Antelope at 1150 yards

I arrived at Alcova Reservoir, west of Casper a day or so before antelope season opened. I had two doe tags in one unit a buck tag in an adjoining unit. On the fifth day of hunting I finally found a herd that was not too spooky and would allow me to set up. Being as the truck had been seen by the antelope I just parked it so the rifle could be laid over the hood. I set up the Kowa spotting scope, the Sony video camera, put the Swaro rangefinder on it’s tripod and opened the tailgate and got the rifle out of the case, slide the bolt in, attached the bipod and raised the cheekpiece.

The rifle is a 7mm Allen Magnum made by him on a Neishka single shot action with a Mac A5 stock, 34 inch Lilja four grove barrel and Defensive Edge four slot brake topped off with an 8-32X 56 NXS scope.

I set the rifle up on the hood and got the rear bag out and put it in place. I ran Exbal with data from a Kestral and used the G1 BCs stepped as tested by Bryan Litz in his book for the original 200 grain Wildcats made in Canada. As I remember it, I dialed in 19 MOA and no wind.

The antelope were feeding up a small draw that ran behind a knoll and there were animals on either side of the knoll and the range was 1150 yards no matter which side I choose. First, I set up on a doe on the left side of the knoll and was ready to fire anytime she gave me a shot but she walked back toward the main herd and I lost her behind the knoll. This meant realigning the camera and spotting scope on the animals on the right side of the knoll. Being as the buck was in that part of the herd I had to be careful and not shoot the little runt. I selected an animal and got the rifle aligned on her and after a short wait she gave me a nearly broadside shot. What you will see in the video is that she runs off the screen and I find her about 200 yards away. She was hit very well behind the shoulder with the bullet passing through the lungs and then through a portion of the intestinal cavity.

You will need to run the video on HD and then rewind a little after you see the dust from the impact to actually see the animal is hit. Shot is a little after 2:00 on the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svB7WSmpQL4&list=UUgYpXTM8EypQRgbUh-rhgVg&index=1&feature=plcp


Couple of pictures of the exit wound and entrance wound (see small stick poking out of the fur)

I know I will get flamed here but this is not hunting, it is an exercise in equipment oneupmanship. Just because it is possible to shoot an animal from more than half a mile away it does not make it a good idea. Sorry, just my opinion.

Nice shot. Cold bore 1000+ yard shot and got it on first try. You didn't dress in skins and mud and spear it to death with an obsidian blade you knapped yourself, but it's still impressive to me for what it is.

Id call it one hell of a shot at that distance no matter how you slice it.

BlackBart said:

Id call it one hell of a shot at that distance no matter how you slice it.

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Yep. Congrats!

possumman said:

I know I will get flamed here but this is not hunting, it is an exercise in equipment oneupmanship. Just because it is possible to shoot an animal from more than half a mile away it does not make it a good idea. Sorry, just my opinion.

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i agree. please save the shooting bravado for the range. use your hunting skills to get (a lot) closer than 1100 yards. in the literally one second that bullet was in the air, the lope could have moved a few feet or the wind could have changed and turned a kill shot into a wounding shot perhaps without the ability for a clean, fast and final follow up shot.

I've never hunted antelope but from what little I know, long shots with a rifle are fairly commonplace. The poster was obviously competent with his equipment at that range and executed a clean, humane kill. With a herd that size and what I can see of the terrain, it would be a very difficult stalk with that many eyes on you and nothing but low brush.

I'll go further and say that with 3 tags and probably limited time in the field, you aren't going to waste a bunch of time filling the two doe tags.

Congrats indeed

davsco said:

i agree. please save the shooting bravado for the range. use your hunting skills to get (a lot) closer than 1100 yards. in the literally one second that bullet was in the air, the lope could have moved a few feet or the wind could have changed and turned a kill shot into a wounding shot perhaps without the ability for a clean, fast and final follow up shot.

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I'm not a long-distance shooter, but he was shooting a custom rifle from a pretty solid rest, and it sounds to me like he practices enough to know the capabilities of the rifle and shooter at that range. Probably less risky than a lot of people who take to the woods each year without practicing their marksmanship.

As for the animal being able to move before impact, that chance exists on any shot with a bow and arrow.

Not saying my opinion is any more right than yours; just pointing out a few things to consider.

