What's your overall average range/distance

[Die Judicii]

Regardless of what caliber or firearm you may use for varminting (which would encompass the likes of rabbits right through to large pigs,
What would be your overall average range, for successful kills ?

And do you think that your own particular style of hunting is a factor in what your average shot range is ?

Does it vary wildly or remain fairly constant ?

[mickb]

I'm in the wrong category as I only shoot with a 44 mag these days in fairly heavy scrub but will add my 2c. Main distances about 75 yards or less, however I can stretch the gun to 130 yards or so.

[Wapiti]

Good topic DJ, I wonder what others think here.
I notice you didn't let on your own experiences here mate!

I ran around with a rangefinder a bit a few years ago, because I kept seeing people writing they routinely shoot animals at 350, 400 yards and further.
I found that 99% of my shots are taken within 200m, I'd say most of those under 150m.
I can tell very closely now and judge distance, and I am continually surprised when visitors or hunters here call the distance as
Oh man, that's 300 yards" but it's 200. Or whatever.

I can easily tell too, if I go to take a shot from the padded shooting bars on the buggies or from the ute, and I just can't get a steady bead or some other reason it's difficult, it will be too far away. More than 200.
This is because most of the shots I take are headshots, and the head dead-zone is small. I do it without thinking about it, strange eh?
I know this because I spent a heap of time using the rangefinder. Used to drive my wife nuts.

Walking on my hind legs with a lighter hunting type rifle, the distance I can hold steady on is less that that above, by quite a bit.

I also went through a stage of getting sucked in by the "accessory metal chassis" bullshite, and found most of the damn things have round, useless forends that rock and wobble, being meant for bipods. That doesn't cut it for farm shooting. Also, the pistol grip also makes it rock from the influence offline with the bore.
That's why I love the flat-bottom varmint style conventionally shaped stocks, from rests and trees I can shoot steadier.
Ditching the chassis AR-15-lookalike things immediately made my 200m shots easier.

[mchughcb]

6m to 40m normally with shotgun

With 3006 anything ranged at less than 150m gets a bullet.

[No1Mk3]

When I used to hunt, 90% of my shots were from 70 to 100 yards with most closer to the lower figure. I generally hunted hilly forest and river flats and to me the stalk in was at least, if not more, important than the kill. The only time I had to shoot longer ranges was hunting Thar and Chamois in the Southern Alps where shots over bare alpine moraine and scree slopes precluded close stalks so shots were 150 to 200 yards. Anything longer I didn't take.

[Damo300]

All of my hunting shots have been taken under 200m.
The areas I hunt tend to be tighter areas with not much open space so most shots are well under 100m.
100m through trees and what have you is a bloody long way imo. Very easy to fumble.

My confidence on the metal gongs out at distance is very high, but I just don't have the confidence to hunt out far, plus I don't want to injure an animal for the sake of my ego.
Best left on paper targets.

[wrenchman]

were I am hunting I don't shoot over 100 yards my gun could do much better but most my shots have been under 50 yards it is because of the cover you would be hard pressed to see anything any farther away.
I hunt with a 270 I am not to proud to say the gun shoots better then I do and I try to keep my shots in that range if I was hunting were I was shooting more then 200 I would practice for it guys that hunt out west do it often I have shot deer at 400 in a state were I could take a shot like that.

[bigpete]

50 to 100m with a rifle.
5 to 30m with a bow

[bigrich]

Regardless of what caliber or firearm you may use for varminting (which would encompass the likes of rabbits right through to large pigs,
What would be your overall average range, for successful kills ?

And do you think that your own particular style of hunting is a factor in what your average shot range is ?

Does it vary wildly or remain fairly constant ?

hey mate , the area i mostly hunt is open grazing bordered by ridges and gully's with moderate to thick scrub . pigs are my main targets , with goats for meat . clean the paddocks up for the owner too i see deer , but they don't call them ghosts of the forest for nothing a lot of hunting goes on this property , so the critters hear a vehicle their off into the thicker scrub . with pigs it's been as close as 20 meters when i woke up a large sow , out to 200 when i popped a boar using the door frame of my toyota as a rest . i've nailed goats out to 270 meters up out the back of tenterfeild years ago , and successfully took a big hopper out at close to 400 with a 6.5x55 . so ranges can vary a lot due to the open country bordered by thick scrub . if i had to average my ranges relating to the game i'd say pigs 50-60 meters , goat and hoppers 100-150 meters . i've seen deer on this property from 15 meters to 600 meters . until they move they blend in really good . i took a shot at a pig that was about 70 meters away one time , after i took the shot i saw a big deer take off through my scope ! if i had've known i woulda ignored the pig what's critical to me is knowing my trajectory of my rifle and being able to accurately judge distance . no time for range finders and clicking turrets on scopes 95% of the time . my success rate is very good as i don't take iffy shots , having said that i've got rather good at hitting running pigs. got taught some tricks from guides and folks up in NT when i was up there . cheers mate

[Wapiti]

Regardless of what caliber or firearm you may use for varminting (which would encompass the likes of rabbits right through to large pigs,
What would be your overall average range, for successful kills ?

