Long Range Shooting At Big Game
#31
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 527
Likes: 0
From: Scottsdale Arizona USA
Hey Tex-you read my mind! This is reminding me of the fair chase on 60 acres deal with burramaine or whatever his handle was. I too would like a few details as he doesn' t even fill out his state of residence on the stat page. Hmmm? Gotta go practice my 150 yard bow shots for next elk season
#33
Long Range Shooting At Big Game
JRW
#34
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Burlington Wyoming
Wow this is fun!!!! I am kinda new to this Internet posting thing so you will have to forgive me if I don’t follow the protocol until I learn a little more of what is standard operating procedure.
First things first.
John Burns
Bridger Trail Video
Shooting Host
“The Best of the West”
www.TheBestoftheWest.net
The show starts April 7 2003 on The Sportsman Channel. The Sportsman Channel is a new channel featuring 100% hunting and fishing. It is free to any satellite or cable company to send out to their subscribers. Go to the web site and you will find the information on how to get it in your house. There are about 80 shows on board now.
http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/
We also have been invited on to The Outdoor Channel to start January 2004 and are in negotiations with them.
CalNewbie,
I wish you were closer to Wyoming because I could prove you have the shooting skills to properly hit a deer at 500 yds under good conditions. It is not that hard if your rifle is setup properly.
Can you shoot a 1” group at 100 yds off a solid rest (bipod)? Most anyone can if they have a quality rifle that doesn’t kick their hat off.
What makes you think it is then so hard to shoot a 10” group at 500 yds? Have you ever tried to shoot at that range? Of course, if the wind is howling or you have just run 200 yds uphill at 10,000ft you might not want to take such a shot, but if the conditions are right it is not that hard.
I firmly believe this: I would rather have a new hunter shoot at 500 yds under good conditions than take them into the timber and have to make a 75 yd shot under pressure. It always makes me sad when some one takes a new hunter into a situation where they have to make a shot under time pressure because the animal is abut to get away. This is a sure recipe for disaster. When we set up at 500 yds the hunter has the time to calm down. We even have them dry fire on the animal if they are having a hard time relaxing, to help remove the chance of trigger jerking. For a beginning hunter, buck fever is the leading cause of a poor shot. It doesn’t matter if you are inside 100 yds, if you jerk the trigger BAD things happen. A jerk at 100 yds is a gut shot; a jerk at 500 yds it is a clean miss.
Because you saw a video that someone had a hard time hitting an elk has no relevance to what we are doing, in fact it shows what is out there. Our footage speaks for itself. I have mentioned it before but I will say again: We cannot afford to waste our filming opportunities on missing or wounding animals. If I was to wound an animal on video and had to shoot it multiple times we would not be able to use the footage. We could not get enough footage if we wasted tags just banging away.
Thanks for the great response.
121553,
Bobby,
I do agree there are to many guys hitting the woods without any idea how to make any shot. This is a problem going on right now. Do you really think a show that details how to do the things we do will increase this? I think knowledge is power. The more you know about long-range shooting the less likely you will be to take a shot beyond your capabilities. One of the things we will show is how to determine your own capabilities.
While we do have footage of animals being harvested at ranges in excess of 1000 yds we will not be showing that at this time. This extreme range shooting requires equipment beyond what is readily available. I am calling 500 yds to 800 yds long range for the purpose of this discussion. We will not be encouraging anything but just showing what can be done if someone puts in his homework. Of course people will try things they shouldn’t. You admit they already are. With more knowledge I hope the contentious hunters will learn something. The guys you have experience with are always going to be a problem.
The wind is the hardest thing to compensate for when shooting long range, but it is possible to get a good handle it. This is the area requires the most practice, certainly more so than the actual “marksmanship” aspect. We will cover this during the show.
The animal moving is a question I get asked a lot. At 700 yds the time of flight for a bullet out of one of the rifles we shoot is about 3/4 of a second (0.740 to be precise). This is enough time for an animal move. The body language of the animal is what you have to watch. It is possible to have a problem but I have never seen it happen in the real world.
Thanks for your input
sr.corndog,
We have footage with even traditional archery equipment (long bow and cedar arrows). We are not just about long-range. I shot an antelope and whitetail this year with an iron-sighted revolver (45 Colt) on video.
We have never had any meat spoil.
We use a lot of different rifles; one of the main ones is a 7mm very similar to the 7mm STW. It launches a 150 gr bullet @ 3450 fps.
Thanks for your response.
Txhunter58,
I love it when we get called to the carpet. Guys who do that are thinking. I am not going to post the phone number because I have to talk to our sponsors and don’t have the time to answer other questions, no matter how good they are. Sorry. My email is [email protected]
I know that a ½ MOA gun is not required to hit at long-range. If you miss your wind call it won’t help you at all. An elk has a 16” vital zone. At whatever range you are shooting, if your rifle will shoot an 8” group it (the Rifle) will never miss an elk.
I am not going to encourage anyone to shoot beyond his personal limits. As we all seem to agree some peoples limit is less than 100 yds. Should we limit our shots to that distance? No matter how close we set the limit someone will not have the ability and knowledge to shoot at that range. It never ends. It seems that everyone thinks we should show shots out to their personal limit and no further.