Yeah, while not "my definition" of hunting, that is an impressive shot. Pronghorn are notoriously difficult to stalk, so many hunters take long shots. Most are not as long as the OP, but I am sure many miss...the OP did not. A dream hunt of mine is a prolonged stalk and taking a pronghorn with a pistol.

The end result is still good to go. A freezer full of meat and a story to tell.

First let me say that I shoot regularly in the 1000 yard F-class competitions at Quantico to maintain my shooting skills. Secondly, I do not always make a good shot even at short ranges because things just happen out in the real world. Thirdly, here is a picture of an elk I killed bowhunting in Utah two years ago.
I enjoy a lot of different types of hunting.

All,

While I understand that long range hunting is not everyones cup of tea(I personally stopped hunting about 35-40 yrs ago)I can attest to Buffalobobs dedication.He comes to every modified match we hold at Quantico and has been doing so for several years.

I'm sure he was as confident he could make the shot or he wouldn't have taken it.We have at least one other long range hunter in the club and the same goes for him.I've never met more dedicated hunters in my life.

I see "hunters" come to the range every year a couple days before season to sight in,Several of them will settle for 3-4 in 100 yd groups and call it good.I can almost bet that some of them wound animals at much more "sensible"distances than our dedicated MARKSMEN that practise tons of time at distance that are much more likely to make the shot them determine to take.

Any hunters (short or long range) come on out to Quantico and put in trigger time throughout the year not just the week before a hunt and you'll see what a sucesful shot comes from.Don't trust to "luck"

Way to go Jim and I'm absolutely sure Dave had a good trip also.See ya'll next month.

Steve

I think he went into such painstaking detail on the original post to demonstrate that it wasn't a hold your finger in the air and guess the holdover kind of shot.

I applaud his dedication to long range shooting - just not my cup of tea. I once read a magazine article about a guy who had a house on top of a hill in the woods somewhere and every year took some deer from his deck at 1000+ yards, and it stuck with me as the type of hunting that I would never participate in.

possumman said:

I applaud his dedication to long range shooting - just not my cup of tea. I once read a magazine article about a guy who had a house on top of a hill in the woods somewhere and every year took some deer from his deck at 1000+ yards, and it stuck with me as the type of hunting that I would never participate in.

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Of course he would have the opprotunity to routinely practice making those shots.

possumman said:

I applaud his dedication to long range shooting - just not my cup of tea. I once read a magazine article about a guy who had a house on top of a hill in the woods somewhere and every year took some deer from his deck at 1000+ yards, and it stuck with me as the type of hunting that I would never participate in.

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Sounds like a dream to me. I've trudged over mountains, froze in the swamps, sweated half to death, got lost in the Georgia pines and killed more than my share of game. My bones are getting tired. Call it old man hunting that he earned (magazine guy) somewhere along the way to have that 1,000 foot + of property. Bon Appitit! Id like that set up and most people probably couldn't see a deer at 1,000 feet let alone shoot it, more power to the OP for being able to do it.

That's a hell of a shot. What bullet did you use? Isn't G1 drag model usually for flat based projectiles?

that is one heluva shot with a 7mm.

met a guy at the processor that made a 1500 yard shot with a.338 lapua when i was out there. but i think that shot with 7mm is even more impressive.

The 7mm is a 338 Lapua case blown out and necked down to 7mm.

My version of Exbal does not allow for use of the G7 BC so I use three different G1 BCs in velocity bands to get an accurate curve for the bullet's path.

Prospector said:

I'm sure he was as confident he could make the shot or he wouldn't have taken it...I see "hunters" come to the range every year a couple days before season to sight in,Several of them will settle for 3-4 in 100 yd groups and call it good.I can almost bet that some of them wound animals at much more "sensible"distances than our dedicated MARKSMEN that practise tons of time at distance that are much more likely to make the shot them determine to take.

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Couldn't agree more. Every decision has risk; the person who has prepared, hammered on their craft, and has developed the skill-set to perform will always be criticized by those who haven't put in the time to do so themselves. But therein lies the distinction; it is much easier to buy a ticket than play the game.

Outstanding shot.

I work with a guy that grew up in Casper that says he never made a shot less than 300 yds before he moved over to the right coast.

At any rate that's a great shot.