
Bean field shooting is a special case often requiring long range shots at deer or wild hogs intent on harvesting the farmer’s crop for themselves. Some of these fields stretch across hundreds of yards and offer extreme long range shooting that is often vital to protect a farm family’s livelihood. Anyone undertaking this task should first do plenty of practice shooting at these ranges.
A laser rangefinder such as the Bushnell Trophy and accurate knowledge of just how much your bullet will drop at the various ranges encountered is vital. It doesn’t hurt to write down a bullet drop chart out for as far as you may shoot and take that with you. You should also be mindful of how much the wind can make your bullet drift at extreme ranges. If you can use a blind that will encompass a bench rest I would employ it. Shooters sandbags are a great aid from that bench rest. At some of the distances I have seen these fields range you will be glad for all the help that you can get.
Shooting running game at long range such as a deer running at 500 yards requires such a ridiculous lead as to be impractical between the time it takes for the bullet to arrive and the amount of ground that the game can cover in that time. Don’t do it.
One of the big reasons not to shoot at game past 200 yards is this. Depending upon the specific load and bullet weight, a .308-caliber bullet takes less than a second to travel 600 yards. If the game takes a step as you fire you can have a gut-shot animal.
While not what I would call hunting, bean field shooting serves vital purposes. It puts meat on the table, and it protects the farmer’s crops. Deer can be hard on a farmer but a big herd of wild hogs can wipe him out destroying the entire crop. Hog herds can be quite large, and it is imperative to kill all of them. For this reason an accurate semi-auto is called for.
Bear Creek Arsenal makes a .30-06 AR that is highly accurate. Coupled with a Bushnell Prime 3-9X scope it makes a formidable hog population reduction tool for long range shooting. When you need to shoot fast and kill as many as possible you will be glad for a mild recoil semi-auto like this one.
Sure, the .375 H&H Magnum is a great long range elk rifle but you are only shooting one elk at a time. I would hate to have to shoot 200 rounds fast at a herd of wild hogs with a fine .375 H&H bolt action as the accumulated effects of recoil can be very hard on you.
Now, if I was going elk hunting it would be hard to pick a better caliber and rifle than a bolt action .375 H&H Magnum custom made by Holland and Holland. It would handle all the long range shots just fine and it has the extra killing power that is so welcome on a big elk. But you aren’t going to shoot it that much on an elk hunt. That’s the big difference in bean field shooting hogs and hunting trophy game.
The .375 H&H would also be perfect for long range shots at moose, and I have known Alaskans to use it with great success harvesting their winter meat supply from the migrating caribou herds. The point is that the number of shots to be fired at one time can play a major role in selecting the proper gun for the job. You don’t need a magnum to make long range shots. People have been making them with standard full power military rifle cartridges since they first appeared. The lower recoil and price of the ammo makes it practical to do a lot more practice shooting than you can with the higher priced heavier kicking magnums and practice is what you need for success at this game. All the velocity and energy in the world mean nothing if you miss.
Whatever gun you choose to use do not attempt to shoot game at over 200 yards without a lot of practice at all the ranges that you intend or may shoot and do it from the position that you will use in the field. You will find that there are a lot more things that can go wrong at long range than you might think and only practice at those distances will make you a competent shot at them.
