Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

Longest Shot on a game animal

Crawled up through the scrubby sage and cactus and took a 185 yard shot on a bedded antelope buck. I took the shot because I thought I was closer, but couldn't get the range finder on him. He never moved from his bed, so it worked out, delicious. Ranged the distance after the shot.
Off the shelf, unmodified Savage Axis II in 30.06 with Nikon 3-9x40 with 125 grain Nosler ballistic tip.

Drew the tag again this year so really looking forward to getting back out there.
 
The longest shot that I've ever taken on any animal was my second big game animal, a 5x5 bull elk back in 1965. I was hunting with one of my college roommates in NW Colorado. We were high on a ridge when I spotted that bull and a half dozen cows in the valley below us. I told my roommate that I was going down to the valley and try to get in front of them. I hadn't gone 10 yards and my roommate took a shot at them so I sat down to also shot. My rifle was a sporterized .30-40 Krag that I had borrowed from my Uncle. It had open sights and at that range the front bead completely covered the bull. I ended up chasing that bull for over a mile and shot at him a total of 13 times before I finally killed him.

Since that first elk, I have tried to get as close as I can to the animal before I shoot.

A few years after that first elk I made my shortest shot on a big game animal, another 5x5 bull elk, that I killed with a 10 yard shot on a spot and stalk hunt with one arrow from my recurve bow.

So now after over 50 years of big game hunting of more that 200 big game animals in my home states of Colorado and Montana and several other western states and many international hunts, and other than that first bull elk, I can only think of 4 animals that I have shot that were over 300 yards.

The first was a Gemsbok bull in South Africa that we spent over an hour trying to get closer before I finally sat down and used one leg of the shooting sticks as a rest, and dropped him with a 348 yard shot with a 270 grain Barnes TSX bullet from my .375 RUM.

On that same South African trip I also shot a Bontebok antelope at 310 yards, again with my .375 RUM and 270 grain TSX bullets. Unfortunately my first shot wasn't perfect which resulted in a long tracking chase and a finishing shot.

Next was a Pronghorn antelope in eastern Montana that again I couldn't get any closer to than 340 yards. I was shooting my .257 Ackley with 115 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets. My first shot dropped him but didn't kill him and he also needed a finishing shot.

And finally a few years ago I shot a Dagestan Tur in Azerbaijan with a 180 grain Barnes TTSX from my .300 Weatherby. Those are the steepest mountains that I have ever hunted in, and the nearest tree or brush was several miles below us. The ridge line above the basin that we were in was the border with Russia. Just before sunset on the next to the last afternoon, two bulls fed into that basin. I ranged them at 327 yards, dialed the turret of my Leupold VX 3i scope to that distance and took a prone shot. As soon as I recovered from the recoil I saw my bull tumbling down the side of the mountain in a cloud of dust. It was pitch black when we recovered him at the bottom of the valley, and I was happy to see that my bullet had hit exactly where I had aimed.

The longest shot that I took on my Dall ram or any of my Bighorn rams or my Mountain goat was 206 yards on the Dall ram. All of my sheep were one shot kills with 117 grain Sierra Spitzer bullets from my .257 Ackley.
 
570 yards on cow elk. Savage 300WSM, 180 E-tip, Vortex HS-t 4-16x with Harris bipod. I was snooping around an area I couldn't quite see below where I had been glassing. As the sun hit the hillside, I caught movement of dozens of 13 county hunters that saw something I couldn't. Just then 6 elk popped out of a small timber patch to my right. No legal bulls but I had a cow tag so I pinged them with a rangefinder and dialed based on my drop chart. Bullet travel at that distance is around .75 seconds which was enough time for her to turn slightly because she must have seen me. Shot was back but hit lungs and diaphragm. She spun around and stood still not knowing what happened. Shot 2 was about 1 inch high and left of heart. She slid 40 feet upon impact. I believe impact velocity was approaching minimum expansion velocity for E-tips which is what pushed me towards Hammer Bullets (there they came up in a thread again ;) )
 
That's good shooting I can't hit a coyote on the run to save my ass. I think I'm usually shooting out in front if them idk. I always carry the 22-250 and my 10 gauge. If I call in a pair I shoot the far one first with rifle then work on the close one on the run with the shotgun. Works out pretty good MOST of the time.
I’m not as good as I used to be. I used to shoot lots of coyotes mainly trap them all now and the calling isn’t real good here so that doesn’t help either. That one winter I shot 17 running coyotes. Only shot a handful of runners last year. But with all my practice I have no hesitation shooting running big game. I have done it a lot
 
I’m not as good as I used to be. I used to shoot lots of coyotes mainly trap them all now and the calling isn’t real good here so that doesn’t help either. That one winter I shot 17 running coyotes. Only shot a handful of runners last year. But with all my practice I have no hesitation shooting running big game. I have done it a lot
I'd take a long range shot at big game before I would throw lead at a runner. mtmuley
 
Does prairie dogs count? I’ve shot them further out than any big game animal. Longest one I took I missed the first time and whacked him the second.
 
