On Board Range Finder

[Morgoroth]

I am pretty new to hunting and most of the hunting I have done has been in woods with a lot of cover at close range(maybe 30yrds max.)

But, I got a new gun recently and I plan on going some other places where the ranges are going to be a lot more(100 or 200 yards).

After reading a bunch of different posts I know that knowing what range your game is at is going to be important.

So, how did you guys learn to judge distance?
I know the more I go out and hunt the better I will get at it, but I am looking for some way to practice this when I am not hunting.

[GeauxTide]

If you've got a 100 or 200 yard rifle range, place a target at each range and shoot some groups after sighting in properly. Get a good mental picture of what the whole target looks like in the scope because that's the approximate size of a deer's vitals. If you've got a camera, take some pictures that look the same as through the scope. Next, take some shots in different field positions while trying to keep all shots in 10" on the target.

[davlandrum]

This requires a little prep work:

Use your range finder to set up 100 yds. This does not have to be in the field- corner of your street to that lamp pole is fine. Walk it taking comfortable strides (don't try and stretch them out) and count how many times your left foot hits the ground, do this back and forth a few times to get a good average.

Now you can do a little math to figure out your stride length.

Armed with this knowledge, you can practice anywhere. You get out of your car in the parking lot at work, eyeball the front door, and start walking. This works very well at bow range, since you can be in a store and "range" the end of the isle.

[HiBC]

Any reticle feature of known sizecan be used to help stimate the range.
Try to find an in depth explanation of how the mil-dot reticle is used.I believe the older black Nosler reloading book describes using a duplex.

If you have a variable,put it on the highest power.

Now,use a sight in target with a grid on it(or check your scope mfg specs) and determine how far it is post to post on your duplex.

I think on a 4x Leupold,it is 12 inches.Assume a deer is 18 in,whithers to brisket.If the deer just fits the duplex,post to post,you are at 150 yds.

If the deer was 1/2 the size of the reticle(it fits center crosshair to one post)

you are at 300 yds.

Once you understand and work with this skill,you always have a ballpark rangefinder in your scope.

[Doodlebugger45]

Out to 200 yards, the range is not important to me (unless I'm carrying my 45-70) Even 250-300 yards is no big deal for my scoped rifles. Once you get into 300+ yard territory though, it's very important to know the difference. If you take a shot that you think is 325 yards and it turns out to be 400 yards, then you will be a long ways off.

My solution is to know what 300 yards looks like. I practice this when I'm walking around in the hills. I will look at a rock outcrop for instance and make a guess that it's further or closer than 300 yards. Then I carefully pace it off and see what it was. After you do it enough, you get a pretty good feel for it. If I think an elk is over 300 yards away, I simply don't shoot.

[Brian Pfleuger]

If you're talking about hunting something that is deer sized or larger and you're using a typical deer caliber of 243 (or so) or larger.... 25-06, 7mm something, 30 cal -something or other....

and your maximum range is in the neighborhood of 200 yards....

then "ranging" is not going to be very important for virtually any gun.

Properly sighted, you could aim for the center of the vitals and still be in the kill zone with most any rifle.

(There are exceptions of course, check the ballistics of your chosen load)

[youp]

What is your new calber?

There is a term called maximum point blank range. Essentially you adjust the sighs so the bullet never flies more than 3 inches above or below the line of sight. It depends on bullet choice, velocity, and scope axis to bore axis.

To simplify, sight in two inches above at 100 yards and figure out how far you can shoot until you are 3 inches below line of sight. Many cartidges will get you out past 200 yards so hold over is not even a concern.

Nothing beats range time to find out how your rifle will shoot.

[Buzzcook]

practice.

If you know where you're going to hunt, go there and walk off some distances.
How does your target relate to known heights.

[hogdogs]

I learned "redneck range finding" since i was a kid... I walked up the side of pop's 18 wheelers pulling 48 foot trailers for a total of 55 feet or so to the door since I was a little kid.

Later in life in construction I came to the end of a 100 foot extension cord more times than I care to remember needing to reroute for that extra 5 or so feet.
String out a 100 foot cord (33 yards) and wrap it up or add more to it and you learn to look at the distance.

In fact, I suggest doing exactly that... Drag a cord and a marker out, drop the marker and drag on another 100 feet ... Looking back at the start point and walking to the start point and looking at your markers helps... Get to where you can close your eyes and amble on out to with in a few feet and your hold over adjustments will be greatly improved.

Or you can break out the master card and flop down the cabbage for a laser range finder. I just never liked adding gear to my already sparse carry items.

