Thread: longer range hunting

Hi guys i have a friend who has access to a very large property down the line with really good deer numbers so we are looking to head down before the stags drop so i can knock over my first red and hopefully my first stag(one animal would be ideal haha). I am running a tikka 308 with a 20" barrel and a hardy can mounted with a bushy 4200 elite 3-9 standard crosshair, now i am confident that the scope is up to the job power wise but i need to learn to shoot with bullet drop for the calibre unless i splash out on an early birthday present and grab a Nikon monarch or a vortex diamondback with the BDC reticles(use as a guide more than as a bible) so my question is how far out would you be confident shooting a big red with a .308? There is a lot of open country so most of the guys shoot with 300s and my mate uses a 6.5x55.
I have zeroed the rifle at 100m rather than 200m so in the bush i do not need to aim low.
regards

.308 is all the calibre you need. Practise with what you've already got as you're comfortable with it. Shot placement is key. If you're not happy with the shot don't shoot. That's the difference between a hunter and a shooter I reckon. Work out your bullet drop with your current zero at 250-300 metres so you know where it shots. You might need to alter your zero to 200 possibly. That's been the recommendation that I've seen. Also think of the K.I.S.S principle ...keep it simple stupid. Otherwise good luck n hot barrels.


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yeah not going to risk wounding an animal with a poor shot. I have considered 1"high @ 100m as the old 308 as great as it is doesn't shoot quite as flat as my old 7mm08 or 270 however cannot you (correct me if i am wrong)chuck a factory 180gr down either of those for extra knock down in close bush!

Once you no where its going doesn't matter how flat it shoots I out shoot most of my friends with a 16'' 308 I just no the rifle very well and trust that bullets going exactly where it went last time I shoot a 5-6ish'' gong at 500 I limit animals to 300 longest shot being 320 on a samber stag kills well you have all the gun you need

There is the method of sighting in high at 100m to maximise your Maximum Point Blank Range : What is “Maximum Point Blank Range” Hunting?
I am a firm believer of using a range finder for all shots past about 200m as humans are generally shit at accurately guessing distances. You can pic up range finders cheap as chips that will do out to 500m - or realistically your Maximum shooting distancd capability.
Finding a wounded animal is no fun, even more so when it has a 400m head start and it takes you 25mins to walk to where it started running from.

As always, practice, practice.

I would hesitate to shoot a red at 600 with a 308 if conditions were right and you were confident. But as above no need to push if your not there yet. Also do you load and what projectile that will change things

Originally Posted by robhughes-games

I would hesitate to shoot a red at 600 with a 308 if conditions were right and you were confident. But as above no need to push if your not there yet. Also do you load and what projectile that will change things

Wouldn'the hesitate sorry!phone spell check

Just use what you've got. Sight a couple of inches high at a hundred, or zero at 200m if you wish. Hold dead on the shoulder out to 250m, or just below top of shoulder at 300m. The vast majority of deer are shot within 200m anyway. And 300m is a long shot under normal hunting conditions for most hunters - even for the most experienced. At 300m under hunting conditions, your rifle will shoot better than you'll be able to. Don't worry about different loads for different scenarios, find one that shoots well through your gun and just go hunting. Or just buy some factory ammo that shoots well through your rifle. A 308 is a great all rounder for hunting in NZ, you don't need fancy loads. Iuse one load through my 280 from 5 metre shots on deer in the bush, to 600 metre shots on tahr in the mountains. A well place shot has the same result. For your first deer I would be placing more emphasis on the stalk rather than the shot - there is a lot more to shooting a deer than just putting one on the deck at long range. Get in close and experience the hunt.

Originally Posted by JoshC

Just use what you've got. Sight a couple of inches high at a hundred, or zero at 200m if you wish. Hold dead on the shoulder out to 250m, or just below top of shoulder at 300m.

+1. If an opportunity is available then re-zeroing for 200m would be more forgiving of error in estimating the range out at 250-300m. If you find the elevation adjustment is repeatable then the click count can be used to switched between for bush and open country from then on.

All good advice, i would add get realtime experience on gongs or paper out to what you think is your max comfortable range. I have gotton into the habit of shooting a ladder every time i change projectile or powder. I use a 1 metre piece of cardboard with an 8 inch diamond painted on, and starting at 100 go back to 300 firing 2 or more shots at each 100. After that i go back in 50s to 450 (as far as i can get at home). Using the same poa in every case and not dialling between strings i measure the drops and compare them with streloks figures, mostly they match if not i believe the shot result. First thing this taught me is wind is a bigger factor than drop and that while you can accurately compensate for distance wind is more a best guess and that more than distance decides if i shoot or not.

yeah i would prefer to bush stalk as i have only shot fallow so far which have been on the back of farms. Lots of open ground down there so just want to be prepared

Pick me up on the way past kuzzy

I think the OP question is how far away can you be and still kill the animal.

Honestly, the bullet is not the limitation, it's the shooters ability.

Enjoy your practice leading up and make sure you write a story afterwards!




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I'm not a 308 expert, but I can tell you that it depends on the projectile, ambient weather and your ability.

Someone might chime in, but i'd have thought an Amax or sst would be the way to go at range, or maybe a berger. Reloading is a must.

If you were confident hitting steel at a certain distance, maybe half that will be your animal distance?

I can be confident on steel at 1000m but not first shot. I've missed chamois at 80m with that same gun - so go figure.

Chris

I've got s similar rifle. It had a 3-9x40 VX2 on it. I used that out to 400 yards with 130 Barnes projectiles.
On a Sika hunt I had a shot at a stag at 450 and for me that was too far with that scope. I've since upgraded to a VXi 4-14 with a CDS, with a softer projectile I reckon it should be good out to 500 for me.
Others probably further...