Average Hunting Shot Distance

NonPCnraRN · Post by **NonPCnraRN** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:17 am

I got to thinking about the 2 topics re the 30-30 Can/Can't do it all. The main detractors cited trajectory and retained energy as the major limiting factors. Now thinking back over your entire hunting experience, what was the average range that shots at game presented themselves? In Kalipornia you can find land as flat as a pancake and shots at 300 yds would be a minimum. In other areas you can be in timber so thick you can't turn around unless your rifle is pointed straight up. The first deer I ever killed was with a custom 257 Roberts my dad built at a paced 400 yds. This was witnessed by my dad and 3 others. The gentleman who owned the ranch said: "That was a 400 yd shot. But for the record it was 375 yds because I'll be darned if some snot nosed puppy dog 20 y/o is going to hold the record for the longest shot on this ranch!" I think it was partially skill (my dad was an NRA instructor) and lady luck. I felt good about my first deer, but it didn't seem to be "hunting". So back to the question. What range do shots usually present themselves the majority of the time and would a 30-30 suffice? My safe has numerous custom guns built by my dad, but the gun that has killed more deer than all the Sierra Club members have ever seen is my grandfathers 94 Winnie built in 1917. The stock is scarred, the bluing is just highlights on the metal and it wears a Redfield receiver sight. It will keep all shots on a paper plate at 200 yds. It has no lawyered safeties and the trigger breaks like a glass rod, although the gun has never been worked on. The bottom of the action is contoured to be easy in the hand and a joy to be carried. And I guess because it's coming up on Father's Day, I feel Grandpa and Dad looking down on me and smiling when I carry that gun in the woods, whether it's fired at a deer or not.

Post by **Hobie** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:25 am

I'm guess that mine have been 25-90 yards. Around here you have to look for a place to make longer than 200 yard shots (safely).

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:33 am

My primary hunting gun is my .357... if that tells you anything.

I'm sure it would be a fine Gobln Wounder at 200-250yds, but why? I hunt Irons only and sub 100 is my goal.

More than that (out to 200) is for Elk and Gongs... and the .45-70

deerwhacker444 · Post by **deerwhacker444** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:38 am

Hunting in Oklahoma, my longest shot was taken last year with my muzzleloader at about 90 yards. Most other shots have been 50 or less. Without a doubt, a Lever 30-30 could have killed every deer I've ever taken.

Grizz · Post by **Grizz** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:39 am

an average being what it is, half the shots are closer and half are farther, I'd say about 40 yards.

kudos on your 400 yard shot. I've never taken game that far out, but I could hit that far out with my Dad's .270 WM. Ah to be young and have eagle eyes, eh?

ceb · Post by **ceb** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:42 am

Here in southern Illinois were I hunt, we can't use centerfire rifles for deer. My longest ever shot on a deer was about 90yds with a open sight muzzelloader. It would be rare to have an opportunity longer, unless the corn was picked!

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:48 am

Mine have ranged from 40 yards to over 400 yards. The majority of my shots around here have been 250-300 yards.

I guess there exists a difference of what "hunting" means to different folks. I "hunt" for meat, so use what gives the the most options for that goal. I "experience the outdoors" on a daily basis. I see deer and antelope daily, and see elk and other larger animals regularly. I walk in the hills with a rifle daily. I roam around where the grizzlies live generally on a weekly basis in summer or whenever the high country is accessible, and try to spend at least a couple weeks camping in the high country in summer, sometimes more.

I describe my "hunting" as mercenary, I go for meat. I get my "outdoor experience" on a regular basis. For many, their hunt is their major outdoor experience, and they want to add as much feeling to it as they can. Part of the feeling is the gun they use. I do that as well, but my "evil modern scoped not-a-real-hunter rifle" is a sporterized 1903 Springfield, or a Mauser sporter generally. I appreciate the beauty and history of them almost as much as a good Winchester.

