Long range shooting

[Rufenit]

I was wondering which rife and caliber you guys recommend for long range hunting deer and elk. I currently have a .257 and .300 weather by mag. The .300 is my primary gun and I'm shooting the 165gr Nossler Ballistic tip. It has a Leupold 4-12x50 with the adjustable reticle out to 750 yds. My biggest question is, how confident are you in using that dial. This last weekend I had an opportunity to shoot out to the 750 yards and a decent whitetail and I don't think I came close. I had a good solid rest and the buck was standing broadside. I'm not one to shoot unreasonable shots but I know with the right equipment, these shots are reasonable. I hunt a lot of high country where long shots will be common. Any recommendation would be nice.

[huntandjeep]

First of all have you verified the turret at longer ranges on rocks ,stumps ,paper ? Or did you just slap it on and good to go  ? With my custom 7mm and Cooper 6.5x284 they both wear Leupold Mark 4's with turrets and I can hit pie plate size rocks out to 1250 as long as I read the wind right  . The problem with turrets is there only good for one elevation and temperature  unless you have multiple turrets made ( which I do ) for the different areas you hunt.

[carpsniperg2]

You really have to spend time and prove the dials. Even with them proven the biggest factor is not drop that is easy with a dial. It's the wind corrections that play the biggest factor at the expended distance. As far as trusting the dial if the loads are uniform and proven the dial can be trusted to account for the drop. The wind guess and drift take a lot of time to learn well and some tools can really help at those extended ranges.

[Biggerhammer]

It's not voodoo witch doctor magic. It's all simple math, most make it sound more complicated than it is. A accurate load is easy to drive at distance.

[Rufenit]

Thanks for the advice. I will say I am guilty of not testing it out that far and I do intend on doing that. I do know that elevation can really affect the drop and I plan on ordering multiple turrets. That brings me to another question. If I plan on hunting mule deer at 9000 ft, I would assume that it needs to be sited in at the higher elevation or am I not understanding how they work. I'm assuming that if I site in a turret that Is zero at 200yrds at 2000 ft elevation I can't just slap on the 9000 ft elevation turret and assume it will work at the high elevation. Or can I?

Thanks

[Griiz]

My first question would be can you consistently shoot 3-5 shot dime size groups at 100 yds? If the answer is no, than no equipment will make you hit your target consistently at that distance. I refuse to shoot past any distances I haven't practiced at. It isn't fair to the animal. I don't care to shoot past 300yds if the rifle won't shoot under 1 inch groups at 100 yds.

[huntandjeep]

Thanks for the advice. I will say I am guilty of not testing it out that far and I do intend on doing that. I do know that elevation can really affect the drop and I plan on ordering multiple turrets. That brings me to another question. If I plan on hunting mule deer at 9000 ft, I would assume that it needs to be sited in at the higher elevation or am I not understanding how they work. I'm assuming that if I site in a turret that Is zero at 200yrds at 2000 ft elevation I can't just slap on the 9000 ft elevation turret and assume it will work at the high elevation. Or can I?

Thanks

You have to re zero at every elevation.

[mountainman]

Best thing is to get our and play at those distances and elevations. Learn the minute differences and apply them. Its alot of fun too!

[257wbymagkiller]

I use my 257 WBY with a vortex viper pst 6x24 out to a 1000, very accurate just have to put the time in with the gun 

[Stein]

I will be perfectly honest.

If you have to ask whether 750 yards is reasonable, it isn't.  Even if you don't, it isn't reasonable in my book.  If you are 1 moa field, you are already off 8 inches if everything is perfect, and nothing ever is.  For me, 0.5 moa bench is at least 1 moa field.

Look at a windage table, plug in the numbers and what it says to me is that it would be a Hail Mary.  I don't shoot unless I am 90% it will be a one shot clean kill.

For 750 yards, I couldn't bet I would be better than 8 inches vertical and 12-15 or more horizontal before I even look at elevation or temp.  Again, that is best case.

[b23]

Do you own a good quality range finder?  I think you should spend your money on one of those before anything else if you want any amount of consistency.

[rudysts]

Your equipment is most important for long range hunting.

1 Highly accurate rifle capable of sub half moa accuracy, imo only possible with hand loads and a custom barrel, a quality scope that you can dial up your elevation at any altitude and conditions

2 High quality range finder Leica 1600B or a G7 BR2

3 A good ballistic calculator ( the G7 BR2 has a really good one built in to it ) Strelok pro for your phone works really well it has trajectory validation option which is very important.

4 Kestrel weather meter so you can input wind, temp, altitude and pressure. (if not using a G7 BR2)

And lots of time at the range doing load development and practicing at different distances and shooting positions.

[skeeter 20i]

It's not voodoo witch doctor magic. It's all simple math, most make it sound more complicated than it is. A accurate load is easy to drive at distance.

   and practice, practice, practice

[high country]

To play @ ranges beyond 500 ish, it pays to invest in a slick bullet. The benefits of a high bc pay off in spades once the tof gets up there. You can be good at math still unskilled on wind......it's the constant variable that can't be calculated on paper.

[Bill W]

Whatever happened to the old days when the shooter had to accurately "eyeball" the distance and estimate the amount of hold over?    I think we're getting too "techie".