Ever think about it a little????

[mrb1982]

So here I am hunting muley's in Wyoming a week ago. I am walking a ridge with my long range rifle, working the shadows with the wind in my face. I come up on some deer, I sit down, range them, 75yds. This gets me thinking.

Think of the amount of time that we all put in on the off season shooting, practicing, loading, tinkering, all the money spent. And most of us probably shoot animals inside of 500yds where maybe we wouldn't even need it.

I goes to show how much enjoyment we all get out of long range, even though we may only have to use it a handful of times in our lifetime. I started laughing to myself. It is like a hunting insurance policy, you know, I can shoot a 1000yds "just in case" hahahaha

I really have no point, just one of those random thoughts on a great day of hunting with some time to just reflect on stuff.

It's safe to say, we're all crazy!!!!! hahahaha

 

[MontanaRifleman]

So here I am hunting muley's in Wyoming a week ago. I am walking a ridge with my long range rifle, working the shadows with the wind in my face. I come up on some deer, I sit down, range them, 75yds. This gets me thinking.

Think of the amount of time that we all put in on the off season shooting, practicing, loading, tinkering, all the money spent. And most of us probably shoot animals inside of 500yds where maybe we wouldn't even need it.

I goes to show how much enjoyment we all get out of long range, even though we may only have to use it a handful of times in our lifetime. I started laughing to myself. It is like a hunting insurance policy, you know, I can shoot a 1000yds "just in case" hahahaha

I really have no point, just one of those random thoughts on a great day of hunting with some time to just reflect on stuff.

It's safe to say, we're all crazy!!!!! hahahaha

I have thought the same thing. It would be a lot easier and cheaper to keep my shots 500 or less. Pretty expensive insurance policy eh

That said, being able to do it is rewarding and ringing steel and killing rocks waaaaay out there is very cool.

 

[varmintH8R]

So here I am hunting muley's in Wyoming a week ago. I am walking a ridge with my long range rifle, working the shadows with the wind in my face. I come up on some deer, I sit down, range them, 75yds. This gets me thinking.

Think of the amount of time that we all put in on the off season shooting, practicing, loading, tinkering, all the money spent. And most of us probably shoot animals inside of 500yds where maybe we wouldn't even need it.

I goes to show how much enjoyment we all get out of long range, even though we may only have to use it a handful of times in our lifetime. I started laughing to myself. It is like a hunting insurance policy, you know, I can shoot a 1000yds "just in case" hahahaha

I really have no point, just one of those random thoughts on a great day of hunting with some time to just reflect on stuff.

It's safe to say, we're all crazy!!!!! hahahaha

Ha! So true. I am pretty much to the point where the planning, prep, and practice is the reason for the hunt, not vice-versa.

But, there is no other hobby I'd rather have...

 

[valvesinmyhead]

I here ya brother.

 

[Derek M.]

I had 2 rifles on my bear hunt, 30.06 and 7RM. On the day I took my bear if I had the 7 with me at the moment I would have set up to shoot at 605 yards but I had the .06 instead. We easily closed the distance as it was early morning, dim light, and wind from the bear to us. After walking right at him 400 yards, I set up and shot him at 200. I like the idea of -just in case- but I rarely have been in situations where my shots are over 300-400 yards.

 

[jpd676]

Too true. I shot my elk this year at a wopping 107 yards. I learned to shoot long range because in Wyoming you can always see deer on the next ridge. The insurance policy is expensive but it sure is fun to shoot that far.

 

[RockyMtnMT]

No doubt. It is much easier to get a 300y or less shot than past 500y. I have passed up several close shots in order to get one farther out.

Steve

 

[minute of elk]

I laughed at myself for hours last year while I was packing out the bull I shot with a 338LM........ At 50 yards

 

[SBruce]

No Doubt, no doubt! Good Thread.

Last season, 2012 I bought and set up a 6.5-284 specifically for the long range shot that "might" happen. I practiced and verified and practiced some more..............LSS, I ended up sneaking right into the bedroom of 5 bedded whitetail and took the buck I was after at under 100yds. My best whitetail yet, 20" wide 4X4. Could've shot him with grandpas' 30-30.

This season, 2013 I practiced again with the same rifle......"just in case"......and got my first elk at 575 yds. Which was as close as I could get without trudging through knee deep mud and water for the last few hundred yards.

We'd all like to think "all this money and time and practice will someday pay off".........most of the time the LR shot doesn't happen, but when it does it darn sure makes a guy glad that he prepared. I would've never got that elk at that distance with my trusty ole 25-06 sporter.