I am confused why it is unethical to shoot an animal at long-range? At what range does it become ethical and why? Is that also the same range you feel comfortable?
Oldelkhunter,
Lots of elk in NC??
What don’t you believe? Please be specific. I am saying we have the video of 500 yds-800yds shots (one shot kills). Do you think I am lying? How about a coyote at 1078?? What is it worth to you to find out?? It could just be camera tricks but who knows??
I think I need to send out a video to someone on this site and have him look at it and give an unbiased report.
Volunteers anyone??
First things first.
John Burns
Bridger Trail Video
Shooting Host
“The Best of the West”
www.TheBestoftheWest.net
The show starts April 7 2003 on The Sportsman Channel. The Sportsman Channel is a new channel featuring 100% hunting and fishing. It is free to any satellite or cable company to send out to their subscribers. Go to the web site and you will find the information on how to get it in your house. There are about 80 shows on board now.
http://www.thesportsmanchannel.com/
We also have been invited on to The Outdoor Channel to start January 2004 and are in negotiations with them.
CalNewbie,
I wish you were closer to Wyoming because I could prove you have the shooting skills to properly hit a deer at 500 yds under good conditions. It is not that hard if your rifle is setup properly.
Can you shoot a 1” group at 100 yds off a solid rest (bipod)? Most anyone can if they have a quality rifle that doesn’t kick their hat off.
What makes you think it is then so hard to shoot a 10” group at 500 yds? Have you ever tried to shoot at that range? Of course, if the wind is howling or you have just run 200 yds uphill at 10,000ft you might not want to take such a shot, but if the conditions are right it is not that hard.
I firmly believe this: I would rather have a new hunter shoot at 500 yds under good conditions than take them into the timber and have to make a 75 yd shot under pressure. It always makes me sad when some one takes a new hunter into a situation where they have to make a shot under time pressure because the animal is abut to get away. This is a sure recipe for disaster. When we set up at 500 yds the hunter has the time to calm down. We even have them dry fire on the animal if they are having a hard time relaxing, to help remove the chance of trigger jerking. For a beginning hunter, buck fever is the leading cause of a poor shot. It doesn’t matter if you are inside 100 yds, if you jerk the trigger BAD things happen. A jerk at 100 yds is a gut shot; a jerk at 500 yds it is a clean miss.
Because you saw a video that someone had a hard time hitting an elk has no relevance to what we are doing, in fact it shows what is out there. Our footage speaks for itself. I have mentioned it before but I will say again: We cannot afford to waste our filming opportunities on missing or wounding animals. If I was to wound an animal on video and had to shoot it multiple times we would not be able to use the footage. We could not get enough footage if we wasted tags just banging away.
Thanks for the great response.
121553,
Bobby,
I do agree there are to many guys hitting the woods without any idea how to make any shot. This is a problem going on right now. Do you really think a show that details how to do the things we do will increase this? I think knowledge is power. The more you know about long-range shooting the less likely you will be to take a shot beyond your capabilities. One of the things we will show is how to determine your own capabilities.
While we do have footage of animals being harvested at ranges in excess of 1000 yds we will not be showing that at this time. This extreme range shooting requires equipment beyond what is readily available. I am calling 500 yds to 800 yds long range for the purpose of this discussion. We will not be encouraging anything but just showing what can be done if someone puts in his homework. Of course people will try things they shouldn’t. You admit they already are. With more knowledge I hope the contentious hunters will learn something. The guys you have experience with are always going to be a problem.
The wind is the hardest thing to compensate for when shooting long range, but it is possible to get a good handle it. This is the area requires the most practice, certainly more so than the actual “marksmanship” aspect. We will cover this during the show.
The animal moving is a question I get asked a lot. At 700 yds the time of flight for a bullet out of one of the rifles we shoot is about 3/4 of a second (0.740 to be precise). This is enough time for an animal move. The body language of the animal is what you have to watch. It is possible to have a problem but I have never seen it happen in the real world.
Thanks for your input
sr.corndog,
We have footage with even traditional archery equipment (long bow and cedar arrows). We are not just about long-range. I shot an antelope and whitetail this year with an iron-sighted revolver (45 Colt) on video.
We have never had any meat spoil.
We use a lot of different rifles; one of the main ones is a 7mm very similar to the 7mm STW. It launches a 150 gr bullet @ 3450 fps.
Thanks for your response.
Txhunter58,
I love it when we get called to the carpet. Guys who do that are thinking. I am not going to post the phone number because I have to talk to our sponsors and don’t have the time to answer other questions, no matter how good they are. Sorry. My email is [email protected]
I know that a ½ MOA gun is not required to hit at long-range. If you miss your wind call it won’t help you at all. An elk has a 16” vital zone. At whatever range you are shooting, if your rifle will shoot an 8” group it (the Rifle) will never miss an elk.
I am not going to encourage anyone to shoot beyond his personal limits. As we all seem to agree some peoples limit is less than 100 yds. Should we limit our shots to that distance? No matter how close we set the limit someone will not have the ability and knowledge to shoot at that range. It never ends. It seems that everyone thinks we should show shots out to their personal limit and no further.
