1000 yard/long range hunting FAD???

u_cant_rope_the_wind · #1 03-04-2012, 10:55 AM

what is with this long range hunting and shooting Fascination, allot of people have lately???
when most people cant even shoot proficiently at 300 yards,
just how many ranges even have a 1000 yrd range???
how many people actually do the math and and research to figure out exactly
how much energy it takes to kill an animal , such as a deer or moose or elk at 1000 yrd even at 500 yrds,
I know it doesn't sound that far and on a map or paper its less then an inch
but in reality how many people get out and actually measure or pace off 600 to 1000 yrds????
it takes up allot of real estate,
where do they find a spot to practice safely?????
with all the acreages, and dwellings, these days , i don't believe this is very possible to do ,
going out and finding a place to practice this type of shooting , I just don't think ( correct me please if i,m wrong) thats these guys that want to shoot these distances are doing so more then once or twice a year,
and in my mind that just isn't enough to be efficient at long range shots at a living animal,
this isn't a rant, i,m just trying to understand this fascination , and find out how many people really do put in the effort to be able to say they do this type of shooting on a regular basis

Lefty-Canuck · #2 03-04-2012, 11:06 AM

I would say there are more fascinated with it than there is successful at following through and actually doing it....

The points you raise above are all very valid....

LC

krthegunslinger · #3 03-04-2012, 11:09 AM

Some of us get the urge to shoot LR (1000yards) after shooting, hitting and killing out to 500yrds+ gets relatively easy. Give it a try you will probably enjoy it. Expensive hobby to get into though.

Kurt505 · #4 03-04-2012, 11:12 AM

I can only speak for myself here. My fascination with long range shooting grows with my experience and ambition to reach my maximum level of ability. I have an outdoor OCD. Whether its with a bow or firearm, I always strive to become better, pushing my distances. I have land 1-1/2hrs north of Edmonton on the fringe of where the farmland meets the crown, and it's relatively sparse in population. I have a 500yd range set up on my land, and there is a gravel pit where 1000yd target shots can be safely practiced. I've never shot at 1000yd targets yet, but I do plan on shooting some in the near future. I spend nearly every other weekend at my cabin, and never head out there without a rifle or bow, or both, and shooting is one of my favorite past times. Even with a bow, 90% of my target practice is at my glendel buck set up at 80yds. Like with everything, the more you practice, the more proficient you'll become.

Lefty-Canuck · #5 03-04-2012, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krthegunslinger

Some of us get the urge to shoot LR (1000yards) after shooting, hitting and killing out to 500yrds+ gets relatively easy. Give it a try you will probably enjoy it. Expensive hobby to get into though.

I don't dispute what you say but most....do not realize.....

The difference in shooting 500 yards to shooting 1000 yards is only linear in the sense of distance....in the sense of skill required to be successful at each of those distances and in between it is exponential.....

I think one of the misnomers currently is that people feel they can "start out" shooting 1000yrds just by buying the latest and greatest in rifles,scopes, and gadgets.....money does not purchase skill...IMHO

LC

PoppaW · #6 03-04-2012, 11:14 AM

So if you or I don't have the inclination to practice it must be that everybody is doing it wrong? I know a few people that shoot on a regular schedule past 500yds. The guns they have may not be that different from what I have but the scopes are different and the reloading practices are way above what I do. They all shoot as often as possible and get together in safe spots for the shoots. I see no reason to bash people doing what we all love but a bit more extreme. I shoot up close as my eyes and ability are not what they used to be. I have specialized my guns just like the long range guys. I have peep sights and big bore guns. Should I be outed because my 510 Wells is too big for your deer? I like to challenge myself and keep finding new challenges. For me it's in the guns and not the rack. To each their own.

elkhunter11 · #7 03-04-2012, 11:25 AM

Quote:

I think one of the misnomers currently is that people feel they can "start out" shooting 1000yrds just by buying the latest and greastest in rifles,scopes, and gadgets.....

After watching how easy they make it look on Best Of The West, and Long Range Pursuit, of course people get that impression. After all, nobody misses a shot or wounds an animal on those television programs.

Lefty-Canuck · #8 03-04-2012, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

After watching how easy they make it look on Best Of The West, and Long Range Pursuit, of course people get that impression. After all, nobody misses a shot or wounds an animal on those television programs.

