Long Distance Shooting of Big GameLong distance shooting of big game animals is a common occurrence out west with the more open terrain and public lands. Having moved here from New York where we hunted with shotguns in woods and dense brush it took some getting used to. Opening day of rifle season, off I headed into the woods to find a place to sit and wait for animals to pass by but saw nothing. Off in the distance I could here all kinds of shooting and wondered when they would start to run towards me. They knew where the animals would travel after people like me walked all over the woods at the head of these canyons. It did not take me very long to figure out where I had screwed up and from then on I hunted more open terrain where I could glass large areas and take advantage of my rifles long distance shooting capabilities. Long distance shooting is possible with any good flat shooting rifle like a 270,30-06,7mm or 300 magnums. I won't shoot at any animal over 100 yards without some kind of rest be it a backpack, shooting sticks, or something solid. For long distance shooting lying on the ground with a pack is always my first choice, then shooting sticks, logs, rocks and even sage brush have all worked quit well in the past. Sometimes there is not enough time to get into a good shooting position because of high brush. If you don't have a good rest then don't shoot,its not worth wounding animals and having them run off to die and not finding them. Long distance shooting really comes into play with antelope that use their incredible vision and wide open spaces to their advantage. I always try and get as close as possible when hunting antelope by using gulches and hills to my advantage and even crawling in closer. When hunting antelope you will learn to shoot at long distances. There was a time when you could get as many as four doe antelope tags in Wyoming per person because of over population and my friends and I would drive up from Colorado and have a ball. Good thing antelope are good eating. This really helped me a lot because I never got to shoot so many big game animals at one time. In Colorado late in the fall deer and elk migrate into much lower elevations to winter and this can be an excellent time to hunt. Elk heard up and can be in groups of several hundred out in open sage covered flats. If you can get a tag for these late November through January seasons then you should have an easy hunt. More than likely these hunts will involve long distance shooting as elk don't particularly care for vehicles driving up to them and can move off rapidly. There are a great number and styles of shooting sticks on the market and bi-pods that are attached to your rifle. I prefer ones that have two legs instead of one for the added stability for long distance shooting. Make sure that with rifle bi-pods that are attached to your gun swivel that you actually sight the gun in while using them and then try to shoot off of a sand bag. I have tried this and have had my guns shoot to a different point of impact. I don't like this because you might not be able in the field to use your bi-pod and need to place the forearm on a different object for a rest. Always place something soft between your guns forearm and a hard object like your hand or pack or your gun will shoot off also. Remember that if your gun shoots off 2" at 100 yards that at 300 your off 6" and will likely miss your target. Most anyone can shoot game at distances of 300 yds and further in calm conditions and with some shooting practice. A person needs to take the time to get familiar with their equipment and have it with them. If your not good at judging distances there are many good small range finders on the market today that are fast and easy to use. With a good rest, knowing the distance and knowing that your gun is sighted in 2"or 2.5" high at 100 yds you can hold dead center out to 300 yards and do just fine. Most high powered rifles will drop about 5" to 7" at that distance. I always use boat tail bullets in a medium weight for the caliber like Ballistic Tips, Scirrocos, or Interlocks because they hold velocity better at long range. Its also a good idea to actually shoot at targets at 300 yards to see where you are hitting with a new load. Big game animal broadside kill zones for lung, heart, and liver measure about 10" to 12" for a deer, 8" to 9" for an antelope and 14" to 16" for an elk. I take my hunting rifle and my shooting sticks out and shoot prairie dogs which is a great help in becoming confident with your hunting loads for long distance shooting. Marmots are another good source of off season practice and are actually good to eat. Sometimes I wear a past recoil shield while doing this because big game loads can get to you after a while. One of the bad things about long distance shooting is that its a good idea to know whats below you when you shoot an animal on the other side of a canyon. Are there cliffs below you that could prevent you from retrieving your game or really dense oak brush that you can't walk through. I have had oak brush literally rip the clothes off my back trying to get through it. It can also be hard to locate animals on the side of a canyon once you do get them in oak brush if theres nobody to help guide you to it. I once shot a doe on the other side of a large canyon that I was not familiar with and had a bugger of a time finding it and then wound up climbing up vertical rock ledges with meat on my back. Steep Terrain Effect on Long Distance Shooting
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Sometime in the afternoon I went back to my vehicle and drove to where all the shooting had been and came out on the edge of a large canyon. There were people parked all down the ridge of this canyon and had shot the heck out of elk and deer that had been down in this canyon right out in the open.
Cartridge choice is really not as important as knowing where your gun is sighted, your guns trajectory, and having a good rest. Magnum cartridges can give you an additional range of about 100 yards over standard cartridges energy wise but with additional muzzle blast and recoil. A bullet in the right place regardless of what cartridge always gets the game. A hit behind the front shoulder with a 243 will get the job done. The biggest magnum bullet in the wrong spot will have you tracking it, especially on elk that can travel for many miles.
