At what range do you typically take deer? - Page 3

shortwave · April 7, 2012, 12:02 PM

Averages:

bow= 15-25yds
pistol= 15-50yds
shotgun= 40-75yds
b/p= 40-75yds

Jo6pak · April 7, 2012, 01:23 PM

I hunt in the bluff country of western WI.
Between the hills and the timber, we can rarely SEE more than 200 yards, often more like 100.
Almost all of the deer I have killed have been shot at less than 75 yards. My longest kill was a 160ish yard shot thru the engine room of a large doe a few years ago.

viciouskitty · April 8, 2012, 12:28 PM

For the one deer I've taken in my life the shot was about 160 or so yards with a 30-06, I have missed a few deer before that some being as close as 100 yards buck fever really affects me and that's that I'm practicing a lot lol

cdmckane · April 8, 2012, 04:33 PM

I hunt overlooking a 10acre pasture with good clover. My average shot is 100-130 yards. Longest was 155.

PawPaw · April 8, 2012, 06:55 PM

Most of the deer killed in our woods are under 100 yards. However, there are enough clear-cuts and bean fields that a goodly percentage are killed over 100 yards. My deer stand look over a pipeline crossing that is a measured 130 yards from my stand. I killed three deer from that stand during the 10-11 hunting season.

Art Eatman · April 9, 2012, 07:14 AM

My daddy, he killed deer so far off he had to put salt on the bullet so the deer wouldn't spoil before he got to it.

Sorry. Just a character defect.

oldmanFCSA · April 9, 2012, 08:58 AM

While I do not hunt anymore due to medical reasons, when I did hunt, 50 yards was a long shot with a shotgun & deer slugs. With a 243 centerfire rifle, my longest was 175 yard headshot.

As a 50BMG owner and competitor of long range, I hear all kinds of reports of shooting game animals at extended ranges out to 1400+ yards. I do NOT agree with this type of hunting! Too many misses, too many injured animals, too many assumed misses with injured animals crawling off to die miserably.

Now some will strongly disagree with me, because they use a 5 man crew and a special benchrest piece of equipment setup for long range shooting and have 3 very powerful scopes setup to find and verify shots are properly made. BUT the vast majority of shooters do not know their ballistics properly to know where the bullet will impact at that range.

With modern rifles, scopes, and cartridges, the range YOU shoot is determined by the range YOU know YOU can make a safe humane kill.

Art Eatman · April 9, 2012, 10:25 PM

By and large, I doubt that many hunters who are not dedicated shooters can figure the range and the wind--or trajectory--beyond 300 yards.

FWIW, Jeff Cooper wrote that he didn't want to have to take a shot on a game animal out beyond 300.

MOshooter65202 · April 9, 2012, 11:41 PM

It's always best to take the closest shot possible,but the plan doesn't always go that way.I hunt some very large bean fields with fence rows, draws,and creeks on a large farm,the shots might be 20 yards on out to 506 for my longest shots taking 2 deer in the same field. I try and set up for the closest shots possible within 100 yds,but have taken many in the 300-400 yard range...Did I say I love my 7mm mag.

Keg · April 10, 2012, 02:55 AM

Quote:

My daddy, he killed deer so far off he had to put salt on the bullet so the deer wouldn't spoil before he got to it.

I'll have to remember this un......

Holman · April 14, 2012, 09:15 PM

In the Pine Trees of East Texas ( New Salem, Good Springs, Minden) white tails can be shot with a 12 guage, 30-30, or a .243, most shots are less than 100 yards but on some occasions you can reach out to about 150 - 200 yards.

Quote:

My daddy, he killed deer so far off he had to put salt on the bullet so the deer wouldn't spoil before he got to it.

Lol

langenc · April 15, 2012, 02:08 PM

My deer have been less than 100 yds.

Many of those 250-400 yard shots are really in the 100-125 range if accurate measurements were made.

Powerlines can certainly be long. Why not pass on those shots and try moving closer to where the deer are crossing. Less crippling that way.

glocktwotwo · April 15, 2012, 02:15 PM

Thats a tough one to answer,,it depends on your rifle the terrrain the bullets and the weather,,i have friends that have taken deer at 300+ yards and ond friends that have taken deer at 50 feet..the best one was a buddy taking a doe on the run with a 20 guage slug while the doe was on the run. And it was a head shot

ELarsen · April 15, 2012, 07:46 PM

My longest shot -- was a pronghorn at around 100 yds

WT deer in IA -- 40 yds w/ a muzzle loader

WT deer in IL -- longest was 45 yds, shortest 15 yds. Muzzle loader and shotgun slugs.

Farther away than 50 yds on my buddies property and you might be able to see that it is a deer, but too many trees to see the whole thing.

azwizard · April 15, 2012, 11:12 PM

I grew up in NW Michigan and I used to only take 15-20 yards for Bow, 25 yards max for Pistol (.357), 75 yards for BP (Hawken) and 100 yards for Rifles.

Moved to Arizona for 17 years and changed my mind. Mind you I've practiced and made these shots. In Phoenix the Archery butts go all the way out to 100 yards! The pistol has long range silhouettes to 200 and the rifle range runs out to 300.

