Shot yardage?

[barnabus]

What would y'all consider ur max shot yardage that u feel comfortable with iron sights?

[dbowling]

75 yds. with my eyes..

[54bore]

With regular iron sights i feel 100 yards is my MAX limit, with my Lyman 57SML tang peep and Lyman 17AHB globe front sight with a fine bead Lee Shaver insert my Yardage increases SUBSTANTIALLY! I plan to try 300 yards this spring/summer when the snow is gone, maybe farther depending on how 300 goes. This will be with my Green Mountain LRH (fast twist) .45 Cal barrel with my Paper Patched and sized bullets. Should be fun!

[mooman76]

I'm plenty comfortable with 100y. I haven't seen a need to shoot beyond that but there are those here that have shot well beyond that successfully. Are talking hunting or paper?

[GhostHawk]

I used to shoot informal competition with .22lr at 100 yards and could often turn the tables on the guys with their bolt guns and scopes. Now at 64 if it needs to be beyond 50 yards I turn away from the iron sights and look for another solution.

I really like the new Truglo red dot sight with built in 2x, still gives you good field of view, quick target aquisition, but reaches out a lot better for those longer targets.

And I also have some rifles that sport 3 x 9 and 4 x 12 scopes. With even a decent rifle they will shoot them all into one hole if the shooter can hold up his end.

[54bore]

Are talking hunting or paper?

I should of asked this same question, 2 COMPLETELY different answers. I will push the limits on targets but NEVER on Game animals, i feel 100-150 yards is max on Game. Targets, sky is the limit!

[Teddy (punchie)]

yep some where around 125-150 yds. for hunting deer. Small game like squirrels 35 to 40 yds.

[oscarflytyer]

W/ Skinner peeps and deer (8" pie plate) 125 yds. Killed one cpl years ago with Marlin 1895 45-70 cast bullet load @ 1325 fps @ 85 yds. I would prefer to keep it within 100 yds, but IF all was PERFECT and good rest/still target - I would take a 125 yd shot at a deer

[oscarflytyer]

I should of asked this same question, 2 COMPLETELY different answers. I will push the limits on targets but NEVER on Game animals, i feel 100-150 yards is max on Game. Targets, sky is the limit!

Yep! See above. 125 max deer sized animal for me - IF all is perfect. For paper/steel - peeps - 1000 yds +! And further. Who cares.. It is only ammo cost! And given enough rounds, convinced I can range it! Have shot 10 1/2" Ruger SBH 44 Mag with 265 grn RN 'volkswagon' bullets and hit 24" square plate 5 of 6 shots consistently at 200 yds from a bench. And when 2 guys with scoped 30-30 levers couldn't get close. "ran" them off the range (in embarassment!) and loved it!

[54bore]

Yep! See above. 125 max deer sized animal for me - IF all is perfect. For paper/steel - peeps - 1000 yds +! And further. Who cares.. It is only ammo cost! And given enough rounds, convinced I can range it! Have shot 10 1/2" Ruger SBH 44 Mag with 265 grn RN 'volkswagon' bullets and hit 24" square plate 5 of 6 shots consistently at 200 yds from a bench. And when 2 guys with scoped 30-30 levers couldn't get close. "ran" them off the range (in embarassment!) and loved it!

Ive done similiar with a 44 Magnum Revolver, mine was a Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter, 240 grain Hornady XTP bullets (my handloads) i scoped it with a leupold 4X pistol scope to see just how far i could push it, 200 yards was a challenge, and at 300 yards these things REALLY fall out of the sky!!! My testing REALLY makes me think when i read about Elmer Keith shooting a deer at 600 yards with his revolver, Not that it's impossible, but to me it's DOUBTFUL, VERY! Ive heard of many 600 to a 1000 yard shots that actually turned out to be 2-300 yards, Rangefinders (lie detectors) have come a LOOOOONG way over the years! I own a Leica 1600, i wonder what Mr Elmer Keith used?

[idahoron]

I don't take first shots on game past 150. I am confident off hand on targets to 150. Shooting sticks, 200 maybe 250 on a good day. Off a bench no wind 300.

[johnson1942]

most of my open sight side lock deer were taken at 150 yards, one at 175. some at 125 yards and one at 30 yards. i always felt very comfortable at 150 yards.

[Saxtonyoung]

All the deer I shot with a muzzleloader using iron sights have been 80 yards or less.

