I can hit a paper plate most of the time at 100 yards with the Mountain rifle. When you need precise shot placement, that is not good enough for me. Now, I can shoot about the same with the Lee Target Minnie in the slug barrel, but I know it is going to dust both sides and everything in between at that range. Even then I like to be sitting and shooting off my knee.
Something to think about. Years back I was bowhunting at Busch Wildlife area. I found the biggest scrape I have ever seen. I slipped to good cover, but there was a low place in between the scrape and a good place to sit. I had to make a circle to get there to stay out of deep mud. I found me a nice place to sit with my shoulder towards the scrape. You have to love it when plan comes together. Out of the corner of my eye I caught movement. It was a huge about 140's class 6 pointer with no brow tines. I had estimated the scrape to be thirty five yards, and that is where he was headed. That muddy low place could not be seen sitting down. I drew the bow, settled my 20 yard pin about two inches over his backbone, and released. The arrow hit in the scrape under the bucks belly between his front and back feet. When we actually paced it off thru the mud, it was 63 steps. Looking from either side it did not look anywhere near that far. The dip that hid part of the ground messed me up bad.
With my fifty loaded with 70 grains of 2f under a 495, a range error of as little as 30 yards could be the difference between a dead deer and a deer running off with broken front leg or a clean miss when you get out there at the farther ranges. Mother nature plays tricks with our range finding vision all the time.
Some folks are better at range estimation than I am, or they are hunting at known distances. I tend to hunt at known distances if I have a reason to set up for a long shot, I take my slug gun. Opening morning, I will be set up with about a 60 yard shot to the trail the deer use on my side of the valley floor. The Mountain rifle gets first chance!