Exactly....

Heck at 350-400 yards an animal taking one step forward and an ill timed shot is the difference from DRT and a half day track with the high possibility of losing the animal....

IMHO...hunters need to be well rounded....good shot, good tracker, perceptive, forward thinking, lucky....all these things come into play when in the field....

These "programs" focus more on the shot then they do any of the other "hunting" skills in the shows I have seen.

You can shoot the balls of a gnat at 2000 yards but if you have no idea how to find the blood trail or have an idea of places a wounded gnat will go.....good luck finding him

.....just my opinion....

LC

u_cant_rope_the_wind · #9 03-04-2012, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by krthegunslinger

Some of us get the urge to shoot LR (1000yards) after shooting, hitting and killing out to 500yrds+ gets relatively easy. Give it a try you will probably enjoy it. Expensive hobby to get into though.

I guess i,m one of the lucky one that does have an area where I can shoot 1000 yrds , a group of us (25) went together and , purchased a section of land where we set up a 1000 yard range, , we also built a life sized Buffalo out of T1 metal, for our BPCR,s, its kind cool to shoot at the buffalo target and lean over and look through the spotting scope and see where your bullet hits, most of the time it misses
but only practice with our hunting rifles out to 600 yrds, the odd time we set up a gong to shoot 1000 yard with the hunting rifles , it doesn't go gong very often

Jordan Smith · #10 03-04-2012, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by u_cant_rope_the_wind

what is with this long range hunting and shooting Fascination, allot of people have lately???
when most people cant even shoot proficiently at 300 yards,
just how many ranges even have a 1000 yrd range???
how many people actually do the math and and research to figure out exactly
how much energy it takes to kill an animal , such as a deer or moose or elk at 1000 yrd even at 500 yrds,
I know it doesn't sound that far and on a map or paper its less then an inch
but in reality how many people get out and actually measure or pace off 600 to 1000 yrds????
it takes up allot of real estate,
where do they find a spot to practice safely?????
with all the acreages, and dwellings, these days , i don't believe this is very possible to do ,
going out and finding a place to practice this type of shooting , I just don't think ( correct me please if i,m wrong) thats these guys that want to shoot these distances are doing so more then once or twice a year,
and in my mind that just isn't enough to be efficient at long range shots at a living animal,
this isn't a rant, i,m just trying to understand this fascination , and find out how many people really do put in the effort to be able to say they do this type of shooting on a regular basis

There is lots of land in AB compared to the population size. Plenty of ranches, farms, crown land, etc, where you can shoot as far as you can see. You have to find those places and get/earn permission a lot of the time, but they are there.

There is no set amount of energy required to kill. An expanding bullet that holds together well enough to make it to the vitals, moving fast enough to expand properly when it impacts, is what kills.

Jordan Smith · #11 03-04-2012, 11:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

Exactly....

Heck at 350-400 yards an animal taking one step forward and an ill timed shot is the difference from DRT and a half day track with the high possibility of losing the animal....

IMHO...hunters need to be well rounded....good shot, good tracker, perceptive, forward thinking, lucky....all these things come into play when in the field....

These "programs" focus more on the shot then they do any of the other "hunting" skills in the shows I have seen.

You can shoot the balls of a gnat at 2000 yards but if you have no idea how to find the blood trail or have an idea of places a wounded gnat will go.....good luck finding him

.....just my opinion....

LC

Agreed. Shooting capability is only one factor in what makes a good hunter. But as a hunter, I don't want to be limited by my shooting capability.

North of 53 · #12 03-04-2012, 11:44 AM

Well you may be right in that many people who think about shooting long range have little idea on what it would take to do it. Having said that I wish the people saying it can't or should not be done would get out of the way of the people doing it.
I don't shoot deer at a 1000 yards but many over 600 and coyotes at over 700. I shoot over a 1000 rounds a year at ranges over 500 yards. The 1000 yard shot is a different thing but is doable. I shoot some F class so 800, 900 and 1000 yard shooting is something I practice a fair bit. I have an 800 yard range in my back yard and have the shot out barrels in the corner as testament to the amount I shoot.
In short if you don't feel you should be shooting long range then don't but please stop telling other people what they can or can't shoot. I spend the time and the money to be able to shoot game at longer range than most people feel comfortable shooting. For most 300 yards is a good shot and that's what they should shoot at. I for one enjoy shooting a little farther out there.

