Shooters and Hunters: What's Your Best Ever Distance / Accuracy Personal Record?

[georged]

Fortunately/unfortunately, we were taught to spread our rounds so as to enlarge the hydro-static shock so our, police targets, were usually man sized. I strove for hits in the "kill zone" and a hand's width separation with the handgun. We strove for accuracy and not score. So I was never all that grand except with long guns. We'd often shoot at the end of shift for who purchased the coffee.

Ever do any IPSC stuff on your own, or get sent to Gunsite for training?

 

[warren]

Nope, I sent my Sergeant to Gunsite though. He came back a believer. That was back in the early 70's. Sgt. Poss reformed the Department's firearms training around their curriculum.

 

[RookieGuy80]

While still in the military, I went 39/40 at the target range one time with my M-16. The targets were all 75-300 meters out. Maybe not as impressive as some crazy mile long distance or some wacky impossible trick shot, but everyone except the sergeant major was thrilled.

 

[obc83]

Haven't done a whole hell of a lot of distance shooting but one time when I was packing up I nailed my 6" steel at 100yds first try with my .40 cal Beretta. Second through tenth tries were not quite as spectacular. I seem to do better in general when I don't think too much.

 

[jaytex1969]

I seem to do better in general when I don't think too much.

@obc83 wins the internet today. See y'all tomorrow...

 

[troutface]

I've shot elk in the woods with a rifle at 25 yards, but that is not very common. Out here in the west you are more likely to be shooting at 200 yards or more in wide open country. I try to keep it under 300 yards because that is my comfort level. Wounding animals is an ugly business. I worry that with the craze in long distance shooting there are unqualified shooters taking these 900 yard shots and crippling animals, though I don't think anyone is collecting the data to prove this. There are definitely hunters that can make those shots consistently and I applaud them for their skill and effort in achieving that.

 

[anantaandroscoggin]

When I was a kid, one of our neighbors from up the road on Temple Hill reported that when he came around the edge of a bramble of brush, he came face-to-face with a buck. He clonked the buck over the head with his rifle barrel, took a step back, and filled his deer tag for that season.

Many years later, I was the pointer in Mount 51 (a 1944 mfg General Motors 5"/38) during my second or third trip to GTMO Refresher Training when we not only blew the sleeve off the cable some miles downrange (with *pouf* charge VT projectiles at that), the fire control radar began walking the point of aim up the tow cable towards the aircraft before they could call Cease Fire. The pilot radioed a thanks for relieving his aircrew from wrangling the sleeve back aboard after reeling in the mile or so of cable. Our weapons officer (an Ensign) replied "We Aim to Please."

 

[obc83]

@obc83 wins the internet today. See y'all tomorrow...





View attachment 251916

I want to thank all the little people...

 

[romaso]

 

[tbradsim1]

 

[tbradsim1]

Son bought this, he puts down coyotes and hogs for his friend a large acre farmer, makes very long shots, I used to be very good at birds in flight, now I couldn’t hit the side of a barn with a shotgun.

 

[tbradsim1]

Will try and find setup pics!

 

[tbradsim1]

Setup

 

[huntertrw]

I seem to do better in general when I don't think too much.

As one of my Instructors at the Remington Shooting School was fond of saying, "Don't think, SHOOT!"

---

 

[El Capitán]

I don't hunt with a firearm but I've killed a deer at 90yds with my longbow. I also hunt boar with a spear. Nothing get the adrenaline going like a charging 300lbs+ animal charging you and sticking it close range.

 

[rsshreck32]

2021 rifle season here in PA. Shot this doe at about 425 yards with a custom .257 Weatherby Mag with 100 gr Hornady bullet. Leupold 4.5-14x scope. I was hunting for this shot and the doe showed up.

 

[rsshreck32]

I once shot my largest antelope at a distance that I surprised myself with. I don’t know how far it was but 6-700 yards would be my guess. Wind was clipping along, it was shoot or don’t and never get a second shot. The area I hunt is wide open and the antelope will run when they see you a mile away. They have 8x vision by the way. I held several feet above the critter and my vertical crosshair on the edge of its ass and touched it off. Speed goat dropped, couldn’t believe when I walked up and the shot landed square in the vitals. Some might think a shot like that is irresponsible but sometimes it just feels right, and it’s a delicate animal that doesn’t require much to bring down. Also antelope is the finest table just short of beef. And by far the most unique animal in the west, they’re a treasure and true conservation through hunting story. View attachment 251551

Well done sir. Good windage adjustments

 

[VDL_Piper]

In the 1970's and 80's shooting was my primary mission in life. (Mostly handgun, but significant rifle, and some shotgun.) I was better at it than anything else I ever did, before or since, by a large margin.

Lots of stories to tell from those days.

Never shot again after 1987 (for all practical purposes) until recently, when a friend invited me to his rural lake property for a grill out and some recreational shooting.

Given what time does to human bodies I was curious how a 35-year layoff might have manifested itself, so didn't want to only plink pop cans and etc. I wanted to actually measure it.

So, paper targets were brought along.

When using group sizes as a measuring tool, the rule is "three shots has a significant luck component; five shots is 95% reliable; and ten shots never lies"... So, ten shot groups were the contest, 25 measured yards the distance, and .22 rimfire pistolas the weapon.

We had so much fun the first time that we did it again the next summer, then a third time a few months later.

The last target is only the center that's been cut out, because the group contained a called flyer.

That first time I just wanted to see if I could remember which end of the barrel to point downrange; the second time I wanted to beat the previous year; and the third time I was determined to see if I could go under half an inch. (which, if the flyer is discounted, I did)

That‘s a fine grouping mate, you can be very proud of those targets and even proud’er of the fine grill cooked too. If I was running away from you and you called out “stop or I’ll shoot” I’d stop immediately based on those groupings

 

[Tbaggins]

2021 rifle season here in PA. Shot this doe at about 425 yards with a custom .257 Weatherby Mag with 100 gr Hornady bullet. Leupold 4.5-14x scope. I was hunting for this shot and the doe showed up. View attachment 256900 View attachment 256902

Such an awesome caliber. I have a thing for Weatherby cartridges. Current hunting rifle is a 300 Wby.

 

[Gimlet]

The furthest distance I've ever shot live quarry was whatever range I felt 100% certain of killing it and not shooting it in the guts or blowing its jaw off. Never over 400 yards, usually under 300. I don't use live animals for target practice. That's what gongs and bits of paper are for. I've shot 600 yard ranges a few times but after blowing away two boxes of ammunition and putting them all in the same square foot of paper I got bored.
Never shot further than 600 yards on a range because my centrefire rifles are lightweight hunters and not really designed for that.

The best fun I've ever had with a rifle didn't involved long range at all. It was on a plinking range against reactive targets with a semi-auto .22.
Semi-autos bring out the child in me. My first rifle was a Krico semi-auto .22. It was supposed to be a rabbit control gun, but too many rabbit hunting trips degenerated into plink-fests where I went home with a pile of empty cases and no rabbits after banging off three boxes of ammo seeing how far away I could keep chasing some tin can I'd found.
Nowadays I stick to bolt action and a bit more discipline..