10-05-2007, 03:41 AM
[left]Adding my experiences is as good as adding my oppinion. You have yours. And I'm glad it's that way. I have mine. Contrasting? Oh yeah. You bet ya.[/left]
Those distance shots? Forced. Big bucks are smart. Desert deer? Even smarter. Most years the DWR even says shots out in the west desert are long, so be prepaired. No offence, but I don't know of too many people who've killed 30" bucks the last 10 years, and multiple 30"ers at that. Not you, nor anyone else I know. And these are legit 30"ers, all taged and taken durring those magic two weeks at the end of October.
400 yards is the average. That's with any wind, any conditions. 600? Pushing it, even for me. Wind kicks bullets around, about 1" per mph of wind. 800 or above? Ideal conditions. For sure. But again, seen it done. Done it myself. The buck in question my dad hit at 940. Want the specifics? We spotted him from a cliff line. Pretty much dead down hill(kinda helps with the drop, too.) The buck was bedded down. No wind, bright, clear morning. One shot, the buck never moved. End result?
[center][inline "dad's 33.jpg"][/center]
(I'd post kill pics, but I don't have a scanner, and I'm in no hurry to show my hunting area off, either.)
Compensation for drop? Easy. About 1 1/2' high at 100 yards. At 500, around a 1.5' drop. 800+, 5.5'. Exact. Nice little decending cross hairs inside the scope for easy marking. Dead center is 100, first down is 300, 500, 700, and finally 900. Exact. Perfect. No 'test' shots. Just one shot, or two if the first didn't do the job. Usually does, but still.
If I wasn't confident about killing a buck, not just wounding it and letting it get away, I wouldn't take a shot. Last year for the first year EVER I had an animal get away. The first year ANY of my hunting party has had ANY deer we've hit get away. I didn't take another shot at any other animal. I looked for that one buck. Found his skeleton this year about 2 1/2 miles away while I was chukar hunting. Took out a right front shoulder, and he still went that far.
So go ahead. Bash away. But I'm still going to take my shots. Because I know I can do it, and ethically.
Those distance shots? Forced. Big bucks are smart. Desert deer? Even smarter. Most years the DWR even says shots out in the west desert are long, so be prepaired. No offence, but I don't know of too many people who've killed 30" bucks the last 10 years, and multiple 30"ers at that. Not you, nor anyone else I know. And these are legit 30"ers, all taged and taken durring those magic two weeks at the end of October.
400 yards is the average. That's with any wind, any conditions. 600? Pushing it, even for me. Wind kicks bullets around, about 1" per mph of wind. 800 or above? Ideal conditions. For sure. But again, seen it done. Done it myself. The buck in question my dad hit at 940. Want the specifics? We spotted him from a cliff line. Pretty much dead down hill(kinda helps with the drop, too.) The buck was bedded down. No wind, bright, clear morning. One shot, the buck never moved. End result?
[center][inline "dad's 33.jpg"][/center]
(I'd post kill pics, but I don't have a scanner, and I'm in no hurry to show my hunting area off, either.)
Compensation for drop? Easy. About 1 1/2' high at 100 yards. At 500, around a 1.5' drop. 800+, 5.5'. Exact. Nice little decending cross hairs inside the scope for easy marking. Dead center is 100, first down is 300, 500, 700, and finally 900. Exact. Perfect. No 'test' shots. Just one shot, or two if the first didn't do the job. Usually does, but still.
If I wasn't confident about killing a buck, not just wounding it and letting it get away, I wouldn't take a shot. Last year for the first year EVER I had an animal get away. The first year ANY of my hunting party has had ANY deer we've hit get away. I didn't take another shot at any other animal. I looked for that one buck. Found his skeleton this year about 2 1/2 miles away while I was chukar hunting. Took out a right front shoulder, and he still went that far.
So go ahead. Bash away. But I'm still going to take my shots. Because I know I can do it, and ethically.