I am confused why it is unethical to shoot an animal at long-range? At what range does it become ethical and why? Is that also the same range you feel comfortable?
Oldelkhunter,
Lots of elk in NC??
What don’t you believe? Please be specific. I am saying we have the video of 500 yds-800yds shots (one shot kills). Do you think I am lying? How about a coyote at 1078?? What is it worth to you to find out?? It could just be camera tricks but who knows??
I think I need to send out a video to someone on this site and have him look at it and give an unbiased report.
Volunteers anyone??
#35
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 527
Likes: 0
From: Scottsdale Arizona USA
So this was all about advertising your new gig after all. Thanks for clearing it up and don' t send me your video. I saw some fat dude with a beard on a show take a 450 yard shot on a hog in california so I seen all that stuff I need to.
#36
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 363
Likes: 0
From: Helena MT USA
Wow John you just can' t seem to win. I personaly would like to give you the benefit of the doubt and take a look. [email protected] and I' ll give you my personal opinion on whether what I see is ethical. My personal range is 500 under the absolute best conditions and around 400 uner most shooting a 30-06.
#37
Giant Nontypical
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 6,471
Likes: 0
From:
John , don' t feel bad that I insulted you I insult a lot of people but you were especially fun because your such a major bull****ter. Actually we are building up a herd of Elk in NC but I hunt out west using this modern convenience known as an airplance I get to go out there and hunt animals the way they are supposed to be hunted . I hunt strictly fair chase no exceptions not from vehicles cruising logging roads or atop some ATV or shooting animals at simply for lack of a better word moronic distances, please advise what area code you' ll be hunting in next I want to keep at least 50 miles between us.
#38
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 296
Likes: 0
From: phoenix arizona USA
hey what' s wrong giving a greenhorn a 70 yard shot with buck fever???????? that' s what hunting is all about..... the thrill of the hunt.......... the fresh smell of animal poop..... the look in it' s eyes as you pull the trigger, release the string ....the racing heart(your own) now that' s what i call hunting, having a greenhorn track it' s animal is a must, i think, watching it run,then tracking it..... do you keep someone at the place you shot from with a walkie-talkie telling you where the kill is or do you use a compass,landmarks?????
i personally LIKE BUCK FEVER because it makes me feel alive. i just don' t see the thrill of not having it.
just my 2 cents [email protected]
i personally LIKE BUCK FEVER because it makes me feel alive. i just don' t see the thrill of not having it.
just my 2 cents [email protected]
#39
Nontypical Buck
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 1,392
Likes: 0
From: MN USA
All this talk of 800 yds or the " prairie boy" who says he shoots elk a nearly a 1 and 1/5 miles. (That one I don' t believe.) Not that it is physically impossible under absolutely perfect conditions, with a solid rest and no need to adjust for an animal being up hill or down hill or a dozen other variables, which could through their slug off enough to cripple an amazing animal. It just ain' t worth the risk.
And on top of it, John, you say you' re making hunting programs out of it. What to show everyone else that they can try to do it, too and cripple hundreds of more animals every year?
It all sounds like big ego to me. In my opinion, it' s better to pass up an extremely long or poor shot and enjoy the experience of seeing the animals, whether Elk or deer or other, than taking the higher risk of crippling such an animal. You' ll more often than not get a better opportunity if you do. And if not. What the heck, there is a whole lot more to ethical hunting than the shooting and killing. I think you ultra long lone-rangers need to stop and think about what you' re doing and saying.
And on top of it, John, you say you' re making hunting programs out of it. What to show everyone else that they can try to do it, too and cripple hundreds of more animals every year?
It all sounds like big ego to me. In my opinion, it' s better to pass up an extremely long or poor shot and enjoy the experience of seeing the animals, whether Elk or deer or other, than taking the higher risk of crippling such an animal. You' ll more often than not get a better opportunity if you do. And if not. What the heck, there is a whole lot more to ethical hunting than the shooting and killing. I think you ultra long lone-rangers need to stop and think about what you' re doing and saying.
#40
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 22
Likes: 0
From: Burlington Wyoming
gleninAZ,
You thought I was a hoax when I didn' t mention specfics and now I am just advertising if I do. You are kind of a hard guy to please. To be honest I am impressed with the amount of interest in the show. Good to be an American.
oldelkhunter,
If you use an airplane to hunt with why would you run down an ATV?? Again I wonder what I am BS about?? Help me out hear.
MinnFinn,
I wonder where in my posts I encourged anyone to take extremely long or poor shots?? All the shots I have talked about can be made on demand by a competent rifleshot.
Thanks again for all the response.
John
You thought I was a hoax when I didn' t mention specfics and now I am just advertising if I do. You are kind of a hard guy to please. To be honest I am impressed with the amount of interest in the show. Good to be an American.
oldelkhunter,
If you use an airplane to hunt with why would you run down an ATV?? Again I wonder what I am BS about?? Help me out hear.
MinnFinn,
I wonder where in my posts I encourged anyone to take extremely long or poor shots?? All the shots I have talked about can be made on demand by a competent rifleshot.
Thanks again for all the response.
John


