Shooting long distance angles...

[BigBullDown]

I am an avid bow and rifle hunter and I spend much of my time in high mountains. All too often, my rifle shots are at 200 - 300 yards. I hunt elk with a. 300 Win Mag and I'm dead on out to about 400 yards. I recently shot a cougar at 325 yards and although I got a kill shot, it was really low. The shot was about a 18 degree decline. Does anyone know how much an increase OR decrease in elevation can effect bullet flight in a 30 caliber rifle? I know it does with bow hunting, do the same rules apply? Any tips or facts would be greatly appreciated. Happy Hunting! Mike Murray, Redmond Oregon

 

[oldhoon01]

shooting at an angle generally makes the shot high. but temperature and altitude do some funny things. there is some interesting articles on here about all these effects maybe look there?

 

[WildRose]

At those ranges the angle isn't going to be much of a factor at all unless it is over 30degrees.

There are lots of online ballistics calculators that you can play with that will give you a good idea of how much difference it actually makes.

A good angle cosine indicator gives you just what you need to adjust on the fly in the field.

Here's a pretty good, very simple article on the subject.

Angle Cosine Indicator Aids Hunters « Daily Bulletin


Many of the more modern and even very reasonably priced range finders will give you the "true ballistic range" with the push of a button.