249....LMAO...thank John for that one Brad...

A man has got to know his limits.

Mine is about 200 yds.

The top of the hill is 350. Yall are never going to forget that 249 are yall?

Deer and everything else get crippled, gut,neck,leg, wing , [censored] shot at thirty feet every year, the supposed ethical ,clean harvest line, goes out door when excitement hits,, and half aim at avaliable part or middle an turn it loose,, few of hit ones survive,most dont, So is neck shooter/1st time shooter/ new bow hunter/ occassional shooter/ any more ethical than long range shooter// i dont think so,,and i bow hunt,,

I know my equipments capabilities far exceed mine. I limit my gun shots to 300yds and my bow shots to 30yds. I am confident of making clean kills with those limits. Its all about knowing your limits and your equipments, take ego out of the equation.

for most hunters, they dont have any business shooting past 200 yards. we all hear stories about riduculously long shots, but for most hunters things get iffy around 250 yards. wind and angle come more into play than bullet drop.

I myself won't shoot at a buck past 250 yards, and I pull they trigger on more animals in a season than alot of hunters do in a decade.

we had one experianced hunter shoot at a does shoulder at 350 yards and hit her where the head and neck meet.

just too iffy unless all conditions are right:

Good, solid rest (most important)

you know the exact range, have a good estimate on the wind not only where your shooting from but also where the animal is standing

have a rifle/scope combo capable of making that shot every time


not to mention that most guys don't even shoot at paper that far, let alone animals.

He thought he gut shot the deer based on the hair and blood. I dont know for sure why he thought it was gut shot other than that. He said the deer crossed onto the neighbors property.

To each his own. I won't tell another man how far or how close he should shoot and I dam sure don't need anybody telling me.

x2 THF equals ethics police

I agree that every one should practice enough to know their personal limits. I do have a very unique stituation in the fact that very frequently get to take 300+ yard shots at yotes and hogs. These are shots of oppertunity (I see them from the kitchen window and shoot across a hay field) and I very rarely miss. I do use a varity of rifle and calibers. I am not trying to brag, I just frequently make longer than normal shots and feel very comfortable doing so.

That said....This years I shot my best buck to date at 95 yards with a 6mm that is dead on a 100 yards. I felt very good about the shot (breathing was normal and not shakey), but after tracking blood (some places hevy, some places light) for over 350 yards and looking a total of 8 hours I have to admit I left my first, and hopefully, last one in the woods. I still feel like I committed the worst sin against nature. I even had thoughts of never hunting deer again. The thought of it still is very hard.

I know this was a long post, but my point is that wounding an animal can happen at any range. It was ultimately my fault and take full responsibility. I will use the feeling of sorrow, disgust, and disgrace to do my best not to repeat in the future.

I like that statement as well.

It's all about ability and knowing what you shoot. I don't mind taking long shots, but our stands are designed for such shots and there is usually a 20-60x60 spotting scope set in a corner to properly ID deer when a 20x scope doesn't bring them in close enough. I often see people comment that about 100yds is all you need out of a gun in the piney woods of East Tx, (not in this thread, but in others) and it just blows my mind.

Per some of the previous post, How do you know it was gut shot?

If you can see it and think you can hit it, go for it. It's just a deer and they are getting thick as flies. Not much hunting anymore for one. Business deal and money these days.

i agree with this statement...i've seen a ton of deer wounded at the 150 yard mark

I use to think the same thing about East Texas, unitl I hunted a clear cut...some of those clear cuts reach out there

I try to set a limit of about 750-800 yards because the animal could move slightly and throw the hit way off. Also afraid of not being able to track it if it wasn't DRT.

lol..heck yeah and you find little ways to get rock steady rests out of a climber....even if it's an uncomfortable sit to get that front rail up to the level needed. Well, hope I don't have to shoot too far in the next few days... I'm outta here.

I'm calling BS on that statement. The man asked for opinions and he is getting them. You're just hissed because yours is in the minority.

I firmly believe that most people's guns are FAR MORE CAPABLE of long range shooting than they are..
Now with that said, I would also venture to say that most people have no idea what 800 yards looks like thru a scope..
With very very good glass, 800 yards is a loooooong way.

I personally know of 2 people on this forum who have made or can make, shots at 800 yards and longer...

The rest of the people I would put money against them making the shot err, ANY shot over about 600 yards.
Not that I know all ace marksmen on this forum... Just saying that I know those 2 people can.. And I've tried it with various calibers and weapons, and wouldn't want to "have to" make those kind of shots.

If you think you're capable... Let's set up a 800 yard range.
For every shot you miss hitting a 8" pie plate, you give me 50 bucks.. For every one you hit, I'll give you a hundred..
Any takers ? (and you 2 guys whom I am referring to are not eligible)

I'll take that challenge.

I'll even make it hard on myself and use my new 770 with Winchester silver box ammo!

Ok ok I'll stop trolling. In all seriousness 300 is my max because my scope doesn't have windage compensation. Anything past that can drift too far.

Having shot on paper with a proper rifle and scope out to 600 yards (someone else's rifle) all I can say is I would love to try out to 800 and even 1000 yards, but it would have to be a bet for a coke. There is more difference than most realize going from say 400 to 600 yards. From 600 to 800 or 1000 would only multiply the difference.

My point was i'm not going to tell a guy what distance he shoots is ethical or not... Nobody knows anyones background or training on this forum...

Oh, It's an awful lot of fun to try and do it..
I just don't think that most people can comprehend how far 800, 1000, 1200 yards truly is..

DTCOOPER is sent you a pm.

JMO' but I think that if a person does not pactice at long range shots 200+. Then they have no business doing it. I have let some very nice tempting deer walk before because of that distance. Even though it was very tempting to shot and I am confident I could shot that far. I do not practice at that range. It is just not respectful of the game you are hunting, and not very resposible for a hunter.

dt do you venture west,5 shots,ol man 300 win.bad eyes spot a hair more.

N 33* 20 58.3"
w-98* 39 53.2
5 in row knock down counts