Speckle55 · #13 03-04-2012, 11:47 AM

1520ad 240 yard longbow shot into cloth of gold King George or Henry v111
1800 mid Bison Hunters lr shooters Sharps/Kentucky
1960's snipers improve distances
2012 tech changes and eq and tv/ internet etc new fad

one thing in common it take's practice took(little shooting skill) a US shooting champ 3 years to win so it doable

Food for Thought
David

JTRED · #14 03-04-2012, 11:49 AM

I know a few people who shoot long range and are very good at it. They've got a couple of spots in the bush and on private land where it is quite safe do so. Without fail safety is their first concern. A few of them are strictly target shooters the rest are hunters. So far as I know the hunters in the group do not hunt with their long distance rigs. Just imagine for a moment how proficient you would be at 100-300yds if you can shoot accurately out to 1000yds. In my mind I am beginning to toy with the idea of going out with a friend and trying my rifle out to 400-600yds(our local range only goes to 300 and although I can consistently hit the 4"x6" metal targets I would love to see what happens after 300yds). It doesn't mean I'll ever shoot at a living thing past 300 but if I can become proficient at 400+ that would be very good for my shooting skills. My area and style of hunting rarely give me the chance to shoot at more than 150yds(this past season I took my longest shot in 28 years of hunting big game at 156yds so I don't think long range hunting will ever be my thing). To my way of thinking the closer the better if I'm shooting at big game, I'd rather pass on an animal than not recover one because I couldn't find one I'd hit(sometimes even at 100yds it can be difficult to locate the animal or blood trail in thick brush I can't imagine how much more difficult that would be if you are 1/2 a kilometer across a ravine and it takes an hour or more to get there).

Thinlizzy · #15 03-04-2012, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kurt505

I can only speak for myself here. My fascination with long range shooting grows with my experience and ambition to reach my maximum level of ability. I have an outdoor OCD. Whether its with a bow or firearm, I always strive to become better, pushing my distances. I have land 1-1/2hrs north of Edmonton on the fringe of where the farmland meets the crown, and it's relatively sparse in population. I have a 500yd range set up on my land, and there is a gravel pit where 1000yd target shots can be safely practiced. I've never shot at 1000yd targets yet, but I do plan on shooting some in the near future. I spend nearly every other weekend at my cabin, and never head out there without a rifle or bow, or both, and shooting is one of my favorite past times. Even with a bow, 90% of my target practice is at my glendel buck set up at 80yds. Like with everything, the more you practice, the more proficient you'll become.

I don't shoot my rifle that far but I love to shoot out to 80 yards with my bow.
It is very satisfying hitting the target at that range! And it makes 40 yard shoots feel like a piece of cake.

Mickey · #16 03-04-2012, 12:12 PM

I find it hypocritical that people say that there is no way that you should take a shot, unless it is a clean kill. Then they have the want to go and shoot at 600+ yards, where the amount of variables rises with every yard.

I am sure that we only hear of the wicked good long shots of 700+ where the animal was DRT. We dont get to hear of the failures where the animal was severely wounded and was tracked for 6 hours while suffering.

gopher · #17 03-04-2012, 12:15 PM

An accurate rifle with a known muzzle velocity a lazar range finder with a PDA ballistic program and a kestrel wind meter and a reliable scope able to dial for elevation and a CLI what more do you need? This crap is getting old!

You bloody big game hunters with all your ethics. No one seems to care about the crippled geese or pheasants keep licking the window on the short bus boys someone is bound to let you in

Kurt505 · #18 03-04-2012, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mickey

I find it hypocritical that people say that there is no way that you should take a shot, unless it is a clean kill. Then they have the want to go and shoot at 600+ yards, where the amount of variables rises with every yard.

I am sure that we only hear of the wicked good long shots of 700+ where the animal was DRT. We dont get to hear of the failures where the animal was severely wounded and was tracked for 6 hours while suffering.

I made one of those shots at 80yds with a rest! Loose scope mount and I shot the bottom jaw during a massive snow fall.

I learned allot that day (I was about 22) from a good friend of my fathers. He wasn't there when I shot, but knew where I hit it. We stayed on its tracks for hours, and miles before we jumped him and I was able to put him down for good.