I say use what you like, we don't have to try to justify it by denigrading anyone elses choice or experiences. I can only chuckle when some attempt this. I know of some very good hunters that have never used anything but a scoped bolt gun, but know far more about game, their habits and life, the mountains, horse packing, and outdoor living etc than the vast majority of us. They simply choose what they consdier to be the best tool for their use. I don't care what they use, I applaude their skill and experience.

Sorry for the soapbox rant, but this inevitably comes up, the "scoped bolt gun guys aren't real hunters" sentiment. It gets tiring, and is divisive. We're all in this together.

cnjarvis · Post by **cnjarvis** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:55 am

The majority of my deer have been taken between 200 - 300 yards across a wheat field.

My closest shot was at 7 yards with a bow. Longest was 320 with a 270 Win.

TedH · Post by **TedH** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:11 am

It depends on the area of the farm I am hunting. My longest shot to date was 320 yards. Shortest would have been measured in feet. I match the rifle to the stand I am hunting that day.

Travis Morgan · Post by **Travis Morgan** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:12 am

Shots in my neck of the woods are all either real close, or over 200 yards. I never seem to get middle distance shots.

86er · Post by **86er** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 11:20 am

Over 25 years or so I shot 400 big game animals with a 7mm Rem Mag. I am averaging out the distances recorded in all my notes, although I am lacking mention of distance in about 115 instances. So with about 285 shots at various animals throughout the world my average is 146 yards. The ranges vary greatly from the longest 420 yds on an antelope to the closest 14 yards on a bear. Let me factor in the 30WCF. I will exclude all of the shots beyond 200 yards. I am also excluding any animal over 100 yards that had a live weight of more than 400 pounds. That leaves 196 out of the 285 shots that the 30WCF most likely could have handled. That's almost 69 % that could have been handled by the 30WCF.

Fast forward to 2005 when I retired the ole 7 Mag and started using the 45-70 regularly and other rifles occassionally. Up to this point I had never used a caliber other than the 7 Mag with the exception of handguns, muzzleloaders and shotgun slugs or bow. For simplicity, I will included all the calibers I have used since 2005, which include 308 Win, 45-70, 45 Colt, 50AK, 221 Fireball and 450/400 3", but not included are the handgun, mzldr, bow and slugs. There are 58 animals to included. I will remove animals based on the same criteria above. That leaves 28 animals. More were removed here because I have shot many more bears, large bovine, and other big animals in the last 3 years than in any other equal time period. Still that leaves 48 %.

If I try to include the mzldr and handgun animals (which the 30WCF is certainly capable on the type of animals I used them on) I would add around 30 animals. I used the mzldr and handgun mostly when required law, ie: rifles not permitted. I did shoot some large stuff and some longer range stuff that could easily have been pushing the limits. So here I would come up with 90%.

So there is a solid 69 % overall of my hunting that could have been accomplished with a 30 WCF under the right conditions and with good shot placement (as always).

shawn45 · Post by **shawn45** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:29 pm

My closest shot has been about 25 yards with my 45 and the longest was 225 yards with a scoped 30-06. Most of my shots are 50-60 yards with a scoped 454,

NonPCnraRN · Post by **NonPCnraRN** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:31 pm

Malamute wrote: Sorry for the soapbox rant, but this inevitably comes up, the "scoped bolt gun guys aren't real hunters" sentiment. It gets tiring, and is divisive. We're all in this together.

Malamute: If my post gave the impression that hunters who use bolt guns aren't real hunters, I apologize. Like I said I was proud as could be with that 400 yd shot. I even think about times when I wish I'd have bought that Model 70 Featherweight in 308. I have a 2.5x8 Leupy that would look real nice on one. I think the Featherweight was one of the classiest production rifles ever produced. You are right about hunting being the skill to bring game home, by whatever means. Since this was a LG forum I was just trying to get a consensus from you guys about the ability of the 30-30 to handle the shot opportunities most of us will encounter. By the way that 400 yd shot was paced off by a rancher with short legs and before laser rangefinders! My father was a NRA hunter safety instructor and competitive rifle shooter and I give him credit for my ability to shoot. As for 2 100 gr .25 cal Sierras from a 257 Roberts hitting a deer that far away......Lady Luck was smiling .... twice!

