Shot angle?

[swanny]

Unfortunately, I missed a shot yesterday on a nice 3pt blacktail. The shot was approximately 300yds and I was shooting down hill. Can anyone tell me if I should be aiming high or low for this sort of shot?

[swanny]

Also, I was using a .30-06 with 180grain. I'm sighted in 1" high at 100 yards too

[bobcat]

With you only being 1 inch high at 100 yards, I would bet that you shot under that deer at 300 yards. If you had been sighted in between 2 and 3 inches high at 100 yards, then your drop at 300 wouldn't have been enough to shoot under the deer. The downhill factor probably didn't have any measureable effect, unless it was almost straight down.

[Huntbear]

With you only being 1 inch high at 100 yards, I would bet that you shot under that deer at 300 yards. If you had been sighted in between 2 and 3 inches high at 100 yards, then your drop at 300 wouldn't have been enough to shoot under the deer. The downhill factor probably didn't have any measureable effect, unless it was almost straight down.

Agreed. 

If you know what your bullet speed is, there are online ballistic calculators that can tell you where you are hitting sighted in at specific ranges... all free.

[HardCorpsHuntr]

To anwser your question we would need to know what the angle of your shot was!

[swanny]

I'd say it was probably a 50 to 55 degree angle? It was a steep clearcut.

[BULLBLASTER]

With 300 yard line of sight and a 50 degree angle you are looking at shooting a shot for 190 yards. With 1 inch high at 100 you would have been pretty to close maybe just a bit low.

[Curly]

Wouldn't it be: (sin50)300 = 230 yards?

So, at 230 yards, you'd be about 4" low.

Nevermind, it is cos50.  So 190 yards.

[AOD]

i agree with Bullblaster. you should'nt have missed...what is approximately 300 yards? have you ranged the cut? did you go down and look for blood?

[gadwall]

With 300 yard line of sight and a 50 degree angle you are looking at shooting a shot for 190 yards. With 1 inch high at 100 you would have been pretty to close maybe just a bit low.

 

[jaymark6655]

   You shouldn't have missed unless buck fever or shot off a rest wiht no cushion between the forestock and rest causing the rifle to jump, bad positon (not behind the rifle and lined up on the target), forgot follow through or jerk the trigger, or did't fire at pause in breath  .  Heck I miss quite often when I forget to do anyone of these things.  Sounds like rifle was set up right, so unless the scope got bumped or is broken, it has to be the human factor.

[swanny]

i agree with Bullblaster. you should'nt have missed...what is approximately 300 yards? have you ranged the cut? did you go down and look for blood?

Yes, we ranged the cut and did go down and look for blood. As we were looking for blood he kicked up again and took off. There wasn't a drop of blood anywhere to be found and he was bedded and walking around through a couple inches of snow.

My gun and myself are going back to the range. Buck fever wasn't much of a factor here because he had no clue we were there. The first time I spotted him about 30 minutes earlier I didn't even know he was a buck. Watched him dig a spot for a bed, and lay down. It wasn't until we were in a different spot looking at a different angle that I saw antlers on him. He was curled forward nicely, *censored* the images are coming back! 

[CP]

I hate to be prick but if you don’t know the answer to your original question you shouldn’t be taking a 300y shot.   

[AOD]

I hate to be prick but if you don’t know the answer to your original question you shouldn’t be taking a 300y shot.

this^

sometimes the truth hurts.

[swanny]

I have no problem with the truth.

How about backing it up though and providing someone with some tools that might help them the next time out? Thanks!

[Skillet]

Also, I was using a .30-06 with 180grain. I'm sighted in 1" high at 100 yards too

Going to the range isn't going to solve this problem for you.  Steep angle shots (up or down, it doesn't matter) always require you to hold for shorter distances.  That actual horizontal distance to the target (with a additional small factor for bullet air-time and BC, if you want to get really fancy).  The above post with the trigonometry is spot-on.  I'd bet you airmailed that 180 right over him.

[CP]

I have no problem with the truth.

How about backing it up though and providing someone with some tools that might help them the next time out? Thanks!

Here’s some tools for you:

http://www.jbmballistics.com/cgi-bin/jbmtraj-5.1.cgi

http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_trajectory_table.htm

I recommend the Maximum Point Blank Range (MPBR) method and a good range finder.  MPBR for your bullet is about 270 yards, if you are within that range hold dead on and don’t worry about trigonometry or angle of the shot.  If your target is farther than that, get closer.

[swanny]

Thank you, I'll check the links out.