 

[Greyfox]

Good thread! I have found myself modifying my hunting style and strategy over the years as my long range proficiency has continued to improve. I think a lot more about vantage points and spend much more time watching than moving which has suited my 60+ age a little better. The technology component of LR hunting compliments the off season competition shooting which all seems to cme together much more so than in my previous years. I would say that overall the quality of the game harvested has been much improved by the ability to take advantage of longer shots.

I remember an article that I read 30+ years ago that categorized preferred hunting styles. The claim of the author was that each style would dominate each hunters personality. He equated the style to the animal kingdom, and labeled them canine, feline , and raptor. The canine style was dominated by continuos movement, searching, and prefering group activities, like drives, jump shooting, etc. These hunters have a hard time sitting still for long periods. The feline style was a stalker, preferring a catlike style that was a combination of close in hunting that would go undetected taking advantage of wind, cover, and undetected movements. This hunter ilikes still hunting. The last style, the raptor takes a vantage point far from it's prey and relies upon keen eyesight to spot and a silent quick attack to make the kill. These hunters prefer hunting vantage points, stands, blinds, and have the patience and attention span to sit long periods of time with high concentration. When it comes time for the kill, compared to the feline and canine the probability of success is very high. LR hunting well suits this hunter. I think most hunters use a combination of all three, but most do have a preference. It is definitely the case with me, and I can see this kind of classification apply to many of my hunting buddies. This is a little off topic but I thought of it when reading the threads in this post and thought it might be interesting.

 

[Derek M.]

Greyfox, very good points and I will say, as a hunter, I wear a lot of hats because I fit the mold of all three and it really depends on the weapon of choice on that hunt, that day.

I love archery more than anything and I can sit for hours, waiting. Same with glassing out west on a hill. I just set my own mood for whatever hunt is planned. Being a male, it's the only multi-tasking I'm capable of.

 

[mrb1982]

Man, glad to hear I am not the only one that thinks this way.

I think for the most part, we all probably try to get "as close as we can" but I think being able to shoot longer distances gives us the advantage of being able to go undectected at ranges that become very comfortable for us, that maybe we weren't comfortable with before we entered this adventure.

Greyfox, some good stuff in there. Seems like similar evaluation that Bernie Pellerite and others have done on the mental/personality side of archery. I like to shoot indoor targets so I have read a lot on this.

For me, about 4 years ago, I shot a deer at 450yds, not cause I wanted to, because I had to, it was as close as I could get. Didn't know enough about my gun, the wind, or long range shooting in general. Took me 4 shots. So then I start doing some reading, upgrade my gun to something more long range compatible and got a Sendero, got a high power scope, and just flat our read all the info I could get, mostly on here.

Two years later I shot an antelope at 550, not because I wanted, but same story, it was as close as I coudl get and it was going away. I was really enjoying that long range insurance policy there.

I haven't gotten to shoot out past 1000 yet, but a couple weeks ago, right after my long range epiphany while walking that ridge, I found a doe a long ways out there. I thought, "I wonder how well I can even hold on that thing out there." I put the bipods down, crank the scope up to 20x, put my target dot on her. Like a rock, talk about a confidence builder. Then I bust out my rangefinder, it said 1428. Reassuring to know that I can hold that well on something out there.

So my point is that I will continue to load, practice, load, practice, load, practice, and load, and practice. And next time I go out to shoot an animal, I will let them decide, do they want me to shoot them at 100yds, or 1000yds hahaha

 

[Scrubbit]

It's enjoyable marching through the brush following tracks and getting exercise, but vantage point, long range hunting allows you to cover far more area in a more persistent manner. I like to set up camp near a vantage point and long range hunt dusk and dawn. The rest of the day is great for grabbing the rifles and tramping around...or just sitting by the campfire.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Good analogies Greyfox. My uncle was my hunting mentor and he was a PA deer hunter and he employed the still hunting method and was very successful at it. In fact by far the most successful PA deer hunter I knew. Rarely did he take a shot at over 50 yds and his year to year success rate was better than anyone I knew and bringing home very nice bucks including one that just missed B&C by a couple of points.... very rare in PA.

I was the opposite of him. I did not have the patience for still hunting. I could however, sit in a tree stand for hours on end. But if I was moving I had the urge to cover ground relatively quickly. In the West, covering ground quickly in open country is a more effective way of hunting unless of course you're in heavy timber. Probably my favorite way of hunting is to move from one location to anther seeking vantage points where I will sit and scan open country for extended periods of time. This is why I believe long range has such an appeal to me.