Sorry big country, I would like to appoligize, I was a bit outta line here. But the point I am making is....There still are alot of people out there that wonder which gun they can use to "hunt game" at distances "that are a joke" in my opinion. ( THIS POST THAT I AM WRITING IS NOT FOR LONG RANGE SHOOTERS, BUT FOR THOSE THAT WANT TO ATTEMPT A HAIL MARRY OUT IN THE FEILD)I read in an outdoor life magazinethat a guy had taken elkwitha .270, .280, 25-06, 30-06, and a 300 win magall withina few feet less than 800 yards. ( THESE ARE THE ARTICLES THAT MAKE A NEW HUNTERTHINK HE CAN DO IT TOO)I forgot the exact distances for each shot, but all were over 780 yards. It was at that point that I went to 4 different ballistic charts just to see if I had read something wrong about bullet trajectory before. Once again I found that all of those rounds that he had mentioned had a bullet drop between 18-38 inches at 400 yards. which led me to assume the drop would be far more dramatic at 800 yards.
Now putting all this aside, I am aware that there is such things as Creedmore matches where men and women shoot at targets 1000 meters away with bullets of around 40 caliber or larger. The targets measure 72"X72".And I also know that some use the 47-70 gov. which has about a 115-135 inch drop at 400 yards, far more than the .270,.280, 25-06, 30-06, and the 300 win mag. (So I understand that a 1000 meter shot is not impossible to make.) I know people make those shots at the range all the time. But I also know that sometimes when people shoot at creedmore matches they are not even hitting the target which is 6 foot across X 6 foot high. ( and ill guess these shooters are not green to the sport of shooting either)These misses are due to the fact of many variables that canoccur overlong distances (and these people adjust to the variables) One major variable being the wind.... For instance, at 1000 yards if the wind is blowing 5 mph....your bullet drift will be 74.44" off from your intended target. Also at 1000 yards every mph increase in velocity of the wind, deflects the bullet 15 more inches. so it looks like this





— Caliber = .45-90


— Velocity = 1,300 feet per second


— Distance = 1,000 yards


— Ballistic Coefficient = .400

[align=left]



Wind Drift or Deflection





5 MPH
10 MPH
15 MPH
20 MPH

74.44”
148.89”
223.38”
297.93”[/align]this is the site I got this info from...it is actually a good site for long range shooters. http://www.longrangebpcr.com/Accuracy.htm

I also understand that wind probally just doesn't occur at matches or at the range, but also out in the feild when you are hunting. So lets estimate what a 5 mph wind would blow your bullet offcourseat 800 yards.....it would be around only 60 inches, If you do the math. And thats just for a 5 mph wind. If you know your ballistics and your gun and can tackle those ajustments, go ahead. (This is fine for the range.) But not for the feild. The reason I say this is because any ajustment that you make at 800 yards will be dramatic, whether itsa wind ajustmentorthe trajectory of your bullet drop from gravity over 800 yards. It will still bedramatic. I have never seen an animal with a 60 inch vital zone, soif my ajustments were off, I would haveroom for error. I cant take that chance.... ifsomeone thinks they can do that go ahead. Wound the animal and be unethical.
Keep in mind when i baught my 30-06 about 9 years ago I asked the gentleman behind the counter..." So I can shoot deer 300 yards away with this gun?" and he said " Why cant you, there are people that shoot 1000 yards at creedmoore matches with their guns." Now being a new shooter at the time, Im glad I didn't take his advice because it almost sounded like he was claiming that I could make much longer shots than what my first enquirey was. Many of my freinds that are newto hunting always ask me how far they can shoot. Then they tell me that some guy told them that they can kill animals a half a mile away!!!One friend of mine purchased a 300 win mag 4 years ago with the hopes that he could kill an animal 1000 yards away ( because MANY people told him that this was possible) He asked me to go to the range with him, and I did. For 3 years hetried sighting in that 300 win mag and never could get better than 8 inch groups at 100 yards. He changed the scope 3 times and did many things to improve his accuracy. As a matter of factI remember one time going with him,and the first shot hit the dirt 35 yards in front of us and the second shot hit a branch in the poplar tree. I could see that he was flinching horrible. And what was going through my mind at the time was, if he can't barely make paper at 100 yards, then how will he hit a taget at 1000 yards. He was so upset at the gun that he just GAVE IT TO ME... and I think this is very funny. Most people that are green can't hold a gun (with significant recoil)steady enough to make good groups at 100 -200 yards. And this is what scares me. I have heard "countless" and I do mean countless people make claims that their rifle can kill deer 1000 yards away, but when i see them at the range, I notice that my groups are better than theirs WITH MY SHOT GUN.

I think shooting long distance is a wonderful sport and should be done more often, but I also think anyone that claims he can ( or even goes out to attempt) tokill an animal at those distances is foolish. plain and simple as that. Too many factors invloved to make a mistake. Either by not making a clean kill, or missing totally and hurting some one else.

by the way, whatsthe energy that is left in a 270 , 280, 25-06,30-06 300 win magto be able to kill an elk ethically and effectively at 800 yards?

doesnt sound too effective or ethical to me. sounds like taking a winchester 25-20 and making a 300 yard shot to me...it would be just about the same.[&o][&o][&o]Very sad .