Idiot · Post by **Idiot** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 12:51 pm

Malamute said it well and I agree with him.

I've hunted with scoped magnum rifles all the way down (in range) to handguns and use whatever seem right for the hunt. If I think that the game I'm hunting may require a long shot (150 yds plus), I'll carry a scoped bolt rifle. If I think my shots will be in the brush and limited to 100 yards or less, I'll take a iron sighted carbine. And when I'm bored with rifles, which I usually am, I'll take a handgun and figure I might be eating fish sticks for a while. I consider all of these situations hunts and my activity hunting.

JDL · Post by **JDL** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:10 pm

My first deer was taken in 1968 at 315 long strides in a soy bean field. The following week in an ajoining field another hunter made a bad shot on a doe and I killed her as she was getting away at 285 long paces. Then I quit hunting the fields and started hunting the thickets. The rest have been less than 100 yards with the exception of one in a clear-cut about 8 years ago at a lazered 125 yards. I have only killed six elk. The futherest was about 125 yards, one about 75 yards, and the rest were around 50 yards. So, with the exception of the first 2 deer, I could have used a .30-30 on all but, I have never taken a head of game with it, which is something I feel must be corrected this year.
JDL

horsesoldier03 · Post by **horsesoldier03** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 1:35 pm

The longest shot I have ever taken was approx. 200 yrds. My average shot would fall about 75 yrds and the shortest would be about 25 yrds. Those 25 yrd shots tear up alot of meat, even when take with a 30-30.

dr walker · Post by **dr walker** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 5:39 pm

As far as deer go my farthest shot has been 110 yards, most of them have been 30-60 yds, The one area I hunt I see many deer cross an old logging road 200-300 yds out, but there seem to be plenty crossing closer as well, so I have only shot at them.

I watched a big Mule Deer buck slowly walk out along a ridgeline, I was using a 45X spotting scope and he was magnificent. I rolled over took the caps off and cranked the power knob all the way up on my scoped 30-06. I could not hold still my heart was pounding so hard. My finger never even touched the trigger. I could not hold the rifle in prone steady enough to keep the cross hairs on the entire deer. After a couple of minutes the deer spooked and sprang off the other way. That was the first time I put the rifle down and looked with my own eyes. It was a really long shot, later determined with a laser to be 900 yards. That was the first time I ever experienced Buck Fever via spotting scope and it gave me a new understanding of being "lost in the scope"

I love deer hunting, whether it is a snowy morning stalk in woods heavy with silence or sitting below a ridge with the sun behind me using binoculars and spotting scopes, I love deer hunting.

Old Time Hunter · Post by **Old Time Hunter** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 6:37 pm

Malamute wrote:Mine have ranged from 40 yards to over 400 yards. The majority of my shots around here have been 250-300 yards.
I guess there exists a difference of what "hunting" means to different folks. I "hunt" for meat, so use what gives the the most options for that goal. I "experience the outdoors" on a daily basis. I see deer and antelope daily, and see elk and other larger animals regularly. I walk in the hills with a rifle daily. I roam around where the grizzlies live generally on a weekly basis in summer or whenever the high country is accessible, and try to spend at least a couple weeks camping in the high country in summer, sometimes more.
Sorry for the soapbox rant, but this inevitably comes up, the "scoped bolt gun guys aren't real hunters" sentiment. It gets tiring, and is divisive. We're all in this together.