I have done a lot of practice shooting as well as shooting on a Muzzleloader league out to 250 yds. using fast twist barrels and long conical bullets but never on deer.

[barnabus]

im speaking of shooting at deer only.I have missed 6 times this year with my new flintlock and killed twice but both were not killing shots.all of these shoys have been 80 yards due to where the stand is located.

[dondiego]

You are shooting beyond your effective range and need to be closer or practice a whole lot more.

[Omnivore]

What dondiego said ^^^


I have missed 6 times this year with my new flintlock...

There's your problem right there. Never take a new weapon hunting. By the time you take a weapon hunting it should be an old, familiar friend. You will thus know your capabilities with it, and know all of its quirks, and so instinctively know what is and is not a good shot before you take it. It would also depend on how "new" this flintlock is to you, and how much experience you have with other flintlocks, and with rifles and with shooting in general.

To answer your question; it depends on the gun and the target, and on the circumstances. On deer, using a traditional muzzleloading rifle with PRB, shooting from an improvised position, or from standing, using an aperture sight, with a clear shot, with good presentation, I'm confident at 100, or a little more, but the longest shot I've actually taken on deer to date was 85 yards. Circumstances dictate these things, but mainly the point is to operate INSIDE your confidence range.

Never take what is FOR YOU AT THAT MOMENT, a "Hail Mary" shot on game, whatever the range might be. If it isn't a comfortable shot, don't take it. I once passed up a shot of less than twenty yards, based on that principle.

The presentation of the animal has a lot to do with this. Is it directly facing you, or facing away? Is it quartering, or is it broadside? Is it a clear path to the target or are there branches or brush in between? Is the animal aware of your presence and therefore likely to bolt any second, or is it oblivious, giving you plenty of time? What is your position? Are you comfortable in blind with a shooting rest, or are you standing, perched precariously on a slippery rock on a steep slope? What are the lighting conditions? Are you in a blizzard or is it a calm, sunny day with the sun at your back? Circumstances in the field will vary widely, and circumstances are more often in control of the answer to your question.

That's often how I've felt after a hunt-- I am not in control. Circumstances and the game together determine your actions, along with your previous experience and practice of course.

[waarp8nt]

^^^^ I agree with the above gentlemen. Both speak sound wisdom.

I have never shot a deer over 80 yards. I feel comfortable shooting farther, just have not needed too.

[M-Tecs]

What would y'all consider ur max shot yardage that u feel comfortable with iron sights?

It depends on the target and firearm. I shoot 1,000 yard competition with iron sights. For hunting it's again dependent on firearm target combination. The kill zone on a deer isn't as large as most people think it is. The 9 inch paper plate rule works well. Your max distance is whatever distance you can put all your shots into the 9" plate under the same conditions you hunt under.

The last deer I shot with irons was with my Savage smokeless muzzleloader at a lasered 263 yards.

[JWT]

I am confident with my competition built M1 Garand out to 600yd+ when punching paper. The rifles I carry for deer, I would want to stay inside 100yd. Deer never run to an easier to drag location so I prefer to drop them quick. With a scope on certain rifles I am confident on deer out past 300yd if conditions are good.

[mooman76]

I am confident with my competition built M1 Garand out to 600yd+ when punching paper. The rifles I carry for deer, I would want to stay inside 100yd. Deer never run to an easier to drag location so I prefer to drop them quick. With a scope on certain rifles I am confident on deer out past 300yd if conditions are good.

Are you taking Muzzle loaders?

[izzyjoe]

I always try to hunt like I'm bow hunting, up close and personal. I would practice up, and see how far you can hit accurately and consistently, and then do some scouting and try to get you're stand sites closer. With my cva hawken with open sites, 75yds is my max!

[charlie b]

Doesn't matter what you hunt with, range is all about how well you can shoot the weapon.

For deer or elk practice I use an 8" paper plate. If I can't hit it with all the shots, then it is too far away. It applies to arrows, lead ball, copper jacketed bullets, and all shooting positions. Yes, with a rifle I can take a longer shot if I am kneeling or sitting or prone or if I use sticks.

Oh, and you MUST be shooting in the same position you will use in the field. If it is standing, then practice standing, not at a bench. Tree stand? Then you need to know how to adjust to a downward angle when shooting. Also, in tree stands you may have an awkward stance, as in shooting far to your left or right.

For longer ranges then you must also add in range estimation as part of your training. A round ball drops a LOT past 100yd.

