This may be a little too far in the weeds for some folks, but I recently went through a thought process to determine what my realistic maximum effective hunting range is. At the place I hunt, you can see for miles. It's not uncommon for something to walk out and present a shot way out there. In fact, that's what got me started trying to figure out longer distance shooting to begin with. In the heat of the moment, you sometimes don't think as clearly as you should. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to set myself some limits ahead of time and hold my self accountable for only taking ethical shots. For the record, this is a backwards exercise for me.... I have done enough shooting to already have a pretty good idea what is going on already. Just wanted to verify with a quantitative process.

At longer distances, environmental conditions have to be considered. When I practice long distance, I use a weather meter to determine Density Altitude. This value is inputted into my calculator on my phone, and drops are calculated. In a hunting situation, I'll likely still have time to do that, but maybe not. Plus, don't want to be dependent on electronics in the field. Therefore, I needed to figure out the maximum distance I could put a shot into an 8" circle without having to account for environmental conditions. The following was done on a range of DA from -2000 to 8000. This DA range was determined based on going back in my log book, and should cover just about any place or condition I'll ever be shooting in.



The conclusion from above is that I can shoot out to 600 yards using the dope from my zero conditions and have a POI within an 8" window without having to account for environmental conditions.


The other major element to consider is the wind. I shoot 6.5 Creedmoor, and it is pretty forgiving in the wind at my set distance of 600 yards. Even so, the wind is a much bigger deal than one might think. For instance, a 10mph full value wind at 600 yards pushes the POI a full 15". If I didn't hold for the wind, that makes a lung shot a gut shot pretty quick. So I took some various wind speeds, looked at them for 600 yards, and tried to come up with some limitations based on that same 8" circle from above. This one is quite a bit more complicated, and none of this is cut and dry like the drops based on DA. Still, you need to at least do the math and have some context when you make these types of decisions:



The conclusion I came to is that I am in pretty good shape for marginal/no wind holds out to 600 yards as long as the wind isn't blowing more than a full value 6mph. This is something that I can definitely correlate with REAL WORLD shooting I've done in the past.


So there it is. That's my thought process. For those of you that hunt at longer distances, what is your method for knowing what your real world limits are? Do you think the 8" circle is too liberal?

Very good post.

You summarized my thought process for several years. Fortunately, I get to shoot all year, every week, so I too document DA and temp changes. It's a broad brush stroke to say this, but it works. Most short action, efficient cartridges hold up using the same DOPE to 500 yards, all year long. Of course the largest fluctuation is via the .308 Win, but it even holds within 1/10 Mil at 500. I also look at ft/lbs, and make sure the bullet is going to hit hard enough. The same reasoning you mentioned is why several times a week, I make a cold bore shot at distance, and almost always it is 500 yards, or more. For me, that is my wind reading training, because as you mentioned, the elevation holds up, in most conditions. For me, each rifle has its' limit. The 7 Rem Mag is far more capable than the 6.5 Creedmoor, and has a farther out "max comfort zone" for me. Fortunately, the farthest shot I've had to make on a game animal was a cow elk, at 510 yards, and it was with the 7 Rem Mag. Conditions were good, not too much wind, I was rock solid stable, and knew exactly the correction to make, and had time to make it. It worked, because I had made that shot many times, on the range prior to having to hit her that far.

The process you lay out is rational, but I question how relevent in the real hunting world where you might get a limited time window, and are not shooting from a rock solid bench.

For me, what I'm shooting at mostly drives my willingness to take the shot. I use a 22-250 for coyotes. At them I'll let fly no matter the distance and have nailed them to about 350 yards. Deer hunting in Texas where I pay if I strike the animal but do not retrieve, I want that deer anchored with a shoulder shot and absolutely won't go past 200 even though I'm using a 300 winmag or 308 that are both MOA shooters that I can hit an 8" gong with to 400 yards ON A BENCH.