Nothing against the bolts, I even have a few, but for me I believe "hunting" is different than harvesting. I'd betcha my life long average is probably 61.2 yards give or take an inch or so, 'cause measuring the distance didn't have much importance to me as much as just get'n as close as I could. Taken many critters with a .30-30 from 'yotes to Moose...yep even one from over 300 yards(just because I could and the city feller I was with said it couldn't be done without a scope...poppycock!), they all have gone down. I've taken 13 Whitetail, one Black Bear, and one big Bull Elk across the Clark Fork up in the Bitter Roots all with a '94 Trapper chambered for .44 Mag. That Elk shot was probably at least 8 to 10 yards away, 'course when we spotted him the night before he was at least 6, 7, even a 1000 yards away. Took all night crawling across the Clark Fork and lay'n in the bull rushes till around seven in the morning when he came out of a spate of trees to get a drink and darn near walked over me laying on my back. Did that all on a dare from an experienced "hunting" guide that commented when we spotted that Elk the night before "if you can get that Elk with that little Trapper, your hunt'n for free". Guess I am trying to say, it ain't the gun.
Got a cousin that headed for mountains after coming home from 'Nam back in '68, grabbed a .30-30 Monkey Ward on the way. He has taken just about everytype of critter from El Paso to darn near Fairbanks work'n as a guide and professional hunter, never used noth'n but that .30-30. He broke the stock by the wrist 20-30 years ago, still held together with a couple of bolts and duck tape, rear sight (home made ghost ring) is epoxied to the front of the receiver and he'll still blast beer cans from almost any distance that he can see. He's a tad bit over 60 now and starting to slow, says he'll have to start spending more time in Wyoming, where men are men and sheep are nervous.

Borregos · Post by **Borregos** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:02 pm

In 25 years of deer hunting in the thick bush of eastern Ontario I have never had to take a shot at more than about 30 yards!!

Malamute · Post by **Malamute** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:19 pm

NonPCnraRN wrote "Malamute: If my post gave the impression that hunters who use bolt guns aren't real hunters, I apologize."

No, it wasn't you, I was jumping the gun. Those comments seem to always show up in discusions of various ranges and types of guns, it did in the "30-30 can't do it" thread, and has numerous times in the past. It's almost as bad as some Marlin vs Winchester threads.

tman · Post by **tman** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 8:31 pm

i hunt in brush country. 100yards is a long shot. i'd rather hunt with a bigbore 94 than anything else. if i ever find a repro-blunderbuss, i;d like to take a turkey with one.

Bigahh · Post by **Bigahh** » Fri Jun 13, 2008 9:44 pm

40 yards in my neck of the woods with a rifle. 15 yards with a bow

El Chivo · Post by **El Chivo** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:27 am

I've only had one shot and it was at 15-20 yards.

Many of my sightings would have been shots between 30 and 75 yards, with the longest being 175 (if they had been bucks).

Bullard4075 · Post by **Bullard4075** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 3:56 pm

Thanks Old IronSights ... I thought I was alone in hunting with a 357.

In over 30 years of hunting out west here where the horizon is far away my longest shot was .........................
.......................about 220 yards. Every year I ponder which gun to use and practice three and four hundred yard shots.
Almost every year my deer drop inside of 100 yards. Many inside 50 to my 357.
My 220 yard shot was a doe running directly away up a hillside --so I had her whole back exposed-- and was witnessed by my pastor.

I assume we are talking big game here . With my 257 Roberts 40 deg Improved or 22/250, coyotes are in trouble if I can see them.

rjohns94 · Post by **rjohns94** » Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:34 pm

All my game has been under 100 yards, most under 35 yards.

roundup · Post by **roundup** » Sun Jun 15, 2008 1:58 pm

Over 57 years of hunting in several states and various species of "big" game, using bolt and lever guns I will present the following:

Antelope (one) 404 yds.
Bear (one) 95 yds.
Deer (many) 20 to 330 yds
Elk (several) 40 to 180 yds

Average deer= 90 yds
Average elk= 75 yds

Deer were taken in more open country. Elk in rougher terrain. Most on both species were standing shots. Most were with one shot but with some notable exceptions!

