I am super impressed that you so much better at shooting than all of your buddies!!! In the colonial days people did not have much trouble shooting deer with smooth bore muskets at 50 yards or less. When I hear of people taking shots at game from 350 to 700 yards the first thing I think is that you must be a pretty lousy hunter if you can't get any closer than that.
243 for big game at 300-350 yards?
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I am super impressed that you so much better at shooting than all of your buddies!!! In the colonial days people did not have much trouble shooting deer with smooth bore muskets at 50 yards or less. When I hear of people taking shots at game from 350 to 700 yards the first thing I think is that you must be a pretty lousy hunter if you can't get any closer than that.
That made me smile it did, oddly enough, I've been able to get everyone under 50 yds on their deer tags and under 100 on their pronghorn, I no longer pull a tag for lack of challenge, but regularly enjoy the long distance varmint popping. And every bullet I test, every load I work up, and every bit of practice year around makes me confident enough to not say silly generalizations like the YouTube heroes that need to be taken with several grains of salt but instead acknowledge that if you don't have squat for cover, limited time to fill a tag, and the shot is farther than conventional norms would predict, then yes stretching the distance may be required, so be responsible and practice accordingly or else pass on the shot and go home empty handed.
I wonder how many were wounded and lost? you don't hear those tales.
Lousy hunters loose animals, I've seen way more animal lost at less than 100yds than i have over 200.
It's a lot easier to say "It's 396yd, That's too far, I can't make the shot" than to say It's "125yds....that's too far". Or "that animals a little two angled to make a clean hit"
If you can't make those distinctions, the .243 isn't the round for you....and neither is bow hunting.
live targets in general may not be for said individuals, I've told told several gentlemen to either put in more practice or not come back next year, chasing down critters wounded by .280s or .30-06s (yes at 40 yards even) just proves distance and cartridge discussions mean less than the mindset of the guy working the trigger. My neighbor wounding 3 deer at various distances with a spray and pray mentality is much more irritating than the guy who drills the vitals at 500 yds with 1 shot that wasn't rushed.
Perhaps they should shoot 50s or 75s
I've hunted with accuracy by volume folks, it's kinda expected with new hunters and how we hunt sometimes.....they usually learn pretty quick that having 5 deer run off, and spending the next 6hrs looking for them sucks pretty hard. Sucks worse having shot one, or more, on a ridge that tumble into a gulch and having to go back to the highway to walk back up the valley.
Ya learnt things either from watching others, or by doing.
Chose your equipment, and shoot wisely....or suffer, your choice.
mustanger98
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The part about archery brought Fred Bear to mind... as I recall, he was famous for sneaking up to about 15' before releasing his arrow.
I've said it plenty of times now... 200yds is a long shot in my part of the country and most shots are within 100yds. As far as picking the shot for angle, it's just like waiting for the deer to step out from behind the trees or bushes. Bottom line... PATIENCE... wait and see what the deer does next... that's the key to the whole thing.
Nature Boy
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yes it does
Not for just the guy that missed but for all the guys that have to spend time with him wandering the country side helping him look for it.
Varminterror
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Losing deer to bad shots isn’t something unique to the 243win, nor to 350yrd shooting.
I tend to find most guys I know using a moderate cartridge and most guys I know who are capable of shooting sufficiently well to kill deer at 350yrds are responsible enough to manage themselves. I know plenty of guys who run magnums who can’t hit a pie plate at 200yrds, and can’t tell the difference between 180 and 280 yards - nor do they understand anything about wind management. Yet they walk into the woods every winter with a poorly zeroed rifle and under-practiced skills, to gut shoot deer.
I tend to find most guys I know using a moderate cartridge and most guys I know who are capable of shooting sufficiently well to kill deer at 350yrds are responsible enough to manage themselves. I know plenty of guys who run magnums who can’t hit a pie plate at 200yrds, and can’t tell the difference between 180 and 280 yards - nor do they understand anything about wind management. Yet they walk into the woods every winter with a poorly zeroed rifle and under-practiced skills, to gut shoot deer.
Yeah, luckily most folks are only that guy once, if ever.
whatnickname
Member
Thanks. I really debated on whether or not I wanted to take him. The double brow tines clinched the deal. I’ve got problems with both knees and there would just have been no way I could have dragged him in and out of the three ravines that separated us. He was definitely out cruising for a doe. Grunted at him twice and he came to me like he was on a string. I just love it when a plan comes together.
whatnickname
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Yeah. I see this bunch at the range about the first of October every year. Their protocols run something like this:
Go to Bass Pro or Cabelas. Buy 100 rounds of whatever is on sale. Make sure you buy the heaviest bullet you can get your hands on, cause we all know that the heavier the bullet the harder it hits. Most of these guys are shooting some kind of belted magnum.
Go to range to sight in. Make sure you bring your three piece aluminum cleaning rod. 100 rounds go down range in less that 30 minutes. One of them hits the X ring and boy are they happy. Then get your bronze bristle brush...Make sure you put solvent on it and aggressively scrub that barrel back and forth. No need to pass the brush all the way out of the end of the muzzle...just scrub. Remove solvent and aluminum shavings from inside the barrel. Put enough oil in the barrel to run a Volkswagen. Ready for deer season and dang those heavy bullets are the best thing in the world for brush shots. Don’t worry about seeing the deer. If the brush moves just shoot. This bunch also loves skyline shots at 1500 yards, cause everyone knows those extra heavy Magnum bullets can kill stuff in the next time zone!
mustanger98
Member
Using a grunt call is another thing not everybody really knows how to do, and to do it well. I've killed more bucks being quiet. Back when I tried calling, by dumb luck I sometimes got younger bucks to come out, but I also had bucks go the other way. You have to understand the deer well enough to know what sound you're attempting to replicate, and to do it at the right time. Otherwise, at least some of the time, the deer probably think you sound like a dummy blowing on a piece of plastic.
mustanger98
Member
I hope you're exaggerating. That's as painful to contemplate as varminterror's description.
For one thing, these people seem to have no clue what's going on in a hot barrel. No clue about accuracy from a clean cold bore, much less a slightly dirty cold bore.
I mentioned PATIENCE back up thread... "uhhhhhhh... whuzzaaaat?"
I'm not even going to ask how they passed the hunter safety test.
whatnickname
Member
I wish I was exaggerating. I look at some of these folks and wonder who ties their shoes for them!
and most of them arnt idiots.
hunting is a one or two day a year experience for them so they don't bother to learn much beyond. "Deer, der!"
or as one of my buddies says "OOOOOooooo!"
I've said it before, he's a very good dog, but not a great shot and knows it. he hunts quite a bit, or used to, but doesn't shoot very offten.
I'd loan him any of my guns, including stuff that I wouldn't loan to other friends who are better shots, because he's very aware of his limitation......
then there's another friend who isn't a very good shot, but is gonna shoot anyway.
He gets the biggest thing he can shoot, since I KNOW he's gonna shoot, and the slower my target the better....it always surprises me when something goes belly up on the first round.
mustanger98
Member
Yeah, and then there's one of my neighbors... like coming up this year we get four doe days for modern firearms season... every time a doe day rolls around this guy's like "RRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!".
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