So I've since made shots on Mulies out to 84 yards with my bow. Avg is 40 yards. Same pistol, practiced on the 200 yards silhouettes and longest shot ever taked out west was 135 yards. Got a new Muzzeloader (Disc Extreme in .52 cal) and killed a Whitetail in Michigan at 225 yards. Mule Deer with my 7 mag at 330 yards. And while the OP only asked about Deer, I did make one shot on a Colorado Elk at 411 yards with the same 7 mag. I only took that shot because I had a boulder for a rest and I lasered the Elk to know the exact range and my 7 mag shoots right on my ballistics table to 350 yards. so I aimed at the top of the shoulder blade and touched' er off.

But in all of these I'd have prefered to be closer. In Colorado and Arizona there isn't usually much to hide behind for a slow stalk so you move fast and take the shots that are offered when you can.

In 35 years of hunting I've only lost one Deer, a whitetail in Michigan with my Hawken at about 60 yards. Blood trail ran out after 200 yards and it died crossing the river. I tracked it to the river but didn't find it then. I did find it in the spring though.

CCCLVII · April 16, 2012, 09:41 AM

With most people shooting at ranges less than 200 yards I am surprised so many people use small light bullets rather than slow heavy bullets.

Its not until about 200 yards that making a shot with a round like the 450 marlin becomes difficult for most shooters.

black mamba · April 17, 2012, 03:22 PM

I've killed deer with handgun, shotgun slug, muzzleloader and centerfire rifles over a 30 year period. I just went back through all my notes, and found the longest shot was 200 yards with a .270, and the shortest was 45 yards with a 44 mag handgun. The average for all of them came to a hair over 92 yards.

Last year I passed up some does walking by me seated on the ground at 6 yards, and also passed up the largest buck I've ever seen in the wild at 575 yards. I spotted him with binoculars laying in a honeysuckle thicket along a fencerow way across a large open field. I could have got to about 400 yards of him, but I was armed only with a shotgun and a revolver, so I just marked the spot for this coming year. Hope he survives to give me another chance!

April 7, 2012, 01:23 PM	#52
Jo6pak Senior Member Join Date: August 5, 2010 Location: West Coast...of WI Posts: 1,663	I hunt in the bluff country of western WI. Between the hills and the timber, we can rarely SEE more than 200 yards, often more like 100. Almost all of the deer I have killed have been shot at less than 75 yards. My longest kill was a 160ish yard shot thru the engine room of a large doe a few years ago. __________________ NRA Life Member, SAF contributor.

April 8, 2012, 06:55 PM	#55
PawPaw Senior Member Join Date: December 24, 2010 Location: Central Louisiana Posts: 3,137	Most of the deer killed in our woods are under 100 yards. However, there are enough clear-cuts and bean fields that a goodly percentage are killed over 100 yards. My deer stand look over a pipeline crossing that is a measured 130 yards from my stand. I killed three deer from that stand during the 10-11 hunting season. __________________ Dennis Dezendorf http://pawpawshouse.blogspot.com

April 9, 2012, 08:58 AM	#57
oldmanFCSA Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2010 Location: WISCONSIN Posts: 283	Long range hunting - opinions While I do not hunt anymore due to medical reasons, when I did hunt, 50 yards was a long shot with a shotgun & deer slugs. With a 243 centerfire rifle, my longest was 175 yard headshot. As a 50BMG owner and competitor of long range, I hear all kinds of reports of shooting game animals at extended ranges out to 1400+ yards. I do NOT agree with this type of hunting! Too many misses, too many injured animals, too many assumed misses with injured animals crawling off to die miserably. Now some will strongly disagree with me, because they use a 5 man crew and a special benchrest piece of equipment setup for long range shooting and have 3 very powerful scopes setup to find and verify shots are properly made. BUT the vast majority of shooters do not know their ballistics properly to know where the bullet will impact at that range. With modern rifles, scopes, and cartridges, the range YOU shoot is determined by the range YOU know YOU can make a safe humane kill. __________________ OldmanFCSA = "Oldman" at www.fcsa.org FCSA Member, SCSA Member, NRA Member, & AMA Member "Oldage & Treachery will overcome Youth & Skill"

April 15, 2012, 07:46 PM	#64
ELarsen Member Join Date: February 23, 2010 Location: northern IL Posts: 19	Il woods -- can't see that far My longest shot -- was a pronghorn at around 100 yds WT deer in IA -- 40 yds w/ a muzzle loader WT deer in IL -- longest was 45 yds, shortest 15 yds. Muzzle loader and shotgun slugs. Farther away than 50 yds on my buddies property and you might be able to see that it is a deer, but too many trees to see the whole thing.