And do you think that your own particular style of hunting is a factor in what your average shot range is ?

Does it vary wildly or remain fairly constant ?

hey mate , the area i mostly hunt is open grazing bordered by ridges and gully's with moderate to thick scrub . pigs are my main targets , with goats for meat . clean the paddocks up for the owner too i see deer , but they don't call them ghosts of the forest for nothing a lot of hunting goes on this property , so the critters hear a vehicle their off into the thicker scrub . with pigs it's been as close as 20 meters when i woke up a large sow , out to 200 when i popped a boar using the door frame of my toyota as a rest . i've nailed goats out to 270 meters up out the back of tenterfeild years ago , and successfully took a big hopper out at close to 400 with a 6.5x55 . so ranges can vary a lot due to the open country bordered by thick scrub . if i had to average my ranges relating to the game i'd say pigs 50-60 meters , goat and hoppers 100-150 meters . i've seen deer on this property from 15 meters to 600 meters . until they move they blend in really good . i took a shot at a pig that was about 70 meters away one time , after i took the shot i saw a big deer take off through my scope ! if i had've known i woulda ignored the pig what's critical to me is knowing my trajectory of my rifle and being able to accurately judge distance . no time for range finders and clicking turrets on scopes 95% of the time . my success rate is very good as i don't take iffy shots , having said that i've got rather good at hitting running pigs. got taught some tricks from guides and folks up in NT when i was up there . cheers mate

So Rich, you shoot from 15 to 600m? Holy dooley man.

It can get real close up, way closer than 15m too..
This morning, I took some mates for a run in the SxS along the zigzag fenceline they are helping me with the tall posts and mesh as I'm a bit stuffed up waiting for my spine op. I had just bladed the run to remove any stumps, rocks etc and we came up on these huge trenches that some bloody pigs had done last night - probably because I had cut the soil and they love to stuff around on disturbed dirt.
These trenches nearly stopped the buggy and this thing doesn't stop for much, I was cursing the f'ing things for wrecking my work as the buggy almost tipped over - and out of this mega deep round hole this pig had dug, as I went to straddle it, out shot this large boar. He was down in the bottom of the hole. He actually tipped the buggy the other way getting out from under it as he smacked into the skid plates.
AND I had no gun. I don't like to wear pistols when with others, and I had taken the rifle out of the rack in the centre so that Mark in the centre seat didn't have it whack him in the face.
Always a surprise. We were all laughing like lunatics.

[bigrich]

Regardless of what caliber or firearm you may use for varminting (which would encompass the likes of rabbits right through to large pigs,
What would be your overall average range, for successful kills ?

And do you think that your own particular style of hunting is a factor in what your average shot range is ?

Does it vary wildly or remain fairly constant ?

hey mate , the area i mostly hunt is open grazing bordered by ridges and gully's with moderate to thick scrub . pigs are my main targets , with goats for meat . clean the paddocks up for the owner too i see deer , but they don't call them ghosts of the forest for nothing a lot of hunting goes on this property , so the critters hear a vehicle their off into the thicker scrub . with pigs it's been as close as 20 meters when i woke up a large sow , out to 200 when i popped a boar using the door frame of my toyota as a rest . i've nailed goats out to 270 meters up out the back of tenterfeild years ago , and successfully took a big hopper out at close to 400 with a 6.5x55 . so ranges can vary a lot due to the open country bordered by thick scrub . if i had to average my ranges relating to the game i'd say pigs 50-60 meters , goat and hoppers 100-150 meters . i've seen deer on this property from 15 meters to 600 meters . until they move they blend in really good . i took a shot at a pig that was about 70 meters away one time , after i took the shot i saw a big deer take off through my scope ! if i had've known i woulda ignored the pig what's critical to me is knowing my trajectory of my rifle and being able to accurately judge distance . no time for range finders and clicking turrets on scopes 95% of the time . my success rate is very good as i don't take iffy shots , having said that i've got rather good at hitting running pigs. got taught some tricks from guides and folks up in NT when i was up there . cheers mate

So Rich, you shoot from 15 to 600m? Holy dooley man.