Firearms: 45/70, .35 Rem., 30-06, 7MM Rem. Mag, most with 30-06.

t.r. · Post by **t.r.** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:48 pm

I've been hunting in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota for many years. These distances are fairly common for me year after year.

- mule deer: 125 yards or so

- antelope: 275 yards or so

- elk: 175 yards or so

- prairie dogs: 125 yards or so

- coyotes: 75 yards or so

- turkey: 150 yards or so

I dearly love my 30-30 carbine(s) for hunting mulies in the forests and foothills. But it stays in the rack for hunts of the other animals listed on this post.

TR

Old Ironsights · Post by **Old Ironsights** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 1:54 pm

t.r. wrote:

I've been hunting in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota for many years. These distances are fairly common for me year after year.

- mule deer: 125 yards or so

- antelope: 275 yards or so

- elk: 175 yards or so

- prairie dogs: 125 yards or so

- coyotes: 75 yards or so

- turkey: 150 yards or so

I dearly love my 30-30 carbine(s) for hunting mulies in the forests and foothills. But it stays in the rack for hunts of the other animals listed on this post.

TR

Ok...
I grew up in Lander and can certainly understand your point with Elk & Pronghorn... but 'dogs & 'yotes? I'd still be using my .357 for them... definately a .30-30 with a light bullet if I had one.

Post by **Old Savage** » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:23 pm

That picture is one of many that would illistrate the problem of how far would you shoot and how far is far.

Scum Frog · Post by **Scum Frog** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:34 am

In my years of hunting in Ontario I have never had to take a shot at more than about 100 yards!
This includes deer hunting in thick bush to farmers fields and moose hunting in clear cuts that are 1000 yards or more long.

Travis Morgan · Post by **Travis Morgan** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 10:27 am

Old Ironsights wrote:
t.r. wrote:

I've been hunting in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota for many years. These distances are fairly common for me year after year.

- mule deer: 125 yards or so

- antelope: 275 yards or so

- elk: 175 yards or so

- prairie dogs: 125 yards or so

- coyotes: 75 yards or so

- turkey: 150 yards or so

I dearly love my 30-30 carbine(s) for hunting mulies in the forests and foothills. But it stays in the rack for hunts of the other animals listed on this post.

TR
Ok...
I grew up in Lander and can certainly understand your point with Elk & Pronghorn... but 'dogs & 'yotes? I'd still be using my .357 for them... definately a .30-30 with a light bullet if I had one.

Load up some accelerator rounds, then see what ya think of the '94 for those others. NOT Elk, obviously! For them, I prescribe 180-200 grain bullets.

One major factor is to load each bullet to it's potential, not just for accuracy, but for expansion too. The bullet manufacturer will tell you at what velocity the bullet performs best.

AndyM · Post by **AndyM** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 1:59 pm

Most of my shots here in Pennsylvania at deer average about 75 yards or less. This year was different - I shot a doe with my in-line T/C muzzleloader across a field at about 125 yards. It was not a really hard shot - was in a tree stand and the in-line had a 2-7x leupold on it. The closest shot I can recall at a whitetail was less than 10 yards with my archery equipment. The black bear a few years ago was under 50. My longest big game shot was an antelope in WY in 1997 that was about 300 yards and let me tell you it was strange shooting that far - felt (to me) more like shooting than hunting...

buckeyeshooter · Post by **buckeyeshooter** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:03 pm

I hunt Ohio, Pa. and Kentucky for deer. Bear hunting is done in Pa. and I have hunted Idaho.
I have shot 119 deer. Longest shot lasered at 134 yards. Shortest shot 12 feet. Average I would guess at 30 yards.
Longest bear shot 230 yards, shortest 6 feet average 20 yards.

AJMD429 · Post by **AJMD429** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 5:35 pm

Shortest distance was with a rifled slug 12 gauge, 4-16x scope, that shot sabot slugs (240gr .429dia) into 5-shot 2" groups at 100 yards, and I shot a deer directly underneath my stand maybe 8 feet from the muzzle.

