Caribou at over 800 yards ???

[shmrck1]

He replied "it was exactly 802 yds, I hit the caribou both times, and I needed to understand that he was a competition shooter"

hit twice at 802 yards what was the animal doing
on the 2nd shot waving a white flag. my thoughts are maybe
hitting a paper target at 800yds in competition shooting
is one thing. Hitting a caribou at 800yds under hunting conditions twice is another thing.IMHO i doubt this guy was hunting on his own, and can't see a reputable guide even letting him attempt such a shot. again IMHO
snake-eyes eace: :thumbsup:

 

[Hota]

Williamsport PA is the home of the 1000 yard club. Many BMG's and other big bore calibers. A lot of 308's even. I used my customized remington PSS there several times. The bullet drop compensated scope by Springfield armory is a dream. This shot is very doable from a bench rest or prone supported. You have to spend a tremendous amount of time at the range to develope range cards. For those who don't know, this type of shooting really is a matter of discipline. You have to either load you own ammo or buy large amounts of good ammo in bulk. All with the same lot number. You have to control as many of the vaiables as possible. Go to the range on a good 60 degree, windless, dry, 50% humidity day and zero your weapon. (That is of course after you have broken in your barrel.) You have to clean your barrel after every shot and let it cool down because every shot you take has to be from a cold barrel. The one shot one kill principle cannot be invoked if you practiced your shooting on a heated barrel. A good zero on this type of day with groups within 1" MOA is a good baseline. Go back to the range often and in every type of weather situation. Cold, Hot, Wet, Humid, Dry, Windy, etc. After you know how the round reacts to these conditions, extend your range out and do it all again. Most people don't know that shots over 400 yards often have to deal with multiple wind patterns (winds blowing east @100 yds and the shift to northerly gust @300yds) Keep your records of your shots on range cards then place the range cards in a laminated sleeve on the cheek rest. You now know how to adjust your scope in every weather pattern. It is good scientific principle to know as many variables as possible before making the shot.

Most people do not have the discipline to do this research. I would be skeptical of anyone claiming to make that shot who can't tell you or show you range card data for his/her particular weapon at that range.

It also adds a bit of complexity when considering you have to track the animal. Here in Lancaster county PA, 800 yard shots are possible with little obstacles to get in your way, but as anyone who lives here knows, there is nothing to hunt other than ground hogs. Can you hunt elk in an area where there are no obstacles (mountains, woods, etc) for a shot like that let alone tracking and/or extracting your game from the field?

 

I agree. It is possible if the shooter is real good and experienced with long range shooting,like our best snipers. I had a friend back east when I was in the army that could routinely pop groundhogs at 600 yds with his .22-250 (and big Unertal scope). I used to be able to hit a bullseye at 600 yds with an M1 (.30-06) and a peep sight from prone.....eyes aren't that good anymore. 800 yards would be a challenge, but there are people who could do it and not call it "luck".

In 2002 a Canadian sniper killed a man in Afganistan at 2,657 yards (7,972 feet!) with a single deliberate shot from a MacMillian .50BMG bolt-actioned rifle! Un~@&#%^$~believable. He had to compensate for a bullet drop of 146 FEET over that range! Carlos Hathcock held the record prior to that, with a .50 BMG from an M-2 loaded single-shot with a 10X scope at 2,460 yards during the war in Vietnam. He had a specific man in mind and spent the day prior getting the gun and range figured out. Patterened him just like a deer.

If you practice, and you have enough eyesight or scope, I believe a .338 would take a caribou at 800 yards. Not this puppy, but some could I'm sure.