It can get real close up, way closer than 15m too..
This morning, I took some mates for a run in the SxS along the zigzag fenceline they are helping me with the tall posts and mesh as I'm a bit stuffed up waiting for my spine op. I had just bladed the run to remove any stumps, rocks etc and we came up on these huge trenches that some bloody pigs had done last night - probably because I had cut the soil and they love to stuff around on disturbed dirt.
These trenches nearly stopped the buggy and this thing doesn't stop for much, I was cursing the f'ing things for wrecking my work as the buggy almost tipped over - and out of this mega deep round hole this pig had dug, as I went to straddle it, out shot this large boar. He was down in the bottom of the hole. He actually tipped the buggy the other way getting out from under it as he smacked into the skid plates.
AND I had no gun. I don't like to wear pistols when with others, and I had taken the rifle out of the rack in the centre so that Mark in the centre seat didn't have it whack him in the face.
Always a surprise. We were all laughing like lunatics.

hey mate , 600 meters? hell no , way outside of my abilities or my rifles . in my earlier post i said i took a odd shot at a hopper at 400 . he was laying down , sunning himself , and i thought why not test out the long range of the 6.5 swede 99% of my shots are under that . about 80 meters on average for pigs , sometimes a bit further, quite often a lot closer . goats on average are probably 150 meters. but this can vary a bit too.
i've seen some impressive diggings from pigs , sounds like yours are mining for gold
when i did a trip up NT , there was about a acre of diggings around the roots of 20-30 meter high trees around their roots. 2 meter plus wide holes, 1meter deep on average , some holes were bigger . all the trees were dead from the excavations. saw mobs of up to 40 or more pigs up there , some were 44 gallon drums with legs . if there's a reason for a farmer to have a handgun, animals up there are it . 357 or 44 mag revolver would suit me

[Wapiti]

Hey mate, I forgot the imogi
People on this forum are very realistic with their animal hunting, and very respectful of the game.

[Damo300]

You need revolvers at work up there.

Did some work up at Brocks creek gold mine south of Darwin in the early 2000s.

We were walking to our work area one morning after prestart.
Up there in winter, 6am is still pitch black. Twilight kicks in at around 615 to 645ish.
Anyway, as we're walking along, no torch because it was fairly easy to see the white dirt and not much scrub either side.
As we approached our work area, we could see these dark shadows that we thought were new Lincoln air vantage gen sets. There were about 4 that we could make out. We were excited, saying how good our boss was, struggling to understand how he'd lay out over 200k for these gensets and didn't say a word to us etc, but he's just a good around bloke.

Well one of the gensets started to move.
We all stopped, 2 of us instantly realising what stupid situation we'd just walked into (were from southern Qld, we only look for crocks in water and big bulls with massive horns) but me and another bloke knew exactly what we just did, and these things were the size of Lincoln gen sets.....massive. well over the 100kg big pigs were used to down here.

We all stopped and watched on. We had nowhere to go, and these things were 50m if that, in front of us.
What I would have done for an ar10 with 30 in the mag right then and there, even then, the mud packed hair is like body armour....owell.
We were in a stand off at dawn, and all huddled together to make ourselves bigger. Bonding...haha, more like s**ting bricks.
This thing was trying to sniff us, but the sheer size told me it wasn't bothered, rather, it was trying to work out if we were a danger, or edible.
We could make out 4, possibly 5.
Luckily wind wasn't blowing, so it's just the thermals, and this rising sun.
We decided to slowly back up one group step at a time, like a military parade in China, except less coordinated haha.
We didn't even have a knife on us ffs.
2 way radios were the weapons at our disposal, and podgers in the rigging belt to which we all had one each. Not a knife, but felt good.

Luckily these things didn't trail us and had wondered off into the scrub by the time I got back with the 4x4.
We were so lucky that these things didn't turn on us. We stood no chance in France of fighting them off. All we had were small rocks, a few podgers and 2 way radios that are trunked channels to the crane so they're useless to call for help.

From that day on, I drove the 4bee to our work area in the mornings, starting up the light towers, then head to presrart and noting a new danger with a high risk matrix number of 1, and from then on, a new sense of fear in the northern territory.

I reckon the bullets would bounce off these things. The mud attached to their hair is thicker than bitumen on the road.
You'd have to send one first to break the surface, then one to kill. I'm sure it will stand still after the first shot. .

I can see why they want 40cals up there.

[Wapiti]

Podgy spanners get a bit dangerous to carry when you sharpen them up.
But good story Damo, appreciate it.

How many times have I wished for a set of one of those video glasses, the unreal, unforgettable stuff that just happens out of nowhere.