344 yards on an elk. Hit 2x, but still required follow up. Ruger M77 .300 Winchester Magnum. Redfield 2-7 scope. Nosler 180 gr Partition (Federal Premium)

325 yards on an antelope , Same rifle. First shot was lethal.

I've killed more animals under 99 yards than over 200.
 
Longest shot for me is 402 yards. Antelope buck, standing broadside. I was prone and took the shot using my pack as a rest. First shot missed, dusted the hair on top of his back. He spun 180 degrees, so broad side again, second shot was dead on, he took one step and dropped. 270, Leopold vx-3 4.5x14, 130 grain Nosler Accubond. 400 yards is my personal limit on shooting game.
 
I wanna puke at this thread. Is longest shot and calling it a personal best make you feel good? How about closest shot. That's way cooler and worth bragging about!
 
I wanna puke at this thread. Is longest shot and calling it a personal best make you feel good? How about closest shot. That's way cooler and worth bragging about!
Puke away. Antelope at 703 yards. Remington .300 Ultra Magnum. 200 grain Accubond at 3200 fps. Shot him, he spun 360 and I shot him again. Double lunged him both times. Awesome. Bull elk, 42 yards. Same rifle, same load. That settle your stomach? mtmuley
 
My longest shot was about 425 on an "off-range" oryx, big broken horned bull so a large target. Shot was taken under some duress, didn't have a great rest, hit him a bit high and he ran off in the yuccas a few hundred yards. Took me awhile to find him and finish him off. Dall sheep at 380 would be next longest, much smaller target but had plenty of time and a good rest, he dropped in his tracks. Both with 300 WSM and 150 gr Xps. I'm all for getting closer, but sometimes you take what you get.
 
440 yards back before range finders. Knew it was a square 40, 1/4 mile x 1/4 mile. Whitetail buck with a .264 Winchester mag. Dropped him in his tracks. Thought I held lighting in my hands.
Wish I still had that rifle.
 
About two hours before the shot I called my buddy at work because I had forgotten my rangefinder. He pulled up the field I was in on the GIS and I had him give me the distance to a couple different spots in the field. The other side was 350 yards away. Five minutes before close the buck walked several steps straight into the field before feeding and eventually turning broadside. I double checked the ballistics on my phone, defogged the scope, and eased into the trigger. One shot at last light from a standing position off the bipod. By the time I got picked up and walked over to the impact site it was dark. I walked about 20 yards in the direction he was headed and he was laying there. He was standing 20 yards into the field when I shot.

So, 2.5 year old whitetail buck at 330 yards. Browning BAR in 7mm mag with a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40 and 150 gr Federal Power Shoks.

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And for those that have been triggered, a 10 yard shot a on a 410 pound black bear with a 12 ga Remington, a bead, and slugs
 
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I wanna puke at this thread. Is longest shot and calling it a personal best make you feel good? How about closest shot. That's way cooler and worth bragging about!
My shortest shot was at 3 yards on the ground at a cow elk with a recurve bow. I wasn’t wearing a loincloth so I don’t know if I get style points or not.

This isn’t a bragging rights thread. Europe asked a question and wanted to hear responses. We responded. Sorry if that offends you, Felicia. 😉
 
350 yds sitting and shooting off my pack at a sheep across a canyon so I didn't have much of a choice to get closer. I would like to be proficient out to 500 as I had multiple opportunities at game in the 400yd range but did not feel comfortable with it. I think what's most important in terms of "Long Range" hunting is knowing your limit on a living animal and to stick with that max range.
 
I wanna puke at this thread. Is longest shot and calling it a personal best make you feel good? How about closest shot. That's way cooler and worth bragging about!

Just because your equipment or your ability isnt capable doesn't mean that other people can't do it ever day of the week. Take a deep breath, swallow a chill pill and just hit the ignore button
 
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