Range of 80% of your hunting shots

T

TXAZ

New member
There have been several discussions here on reaching out long distances to touch that deer, elk whatever at very long distances.
In reality I expect *most* successful hunting shots are less than 150 yards.

So for you hunters, 80% of your (non bird) shots are under what range?

80% of mine are under 100 yards.
 
I would say that in the last year, 80% of mine were under 120 yards. 120 yards happens to be the far tree line of one of my primary hunting places and I have caught several animals at the tree line there. Longest shot was 205 yards. Shortest was inside 20.

80% of my stalking shots are within 70 yards.

23 Hogs, 7 coyotes, 3 bobcats, 4 squirrels for 2014.
 
I'm a relatively new Deer hunter and I've only taken 2 shots. One was a deer at 65yds it was a very dead deer. My second shot was a coyote at 109yds it was also a very dead coyote. Average of the 2 is 87yds.
 
I hunt primarily in South Carolina. The vast majority of my shots have been under 150 yards with my longest ever at 230.
 
Depends where I'm hunting. In Colorado average is around 150 yards, here in California though it would be more around 50 yards.
 
Most are less than 100 yards.

I did have a big horn sheep at about 550 but that is not the kind of hunting I normally do.
 
I guess two within 30 yards. One at 450; one at 350. One running buck somewhere in the vicinity of 150 yards.

The other forty-plus were rarely past 125 yards, I guess.
 
My longest shot was 426 (laser ranged) with an 06, but the vast mmajority has been around 50 yards. I've left powder burns (literally) on 3 does one with a 30-30 and 2 with a muzzle loader. One of them with the ml the barrel was about a foot away from the deer, I found the sabot in the chest cavity. That really hurt my long shot average:D
 
I'm a powerline/ cutover guy out of 10 deer this year 6 were 200 to 350yds.with a rifle.4 around 25 to 50yrds.with a handgun.Those numbers are legal here in GA.GOT TO LOVE IT.:D
 
In the last decade, all shots myself or family have taken were under 100 yards.

If I go back the last 25 years, there's a couple beyond that, to include a 250 yard hog, with the other at ~125 yards, but everything else was under 100.

Some of that has to do with my hunting locales.... Very few times have I hunted somewhere I needed to make long-distance shots.
 
Bow and firearm

I've kept a "Deer Diary" and a list of my deer kills. I do a good bit of bowhunting for whitetails, and my average bow shot is 14 yards (paces).

My rifle kills include a couple long pokes at 200 yds plus on ROW's, but excluding that, the rest are well under 100, and an average would be about 50 yds. By example, the last 3 were 65, 55, and 45 (paces).
 
Built a enclosed box stand in what I thought was the perfect position/spot overlooking a wild over grown 25 acre grass field. Turns out I should of positioned my stand on the opposite side directly across the field from where it actually is. So my shots are a little further away than originally planed. Like 175 to 225 yards usually. On a couple occasions closer to 300 on BIG deer (10 pointers) that unexpectedly popped out of the brush line chasing doe took those big fellows.
Having a good 270 for the purpose shooting a fast moving 3200 fps recipe with it's 130 gr bullet seated w/ no crimp on top of a case full of 4350. Yup!! That's my preferred slammer hammer OP. {270 does have a decent scope mounted} Vari-X-3_ 3-1/2 to 10. Its actually a piece cake to shoot anything any where's on that Canary grass field when having a piece of quality glass to look thru.
Being fortunate to have and hunt out of box stands. If there is one thing I've learned over the years it's how to be patience and wait for that better positioning shot. No doubt about it. When I shoot. There's allot of self-control taking place just prior to that very moment of my triggers pull. (excitement & breathing quelled, peaked concentration all going on at once.) Frankly speaking: I (have to be) spot on with my shot. In order to see those humanely quick kills I want to experience.
 
For about 15 years I hunted a cow pasture in central MD. My average shots there were probably 175 yards with very few shots under 100 yards. That is why I love my .270. It shoots on a rope out to 250 yards or so. Here in eastern NC I probably average right at 100 yards. You can see a good ways down the pine rows.
 
My deer shots are typically 30 to 75 yards in the hills and hollows of Kentucky. Maybe an average of 50 yards I'd guess.

My Wyoming antelope shots have been any place between 30 yards and 300 yards. I'd go and average of 150 yards.
 
I've shot about 30 deer here in Maine, which usually allows only 1 per year, but got a bonus doe tag a few years ago.

The average distance varies considerably, so is really meaningless. The longest is over 400 yards and the average on one particular stand is about 300 yards. On others, I've shot several that were running, ranging from 10 to over 200 yds. The latest running deer was about 40 yards, left-handed, from a tree stand.

My feeling is that I want to carry a rifle that has a fairly flat trajectory and sufficient energy/accuracy to kill decent-sized Maine deer out to 500 yards. Beyond that, too many things can happen either to the bullet or movement of the game to make it less feasible to deliver a quick-killing shot, so I won't do it.
 
I've spent most of my hunting life in various parts of Texas. As a kid hunting in the Hill Country around San Antonio, shots were mostly 75yds & under. Later I ended up hunting South Texas around Encinal & shots under 100 yds were rare & 200 yds more the norm. From there I started hunting the Laredo area & shots went from 100 yds up. Now I hunt the Hill Country again around Junction & shots average 100yds.

My .270 Win has served me well everywhere & all distances.

...bug :)
 
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