Who's got the longest one?

[rebelsoul]

My hunting club has row crop fields where you could shoot 1000yds.+. I'm prefer to leave that to my buddies that sit in blinds with their snob guns. My thrill is trying to get up close. However, up in the mountain, from one bench that I stalk, I have watched deer across the hollow at 350-400yds. I've shot my range finder at them but haven't been confident enuff to shoot my grendel. Bluffs all around the hollow, so I can't close the distance. The best position I can hope for is leaning against a tree. The feed back that the Horde has given convinces me that the beast can do the job. I'm going to get out the gong and see if I'm up to the task.

[JASmith]

rebelsoul,

Excellent update!

At this point, the best advice one can give is to shoot a lot at the ranges you plan to harvest game at. This does not have to be your favorite bench or cornfield, but it needs to be a place where the winds are at least as strong as your hunting spot on game day.

Here are some thoughts on how to get the best out of your Grendel:

Practice Targets --

If you don't mind recovering them for recycling, 1 gallon milk jugs filled with water give one instant feedback on whether the bullet would have hit the vital zone. The two quart containers, plastic or treated paper work also, they are harder to hit. Clay pigeons are even harder to hit plus they are much smaller than the deer's vital zone. They also leave behind bright colored fragments that are hard to pick up but make fun targets They will eventually dissolve with rain and snow, however.

Practice with your hunting load. --

One of the pluses of the AMAX and SST is they are inexpensive. Other more classic bullets are slightly less expensive but tend to slow down faster,

Further, the Grendel's recoil is mild enough that you can shoot many full power loads without undue stress.

This shooting can be done off-season. They guy who did the 752 yard shot practiced at his hunting location in the morning and was pretty confident of his shot placement that afternoon. Most of us prefer not to pollute the hunting arena with practice shots on hunt day, but there are places where one won't be highly condemned for the practice.

If you have an off-season place where there are lots of crop-destroying rabbits or squirrels that need treatment, then that is another place where you will be able to both help the farmer and yourself.

Homework --

Do your exterior ballistics homework! Get your favorite ballistics calculator and calculate the wind drift of your bullet with the generic 10 mph crosswind. The ask yourself how well you can judge the strength of the crosswind. If you can judge the wind strength to within plus or minus 5mph, then your bullet will hit somewhere left or right of your aimpoint by half the 10mph value.

For ranges greater than 300 yards, wind gusts and changes make getting closer than plus or minus 2mph an extraordinary challenge best left to your buddies with their super guns. Use the 2mph drift to set your personal maximum range. You get this by finding where the wind drift with your hunting load is about five inches in that 2mph or faster wind. Keeping to plus or minus five inches of drift gives the bullet a good chance of hitting within the 10" circle generally considered to be right for the average deer.

Go out and shoot --

Compare your experience with the calculations. If your first shot of the day busts that milk jug at least 6 out 10 times at your hunting distance using your expected shooting position in similar winds, then your shooting is probably good for your quarry that range,

[Y85]

See previous post - that is why this is the best shooting forum around. Good luck at longer ranges. I've got one stand that gives me 650yd shots in two directions and, being in a valley, is relatively wind-protected. I set up targets all summer to practice at 50 yd increments (+1 on the milk jugs). Ready I was for the long shot, and my buck came out at 80yds. Nonetheless, the practice was great fun and confidence is a wondrous companion on opening morning.

[rebelsoul]

Thanks JA. We do the 2qt jugs standing free hand at 100yds, thats a fun bet. We shoot clays, even out of the trower; I haven't mastered that yet and I'm not sure I ever will. I will do my homework, but I'm not sure I will try the long shots. I'm just excited about the possibility and challenge.

[rebelsoul]

Hey Y85, I hope it works out for me like that. I'd rather be lucky than talented.