Practice with the gun and load you will hunt with. Doesn't help to practice with a sabot load if you are going to hunt with round ball. Same with sights. Don't practice with a scope and expect the same range with open sights.

charlie

[JWT]

Are you taking Muzzle loaders?

I wouldn't take a muzzle loader shot at over 75yd. I just don't practice with it enough to stretch out the range. Gun can do it, but without more practice time I'm not comfortable trying.

[mooman76]

Beings this is the Muzzle loading section, I figured that was implied in the question.

[bubba.50]

used to shoot 100yds at the range & figgered my max for huntin' to be about 125yds. with old eyes & iron sights I keep it to 60 to 75yds at the range. but in my area the longest shot I've ever required to take a deer was about 50yds whether usin' muzzleloaders or modern arms. in fact, the last four I've killed was 1 with a Toyota truck, two with a splittin' maul, and one about 50yds from my driveway with a cast-iron hammer.

[54bore]

used to shoot 100yds at the range & figgered my max for huntin' to be about 125yds. with old eyes & iron sights I keep it to 60 to 75yds at the range. but in my area the longest shot I've ever required to take a deer was about 50yds whether usin' muzzleloaders or modern arms. in fact, the last four I've killed was 1 with a Toyota truck, two with a splittin' maul, and one about 50yds from my driveway with a cast-iron hammer.

LOLOL! You da man bubba!! I actually had to do the axe thing once myself, deer had been hit on the rd, it's back was broke and could do nothing but flop around, all i had was my 5lb collins falling axe, i used the flat backside of it and did the poor ole gal a favor. A guy just down the rd wanted the deer, i gutted it, and helped the ole boy skin it. Worked out good, she didnt go to waste.

[johnson1942]

if you live in the wide open spaces you need a gun that is accurate way out and be able to shoot it(muzzleloader) well. maybe thats why inline are so popular and most have scopes now. the three tickets we filled this year was 148, yards 188 yards and 100 yards. side locks can do that but most dont take the time to make them shoot that way or practice to do it. a inline with a scope is probably easier to set up for this kind of shooting. i like both kinds and like to set them up as tackdrivers at any range.

[koger]

I feel confident at 200yds, with the right sights, on deer, elk. With scope set up I have on inlines, using BH209, would not hesitate at300yd shots. Just me and my comfort zone.

[bubba.50]

I read all the time about how you HAVE to learn to take 3 or 4 hundred yard shots if ya want to hunt in the west but then, I also read about plenty of people BOW huntin' in these same places & I'm fairly certain I've never read of a bow hunter havin' to shoot 300yds to kill a deer or elk or antelope. just sayin'......

[mooman76]

Even in the west average shot is 100y or less. There are wide open spaces but I believe most hunt in the mountains with lots of trees. Just need to know where you are hunting and be prepared for the terrain. All the deer I got were at 100y or less and all but one was in open fields.

[quilbilly]

On deer sized game I start losing my sight picture at 120 yards. Hunting with PRB I limit my shots to 80 yards with 45 cal PRB and 120 yards with the 50 Cal PRB. With a perfect rest and lots of time to think about it when using a sabot plus a 429 SWC in my 50 cal with no way to get closer, I have gotten a couple deer at about 200 yards.

[johnson1942]

bubba.50 you made a good point but it is done differently. my 17 year old son hunt bow and regular modern rifle. he has ranches he hunts on but this is how he hunt. a good blind, with a trail cam and corn. he got a really good buck at 40 yards with his cross bow this year using this method and another really good buck with his rifle at 40 yards using this method also. sam and i hunt the tall grass and wheat between the mountains and the old abandoned ranch buildings. this is longer range shooting at it best, with a blind it is always up close. on creek bottoms a tree stand can be used also. i told sam if we hunted from a blind we could put the bullet in backwards and still hit the deer. i will take a close shot of course but their is something about a 180 plus yard shot like sam did that is soul satisfying. our closest was 100 yards, the first was 140 plus and the second was 180 plus. blinds verses open country shooting. my son likes blinds, i like open country. antelope are hunted the same way, either way.

[tdoyka]

hunting

when i'm using a flintlock, a 100-125yard shot with a round ball.

when i'm using a inline, 150 - 200 yards with a sabot.

when i'm using a modern firearm, 200 yards.


paper punching/cans/jugs

i'll try it, don't matter if its only 20' or 1000 yards, i'll "try" it.[smilie=1:

[Omnivore]

We can't make generalizations about "The West" being that it involves every kind of terrain imaginable. The point is; you always hunt well within your own limits. The manner of hunting is your choice, so long as you're within your limits.