It doesn't have to be a far shot for things to go bad.

Jordan Smith · #19 03-04-2012, 12:24 PM

The same goes for any number of running shots that guys make...

Sledhead71 · #20 03-04-2012, 12:32 PM

Don't want to get involved in this, but Gopher brings up a good point...

At the end of the day, we all have to live with our decision..

A humane kill is just that, being a gopher, goose or big game.. Where do you draw the line ?

Speckle55 · #21 03-04-2012, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Don't want to get involved in this, but Gopher brings up a good point...

At the end of the day, we all have to live with our decision..

A humane kill is just that, being a gopher, goose or big game.. Where do you draw the line ?

Agree

Lefty-Canuck · #22 03-04-2012, 12:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Don't want to get involved in this, but Gopher brings up a good point...

At the end of the day, we all have to live with our decision..

A humane kill is just that, being a gopher, goose or big game.. Where do you draw the line ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speckle55

Agree

LOL was Agree or disagree an option to answer this non-question?

.....im confused... (although that in itself is not unusal....to which some may agree

)

LC

Sledhead71 · #23 03-04-2012, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jordan Smith

The same goes for any number of running shots that guys make...

Question, all game or just the ones you personally place a value on their life to determine what extent of ethics is exercised ?

Lefty-Canuck · #24 03-04-2012, 12:58 PM

Doh......too late

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Don't want to get involved in this, but Gopher brings up a good point...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Question, all game or just the ones you personally place a value on their life to determine what extent of ethics is exercised ?

LC

whitetail Junkie · #25 03-04-2012, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elkhunter11

After watching how easy they make it look on Best Of The West, and Long Range Pursuit, of course people get that impression. After all, nobody misses a shot or wounds an animal on those television programs.

X2...People start drinking the wild TV koolaid and get all these crazy thoughts and plans.brainwashed into these delusions of grandure

Speckle55 · #26 03-04-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

LOL was Agree or disagree an option to answer this non-question?

.....im confused... (although that in itself is not unusal....to which some may agree

)

LC

LC i agreed with the second and third sentences and the one on Geese etc as i have wounded afew and not found. some really close wtf how can you miss with a shotgun lol am Not smarter than a fifth grader ..thats a few years ago though .. hope that answered your question

David

gopher · #27 03-04-2012, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whitetail Junkie

X2...People start drinking the wild TV koolaid and get all these crazy thoughts and plans.brainwashed into these delusions of grandure

You just got a golf clap from me

Lefty-Canuck · #28 03-04-2012, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speckle55

LC i agreed with the second and third sentences and the one on Geese etc as i have wounded afew and not found. some really close wtf how can you miss with a shotgun lol am Not smarter than a fifth grader ..thats a few years ago though .. hope that answered you question

David

I re-read and then I understood.....no mulligans after hitting send

I agree to an extent, I feel like crap after losing an animal whether its a grouse, coyote or a deer.....but if a gopher makes it to his hole and I can't confirm a kill I don't lose too much sleep.....does that make me a cold person?

LC

Speckle55 · #29 03-04-2012, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lefty-Canuck

I re-read and then I understood.....no mulligans after hitting send

I agree to an extent, I feel like crap after losing an animal whether its a grouse, coyote or a deer.....but if a gopher makes it to his hole and I can't confirm a kill I don't lose too much sleep.....does that make me a cold person?

LC

OMG!!!! you will have to go to rehab

Evilsports · #30 03-04-2012, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gopher

An accurate rifle with a known muzzle velocity a lazar range finder with a PDA ballistic program and a kestrel wind meter and a reliable scope able to dial for elevation and a CLI what more do you need?

For starters, the ability. The ability to control and time your breathing, the ability to know with 100% certainty the break of your trigger, the ability to get an accurate dope on the wind and terrain, the ability to develop a repeatable cheek weld, the ability to focus on a target when you're adrenalin is rushing.

Aside from that, only the time, patience, dedication, willingness to learn, willingness to practice, common sense not to seek out the difficult kill shot just for the sake of being able to tell your fellow weekend warriors that you made a difficult shot?

I'd personally start with that, and then worry about buying a windomatic super-ballistic extraordinary sniper series Lapua.