Next question is whether that is sporting or just good shooting. :hmm:

 

[jaybeach]

Don't know (have no way of knowing) if he actually did it or not. But as to the question of it being possible, that is a no-brainer (yes) :imo:. Those who shoot in those 1,000 yard competitions do this all day long. People are using scopes up to 20X these days that have all kinds of devices on them to compensate for distance, wind and even parallax.
Is it a good idea to try to hit a marvelous animal at that kind of distance, knowing that it might be impossible to follow up on a bad hit? Another no-brainer (no) :imo:

 

[Keith]

Maybe, the question should read "Is the shot possible?"
Did the shot occur depends on the truthfulness, and accuracy of the shooter's measuring. Possibility only depends on the mechanics not the shooter's integrity. :m2c:

 

[noahmercy]

The shot is very doable, especially with today's optics, but personally I'd rather brag about how close my shot was than how far. I'd rather hunt than snipe, but for some fellas who spend boucoup money on a hunt of a lifetime, I appreciate that it might be shoot long or go home empty-handed. :m2c:

 

[JesseJames]

Carlos Hathcock USMC sniper confirned kill 93. Possible 300. Longest confirmed kill 2500 yds with 50 cal browning. During WW2 sniper killed at 1 mile he would aim at the third botton on german officer jacket. Also 50 cal rifle

 

[roundball]

This is not a muzzleloading incident, it involves a .338 centerfire rifle so it may not be allowed on this forum at all...delete if that's the case.

Guy says he shot a Caribou at "over 800 yards with a .338".
Scope or not, can you even "see" a Caribou well enough at 800+ yards to hit/kill it?

We might be drifting a little...the guy was hunting with a .338cal hunting rifle

 

You are right on. Especially with a ML rifle/gun people need to know the limits and try to stalk close--of course most hunters I know shoot deer out of tree stands at a few paces (with magnums they do not need). Most old time hunters in the east tried to get within bow and arrow range before they shot the panther/deer/bear/elk/etc.with their ML rifles. That is why the small bores worked--close range and shot placement.

The shot is very doable, especially with today's optics, but personally I'd rather brag about how close my shot was than how far. I'd rather hunt than snipe, but for some fellas who spend boucoup money on a hunt of a lifetime, I appreciate that it might be shoot long or go home empty-handed. :m2c:

 

[Slowpoke]

Shooting an animal at 800 yards isn

 

[Stumpkiller]

The shot is very doable, especially with today's optics, but personally I'd rather brag about how close my shot was than how far.

I've taken two bucks and a doe within ten feet. :haha: One of those bucks was maybe three feet from the end of the barrel when I shot as it ran past.

Seven yards on the ground with a recurve bow is my foot-mounted archery close record. That was one unobservant buck. (If you've ever watched someone draw a recurve bow you'll understand. . . I can only hold mine at full draw for maybe five seconds :shocking.

Just a stump here. Friend to the deer. No reason to be alarmed. Keep walking this way. ::


I think my best ever, everyone surprised, dirt-beaver varmint shot was just under 350 yards with a .270 & 7X scope (2x to 7x) and I was mighty proud of that one.

 

[buckknife]

Now when i do it i like to use my 54 with prb, laid over my shoulder shooten behind me,standen on one foot with one hand tied behind my back with the sun in my eyes just to make it sporten when i shoot 800 yards :bull:
I will take up close anyday,couarse i cant hit nuthin no how unless its close enough to spit on :haha:It would take a lot of time and pactince and money to make a sussesfull 800 yard shot but i havnt got any of them things.

 

Doable? .. under the right circumstances ...with the right equipment..... maybe.

from my experience with people on the internet that brag about such things ...(online people can be what ever they want to be in their wildest dreams)
Did this guy that said he did it do it?... i have to say.......... :bull: :bull: :bull: :bull: :bull: :bull: :imo:


Woody

 

[flaming canvas]

The shot is definitely doable, although the ethics are questionable.
I've had people tell me that you can't hit anything with a pistol at 25 yards, then watch me hit a 5 inch bull at 100
yards with my Lyman Plains. No, I can't do it every time, but I've done it more than once.
It boils down to knowing the weapon. The exactly 802 yards says that this guy was using a rangefinder and that makes a lot of difference.

 

I used to own a 338 Win Mag. The fellow that purchased it from me wanted to compete in 1000 yd target shooting events so the caliber will definitely do it. It was a glass bedded Ruger 77 and would hold 1-1/2 to 2 inch groups at 200 yds.

