How "long" is "long range"

[ejones338]

My best answer would be that long range is the unachievable goal that we all strive for.

I practice with my bow out to 70 yards enough so that I maintain a group where no arrows go outside an 8" group and then I limit my "LONG RANGE" hunting shots to 50 yards. I will however take a longer shot if given the chance at an animal that I have already arrowed. I bust clay pigeons all day long at 400 yards with my .17HMR, but a gopher will go down its hole if I hit it at that distance, so I try to get closer if I can. Do you see where I am going with this.

Long range is always different to me. The instrument (not always a weapon), the weather, my health, it's always different, so long range is always different.

I have a .338 federal that I use on my long, steep, nasty, high mountain hunts that is long range at 400 yards, yet I have guns that are long range on the same game at 800 yards.

To me it is simply a goal that will always change, because if I reach it with one thing I will buy something that stretches it further.

[bigbuck]

Originally Posted by Ian M

Varmint Hunter,
Great point - we can't! How about a standing offhand kill at 35 yards with my flintlock on a gopher that is just peeking out of his hole. That is a hell of a long shot. How about a running kill on a coyote as he blasts across the prairie at 190 yards. That is a long kill for most guys that I know. How about a mulie standing on the edge of a ravine at 783 yards and my 180 Accubond dumps him in his tracks - might be long for me but not long for the 1500 yard shooters.
Shooting long should be about using knowledge, skills and equipment to their maximum potential. That makes it vary since my rifle/scope/load and shooting ability might not enable clean kills as far as yours.
My friends and I "hurl" bullets at far-off rocks and steel plates to see if we can hit them. We do not do that at big game animals - we only shoot when we are confident that the bullet will kill. That means out to about 650 for the .308 rifles and 750-800 with the magnums. We put a lot of deer on the ground during a recent CWD cull and I know those numbers are realistic.

The quote says it all!
My dad uses kentucky windage (I don't ) anyways I've went to pick him up at his shooting house many many times and they would be 2 coyotes dead in the field one at 175 yards and the other @ 350 yards the 350 yarder was running . I know that theirs alot of great shooters on this site that has killed deer and other game at further ranges than 350 yards but a running shot at that range to me is considered a long range shot if you don't think so give it a try while their running.

Bigbuck

[HUAINAMACHERO]

bigbuck,
Hitting a running coyote at 350 yards is one hell of a shot!!!, I dont think I could make that shot, but there is a lot of luck involved in that shot. The important deal about long range shooting is being able to consistently hit a specific target at the distance that your knowledge, shooting capacity and equipment are able to. I have shot running deer at 350 yards, and killed them but I think of that shot as a lucky shot, because I dont know how many times out of ten I could repeat that shot, probably not many.

[bigbuck]

Originally Posted by HUAINAMACHERO

bigbuck,
Hitting a running coyote at 350 yards is one hell of a shot!!!, I dont think I could make that shot, but there is a lot of luck involved in that shot. The important deal about long range shooting is being able to consistently hit a specific target at the distance that your knowledge, shooting capacity and equipment are able to. I have shot running deer at 350 yards, and killed them but I think of that shot as a lucky shot, because I dont know how many times out of ten I could repeat that shot, probably not many.

HUAINAMACHERO,
I completely understand what you are saying and I agree with you but I have seen my dad do this many times over. Deer and yotes mostly doe as for deer. Some folk would say that the guys on this site can't hit elk @ 1200 yrds consistently and obviously some are. I can't stand kentucky hold over but my dad has shot this way all of his life I'm trying to onvert him with very little success, I would say that some of these guys couldn't take running shots but they can bust em at 800 1000 1200 and so on, like wise my dad can bust em runnin on a regular basis but get him past 500 yards with that old fashion hold over and he's in trouble. He just loves it when I tell him that.

Bigbuck

[MontanaRifleman]

I really dont mind the question. I think it's a good one to jaw about around the campfire. I dont think 100 yd shots on rabbits with a 22 are long range. Difficult yes, LR no. Reason being 100 yds is not long range. LR is whe you need more specialized equipment and training/experience to accurately range disatances, calculate the ballistics (drop and windage) and place the bullet in a vital zone. For me, that starts around 400 yds. 400 yds is not a difficult shot, in fact it's a piece of cake as long as I know the exact range and have the correct drop. when bullets start dropping more than 3 o4 inches every 25 yds it's time to stop guesstimating and start accurate calculations and apply the corrections. Now I said LR "starts" around 400. LR of course gets more challenging the farther out you go and requires more precise equpiment, complex calcualtions and greater marksmanship.

Interesting to read other views on LR

Mark