There is a guy two doors down from my place of work in this industrial park, who owns an optics coating business. He is a super-duper precise hand loader of high speed, low drag cartridges, with a custom built rifle in 6.5-284. When he's hunting well within his limits, he can take deer and elk out to 600 yards. We hunt the same general region. This season I took a deer, using a percussion pistol loaded with black powder, at 16 yards from a tree. He took an elk at over 500 yards with his custom rifle. Both were taken well within our confidence zones, and both were clean kills.

My next door neighbor was stalking after a black bear a few years ago and ended up, as it happened by bizarre coincidence, surprising the bear at less than fifteen yards, and he killed it with a long bow. That was also "Western" hunting.

You can advocate for any particular style of hunting, and that's great, but the point is to take only those shots that are well within your confidence range at that moment, in those conditions (and to be sure the shot you're taking is a safe one with regard to any possible buildings or people, etc., that might be in the area). So it is that the shots you DON'T take are as much the definition of your hunting prowess, or wisdom, as the ones you make.

Those who brag about the amazing Hail Mary shot are not telling you about the morbid, tragic results of their willingness to take such shots.

This season I came across another hunter in the field, and I went and spoke with him. He was looking for a buck he'd shot, already about a mile from where he'd shot it. He admitted that he probably shouldn't have taken the shot, due to the conditions, the angle of presentation and the distance. Well he was obviously right about that! I don't believe he ever found his buck. He was using a modern in-line rifle with sabots. It doesn't matter the actual distance, or the actual weapon, or the hunting method, or any of that-- He simply over-shot his capalilities and that's all there is to it.

[54bore]

This season I took a deer, using a percussion pistol loaded with black powder, at 16 yards from a tree. He took an elk at over 500 yards with his custom rifle. Both were taken well within our confidence zones, and both were clean kills

Right here ^^^^ Know your limitations!

[johnson1942]

when in get around to finishing my cva convertion to 358 cal 1/15 twist i expect very very long distance accuracy. il will be shooting around a 200 grain pp bullet. it may even turn out to be my most fun target rifle. easy to load, easy to shoot and clean and cheap to shoot. im even going to make my own bullet mold by drilling out a cheap under sized lee mold with a 358 sized drill bit and then running the bullet through a reducer. lewis and clark took antelope to 300 yards with the flint side locks they had.

[54bore]

when in get around to finishing my cva convertion to 358 cal 1/15 twist i expect very very long distance accuracy. il will be shooting around a 200 grain pp bullet. it may even turn out to be my most fun target rifle. easy to load, easy to shoot and clean and cheap to shoot. im even going to make my own bullet mold by drilling out a cheap under sized lee mold with a 358 sized drill bit and then running the bullet through a reducer. lewis and clark took antelope to 300 yards with the flint side locks they had.

You will enjoy the 358!! My little Seneca .36 is my 'go to fun gun'

[idahoron]

I read all the time about how you HAVE to learn to take 3 or 4 hundred yard shots if ya want to hunt in the west but then, I also read about plenty of people BOW huntin' in these same places & I'm fairly certain I've never read of a bow hunter havin' to shoot 300yds to kill a deer or elk or antelope. just sayin'......

I will answer that to some degree. The Archery hunts are held early in the year Aug, and Sept. The deer and elk have had a good amount of time to tame down a bit. But by the time archery is over here in southern Idaho we are getting wet weather. Wet weather gives antelope places to water ANYWHERE. So instead of the antelope coming closer to the hunter, the hunter needs to get closer. By that time Late September Antelope and Elk are in rut, and the groups are bigger. There can be herds of elk that have over 100 head in one group. Antelope are also in larger groups at that time. Again your trying to defeat HUNDREDS of eyes out in the open away from a blind or tree stand. Our Muzzleloader hunts for Antelope start the middle to end of September at the same time the rifle hunts start. If antelope come into your unit from a rifle unit, well those animals have been banged at by centerfires at hundreds of yards. Most of our hunts over lap so you can have a muzzleloader bull hunt going on at the same time you have an antelope, and deer hunt going on with a rifle. My 2013 muzzleloader deer hunt was opened at the same time as a rifle cow hunt with 350 permits! Then we have the late muzzleloader hunts. A LOT of those happen in the winter range or the corridor to winter range. Those animals have been hunted from August to Nov and even Dec. They have been dogged by wolves and pestered by hunters.
Now we do have some Late archery hunts. Those hunts happen on winter range in deep snow. They are not a piece of cake, and success is very low.
That said there are ways to get close but you might not be able to get close to every herd or every animal. Archery guys are pushing 100 yards now. Muzzleloader guys are pushing 200 yards. And last rifle guys are stretching out farther that most think that they should. Yes you read all the time that guys recommend being able to stretch a shot. It is because if you wait for a 50 yard shot with a Muzzleloader for a antelope in wet weather well you might be waiting a LONG time.

