My Motivations

Cholla

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2022
Messages
166
Location
Prescott, AZ
My motivations for improving are many.

My mobility is rapidly decreasing. I no longer can walk the legs off anyone.
Hunting pressure is making it harder to get close to game out here in Arizona.
My disabled-vet daughter is in the ACES program and last year she shot an elk at 700+ yards using a guide's gun with a Huskma scope. I assume it is a Best of the West setup. First time hunting and she put two rounds within three inches and dropped the elk where it stood. When she called and told me the distance I said she didn't do that with my rifle. I had loaned her my rifle.)
This year, she got an antelope at 550 yards using the gun a guide had. She and I had been trying to get close enough to use my Winchester Model 70 but I didn't feel comfortable with her shooting past 300 yards and not knowing how well she could do a holdover.
This year my wife and I were drawn for mule deer in the unit we live in. I have an ideal location where I can overlook a valley. If I had a rifle that could be accurate out to 600 yards, everything in my vision would be in range.
All of this has made me realize I need to do something different. Not crazy different, just different. By next season, I plan on having that something in place, whatever it may be.
 
Shooting game at long range requires good wind calls, 600 isn't that far and using good bullets it won't be a problem. Choose a good cartridge and a scope with turrets, then go practice.
 
First of all congratulations to your daughter and please extend my appreciation for her service to our country. I wish you the best of success on your hunt this year. In your neck of the woods long shot opportunities can be a common occurrence. Practice is the primary ingredient to confidence and success.
 
Your plan sounds solid. Long range hunting is a blast, but as with most things, it takes practice. Shoot on calm days. Shoot on windy days. Shoot out past the distance where you plan on hunting. Get a chrony and learn what you can & can't do. Have fun!
 
Practice is key, the smallest mistake-like not checking your level at 500-600yds can make a big enough difference to ruin a guys day!
You want it to be second nature-in other words you don't have to think about it. It's just like shooting a bow when you got a bull elk in your face and your blood is boiling the buck fever!! You don't want to have to think about it, get a routine!
 
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