First Long Distance Shot on Big Game - On Purpose

[Ankeny]

Yesterday I went antelope hunting. This season I have passed up on several very nice trophy antelope because they didn't present the test of marksmanship skills that I am seeking. Yesterday it all came together. I harvested (or do we say kill around here?) a very respectable antelope that will score 80 and change SCI. Not a BC book critter, but pretty decent all the same.

The antelope was taken in some fairly rugged terrain as far as what most folks consider Pronghorn habitat. The buck was on the side of a ridge with three valleys between him and my bore. The wind was pretty much quartering from behind at 2.5 mph. The only wind variable was the upslope/downslope winds across the canyons and as calm as it had been I hoped the small canyon breezes would be of negligible consequence. There was very little elevation difference. The temperature and humidity shouldn't play a huge roll at the distance I was shooting.

The animal repeatably ranged at 625 yards with my Leica 900 LRF. His slight quatering away would make up for a few inches if I hit too far back. My rest was rock solid. The bullet entered about an inch ahead of the first rib from the rear and exited through the sixth rib from the back. He was dead on his feet and tipped over shortly without taking a step. That's kind of strange for a "goat". Generally, unless you get a CNS hit they take off like a bat of hell.

For the gadget guys, the rifle is a custom .30-.338 on an old L61R Sako action. Wooden stock, pillar bedded, with the forearm hogged out and filled with glass as was so popular a dozen years ago. The scope is a Nightforce NXS 3.5-15X50 in custom made Warne rings that I had built 10 years ago (It's time to go to a rail and better rings). Weight of unloaded rifle and scope is right on 12 pounds. The ammo was a Nosler 180 grain Accubond at 3100 fps.

This is the first time I have shot an animal over 400 yards. I will start another thread about that issue.

Ron

 

[lerch]

Congrats on your kill, sounds like som **** nice shooting

If you have some pics I am sure we would all like to see them.

Again Congratualtions
Steve

 

[Guest]

Ron,

See, now you've gone and done it... you're hooked.. just take 1/2 of all pay checks and kiss them good-bye. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Nice going... sure feels good when it all comes together!

any digital pics of the goat? what area did ya hunt?

 

[Dave King]

Fine job, looking forward to the new post too.

One of my hunting friends uses a 30-338 with 200gr partitions (I believe they're 200's), tiny little groups with those bullets out of that rifle. His first olong range kill with it was an elk at just over 600yards. Great old(er) cartridge and seemingly good for long range.

 

[Kenster-Boy]

[ QUOTE ]
See, now you've gone and done it... you're hooked.. just take 1/2 of all pay checks and kiss them good-bye.

[/ QUOTE ]

HA HA HA. . . that's a good way to put it Ric.

I haven't even made my first kill and am already hooked to the point that I have no money for anything else.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

CONGRATULATIONS!

There is nothing better than a loooong-range adrenaline rush.

I've been shooting long-range varmints for many years but only recently decided to move up to bigger game. Using the the right equiptment, right ammo and a good helping of knowledge and experience makes it all possible.

OK what's next? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[ss7mm]

Ankeny:

Great story and congratulations on your first long range kill. Now, like the guys said, how about some pictures. You can't just tell the story, especially a long range story, and not show some pictures. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Ankeny]

I took a a tripod and a brand new Nikon D70s digital camera along. The setting was just beautiful. I left the battery at home in the freaking charger. I was (still am) really ****ed. I don't plan on mounting the critter, but I did reatain the horns as a keepsake. You guys couldn't possibly care about a snapshot of the horns and rifle could you?

BTW, I am a fourth generation Wyoming native, and I have been hunting for 35 years. That's well over 150 big game animals in the pot. Hunting is a way of life here. Unless I am trophy hunting I don't even bother to take a camera along. In a way, it's a shame that guys like me take something so special for granted.

 

[Kenster-Boy]

[ QUOTE ]
In a way, it's a shame that guys like me take something so special for granted.

[/ QUOTE ]

You better believe it!!! I have been Rifle hunting since I was 12 and am now 19. That means that I have killed one deer in 7 seasons of rifle hunting. I haven't taken a deer with a rifle in 6.5 years. After a while hunting just isn't any fun any more. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif It becomes just hunting and never any finding (it cracks me up when these TV show hunters say "it's not all about the kill, it's about the hunt and even if I don't take one it's still a good trip" well I can't stand it because they know that the next time they go hunting they will kill one. For me it' fun until about year 4 or 5 then it's like why do I even bother. and what's the fun in this hunting anyway?) And the worst of it is, I am still above average. In the zones I hunt (the only ones available to me) the success rate is in the single digit precentages. You all with good hunting DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED!

