What Is Your Personal Limit?

[BeeMaa]

I'd say it depends.

Rain, snow, wind, shooting position, rifle, caliber, scope, game animal, varmint, level of comfort, time of day, how do I feel, how much coffee did I have, am I tired, what day of the hunt is it, can I get closer, how bad do I really want this animal ...it's a long list and I'm just scratching the surface.

For Africa (and most hunting for that matter) I prefer distances of less than 100 yards, but some hunts will require much more than this. Max for me if all conditions are ideal is around 300 yards on a game animal. Beyond that I really want to get closer.

 

[Justbryan]

I have no specific limit. It depends on prone, sitting, shooting sticks, steady tripod, from a blind, off of sandbags. It also depends on wind, angles, visibility, cover, etc. The most I will shooting in a hunting situation is 400 yards from a blind with sandbags or prone if a calm day and perfect conditions. I will limit myself to 300 yards if 5 to 10 mph wind. If the wind is stronger then I will shorten the distance. The caliber is also critical. I will shoot my 300 WSM further on an animal than I would my 375 H&H. I have shot my 375 H&H at 300 yards but that is my limit. I set limits on myself based on current data and how confident I feel about the situation.

 

[Shooter375]

I think the best way to answer this question if with the statement: "Don't shoot unless you have complete confidence that you will kill the animal with that shot." This distance has changed for me over the years depending upon my equipment and the stability of my shooting rest or position. When I was 11 I shot my first impala at about 100 yards off hand. The 180 grain nosler partition from my 3006, that I had bought by delivering newspapers, hit the pinkop right behind the shoulder and he dropped straight down. The old Zulu man who accompanied me was impressed. As he slapped my back, he said that he had accompanied many men who would have missed that shot and that me a mere umfana had nailed it. At the time, I had practiced shooting birds with my pellet gun and could shoot pretty well off hand. That rifle which was an Inter-arms Mark X would group around 2 inches at 100 yards off the bench with my reloads. That was good for the 1990's and at that time a 1 moa gun was the Holy Grail - a quest that was almost unattainable. Production rifles have become much more accurate in the last 30 years. Now I have rifles that will shoot under an inch at 100 yards. But it is still about the stability of the shooting rest or position. To this day about 100 yards off hand is my max but I really do not have complete confidence that I would hit a 8"plate at 100 yards off hand every time because I have to pull the trigger when the crosshairs dance across the target. I will say I could hit it about 5 times out of 10 shots but I don't know for sure because I have only practiced shooting at off hand at 50 yards with my 375 in the last few years. I would say that with traditional shooting sticks that 100 yard shot becomes easier. My probability of hitting a 8"plate at 100 yards probably increases to 8/10. Then if I use the new style quad shooting stick that my PH introduced me to last year, my probability increases to 99% and I could extend my range to 200 yards with confidence that I will hit that 8" plate. But when I shoot from a prone position with a bi-pod and rear rest it is like shooting off a bench rest. With my 28 Nosler which shoots a 175 grain nosler ABLR's at 3090 fps under 1 moa I can shoot a 8" plate out to 750 yards with 9/10 consistency. That is of coarse if the wind is not blowing. When the wind is blowing I can only hit that 8" plate when I know the correct hold for those conditions. Also when I shoot past 200 yards I use a rangefinder and ballistic calculation. So with the right equipment I have taken elk from 5 yards to 730 yards. I was always completely confident that when I pulled the trigger the animal was definitely going to die. So in the future my personal limit is not pulling the trigger unless I know that I have a more than 9/10 chance of hitting the animal in the vitals and killing it ethically and quickly.

 

[Shooter375]

In Africa, most of my shots have been under 100 yards but I have taken African animals at longer ranges. I took a beautiful cape kudu at 420 yards with ease. It was from hill side to hill side in the eastern cape. I used a borrowed 7x64 brenneke. The PH had a re-barreled musgrave that shot under an inch at 100 yards. I had already shot a baboon at 300+ yards so I knew the rifle was sound at distance. I was in a prone position. We ranged the Kudu. There was no wind. The shot landed perfectly and the kudu dropped after a few steps. One shot one kill. I was then hailed as the "Boksburg Sniper" in camp since meneer Pretorius had taught me to shoot so well while I was on the shooting team at Boksburg High School so many years before.

 

[mdwest]

The vast majority of my hunting is done inside 200 yards... I'd guess better than 75% of the big game species I have taken in my life have been inside 150 yards... Its just the nature of what I hunt and where I typically hunt it (deer, hogs, etc. in the SE US and TX for the most part... PG and DG in SW Province and Limpopo in SA, etc... etc..)..

Ive taken a handful of animals out further than 200.. but as a rule, if there is any way I can get closer, that's what I attempt to do.. not because Im not comfortable with a 200 yard shot (Im comfortable shooting at 400+ with most of my rifles if I can get into the prone or into some other well supported position).. but because for me, getting in close is a huge part of the challenge and the fun...

I shot targets (paper, steel, etc) at distances of 600-1000 for a pretty big part of my adult life.. have opened a handful of rifles that could easily keep an 8" group (respectable kill zone for most animals) out to 1000 yards (assuming I did my part)... but for me.. hitting the boiler room on an elk at some crazy distance is not going to give me the same thrill of the hunt that spending an hour closing the 1000 yard gap down to 125 yards will... Not to mention understanding that many common "deer" calibers will certainly reach out that far.. but lack the ballistics at that range (and bullet performance at the velocities they would be traveling at that distance) to ensure a clean, effective, humane, kill..