April 15, 2012, 11:12 PM	#65
azwizard Member Join Date: February 25, 2008 Location: Formerly AZ, but now Northern Michigan Posts: 62	I grew up in NW Michigan and I used to only take 15-20 yards for Bow, 25 yards max for Pistol (.357), 75 yards for BP (Hawken) and 100 yards for Rifles. Moved to Arizona for 17 years and changed my mind. Mind you I've practiced and made these shots. In Phoenix the Archery butts go all the way out to 100 yards! The pistol has long range silhouettes to 200 and the rifle range runs out to 300. So I've since made shots on Mulies out to 84 yards with my bow. Avg is 40 yards. Same pistol, practiced on the 200 yards silhouettes and longest shot ever taked out west was 135 yards. Got a new Muzzeloader (Disc Extreme in .52 cal) and killed a Whitetail in Michigan at 225 yards. Mule Deer with my 7 mag at 330 yards. And while the OP only asked about Deer, I did make one shot on a Colorado Elk at 411 yards with the same 7 mag. I only took that shot because I had a boulder for a rest and I lasered the Elk to know the exact range and my 7 mag shoots right on my ballistics table to 350 yards. so I aimed at the top of the shoulder blade and touched' er off. But in all of these I'd have prefered to be closer. In Colorado and Arizona there isn't usually much to hide behind for a slow stalk so you move fast and take the shots that are offered when you can. In 35 years of hunting I've only lost one Deer, a whitetail in Michigan with my Hawken at about 60 yards. Blood trail ran out after 200 yards and it died crossing the river. I tracked it to the river but didn't find it then. I did find it in the spring though. __________________ Was that 5 or 6? So do ya feel lucky punk? Well do ya....

April 7, 2012, 12:02 PM	#51
shortwave Senior Member Join Date: December 17, 2007 Location: SOUTHEAST, OHIO Posts: 5,970	Averages: bow= 15-25yds pistol= 15-50yds shotgun= 40-75yds b/p= 40-75yds

April 8, 2012, 12:28 PM	#53
viciouskitty Senior Member Join Date: August 6, 2010 Location: South Texas Posts: 316	For the one deer I've taken in my life the shot was about 160 or so yards with a 30-06, I have missed a few deer before that some being as close as 100 yards buck fever really affects me and that's that I'm practicing a lot lol

April 8, 2012, 04:33 PM	#54
cdmckane Member Join Date: April 8, 2012 Location: Locke, NY Posts: 76	I hunt overlooking a 10acre pasture with good clover. My average shot is 100-130 yards. Longest was 155.

April 9, 2012, 07:14 AM	#56
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	My daddy, he killed deer so far off he had to put salt on the bullet so the deer wouldn't spoil before he got to it. Sorry. Just a character defect.

April 9, 2012, 10:25 PM	#58
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	By and large, I doubt that many hunters who are not dedicated shooters can figure the range and the wind--or trajectory--beyond 300 yards. FWIW, Jeff Cooper wrote that he didn't want to have to take a shot on a game animal out beyond 300.

April 9, 2012, 11:41 PM	#59
MOshooter65202 Senior Member Join Date: February 16, 2011 Posts: 471	It's always best to take the closest shot possible,but the plan doesn't always go that way.I hunt some very large bean fields with fence rows, draws,and creeks on a large farm,the shots might be 20 yards on out to 506 for my longest shots taking 2 deer in the same field. I try and set up for the closest shots possible within 100 yds,but have taken many in the 300-400 yard range...Did I say I love my 7mm mag.

April 15, 2012, 02:08 PM	#62
langenc Senior Member Join Date: August 19, 2007 Location: Montmorency Co, MI Posts: 1,551	My deer have been less than 100 yds. Many of those 250-400 yard shots are really in the 100-125 range if accurate measurements were made. Powerlines can certainly be long. Why not pass on those shots and try moving closer to where the deer are crossing. Less crippling that way.

April 15, 2012, 02:15 PM	#63
glocktwotwo Member Join Date: February 13, 2012 Posts: 78	Thats a tough one to answer,,it depends on your rifle the terrrain the bullets and the weather,,i have friends that have taken deer at 300+ yards and ond friends that have taken deer at 50 feet..the best one was a buddy taking a doe on the run with a 20 guage slug while the doe was on the run. And it was a head shot

April 16, 2012, 09:41 AM	#66
CCCLVII Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2012 Location: Idaho Posts: 432	With most people shooting at ranges less than 200 yards I am surprised so many people use small light bullets rather than slow heavy bullets. Its not until about 200 yards that making a shot with a round like the 450 marlin becomes difficult for most shooters.

April 17, 2012, 03:22 PM	#67
black mamba Senior Member Join Date: September 13, 2011 Location: SW Florida Posts: 890	I've killed deer with handgun, shotgun slug, muzzleloader and centerfire rifles over a 30 year period. I just went back through all my notes, and found the longest shot was 200 yards with a .270, and the shortest was 45 yards with a 44 mag handgun. The average for all of them came to a hair over 92 yards. Last year I passed up some does walking by me seated on the ground at 6 yards, and also passed up the largest buck I've ever seen in the wild at 575 yards. I spotted him with binoculars laying in a honeysuckle thicket along a fencerow way across a large open field. I could have got to about 400 yards of him, but I was armed only with a shotgun and a revolver, so I just marked the spot for this coming year. Hope he survives to give me another chance!