 

[oso]

What are you kidding!! I would enjoy seeing some pics of the horns and rifle.

 

[justgoharder]

it all turns around in a flash, I spent four years hunting without anything and then all in twenty-four hours, bam! two elk, and a black bear!

It will happen...

 

[sewwhat89]

I average one wtbuck every 3 seasons because I am selective. For my purposes, I am not going to pull the trigger on a buck smaller than one I have already taken. Eventually this will get me into trouble. I hunt in East TX where there are some world-class monsters, but there are also some world-class morons stomping in the woods as well. It makes for an interestng mix at my deer lease. In the last 5 seasons, only 8 or 10 bucks have been killed. five of them were taken by first-time hunters and ranged from knarly-horned 3pt to my little brother's 10 pt. An average mature buck in East TX will score 125 BC. Last year I shot a 130 class 9 pt, and the next day saw a 160 class 10 pt. Only one other 'hunter' on my lease has seen him, but he has no stands in the vicinity. I knew he was in the area, but had never seen him. In short 7mmmag man, find an area that is prime buck habitat and stick it out. Hunting is not about killing. If it was, it wouldn't be hunting, it would be killing. I kill two does every season for meat and herd control. I am a Wildlife Biologist turned Phamacy student. There is no need to 'hunt' does as they are plentiful and for the most part not scared of humans. Antlered foes are like blonde gorillas. You are still young, and if you achieve too much in your youth, you will have nothing to look forward to in the golden years.

 

[jrdoty]

7mmmag man you can come hunt with me if you want, in d-5 zone. I saw a couple of really nice bucks there last year. I didn't kill one though (didn't think I could kill them at 600 yards). But I did get a nice bear and a small forked horn in A zone last year, and passed on a small buck this year in A zone with my rifle. From your other post in the ballistics section, it sounds like your seeing a few deer, why not try to get within 500 yards and kill it than miss them at 800+. 800 yards is a very long shot especially on a deer as small as a black tail, which as you know rarely will get over 100 pounds live weight. I limit my shots to 600 with no wind, and under 400 with any cross wind more than 10 mph. I'll share a secret with you. If you really want to kill a deer find a good spot and climb a tree. This really works. You will see a lot of deer that you normally would not because the deer have no idea you are there. any way let me know if you want to go hunt those d-5 bucks. by the way how did the elk hunt go.

 

[Kenster-Boy]

Well Jr, I would have loved to go with ya but I already bought both of my deer tags for the B zones. Good to hear that you got a bear and a buck last year. I did see a TON of bucks this year. They were all from 800-1175. I didn't shoot over 900 as I figured that it was slightly too far. In retrospect this was the first year that I have ever seen a legal buck on opening weekend. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif And I saw 9 to boot. I tell ya if it wasn't for the steep uphill shots I would have filled my tags by now. To be honest I would have loved to have been able to sneek within 500 yards but with the location of the bucks that I saw it just wasn't possible. It is a really steep hill and once you get on the hill you can't see but 100 yards. The only open spot to look at the hill is from a meadow at the bottom. The hill is shale rock so you make so much noise going up there that it just isn't possible to get on the bucks Especially the big bucks. I have seen 5 bears so far this year and haven't been able (or haven't wanted to) shoot one yet. 4 were back in the wilderness and I didn't want to pack them out. The 5th one was digging up a bees nest and I din't want to have to deal with a dead bear laying under a swarm of ****ed off yellow jackets. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif As far as getting up into a tree to see deer. . .when the bucks are over 1/2 mile away I don't think that they have any clue you're around.

Oh and about the elk hunt. I AM NEVER GOING ELK HUNTING AGAIN!!! it was the worst hunt of my life. I hunted for 11 straight days and didn't see a SINGLE elk. I was in the right area because during one hunt I had just got back to the road and walking along the road back to my truck there was 5 groups of guys gutting and skinning elk that they had shot from their trucks! I had pushed the herd to them and during their shooting the herd ran across the road TO THE CLOZED ZONE. So there I was 100 yards from the herd of elk I had been persuing for 7 days and wasn't able to shoot one! Needless to say they never moved back onto the hunt area.

This is the hill those bucks were on.

All wasn't a waste though because my brother killed two of the bucks that I saw the first day, on the second day.