Each animal, hunting environment, weather condition, etc creates a different and unique scenario.. If we're talking sheep on the side of a mountain in Alaska, in clear conditions, armed with the right rifle, and from a well supported position, I very well might take a 400-500 yard shot...

If we're talking TX whitetail... If its not within a couple of hundred yards... Im probably passing...

If we're talking some nasty TX pig.. I don't care if its 1 foot away or 1 mile... I don't care if I am armed with a 300 WM or a .223.... I don't care if its a bright sun filled day or the middle of a thunderstorm.. If I can see him.. Im probably going to let a bullet fly lol.. .

 

[colorado]

400 to 600 in my 20s, 400 yard max now Not sure if I'm smarter or don't shoot as well

 

[Newboomer]

400 to 600 in my 20s, 400 yard max now Not sure if I'm smarter or don't shoot as well

I try to stay under 200 yds for pg regardless of caliber. I've taken springbok out to 200 with my 375HH and a 7RM. My buf was about 30 yds with a 375HH and Barnes 350gr TSX. I wouldn't want to go much beyond that for dg. My longest shot was 286 yds on a springbok with a 6.5 CR. I couldn't get closer and I was shooting off quad sticks. Real stable. have passed up shots at 50 yds because the wind was blowing me all over the place even with sticks. All depends on game, caliber, weather, range, etc

I do like pushing my calibers for long range on paper or steel just to see what I can do. Like 1000 yds at 10 inch steel with a 7RM, 500 yds with a 375HH. Fun on the range but no go in the field.

 

[Deleted member 40394]

Would I shoot at a deer or what not at 500 yards if I am proficient at that distance with my gun and the conditions I can account for. Yes.
how far do I like to shoot deer, other big game animals. 40-50 yards
my longest shot is 412 yards off sticks on a bedded gemsbok.
good equipment makes a lot of difference also.

 

[wolfhunter]

shot many years or high-power comp. I understand how things work I have shot many coyotes and fox at over 400 yds. I Wouldn't shoot a elk at 1ooo yds even though Iam sure I would hit it. you need to spend a lot of time at the range to learn how to dope the wind witch changes kill shots to gut shots

 

[Wyatt Smith]

The closer the better, but 300 yards for me.

 

[Jeff505]

I have not taken many animals past 200 yards, an audad, mountain zebra and a few white tails. The most enjoyable part of a hunt for me is the stalk, to try and get as close as possible before pulling the trigger. The actual kill can be somewhat anticlimactic. I remember seeing a hunting show called “Long range pursuit“ it seemed like the purpose of the show was to take as far a shot as possible during a hunt. We all have different ideas of what is or is not an ethical shot, for me this would seem to negate what I consider the most rewarding part of the hunt.

 

[buffybr]

I practice almost every week shooting prone with two rifles at 9" steel gongs at 200 and 300 yards, and a 15" gong at 430 yards.

Other than my first bull elk more than 50 years ago, I haven't shot at an animal at over 350 yards.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

My personal limit is based on my ability to make a clean kill under the conditions. I have killed game at over 400 yards, but the majority of my kills have been made inside 100 yards which is what I prefer.

Safe hunting

 

[Andrew62]

On my most recent trip to Africa I told my guide 300 was my limit. I took 3 springboks right at that 300 yard limit, I was successful, but with such a small animal I did not feel comfortable taking a longer shot.

 

[Flipper Dude]

At a certain distance, it becomes less about hunting and more about marksmanship. Each hunter has to make up their own mind. I’m an old school, stay off my grass, opinionated fella. I think modern dial-it -in technology is a crutch for a poor hunter. That said, I’m shooting a compound, and not a longbow. So, you whippersnappers pay no attention to me.

 

[K-man]

If we're talking some nasty TX pig.. I don't care if its 1 foot away or 1 mile... I don't care if I am armed with a 300 WM or a .223.... I don't care if its a bright sun filled day or the middle of a thunderstorm.. If I can see him.. Im probably going to let a bullet fly lol.. .

This!! (Only coyotes and racoons as well)
On any big game, I practice out to 500 yards so I am comfortable to 350. I have 2 elk kills one shot each at 300 and 305 yds, both because getting closer was not possible. My last 2 deer kills were 40 and 80 yards, dead instantly.

 

[Tundra Tiger]

Short answer: I prefer inside 200; with the right circumstances I'd shoot to 300 (moose or caribou).

I bought my .338 Marlin Express to have a longer range (lever action) option for moose. So what happened? You guessed it: shots have mostly been under 150, some much closer. My long on moose has been 209.

And as many have noted, the terrain and circumstance can matter. I've take a few longer shots at caribou just because the country was so wide open and the chances I was going to lose the animal were virtually non-existent. There just is no one size fits all.

 

[Frederik]

I am defintely not a long range hunter as some on youtube and prefer maximum around 350 meters that is when I know the rifle and balistics and thats comes with practise.
Recently I gave up a shot on a cull Buffalo cow at 121 meters she was standing frontal steady and I had 1 MOA Trijicon on the 458 lott.

I just didnt feel confident with firstly a frontal on buffalo and this was not a large cow so smaller target fear of bullet maybe deflecting on ribs and not have straight line penetration if I maybe pull the shot a bit right or left.

Gave up the shot and gave it to my friend who had a scoped 375 H&H and he gave her a headshot.
I have shot a Blue wildebeest at just over 150 meters but he was standing in the open broadsise felt steady and it wasnt DG.

So I was very proud of myself to let that shot go on the buff cow go we got her shot as part of the cull hunt even if I didnt pull the trigger.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I am a double shooter, living in a zoo, so absolutely 100 metres maximum.

 

[mark-hunter]

I hunt up to 250 meters.