Deer hunting in open range on my own I might go to 300 off a rock solid tripod from sitting or kneeling position (in the real world it isn't often that a prone shot is clear )

You can run all the calculations you want. Wind is voodoo, and is the determining factor. Nobody, NOBODY dopes the wind correctly every time on the first cold bore shot.

That is one way, but IMHO it needs to go further, at least for me. Different shooting positions dictate max range for me because I am the loosest nut in the shooting system. Field positions are much different than bench or prone with a bipod. When I was hynting places like you described I shot from various positions to know my limits so I could stay within them. Prone is different that standing or sitting ot off a fence post or tree. Learn your equipment limitations like spelled out above then learn your limitations from various positions.

Bottom line I use my known limits when hunting and stay within them. Final check before shooting are the cross hairs staying well within the vitals from that position and do I know I have a good wind call for that shot. If not then hunt more for a better shooting solution

Paper plate was my dads standard (8.5 inches) and we had to shoot them from all positions and when ever he told us to. I have since evolved to 8 inch AR550 plates, there are plates from 100 to 875 on our place during a range session anyone call call out a plate and position and you have to shoot it. It is a humbling experience.

Absolutely, this is just one piece of the equation and has nothing to do with the idiot behind the trigger. like I mentioned, this is a backwards exercise for me. I actually go out and shoot my rifle at 600 yards pretty frequently. And I already knew that I'm comfortable putting a cold bore shot on an 8" plate unless the wind is doing something really crazy. I never shoot off a bench unless I have to. Most of my shots are taken from the positions that I'll be in during a hunting situation.... off the tripod, slung up/kneeling (NOT a 600 yard shot.) etc.

I have zero desire to shoot an animal past about 200yds, and it’s not because I physically can’t.

It's a good exercise that I wish every hunter who might shoot past 200 yards would do. I shoot a lot of long distance targets, and my equipment is running really well right now. I've put together several 5 inch groups at 1000 yards on relatively calm days with my go to hunting setup - Tikka T3X CTR in 260 Rem, Nightforce SHV, and my handloaded 143 ELD-X. But just because the equipment will do it doesn't mean that I can. By doing real world practice from a rest that simulates a deer blind, I've determined that I shouldn't shoot past 300 yards. If I want to shoot further than that, I would need to build a better shooting rest into my deer blind. Or I could get out of the blind, go prone and shoot from the bipod. But then I'd spend the next 3 days picking stickers and thorns out of myself. Ask me how I know this...

I like this post and the informal study, in general.

As for the critiques on usefulness/pragmatic applications, I'd say this is an excellent starting point. Meaning when these, and I think he'll even admit narrow, set of conditions are met then here are the results. The enginerd in me thinks that's the theoretical data set to start conditional variation cases from with as many combinations as ones heart desires. In my business we generate such tables and basically turn some of the greens into yellow. That way you no have a quick reference for "good to go," "no go," or "maybe." Maybe is not a bad answer because personally I'd just decide on no go but it allows the person to quickly shift mindsets to making a more nuisance ld judgment. And maybe in that split moment the animal runs, but maybe that's God saying u should have never taken the shot to begin with.

I’d feel confident shooting a deer out to 300, assuming I had a solid rest and it wasn’t too windy. I’ve shot small stuff in 3 gun off of a marginal rest and a 6x scope after a solid run, and have killed several critters over 200 yards.

I personally have no desire to put in the practice or buy the equipment for the long range game. I don’t have any problem with those that do. Just not my interest.

Good post! Instead of hating the wind, love the wind!! Learn it to master it. Let me show you why I prefer to shoot in some wind, and a full value 3 o'clock or 9 o'clock wind!

Look at the wind clock below. Everything stems from this wind value clock. If I know the wind speed and wind direction, I can calculate the EXACT amount of wind drift I will get. And, I prefer to have a full value wind, and shooting in a head or tail wind is the worst for consistency. Why? If you look at a wind coming from the 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock, you have a 1/2 value wind from the 1 o'clock to 12 o'clock. So, a 1 o'clock wind will push your bullet 1/2 value. On a 11 o'clock it will also put it 1/2 value, but in the other direction. So from 11 o'clock to 1 o'clock, I have a full 1.0 effective difference between the 2 small wind directions. And a head or tail wind will ALWAYS have movement right and left.