On the other hand, a lot of luck is familiarity with the gun. If he was a practiced shot, it is possible he hit the animal but it most certainly was not sportsmanlike. However, I always have doubts when someone says it was exactly anything - like 802 yds. Even with modern ranging equipment, the field is different from the target range but I have a feeling rangefinders will make this type of thing more common as people try to outdo themselves.

 

[BLAHMAN]

I'm confused over the question of ethics when it comes to long range hunting. Hunting is hunting...we really don't need to hunt anything at all. Everything we need or want is mass produced and mass marketed and available for us at a store somewhere. Hell's bell's....we even buy mass produced muzzleloaders and even their pieces parts to make them.
The folks I know in PA are HARDCORE hunters. They are so hardcore that they focus on little else. They pretty much have the long range weapon down dead nuts!
But, they also love and admire BP hunting with a flintlock.

The guy who is bragging about his "802 yard shot" has a right to be elated and proud. I know I would never attempt that because I don't think I could do it. I prefer a different setting. Suppose he was puffing himself out and actually shot the thing at 650 yards. Who cares? at least the guy is hunting.
After he shoots the animal all the hard work starts: get the animal, field dress, haul it back, pack it out. All that manure is part of hunting.

At least the guy is hunting. I've posted before that where I live the opportunity to hunt is very slim at best. The reasons why, I think, are many: fear from littigation if there is an injury on somebody's land, houses being built everywhere, people don't trust each other, hunting isn't as popular as it once was, farmland dissappearing, developements....on and on and on I could go. But at least the guy is out there, experiancing the thrill of hunting, actually doing something. He could, on the other hand, join PETA or something else as stupid, but instead he is hunting. He probably stalked the animal with a guide, it may have taken a couple of days to get close enough for a shot...who knows? But I bet he just didn't drive up in his car and open the door and shot.

If I had the scratch and the opportunity to go hunting Caribou I would, but I can't. I don't believe that will ever happen for me, but what the hell.... good for that guy.

 

My comment on sportsmanship meant that I'd be concerned the likelihood of a clean one-shot kill at 800 yds is much less than a shot at closer range. Many who have commented on this thread recounted some story about an animal killed at long range but for every one of those, there probably are a bunch more wounded to run off and die.

Hunting is different from war - a man with a bullet in the gut can be a desired result but I don't believe anyone would wish that on a game animal. If you are truly comfortable at long range, then take the shot - but I think an 800 yd shot with a .338 is in the same category as a 300 yd shot with an ML rifle and PRB. It can be done, but should it be done?

 

a man with a bullet in the gut can be a desired result

During war it is more desireable to wound someone rather than kill them..... Reason being, it takes more of the enemy to take care of a wounded during a battle than it does to attend to the dead. Just a fast of war... but i will shut up and let ya get back to the subject in this thread. :yakyak:

Woody

 

[mewing6003]

At the Camp Perry John C. Garand annual shoots, one heck of a lot of people routinely shoot at targets at 1,000 yards with M1 Garands. Iron sites, military ammo and no fancy stuff and they routinely pump 5 rounds into scoring positions at those ranges. I know I am not capable of that kind of accuracy, I have tried it. But, alot of people do it year after year.

So is the shot possible? Yes it is.

Is the shot probable? Unless the guy is one of the few long range shooters who practice all the time, I doubt it. And seeing he hit the animal twice, I have serious doubts. Plus I would love to see the ballistics of an 800 yard shot with any bullet or caliber. At that range bullet drop and windage would be over 100 inches each. Not even taking into account why anyone would actually shot an animal at those ranges!

:m2c:

 

[Hota]

I'm confused over the question of ethics when it comes to long range hunting. Hunting is hunting...

I guess it's kind of like... I have a corvette and just went 185 mph down I95. Kinda cool to hear about, exhilerating for the driver, but was it the smartest thing to do?