The problem with discussing long range shooting done successfully by those who have taken the time to learn everything necessary to pull off the shot, or more importantly, know when not to take the long shot, is that it influences too many folks not willing to take the time to learn everything necessary to do it right and end up making horrible shots on game.

For me, rarely do I pick up a gun unless I’m calling coyotes or chasing after turkeys. I’d rather pick up my bow. 60 yards and in and that’s about it for me. I have never really felt much of a desire to shoot deer with a gun. I like getting close to them. Same way with muleys and antelope I have went after before, just don’t get the same excitement

I'm not a long range shooter but my understanding is when you get out to longer ranges like 600yds more factors than yardage and wind come into play and how can you account for those things in a hunting situation? In some terrain your bullet might be affected by wind from 3 different directions when shooting 1000 yds. Is there a way to consistently account all factors involved in those kind of shots in a hunting situation when the first shot needs to be good?

I don't like long range shooting at big game. Shoot at metal targets coyotes and varmints a mile away if you want. But like the fellow above, I believe the risk of wounding and losing big game increases with every yard because of variables not accounted for. Besides, I think it is unethical to shoot, shoot at, or wound a deer or elk across a canyon half a mile away. Come on, where's the sport in that. Are you a hunter or a sniper?

Whatever range I can consistently hit a tennis ball at.
With a bow that was 70yds at my peak. With a rifle it was 400yds at my peak.
Have high confidence in such shots, and in my ability to recover any critter.
Especially since I have an excellent tracking dog and am very experienced at tracking myself.

That being said, far more fun to call them in close.

I'll push my 308 and 260 out to 400. Longest successful shot I've made on a white tail is 300yd.
The u tube channel the real gunsmith has some good articles on the new long range hunting fad.
https://youtu.be/NTp08rJauos
The problem I have with it is people don't actually practice at the ranges. They think they are going to range an animal adjust they're scope to the chart and shoot.

Interesting YouTube video

I shot a coyote at 498 with my 22 250. It smokes them all day between 300 and 350. Parker Hale

I have shot and killed deer with my old smooth bore slug gun with open sights at almost 400 yards. I have killed a lot of them from 75 to 100 yards. But I grew up with it and know where it will hit. Winchester 1300

The longest small game shot was a couple squirrels that about 270 yds with a .22 - yeah in the head too. They were sitting in a corn field out from the edge of the woods. CZ 452

All of these were with a good rest and knowing my gun. Most shots are like the rest of you - well within good shooting range under 100 yards. I grew up hearing stories from uncles and my dad about how far they would shoot at the enemy in Korea and WW II. They always said that if you could see them you could kill them if you could hit them. As I get older I think I have been pretty lucky with that and find myself getting closer like you Jim. Why take a chance - right?

Don't get long shots where I hunt. All woods, no fields. 100 yards would be a poke

Seems like it all depends... Where kind of terrain and habitat are you hunting? what weapon are you carrying? What animal are you taking a shot at? What are wind conditions and elevation differences? What position are you shooting from? That should all make a difference.

Shooting a high speed caliber from prone on a calm day with a good bipod rest in good light would be completely different answer than a standing shot with a .30-30 and iron sights on a moving animal on a windy day.

Lets say we can all hit the bull at 1000yds and we all have the load to effectively kill at that distance, how is that hunting? At over 50 yards there is little chance that hunting skills are even used, See and shoot.
Since I'm not much of a hunter I'll shoot at less than 150yds, Reason being that any farther away is too much work to retrieve. My Dad would shoot far away and we'd spend hours packing/dragging a deer to where a truck could go.

Move to ks. Its pretty easy to only shoot deer you can drive too

Where I hunt in NY its pretty thick, most shots are well under 100 yards.

Comfortable out to 400. Finished off one at 672 yards.
300 and under gets easy with practice.

I've killed a couple at 600 in 45 years. they were all good solid hits and all have been recovered. I hunt primarily with a 30-378 Weatherby Mag with Nightforce optics. With that said I have taken several at 300 to 400 but by far the most are within 100. Crop fields and gas and power lines have provided those longer shots and it has to be absolutely perfect to take them. Good rest low predictable wing animal not nervous and standing still broad side. I have watched hundreds cross and feed at those ranges most only get looked at with binos.

Where I usually hunt the longest shot I've taken was just over one hundred yards, usually though its under 50, sometimes way under, That said, I went on a pronghorn hunt in Montana with friends of mine, They all talked about how far the shots were, and though I'm a good rifle shot I was very nervous....
Ended up taking a decent buck at just over 300yds, but I was sure of the ballistics ,had a solid rest , and there was negligible wind, it ended up a chip shot.
Under those same conditions I feel confident at that range and a little more, 300 yds is very doable, but a decent wind is where problems show up. I would much prefer no more then 200 yds...

Many, many years ago, I killed a Dall ram at about 750 yards with a .338, 250 gr bullets, and a five power scope. I expected the sheep to come down the mountain but nooooo, it flopped and didn't wiggle. Took me almost an hour to climb up to him. These days I limit my shots to about 30 yards since I only hunt with traditional archery gear anymore.

2 feet.

Boco, you couldn't hit a barn at two feet.

Not that I doubt anyone here, but I can't help wondering if a lot of these long-range reports are just big fish stories.

Jim

Another thing: what is it with all these high-power scopes people are supposedly hunting with? Six to twenty-four power for hunting!? Come on. Why add another factor, parallax, that you have to dope out before you shoot?

Four or six power is all I ever needed. Heck, most of my game was taken with the scope set on the lowest power.

With iron sights, you're shooting at one power.

Jim