300 yard hunting rifle accuracy?
- Thread starter shorttrac
- Start date
nowarningshot
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Hit a pie plate or a loaf of bread at your hunting distance....with a caliber with good terminal performance at that distance.
Dont forget a fry pan and onions.
Dont forget a fry pan and onions.
Sometimes. Sometimes the sneaking is just trying to make a 1/2 mile into a 1/4 mile shot with the game fully aware of your presence. Sometimes it's across bald-ass prairie, and sometimes we have to wear a Santa Claus suit while we're doing it.
I personally Wil not shoot any distance without a solid rest. Free hand shots at anymore than say 50 yards are low percentage for sure. Most long range shots I make are prone or from my knee with my back supported. For me shooting for groups is just an excuse to try different loads and do lots of shooting. Tighter groups are just my reward. Start to finish I really only needed maybe 10 shots to go from mounted scope to 4" group at 300. Instead I've likely put 50 down and intend to try more to see if my already use able groups will improve.
All this talk of hunting accuracy and distance to shoot, is amusing to me, because I grew up in the boondocks of northern Saskatchewan in the era of the great depression, where families either lived quite well, or nearly starved, depending on how good the hunter of the family was at getting big game.
The 30-30, invariably a model 94 Winchester, was the rifle that other hunting rifles were judged by. Rifle sights were almost never changed and checking the sights never occurred, unless they got badly moved, or the shooter missed when he should have hit. A common way to check the sights was to make a blaze on a green tree with an axe, get back about fifty yards, take a steadying rest of some type and fire a shot. A hit on the blaze, or close miss, would get the comment, "That's good enough." and he was away for year in and year out hunting. If the hit was a bit higher than he liked, he would murmur that he would have to take a finer bead.
One hunter that I knew had a 351 Winchester self loading, a cartridge considered very marginal for deer by todays standards. He once bought a box of 20 shells for it and when the box was empty he had killed nine moose.
After the meat hunting days for survival were over, a fellow told me he had killed thirty moose with his 30-30. I asked him how many he had wounded? He thought a while, then answered, I can't think of any that got away wounded!
The meat hunter in our family was a brother, fifteen years older than me. Deer were scarce and didn't figure into meat hunting. My brother cut a notch into the spacer on the butt of his rifle when he got an animal, a medium notch for an elk and a larger notch for a moose. I remember the meat era was far from over when he had thirty notches and said he was quitting cutting notches for game killed.
My brother was also one of the few hunters who chose animals for the quality of their meat. It was amazing the choice elk he got, usually a fat, dry cow. Even in the dead of winter or early spring, there was usually a good eating animal, if the hunter could find it.
The very best meat hunter I ever heard of, for selecting a good eating animal, was an elderly Native Indian. I know for a fact that he once belly crawled up to, virtually within, a herd of about twenty elk at daylight on a winter morning. To the consternation of the white hunter who was with him, but watching from a distance, the Indian just stood up and let the elk scatter in every direction. When he returned to the white man he simply stated, "No good meat that bunch." Later in the day the Native shot, for my friend the white hunter, what he stated was the best elk he had ever eaten!
And this is how that good tasting animal came about. My friend had a team of horses and sleigh and he and the Indian hunter were driving on a trail in rolling country in the bush. The Indian said, "stop the horses," as he took my friend's rifle and told him to wait. After a while there was a shot and the Indian returned, saying to follow his tracks and the Native said he would now go squirrel hunting, as he took his 22 rifle and left. My friend followed the tracks and on figuring out the shot, said the elk he shot was the furthest away from the hunter, of the four animals.
The Indian had smelled the elk from the sleigh, because my friend said the elk had not crossed the trail and were completely out of sight, when the Indian said to stop the horses!
The 30-30, invariably a model 94 Winchester, was the rifle that other hunting rifles were judged by. Rifle sights were almost never changed and checking the sights never occurred, unless they got badly moved, or the shooter missed when he should have hit. A common way to check the sights was to make a blaze on a green tree with an axe, get back about fifty yards, take a steadying rest of some type and fire a shot. A hit on the blaze, or close miss, would get the comment, "That's good enough." and he was away for year in and year out hunting. If the hit was a bit higher than he liked, he would murmur that he would have to take a finer bead.
One hunter that I knew had a 351 Winchester self loading, a cartridge considered very marginal for deer by todays standards. He once bought a box of 20 shells for it and when the box was empty he had killed nine moose.
After the meat hunting days for survival were over, a fellow told me he had killed thirty moose with his 30-30. I asked him how many he had wounded? He thought a while, then answered, I can't think of any that got away wounded!