Brent

[phil mcwilliam]

I agree with the others in pacing out distances whenever you are out for a walk. I still sometimes pick a sign or tree in the direction I'm walking in & try and estimate the distance, then count the paces as I'm aproaching to see how close I was -& I've been hunting for 35 years.
Another thing I do if trying to estimate distance for a long shot over flat ground, is to try & visualize how many rugby fields(100 yards long) you could fit in the distance. For me its rugby fields, but pick something you are familiar with ,be it basketball courts,ice hockey rinks, or olympic swimming pools.

[Morgoroth]

Thanks, that is a lot of help.

I should have said but I have a Moss 500. So the range would be short for birds and longer for slugs. (I don't have a slug barrel just the 26inch smooth bore with the two beads. Still trying to find somewhere to shot that at more than 30yards which is what my back yard is.)

The 100 to 200 yard range I might get up to I will probably go with a friends 30-30. Maybe long range squirrel with my .22.

[Major Dave (retired)]

and bought a Bushnell Yardage Pro 600. So, for the last 3 or 4 years, whenever I am walking through the woods (not hunting, just scouting before season opens), I pick out an object, guess the distance, then range it with my range finder, to see how close I was.

You can stand in one spot, and range objects in all directions, getting 6 or 8 (or more) estimates, verifying the actual distances for comparison. Do this enough times, especially in the weeks just prior to season opening date, and you won't have to carry the rangefinder with you when you hunt.

However, long distance shots (anything over 300 yards IMHO) should not be taken using range estimates, because an error as small as 50 yards can mean 3 to 6 inches extra/less drop, resulting in an injured animal, especially if using round nose bullets, or using a cartridge with a muzzle velocity of less than 2700 - 2800 fps (approximately, give or take a hundred fps, or so).

As one previous post mentioned, for the first 200-250 yards of range, the exact distance is not particularly important, for centerfire RIFLE (not true of pistol rounds, as they start out at less than half the speed of rifle cartridges, with the result that they drop much farther at much shorter ranges).

[tachunter]

Depends on where I'm hunting, but even then I still always have my rangefinder. If I'm in the canyons it's a must though. Guessing the distance across a canyon is very challenging even for the veterans.

[bamaranger]

Now that we know, lets set the record straight.

A shot gun w/ slugs, particularly an everyday shotgun w/ a bead sight only, is NOT a 100 yd plus firearm. More like 75 max, 50 and less, better. Sure, it will kill past that range, the trouble is hitting.

Add a slug bbl w/ rifle sights and that will take you to 100 or so, w/ proper zero.

Add an optic and a rifled bbl, and you have a .69 cal. rifle, which will go to 150, I would think, but I have no experience w/ them. I would have to think that the mid range (height of slug ABOVE the line of sight at 75yds or so) would be tricky. That's only a guess.

As far as your friends 30-30 goes, most folks believe that the 30-30 is a 150 yd deer getter. But only if you can use the available sights to consistently hit a pie plate at that distance, under hunting conditions.

OK, I seem to have drifted from the OP. With your current arsenal, you don't need to worry much about 200 yd plus shooting, none of your guns are appropriate for that work.

To learn range, you have to practice ranging. Spend time out doors, estimating range, and then determining same by either pacing or laser.
Across voids, as in hollows, canyons or water is tough. Across the lay of the land, to 200-300 , can be learned fairly well. Beyond that is tough for most of us. There are many who believe that a shot at big game should be limited to 300 yds or so if at all possible.

Most folks who do not work at it , have no concept of range, and limited understanding of trajectory. I was in a deer club for many years that was cut by right of ways and allowed for much long range shooting at deer. Many more were missed than killed at distance much past 200.
The guys that connected, usually did so 'cause they understood distance and trajectory, and how to zero their rifles accordingly.

[HiBC]

Cross gulleys,prairie with no features,dawn odd light.All those make guess and gosh eyeball ranging shaky.

Even in an Infantry or Ranger handbook,the teach how to use the width of the front sight to measure range.

Most folks have a duplex reticle.All you need is a feature of known size in your reticle to compare to your target.

USGI snipers use their Mil-Dot scopes,not for Kentucky Windage,but to range the target.

You can have a very good idea,"Hold on and shoot" "Hold 8 in high" or "Its well over 300,get closer"

For grins,a 6 by 42 mm Leu has a 2 mil duplex,about 7 inches.
A 4x fixed Leupold has a 12 inch Duplex.

It just plain works,and it is no batteries,no extra motion,weightless...

Its just a skill.