FloorPoor Wrote:Personally, I typically only shoot big game animals from a range of 300yds or less. I apply this rule to 7mm rem mag as well. I will only push it a bit further if conditions are perfect. This rule of thumb seems especially good for the Grendel. Beyond 300yds, you need to know your trajectories and ranges exactly. Beyond 400, velocities and energy drop rapidly, as do bullets.

Long range "hunting" is unethical. At some point it becomes shooting instead of hunting. If you're not 100% confident of a clean kill with your first shot, use the terrain to stalk closer.
Cartridges designed for long range target work aren't necessarily the best choices for cleanly killing large animals at long ranges. Since the Creedmore craze began, I've found several rotting mule deer who were gut shot and not recovered. It sickens me.

FloorPoor Wrote:Personally, I typically only shoot big game animals from a range of 300yds or less. I apply this rule to 7mm rem mag as well. I will only push it a bit further if conditions are perfect. This rule of thumb seems especially good for the Grendel. Beyond 300yds, you need to know your trajectories and ranges exactly. Beyond 400, velocities and energy drop rapidly, as do bullets.

When a slight mistake in bullet drop/windage estimates could potentially wound an animal, instead of cleanly kill it, it's the cutoff.
Beyond 400yds, it doesn't take much wind to turn a heart shot into a gut shot. At that range and beyond, you had better be practicing A LOT, at various ranges, from multiple positions, and you had better be using a good projectile that will perform at that velocity. Just because you can consistently ring a 500yd gong from a bench rest, it doesn't mean you can hit the same shot, after a long climb, using your pack or a rock for a rest. Animals hit perfectly sometimes travel awhile before expiring. I don't pull the trigger unless I am very confident that I can recover the animal.

Long range "hunting" is unethical. At some point it becomes shooting instead of hunting. If you're not 100% confident of a clean kill with your first shot, use the terrain to stalk closer.
Cartridges designed for long range target work aren't necessarily the best choices for cleanly killing large animals at long ranges. Since the Creedmore craze began, I've found several rotting mule deer who were gut shot and not recovered. It sickens me.

FloorPoor Wrote:Personally, I typically only shoot big game animals from a range of 300yds or less. I apply this rule to 7mm rem mag as well. I will only push it a bit further if conditions are perfect. This rule of thumb seems especially good for the Grendel. Beyond 300yds, you need to know your trajectories and ranges exactly. Beyond 400, velocities and energy drop rapidly, as do bullets.

When a slight mistake in bullet drop/windage estimates could potentially wound an animal, instead of cleanly kill it, it's the cutoff.
Beyond 400yds, it doesn't take much wind to turn a heart shot into a gut shot. At that range and beyond, you had better be practicing A LOT, at various ranges, from multiple positions, and you had better be using a good projectile that will perform at that velocity. Just because you can consistently ring a 500yd gong from a bench rest, it doesn't mean you can hit the same shot, after a long climb, using your pack or a rock for a rest. Animals hit perfectly sometimes travel awhile before expiring. I don't pull the trigger unless I am very confident that I can recover the animal.

Long range "hunting" is unethical. At some point it becomes shooting instead of hunting. If you're not 100% confident of a clean kill with your first shot, use the terrain to stalk closer.
Cartridges designed for long range target work aren't necessarily the best choices for cleanly killing large animals at long ranges. Since the Creedmore craze began, I've found several rotting mule deer who were gut shot and not recovered. It sickens me.