The meat hunter in our family was a brother, fifteen years older than me. Deer were scarce and didn't figure into meat hunting. My brother cut a notch into the spacer on the butt of his rifle when he got an animal, a medium notch for an elk and a larger notch for a moose. I remember the meat era was far from over when he had thirty notches and said he was quitting cutting notches for game killed.
My brother was also one of the few hunters who chose animals for the quality of their meat. It was amazing the choice elk he got, usually a fat, dry cow. Even in the dead of winter or early spring, there was usually a good eating animal, if the hunter could find it.
The very best meat hunter I ever heard of, for selecting a good eating animal, was an elderly Native Indian. I know for a fact that he once belly crawled up to, virtually within, a herd of about twenty elk at daylight on a winter morning. To the consternation of the white hunter who was with him, but watching from a distance, the Indian just stood up and let the elk scatter in every direction. When he returned to the white man he simply stated, "No good meat that bunch." Later in the day the Native shot, for my friend the white hunter, what he stated was the best elk he had ever eaten!
And this is how that good tasting animal came about. My friend had a team of horses and sleigh and he and the Indian hunter were driving on a trail in rolling country in the bush. The Indian said, "stop the horses," as he took my friend's rifle and told him to wait. After a while there was a shot and the Indian returned, saying to follow his tracks and the Native said he would now go squirrel hunting, as he took his 22 rifle and left. My friend followed the tracks and on figuring out the shot, said the elk he shot was the furthest away from the hunter, of the four animals.
The Indian had smelled the elk from the sleigh, because my friend said the elk had not crossed the trail and were completely out of sight, when the Indian said to stop the horses!
I tell you, stories like have me convinced that yonger generations like mine will ever be as tough as those past. Heck, my grandfather re-shingled his roof at the age of 86.
Personally, I would be willing to try a 300m shot MAX if I was completely comfortable my rifle and knew exactly how many clicks to dial on the scope. I have a .223 that will shoot close to half MOA at 300m but I can ony say that confidently after developing a very consistent load that I've chrony' dans run through ISnipe then confirmed with real-world shooting. I'll be getting a .308 hunting rifle andplan on doing the same thing over the summer to make sure that if the opportunity presents itself, I can take a long distance shot ... But as mentioned in previous posts, the conditions need to be ideal i.e. Rifle is on a backpack or in shooting sticks.
Personally, I would be willing to try a 300m shot MAX if I was completely comfortable my rifle and knew exactly how many clicks to dial on the scope. I have a .223 that will shoot close to half MOA at 300m but I can ony say that confidently after developing a very consistent load that I've chrony' dans run through ISnipe then confirmed with real-world shooting. I'll be getting a .308 hunting rifle andplan on doing the same thing over the summer to make sure that if the opportunity presents itself, I can take a long distance shot ... But as mentioned in previous posts, the conditions need to be ideal i.e. Rifle is on a backpack or in shooting sticks.
For hunting purposes a 4" group is perfectly fine for big game. But in the off season I like to get some target practice in so I try to get into a 1.5" group or better just to challenge myself. My main hunting rifle is a Browning A-Bolt 7mm Rem Mag
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
I continually get told I am wrong when I state that hunting rifle accuracy and target rifle accuracy are two different entities , even after I mention that people like Bill Shehane and the
Great Warren Page have been quoted as stating the same ! ( those young fellas not familiar with the names should google these two)
I have known several nationally and Internationally ranked shooters who would not think twice about hunting with a rifle that was capable of only 2" , five shot groups at 100 yards but the key is to know when to shoot and when to get closer .
a rifle that is easy to carry and consistently shoots 4" at 300 yards with me shooting it is a great hunting rifle in my books!
Cat
Great Warren Page have been quoted as stating the same ! ( those young fellas not familiar with the names should google these two)
I have known several nationally and Internationally ranked shooters who would not think twice about hunting with a rifle that was capable of only 2" , five shot groups at 100 yards but the key is to know when to shoot and when to get closer .
a rifle that is easy to carry and consistently shoots 4" at 300 yards with me shooting it is a great hunting rifle in my books!
Cat
Last edited:
I have rifles that shoot 1 1/4" groups @ 300 yards and rifles that average 6" groups @ 150 yards (ghost ring sights Marlin 1895GS in 45-70).
I don't take shots @ 300 yards with the 1895GS my limit is 150 yards cause it is not a 300 yard setup.
Well said cat I agree 100% with this statement.
I don't take shots @ 300 yards with the 1895GS my limit is 150 yards cause it is not a 300 yard setup.
Well said cat I agree 100% with this statement.