Now, look at the difference between 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock. The wind value is 87% of full value. So, you are using 13% less wind hold than full value from this direction. So if my wind direction is off from 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock, there's only a 13% error. I have a MUCH larger error factor from the 12 o'clock to 1 o'clock position. Therefore, if you can calculate the wind speed and direction, it has the LEAST amount of error of bullet drift. The full value wind is easier to shoot in. But, the wind does gust up and down, which does increase the challenge! But from a stand point of what direction is easiest to shoot in, I will take a full value cross wind all day long!

How to use the wind clock. For example, if you are taking a 600 yard shot and you have an 8 mph wind coming from the 2 o'clock position, you would multiply 8 mph x 2.61"= 20.88", times .87 = 18.16". So, the bullet will drift exactly 18.16" to the left at 600 yards. ( and yes, I normally do this with mils, and not inches. Inches I think is for the hunting crowd!)

Estimation of 6.5 CM with 140 grain at 2700 fps.
Range Elev Wind (1 mph)
(yards) (inches) (inches)
0 --- ---
100 0 0.06
200 -3.91 0.26
300 -13.96 0.59
400 -31.01 1.09
500 -56.07 1.75
600 -90.33 2.61

This is why I make those distant cold bore shots every week. Wind been blowing 20 to 30 mph all day? Great, go see what you can hit. Tail or head wind, that fish tails, great go read mirage, and see what you can hit. I hit way more than I miss, but misses still happen. I am forever a student of the wind. All that range time tells me what I should or should not do on game animals. Hogs and cogotes are getting lead sent their way, no matter the weather. If I can get a laser reading, a shot is going to follow.

So is your personal maximum effective hunting range 600 yards at all times, or does it vary with the prevailing conditions?

It certainly still varies quite a bit based on the conditions and good a position I can build. Also varies based on what animal I'm shooting at. I'll lob one at a hog in almost any position at any distance. However, if I'm shooting at a deer it's a totally different ball game. For instance, if I'm shooting out a box blind it will depend on if I can get my strong side arm supported or not. If I'm free handing it with just the front on the gamechanger, the distance is going to be way shorter than 600 yards.

Well-stated. This exercise was nothing more than a way to force myself to look at this from an analytical perspective and make wiser decisions based on facts. We owe it to the animals to do our homework. 90% of it is actually going out and shooting our rifles in preparation. But you have to go back and connect the dots between the numbers and what you've observed in the field when practicing.

Perfectly stated.

Chad, your wind clock confuses me a bit (not hard to do).....why isn’t 50% at 1:30, 4:30, etc.? Thanks.

To me the major factor would be hitting power . I was shooting a 10 inch gong at 500 yards with some friends . My .308 168 hit the gong fairly hard [ it swung up about 1/4 way ] , the 8mm mag 200 hit much harder . Other than sound , we could not tell if the 6mm 95 shooter was hitting .

I feel sorry for whatever you shoot in the azz with all this minusha

It's called effort. You should try it some time.

Not included in the context of this post, but you are right. Just because you can hit it doesn't mean you have the terminal performance needed to make an ethical shot. Thresholds for me are over 1,000ft/lb of energy and above my field-determined minimum expansion velocity of 1,700ft/sec.

been there, done it, my max hunting range would be 600 also given perfect conditions. There, I said it all in 2 sentences.

just jackin with you. This is a very complete test you did. Nice job.

I say it is. I disagree with that clock.

My little .223 A.I. will run all of my range, but I wouldn't try it on anything bigger than a coyote. At 800 yards, that little 80 gr shows up with only 532 ft lbs. By contrast, the 180 gr 7mm hits with 1492 ft lbs. Elevation correction doesn't matter much, in one versus the other.