This is a buck that was taken somewhere West of Franklin Idaho by these two guys during the 2014 Idaho mule deer hunt.  I think the buck is magnificent, but these two are going to get “hammered” by people because of their story, and I feel very bad for them.  They are very proud of their accomplishment and when you read the story about how they got it, you too will probably scratch your head.

First off, most of you know I’m not a big fan of long range shooting, especially at big game animals.  I firmly believe that the average hunter does not do enough long range shooting to even know what their rifle is capable of and that is just to be able to “hit” the target being aimed at.  Couple that with the “punch” of the bullet out at long range distances and you have a whole “nuther” animal in the mix.  It takes around 700 foot pounds of energy for the bullet to enter the vitals of a mule deer and when a bullet that may weigh 150 grains gets out to say, 1,000 yards, it just doesn’t have that kind of energy left and most likely, if the animal is hit, it will result in a wounded animal that probably will spend the next 3 to 6 months suffering before recovering.  Or even worse, will be wounded severely enough to become coyote or other predator food, AFTER the predator kills it.  Not a pretty sight in my minds eye.

So, a bit of a background on these two.  The story says something like this:  We were driving our 4 wheelers up the road and spot a bunch of white butts on the hillside about 400 or 500 yards away.  We stopped and cranked up the power on our scopes and saw this big buck in the middle.  We each shot, I put two rounds down range and my son in law shot 3 times.  We missed each time and the buck took off running.  He was about 600 or so yards away and we both raised our guns about 8 inches above his back and fired at the same time.  The buck dropped.  When we finally got over to it, there were two bullet holes in it.

There is the story about the kill.  The story goes on and talks about how famous they were in town and how many other hunters came to view the big buck.  Some of those hunters had been trying to get on the buck for several years.  Well it’s dead now.

My take:

I don’t know Idaho hunting laws, but in Utah to shoot from a road is not legal.  Did they take the time to get off their 4 wheelers, step 50 feet off the side of the road and take their shots?  I doubt it.  If they did, did they shoot across the road?  How steady were the rifles when they shot?  Did they use the 4 wheelers as gun rests?  If they did, then they shot from the road…a no-no….  Taking a 400 yard shot is a pretty long shot even with a scoped rifle.  But, in their defense, I have to say that last year, I shot two cow elk very much dead and each of them were 400 yards away, and I’m not a great shot even with a scoped rifle.  Now, put that same animal another 200 yards away and I don’t think I would even come close to hitting it.

Most big game rifle bullets drop 2 to 3 feet at 400 yards when sighted in at a normal 100 yard distance.  And for them to say they both aimed 8 inches over its back and fired and the buck dropped with two bullets in it….OK, I guess they did.

I recently read an article published by the Boone and Crocket Association which denounced long range shooting of big game animals as something they did not consider ethical or as fair chase.  I have to agree with them.  However, they did not say what the yardage was where it broke from being considered both ethical and fair chase.  I think they are letting the hunter decide, but at the very least, I think there should be a line on the application for consideration in their “book” that asks you to state the distance you shot your animal at and how many shots you took before putting the animal down.  By having that information available it might make others think twice about taking that long range shot. But I doubt it.  When you see the buck or bull of a lifetime it is hard not to take that “hail Mary” shot.

There are a whole lot of hunters taking those long shots and with the media the way it is right now, more and more young hunters are taking up the “sport”.  Clubs have been formed that go to great lengths supporting long range shooting.  There are even business’ that teach you how to hit a target out to 1,000 yards (and farther).  I’m not against that.  I love to shoot long distances to try and hit a target….I love doing that.  I would also never hesitate to shoot at a coyote or fox at 500 yards, maybe even farther out.  I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I hit one out that far and didn’t recover it either….that’s just my way of thinking.  However, I do consider big game in a different ball park than a predator such as a coyote or fox.  My 400 yard shots at the elk were definitely my longest range distance and had I not witnessed another hunter putting down his cow elk at that distance I would have never tried the shot myself.

You decide what is best for you.  As for me, I believe these two guys didn’t have any business shooting that big buck at the distance they said they took it at.  The chart I’ve included here shows you the distance above or below your target the bullet will be at varying ranges out to 500 yards.  It also shows you the foot pounds of energy the bullet has out at the distances being shot.  Keep in mind this is a 30 caliber bullet and not everyone shoots a 30 caliber pointed bullet.  You can see from the chart that the foot pounds of energy drops around 200 fp in each 100 yard distance and if these guys actually shot the deer at 600 yards, the bullets would have had less than 600 foot pounds of energy left, I’ll bet they found both bullets inside the bucks body when it was processed.  Look again at the chart and if they had their rifles sighted in at 200 yards, which I consider a normal sight in distance for a scoped rifle, their bullet would hit 58 inches low at 500 yards.  60 inches is 5 feet people!  So, it makes sense to aim 8 inches over its back at 600 yards and fire away (eye brows raised).  By the way, this chart comes from the Hornady Companies web site and I’m very sure these numbers are not just made up.

Bears Butt

November 8, 2014