How far are you comfortable shooting a …..?

Ok, I’ll bite… What caliber and what rifle on this 1 Mile rimfire shot? What scope were you using? Also, I’m not great on math. How big was the 1.7 moa target at 1,760 Yards?

I know it’s a bit off topic, but it does seem interesting. I would love to see the DOPE on this too…
Ooohh, i also am really curious on this. And I hope it was with a .22LR, because 1600’ of drop or 1000 moa on a dial must be awesome to watch.
 
Ooohh, i also am really curious on this. And I hope it was with a .22LR, because 1600’ of drop or 1000 moa on a dial must be awesome to watch.

I’ve been working on the math, but I can’t get there…

IMG_4389.jpeg
 
375 h&h: 250 ttsx or 260gr etip 300 yards easily, 300gr tsx 250 yards
416 Rigby: 400gr tsx 200 yards, 350gr ttsx 300 yards
9.3x62: 250gr ttsx 300 yards, 286gr tsx 200 yards
 
Good points and well said. I am not as knowledgeable about the origin of the 375HH. If it was originally designed for shooting heavy PG at longer distances we should also remind all that at the time of its origin the typical Safari hunter would arrive with a heavy double rifle such as the 450 or 500NE for use on DG and those are not known to be a great tack drivers out past 50y let alone 100/200y, etc being limited to iron sights only in the 1920's. Same hunters might also bring a Griffin Howe 30-06 or a Mauser 7mm or 8mm rifle for smaller game and often those were iron sight only rifles as well. But marksmanship was taught in the schools and military and Springfield and Mauser rifles were capable of hitting game at longer ranges even if they may or may not have the energy to do the job way out there. Yet these intrepid hunters sometimes wanted a heavier option for the big Eland or Kudu or Wildebeest that was out of range of their big heavies. Hence the 375 was a perfect mid-bore. Perfect for Lion, Leopard, and Hippo, etc, and able to take down Eland, Zebra, Giraffe, as well.

Again in the early 20th century the bullet options were solids or softs and not much else. As bullet quality improved we got choices such as the Nosler Partition in the 1940's, and later Swift A-Frame and and Barnes X bullets in the 1980's. This enhance all rifles but greatly enhanced the capabilities of the 375. These offered both controlled expansion and deep penetration in heavy game animals. Where a 375 caliber solid was not that impressive on big game, a 300g A-Frame or TSX that expands to 2x bullet diameter is making a 3/4" hole in the game animal. That was mo-betta. Compared to the 1/2" hole from the 500 nitro loaded with solids and all of a sudden the little 375 is punching well above it intended weight class. It would not be my choice for Elephant but for most all the other DG animals it is a viable option. All that said, long range with a 375 is not 400 or 500y. It is more like 200y or a bit more. It loses too much energy much out past that.

As for dialing turrets for longer shots? If you take the time to learn how to do this and use a proper zero stop optic with reliable, quality turrets, you will be amazed how well you can shoot at distance. As a young man, the first time I fired my FAL loaded with 308 ammo at a 400y tgt I was stunned that the bullet dropped almost 2 ft! I was using a simple scope and was zeroed at 100y. That was many years ago and I have learned a lot about ballistics since that time. Today, I can dial and reliably hit 400y tgts with my 22lr 10 out of 10 shots. And that bullet is dropping something like 25 feet. So making the same shot at 400y with a 30-06, or 308 using a good FFP MIL scope is a chip shot. But that is shooting a steel tgt, not a living game animal. It is shooting from a bench or prone, not off sticks or a ruck. Practical field conditions usually limit us to taking game shots that are about half the distance we can reliably shoot targets at. My opinion.

To imply that dialing your dope risks making errors is in my opinion, a cop out. It is like saying, "I only use iron sights because them scopes might get tweaked or broken in the field". A good MIL optic will not accidentally get moved on the elevation turret, and it will repeatably return to zero in half a second when dialed back to the zero stop. Knowing when and how much to dial is a process of education, testing and practice. Ballistic apps are great but are only as good as the data you feed them. I always confirm my dope with field testing at discreate distances and then refine my ballistic inputs before I use a rifle on game. I almost never need to dial when hunting. If a critter is so far away that dialing dope might be an option, then I also will have time to range the target, dial the dope and judge the wind before making the decision to shoot. It is ALWAYS better to take the time to get closer before taking the shot. It is only ethical to limit my shots to those distances that I know I can make the shot and deliver the bullet with enough energy to expand and penetrate into and thru the vitals for the shot angle I am about to take. I do not use "Dust and Adjust" on any game animal except prairie dogs and those are varmints.

If I am glassing a game animal and am not comfortable with the shot, It is best to wait and try for a better shot.

As far as the medium cartridges are concerned, especially the 375 H&H Magnum in Africa, it is certain that over time and with the improvement of the bullets it has become clear that these cartridges can also be used to a limited extent for shooting big game.

Sure, when shooting from at longer distance, you should not only consider the external ballistics but also, and especially as a hunter, the terminal ballistics. The size of a game and can, because of a poor killing effect of a bullet, quickly become a limiting factor for long-range shots.

As for the scope when shooting at longer ranges, I have often shot at 1000 yards in the past, so I am familiar with dialing the turrets and can compare it to the Maximum Point Blank Range technique. Turrets dialing is definitely the better technic, but shooting at longer distance at a shooting range with a spotter at your side is not comparable to hunting in the mountains at very high altitudes. I have often hunted in such regions and have also shot game at altitudes over 16,000 feet.

No matter how, since I had to shoot in various situations game at longer distances and,
as is it known from such hunts, it did not always work perfectly. For this reason I remain of the opinion that you have to set certain limits and still keep in mind by shooting that an absolute perfect shot placement is, by long range shooting on game, not guaranteed. The French hunting organizer Ovini has published videos about missed long range shots on game. Very interesting and honest.
 
Despite everything, I prefer to hunt in Africa and shoot game at reasonable distances using, among other things, the 375 H&H Magnum cartridge. Perfect shot placement can be achieved in the majority of cases, but unfortunately also not always. I have never shot anywhere a game with the cartridge 9,3x62 and unfortunately also never with the cartridge 416 Rigby. Maybe the latter would have been a better and sufficient alternative to the cartridge 460 Weatherby Magnum, but unfortunately experience comes with time and age. Despite it, I don't regret to own and to have used a rifle caliber 460 Weatherby Magnum. In a special situation, you can use it for shooting at longer range.
 

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Had a fire on the cattle ranch where we hunt kudu all the neighbours came to help and we got it under control quickly!

Grz63 wrote on x84958's profile.
Good Morning x84958
I have read your post about Jamy Traut and your hunt in Caprivi. I am planning such a hunt for 2026, Oct with Jamy.
Just a question , because I will combine Caprivi and Panorama for PG, is the daily rate the same the week long, I mean the one for Caprivi or when in Panorama it will be a PG rate ?
thank you and congrats for your story.
Best regards
Philippe from France
dlmac wrote on Buckums's profile.
ok, will do.
 
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