If you wait for a 100 yard shot at a 30" mule deer when they are gathering does. Well lets say just seeing a 30" mule deer in a hunt your packing a tag for is like winning the lottery. The odds of getting a tag for that hunt are probably 50 to 100 to 1 odds on real good tags. This is the kind of tag that is being sold for 10,000 dollars sometimes more. Waiting for a broad side shot under 100 yards is unfathomable to me.

Then you have the bull tags. The Bull tags are selling for 10,000 and WAY more on good ranches in great units. Drawing a tag there is 50 to 1 odds sometimes more. Wolves have reshaped the calling of elk in most of Idaho and the west.

Yes archery hunters kill game at close range but they are the first ones to hunt most of the areas. If they were the last like a lot of our muzzleloader hunts are, well you would see a lot less archery kills. There is a lot more to it than your simple assessment.

[54bore]

I will ad a bit, This part of Northern Idaho is THICK brushy timbered country for the most part, its tough to find a good place to Target shoot long range here, Long range to me is anything beyond 300 yards, it's unlikely you will shoot much over 300 yards around here, sure there's places but its not the Norm here. I have never been to Southern Idaho, Idahoron explained it to me, by the sounds of it, and pictures ive seen it is VERY open country for the most part. Although Ron and i live in the same state its like 2 different worlds. Moral of the story, there is a LOT of diversity here in the 'west'
This area WAS an archers paradise, you notice i said WAS, Wolves have pretty much destroyed the elk and moose here, before this i had some AMAZING archery elk hunting here, had bulls within 20 yards MANY MANY times and stil could not get a shot due to brush, trees, etc. TALK ABOUT NERV RACKING! Watching an animal the size of a horse thrashing trees with his headgear is pretty darn exhilarating!! This is NOT likely gonna happen down where Idahoron lives. Again, LOTS of Diversity 'Out West'

[jjarrell]

I can hit hedge apples consistently with shooting sticks at 100 paces with round balls. I'm not sure the exact yardage, but I wouldn't have any reservations taking a shot at that distance. Here's the thing........I'm 45 and have been deer hunting since I was 8. In all that time I have only needed to take a shot over 65 yards once, and that was across a timber cut at probably 150 yards with a .308 Win. Mind you that was across an open cut. Guys its dang hard to get a shot in the woods past 70 yards and that's pushing it. There are an awful lot of leaves, sticks, logs, and branches in the way that you'll never see. Now I don't live out west and I'm sure its different there. Its open country and shots would be longer. If you can make the longer shots consistently, then use your best judgment and roll smoke. But where I'm at you'll be hard pressed to see 100 yards in the woods, much less shoot 100 yards.

[charlie b]

I've had quite a few opportunities at deer and elk at longer ranges, mainly cross canyon shots. I only took one, with a 7mm-08. A lot of mule deer country is not wooded, it is oak bushes and pinon/cedar/juniper trees and pretty sparse. Of course, if you do your job right you can get close to them. Plenty of bow hunters will attest to that as well.

When I hunted in NY, that was mostly close woods. Used a pistol a lot of the time.

[idahoron]

Read my post before about archers.

[Lead pot]

First I will say that I wont judge someone else's shooting capability's to my own. My maximum range depends which rifle I have in hand. One has fixed sights with no adjustment other then where I place the front sight above the rear. When the rear sight is at the bottom of the front sight that is my maximum known range on game sighted in the boiler room. I wont use a hold over for the first shot fired.
The other is a barrel sight that has a elevation wedge where I can use the right notch at a ranged distance. For me my barrel sights sets my limit. The impotent thing is....know your rifle and the only way to get to know your rifle and that is take it out and use it often.

[charlie b]

Ron, thanks and yes I did. Archers here in NM do not get the same advantages. Yes, early season, but not the weather advantage you guys see up north. If anything the early season folks see the wettest weather here. Usually dried out by gun seasons.