[JDM9691]

Shooting foxes on foot in open country I'm in the 120 to 150m average. I'll take shots out to 250, but If I have the opportunity to get in closer I'll always take it.
It's hard to stalk in sub 120m without a fox hearing you, but part of the art is seeing them at distance, plotting a course to intercept, and letting them come to you. If everything works out it's possible to get them at 30 to 50m, but there's no point being greedy so I've usually taken the shot long before then.

[Fester]

The land and animals dictate my hunting range, and my fav forest spot, where I can see the mob of deer without alerting them is often 200-230yd on the opposite side of a shallow gulley where I have a slight elevation advantage.

I shot a few at that distance, and worked out fine with lung shots.

The first sighting was a cracker; I kept my cool and stalked in to around 120-130yds. That is a great distance for full confidence with a supported shot from a tree or log.

I do get shot opportunities at around 60yds, but I'm lucky to get a deer just standing there; I've never shot at a moving animal.
For the offhand shot opportunities, I feel confident at 60m, but practice at 100m on occasion.
My best and worst shot was an offhand shot at a yearling doe that was slower to bolt than the others.
Turned out pretty much center animal (gut shot).
I went in, thinking I would have cleanly missed, just in case.
The deer jumped from one bush to another, so I stood with a tree support until it popped its head up to look.
A 20-30m head shot finished it, and I got the meat, so no regrets.

I know where my mountain rifle hits at 300m, but never taken a shot, and not confident to push it past that.
I would with my varmint rifle, as I practice at 500 m and can get hits on the small 6" plate; misses are close.
I would still want a successful 300m shot before I ever attempted further, with a 400 max after stepping out, with full supported positions.

The grasshoppers are different, a funny shape, compared to deer-shaped animals. Getting used to shooting them now; just a smaller kill zone, I guess. Keeping the distance to 100 or less is my preference.

Not a fan of headshots, because of my deer hunting, I guess.
Wary deer, and the heads are always moving anyway.

.22lr hunting is 50m or less as that's 22 range, and where I shoot it 98% of the time.
The rabbits seem to like to be at that general range anyway.

[Wapiti]

[quote="Fester"]
Not a fan of headshots, because of my deer hunting, I guess.
Wary deer, and the heads are always moving anyway.
[quote]

Sometimes you just have to do it, and there's no getting out of it.

I does amuse me when I see headshots mentioned by necessity, and someone makes a snide comment about people who headshoot being boasters or attacked with other weird insults.

Truth is, if you're running around your own place you just don't have a box on the roof full of different guns for different purposes - don't laugh, I've been invited out by blokes who have old ****** shooting buggies they leave at their hunting places, made from old Navara 4wd's or other cheap stuff, covered in amateur barwork a-la those cow-catchers from up north, except without the cow-catcher gear.
A box on the roof, in it are 5 guns from 12ga to a 22 to different centrefires - one for 300m out over the stubble, another for up close, 12ga with buckshot for running down the pigs, 22's to finish all the wounded things rolling around on the stubble afterwards.
I just stand at the back of the barwork and stay out of it, and watch the competitiveness of the excited clowns reaching around and over one another to get in a shot, or swap out to a different gun as the driver bounces the thing all over the farmers paddock.

The bloke who runs around a farm on daily work was only born with two arms, so only carries one gun so it has to do everything, from reaching out to up close, big and small. Explains why we don't use 223's a lot.
So sometimes the situation calls for headshots, because the animal is too big for the cartridge or the range, or the projectile is not suited for a big boars chestplate. No big deal, aim for the head.
Because you might have, lets use my example, of a 308 with 135gn HP's, used for everything. Has a margin for error, shoots flat and fast and in behind the ear sorts out the boars.
A headshot skip, that moves it's head when the bullet is on it's way and is hit in the jaw with a 223, runs off with a terrible injury and needs following up, that same hit with the 308 and 135gn bullet kills it stone dead from impact shock.
I do not understand why a meat hunter chest shoots an animal, and risks bullet fragments travelling everywhere and ripping open the guts. Happened to me just the once, from a chest/heart shot, and I never did it again.
Then of course there's skip, pig and deer box shooting, no amateurs here either, it's head shots only, for the same reason, spoiled meat.

It's strange how people will go crazy with their groups and their accuracy expectations and how great their gear is, then go out and shoot at what amounts to a dinner plate size kill zone. This is why to the bloke who by necessity must head shoot, actually needs the accurate, consistent rifle.

Hey, this is what I think and do, I've explained why and works for us.
A hunter with an adequate rifle can chest shoot to his hearts content and deal with the results, each to his own.