Longest distance wasn't really hunting, but a coy-dog (wild dog coyote mix) I shot at 130 yards was heart-shot with a .44 Mag Super Blackhawk using gold bead front and V-notch rear sights.

So much for "using the right gun for the right distance," huh...

piller · Post by **piller** » Wed Jun 18, 2008 6:11 pm

Shortest shot was a deer with a Rem 700 in .270 at maybe 20 yards. I was jumpy as he was a heavy bodied buck, and I didn't remember to check out the distance until after getting him up the hill to the road. He jumped almost 30 yards after being shot and piled up dead.
The longest shot was off the hood of a friends truck at a deer across a milo field. Again the open sights on the Rem 700 in .270 and one shot. The field was one of four in a section divided by fencelines, so it was very close to 440 yards, though I didn't bother pacing it out. My eyes can't do that anymore, and to top it off my eye doctor made me get bifocals last week.

Both shots were with Winchester Silvertip 130 grain loadings. My rifle would put that bullet into one ragged hole with open sights at 100 yards for as long as you wanted to shoot, but I can't find the Silvertips anymore. I haven't found anything else which works as well, but my eyes could very well be the culprit.

Elkhunter1 · Post by **Elkhunter1** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 3:38 pm

I really get a thrill out of getting close to animals, even if I'm not hunting, so for me Bowhunting was a natural draw. I once shot a young buck that was literally less than 25 feet from me as he was directly below my tree stand. Now that said, I do have a 7mm RUM taht I've used for hunting Elk in both Montana and Idaho. It is extremely effective over a wide range of distances and has helped me make meat from as far away as 430 yards to as close as 40. Now I'm heading back to Idaho this September and instead of the RUM I'm bringing along my sharps 45-2.1 . It will gurantee that I have to be close to make the shot.

<100 yards.

Mike D. · Post by **Mike D.** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 4:59 pm

My longest one shot deer kill was 315 yds, but most shots out here are at 100 or less. I won't shoot at animals that are too distant for my old iron sighted Winchesters anyway, so gotta sneak up on 'em.

71fan · Post by **71fan** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 5:32 pm

From my hunting journal:
Centerfire rifle at big game: 17 animals averaging 149 yards.
Muzzleloader at big game: 8 animals averaging 78 yards.

That's primarily open country in Nevada and a few other western states. The longest shot I have taken was a 275 yd shot at an antelope. I have only killed 2 out of 25 animals over 200 yards. However, many shots have been in the 175 to 200 range, which I consider just out of range for an open-sighted leverguns, for me anyway.

I used a bow and traditional muzzleloader for many years and gained an appreciation for getting in close.

txpete · Post by **txpete** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:35 pm

in all my years of hunting I have only taken 2 deer over 100 yards.
first was a 12 pt at 285 measured with a rem 700 270.the other with a ruger 77 7mm mauser at 130 yards.
all the rest were with a lever action in 30/30,35 rem and the hammer 375 win BB 94

pete

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Thu Jun 19, 2008 6:59 pm

I now understand the "why" of a hunting journal. Except for "targets of opportunity", until I moved to Texas, I can only think of 2 ocassions when I set out to hunt with a levergun. (Not countin' 'yotes.) And even in TX I carried my scoped boltgun the first two. Still take it on each trip, although now it's the backup. I think my longest shot was around 350 yds, shortest, about 12. I'd guesstimate the average is 75-90. The longest shot I made on deer with a .30-30 was 238 yards (range-findered afterwards). The longest attempted on any game with a .30-30 was @ a havelina @ 275 yards. Think I would've connected, if I'd of had time for them to close to within 250, but it was growing dark and my host wanted to see a long range shot before he'd let me hunt with it. The fact that he missed w/his scoped bolt .270 didn't hurt either.

I don't hunt every year, unfortunately I was born good-lookin' insteada rich, and CFO writes the budget!

This has been a good topic, thanks.