Guys make those same mistakes on deer at 100m all the time.

You can watch impact at that range.....

I'd be willing to bet if you took 50 hunters that are experienced long range shooters & stacked their kill-wound ratio up against 50 guys that only shoot under 200m, the long range hunters would have a better percentage. It all comes down to if you're qualified to take the shot or not. If the animal isn't at a range that you & your rifle can handle, then pass on it.

Sure, but not because the animal is too far away to clearly judge.

back in the old days when I was guiding, the first order of business was to have all the guests shoot their rifles to make sure they were sighted in.

these are approximations, but in the couple hundred I witnessed, I'd guess 50-60% had to make adjustments to their guns, and easily 25% had a hard time shooting any group at all (less than 4 inches), at 100 yards, off a caldwell rest.

no offense to the resident coonasses here, but I always cringed when those louisiana boys showed up with their remington 7400 autoloaders... I can still hear it in a heavy south louisiana accent "just aim center of mass there Boudreau, them guides got a good tracking dog!"

I can't imagine the general public shooting at 500-600 yards. I would be a nervous wreck calling out the right deer at 250 yards, much less 450.

Nope. It's because of poor training & practice. Which is my point. It all comes down to training & usually (I stress usually) guys that take those long shots train quite a bit. A lot more than most weekend warriors that are happy hitting a paper plate at 50m with the ol' open sights 30-30 that gramps handed down to em.

The reason I asked the original question is because we had an "experienced, accomplished" long range hunter try a hell of a trophy long range and wounded it. The deer was a trophy of a lifetime on low fence and we got very lucky a dog found it. Hunter had his reasons for the poor shot but basically boiled down to miscalculation of distance. I assure you it won't happen again on our lease. For every guy who thinks he is a pro at it under stressful conditions my bet is there are more woundings than not.

And my point is that training, practice and equipment wont change the fact that humans see better when objects are closer. If your operating in a world where inches matter, you have a better chance of misjudging a deer as it gets further away.

I recall getting flamed here pretty good about 5 or 6 years ago on this same subject. Distance hunting is not new. I love it just got out of my stand tonight watched three spots 600 1000 and 1200 yds also some closer places down to 100 yds. I do this to please me. It is all about what a person wants to do. http://www.texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/452692/1

Very true

. That is your right and I respect it. But you will never hunt on our lease which is my right. Good luck to you

That's a real-world post. Not keyboard bravado.

Id shoot at a hog at 800 yds LOL but wouldn't want to shoot at a deer much over 200-250.

to each his own...we've got neighbors down at the ranch that can't make a clean kill inside of 100 yds.! Came over Sunday asking if they could go up the property and look for another deer.....
I don't tell folks how to vote, who to have sex with or how to shoot deer....none of my business.

My gut feeling is that shooting deer at very long range is bad. If someone wants to prove what a great and accomplished shooter they are, punch paper. I have no great and impassioned reasoning why it's wrong, but it's something that just gives me a bad feeling.

If I watched you shoot a deer at 1000 yards, I wouldn't be anything more than vaguely upset. Just because you can does not mean that you should.

My longest shot was 418 on a mule deer, I would have rather been at a 100, but shadowed this deer for a long time. I belly crawled, had cactus from head to toe . Finally came to the edge of a canyon, could not close the gap any more. I had good optics, range finder, and ballistic chart. I had practiced out to 400 for this very scenario, and felt comfortable with it. There was very little wind, and had a great rest on a back pack. Made the shot, and it was a very ethical kill. Hope I never have to shoot that far again, but I would.
What people should realize is a small flinch or pull at the muzzle can be a huge movement down range.

Well, I grumped about long range hunting, but I have on occasion done just that. And if Jkd106 belly crawled though cactus to get to be able to make the shot, that does impress me. That's hunting in its purest form. And 400 yards isn't what I'd call long range hunting anyway, though it's on the far edge of what I consider reasonable (reasonable for ME) for deer hunting.

I did, had to stop several times, to get a sticker out and bite my tongue. Last eve of mule deer season and I really wanted that deer. That was prob the most fun I have ever had, took about 4 hours from sitting behind spotting scope to getting that shot. I would do it again. I'm not sure what was worse the cactus or the sand burrs.lol

So i assume you are against archery hunting as well.

Bogus generalization I grow tired of hearing. I would assume that, like any reasonable person, he is against anyone taking a shot they are not capable of making just because there is an animal they want to kill somewhere in front of them. Give me a buck at 20 yards with my bow and I will beat the ever-lovin' pants off 90+ % of the guys shooting a rifle at one beyond 400 yards.

Carrying a weapon that goes boom and will sling a bullet 1000 yards plus doesn't make one a more efficient killer than an archery hunter....

Is it not standard practice to wait after shooting a deer with a bow? Why? is it so in the event of a poor placed shot the deer can die a slow death and not be able to jump and run if you chase him? Would it not be better to wait till gun season if you feel that way? But with a rifle one should make a clean kill instant death. This is only if it is a deer, A pig or a coyote you can wound or miss and it would not matter? I have a hard time following this train of thought. I don't think everyone with a gun that will shoot 700 yds should go out and shoot deer at that range. But if that is you game by all means do it. In the end there will be several animals shot,missed and wounded at all distance with both bow and gun. I think There are some who just don't like what they don't understand or cant do them self. Each person owes it to the animal they hunt to try and make clean kills. Shoot what you will at whatever distance YOU feel you can if its a mile so be it. and I do bow hunt also.

Not bogus. Practiced and comfortable or not a deer can and will jump the string. It happens far more often than most admit or see. How many of those are hit or missed clean? Same goes for the guys that try to head shoot deer. Each type of hunting has it's own variables that play factors. Archery and long range share more in common than the others. Distance and wind are two huge factors that affect both along with animal movement.

After shooting two "monsters" that turned out to be missing a lot of the antler I had seen when pulling the trigger, I'd say that's the biggest problem. There was no question that they were legal deer , but judgin quality at range is just not easy.