1450 yard whitetail last year...
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barnesuser28
Well-Known Member
Heck id take that shot! Just give me a F-117A nighthawk, pay for the pilot school, licenses, jet fuel, and get outta my way!
COBrad
Well-Known Member
I've shot out around the 1400 yard mark. It is do-able.
As I mentioned earlier, where I hunt there are a lot of terrain features that affect wind direction, and we have considerable movement in the air current blowing up or down hill, depending on time of day.
I would think that if I were in an area where the wind was pretty calm and more predictable than here, a 1450 yard shot could be done with a fair amount of certainty.
As I mentioned earlier, where I hunt there are a lot of terrain features that affect wind direction, and we have considerable movement in the air current blowing up or down hill, depending on time of day.
I would think that if I were in an area where the wind was pretty calm and more predictable than here, a 1450 yard shot could be done with a fair amount of certainty.
JackinSD
Well-Known Member
He already claims 1450, he is talking about a mile. Please read the original post.
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Guess it all boils down to what the confidence level is for a given shot for an individual, and what percentage is acceptable. For a really nice whitetail I like greater than 80% with a 12" target area. I define my confidence level by the aggregate of all aspects. Wind, load, rest, mirage, etc. I have not yet seen this level at these ranges. I doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't exist, but I would be very skeptical at 1 mile.
COBrad
Well-Known Member
My bad, wasn't paying attention.
JackinSD
Well-Known Member
Kinda weird but we had some severe population problems which resulted in 50+ tags apiece for a few years. 100 deer is a bunch!!! + regular tags. Whiteys were basically varmints in that situation. Now if I hunted out of state during that time they were back to game animals.
Fast forward to now and the population crashed and they are back to game animals for me. But during our population control phase if I could see them I would shoot them.
All comes down to moral issues to me. If you can hit a small whitey under 200lbs with a 338 300 its gonna die pretty quick even with a back of diaphragm hit even at 1 mile. As long as you can find a blood trail and have a spotter its a doable deal.
The situation I WAS in made it acceptable to take a 1 mile shot. Now that I'm in kansas with bigger trophy deer and different cover not so much.
Fast forward to now and the population crashed and they are back to game animals for me. But during our population control phase if I could see them I would shoot them.
All comes down to moral issues to me. If you can hit a small whitey under 200lbs with a 338 300 its gonna die pretty quick even with a back of diaphragm hit even at 1 mile. As long as you can find a blood trail and have a spotter its a doable deal.
The situation I WAS in made it acceptable to take a 1 mile shot. Now that I'm in kansas with bigger trophy deer and different cover not so much.
Hired Gun
Well-Known Member
A gut shot at a mile is one lost animal. A gutshot at 100 yards is still not a sure thing. Most like they will not bleed at all of for far. It's all about disruption of vital organs. A 3 legged deer can go for miles with very little blood loss. A deer with no face can go about a week.
Why is it lost? No tracking/spotting skills? A deer hit in the guts with an edge or somethin similar is done. A 300 ultra...no. For some reason the 338 treats deer badly. These are 150 and under deer not canadian monsters. Ive killed way over 4 digits of whiteys with large guns at varying ranges and you are right most of the time a back of diaphragm hit is a cl&^*^&*ck. With a 338 300gr its just different.
No reason to go out and gutshoot a buncha stuff but a 338 300gr will cause a waaaaay different result than a 210 gr 300 ultra. That is a fact. And in closing it seems as if people dont know what to do if something goes wrong. LEARN TO TRACK AND SPOT.
If you shoot a deer with any gun and dont find it please go buy a bow and learn to track preferably with someone with decent vision helping you.
Animals dont wanna die, if you dont know how to thwart the escape....they will...its what they do whether its 50 ft or 1 mile. I guide for extra$$ every year and have for years, mostly I am more dangerous at 1 mile than my hunters are at 100 yds so I figure its not whether its a mile or 2 its can you do it and are you willing to risk it? Can you find where he was when shot...where he ran to? Its a big question.
barnesuser28
Well-Known Member
toddc, what bullet are you using out of your 338 edge? Could you pm me and elaborate on some of your 1000 yards + kills? If you have a thread that will be fine. Thanks
Riley
Riley
smk. I bought 5k a while back and plan on bangin em all before I switch. Runs 2850 m/l. Reason I got into LR was because I had to shoot a bunch of deer every year in a short period of time so we set up a swiveling table and start killing the close ones first and then shoot them till they are out of sight....a long ways. Fun but I dont eat deer much anymore.
COBrad
Well-Known Member
I guided for almost 3 decades myself, 9 as a licensed outfitter. My experience with the 300 gr. 338 bullet at 1K on big game is zero. My experience with more common weights in 338, and many other rounds, at common hunting distances is considerable. Like anyone who has reason to participate in the taking of hundreds of big game animals, I have gained some experience in poorly placed shots.
Frankly I cannot buy the notion that because the bullet is a 300 gr SMK that it possesses some special quality that makes it a sure enough killer, especially at those ranges, even if it is a gut shot.
This sounds like the typical stuff I have heard from too many persons afflicted with "magnumitis". Funny part is, you state you have had a lot of experience. Not saying I don't believe you, what I think really doesn't matter. What I am saying is your experience seems to be much different from any other person with that level of experience that I have known personally.
A gut shot with any caliber is a poor shot. At close range if that big bullet would explode on impact, I can see it might bring down a gut shot animal fairly quickly. At 1K, or more yards?
Gotta call BS on this one.
With zero experience you call bs...hmmmm...thats the internet for you. I'm not talking about elk. Im not talking about BIG whiteys or muleys. Im talking about average sized 150 m/l whiteys. Yes the 300 smk/bergers do work differently. Yes I have seen them instantly kill many deer with back of diaphragm hits at 700+. I wouldnt beleive it either without doing it hundreds of times. The retained energy of a 300 is stupid even at 1k, add in a thin jacket and great sd and its a deer wrecker.
Shot placement as always is key but a 300 will make up for some booboos. Out of the deer we have shot with an edge we have never lost one.
This is something that you just have to do to beleive. I would have been right with you till I tried it. And since it works so well I'm goin to the 375 if testing works out.
And keep in mind that we were killing hundreds a year(2 weeks usually) and Ive compared 100s of 338 kills versus hundreds of 300 ultra and down kills. This isnt like guiding 20-30 guys a year. Its just industrial killing that got a lot easier when I stepped up to the 338 smk.
I will in closing say this. If I PERSONALLY SEE a deer hit with a 338 300smk at any range I will find it. Even at obscene ranges I have a 1/3 inch hole in an animal. I will track it down and find it dead most likely. Any solid body hit with that combo = dead animal real quik.
