But seriously, with the difficulty of getting bullets, I can't waist the ones I have on practice. This makes me hesitant to hunt with the gun I really want to "my 475 Linebaugh,". [/quote]

yOU MAY AS WELL PICK YOU OUT A SPOT RIGHT NOW UNDER A NICE TREE. yOUR DONE FOR

Bullets sitting in a box do you no good at all. Pick out enough to hunt with put them aside and shoot the rest . Practice is the only thing that makes you a better shot and we owe it to the game we shoot to be as good as we can be. The big bores for me are hard to stay proficiant with and require as much practice as I can manage. PRACTICE IS NEVER A WASTE OF BULLETS!!!!!!!!!!!!

yOU MAY AS WELL PICK YOU OUT A SPOT RIGHT NOW UNDER A NICE TREE. yOUR DONE FOR

Bullets sitting in a box do you no good at all. Pick out enough to hunt with put them aside and shoot the rest . Practice is the only thing that makes you a better shot and we owe it to the game we shoot to be as good as we can be. The big bores for me are hard to stay proficiant with and require as much practice as I can manage. PRACTICE IS NEVER A WASTE OF BULLETS!!!!!!!!!!!![/quote]

I've never had an issue filling tags. And as far as setting under a tree, I'll save that space for old story tellers like yourself.
I didn't start this thread to catch flack. Forgive me for stating the truth. And if you haven't recently noticed, bullets aren't overly plentiful out there right now. Not to mention the EPA just recently shut down the last foundry in the USA. I don't think I'm being foolish by being cautious on my ammo use.

Yes a scoped gun but I usually always have a scoped gun with me - not always but usually. I've shot a few animals at that distance with open sights but they've either been large or hogs. My longest shot on a hog with a 4 3/4" gun is either 95 or 97 yards, I forget.

Never tried to give you any flack but you are right your bullets your gun you do what you want.

I like to hunt with revolvers and none my revolvers are scoped. I would say that 90% to 95% my big game hunting is for deer and antelope and most of these are doe hunts

My main gun is a FA 454 shooting a 280 gr cast LBT WFN bullet.

I've never really thought about or tried to figure out what my average shot has been. I like to shoot under 75 yards but some years most of my shots are closer to 100 yards and a bit over. I would guess that my average would be in the 75 yard (give or take a few yards) range

Antelope season opened this last weekend. I shot two doe antelope, one at about 15 yards and the other at about 60 yards. So this year is starting out as a short shot season

Hey Wyote,
I was figuring you boys out west would be shooting a little farther, do to the vast open country for the most part. Sounds like your season has started off well, CONGRADULATIONS I think is order here my friend. I can't help to feel a little jealous though;)

Shooting close is the result of lots of crawling LOL

Your right Linebaugh,I should have said this is my favorite way to hunt. When there is only a few days of the season and I haven't filled my tags. Then I also carry a single shot to extend my range quit a bit. I was racking my brain trying to figure things with my 454 only.

Ive shot iron sights on deer from 10 to 160 yards. I was able to get a nice rest for the long one and dropped the fallow doe where she stood but thats with 240 gr bullets at over 2000 fps. Not alot of drop to calculate just held at the top of the shoulder.

Avg is about 60 to 75 yards though

Tradmark, what caliber are you shooting sir? I'm guessing a 454Casull, am I correct? If so, that I a wonderful caliber. It was my first introduction into the Big Bore lifestyle:)

I hunt lower NY (where the land make-up starts to transition from rural "real" NY to NYC suburbs). The land here is somewhat hilly and rocky with plenty of centuries-old stone walls and overgrowth from long-neglected farms; from the agrarian past, there are also many acres of laid-over fields. There is a variety of habitat and food sources, both natural and man-grown. We are restricted to relatively shorter range
weapons here (slug shotguns, handguns, M/L's). Excluding archery (which is a whole different ballgame), my typical gun shots range from 10 to 130 yds. I get by admirably with a custom SRH 7.5" .454 Casull and with it have eaten every year since I committed to it. It used to wear a VX3 2.5-8x; it was changed to a straight 2x when I realized that I never went any higher than 2x.

I also hunt the lower Catskills at my lease. More jagged but otherwise similar terrain, but there is a possibility for a 200+ yd. sometimes. I look forward to breaking in my 30/30 bbl up here this season.

Long story short, almost every deer I've killed with a gun has been shot within 65 yds.

Hey RedSS,
Your limit in weapon choice is just like mine, in the area I hunt. I know most of NY is now open to rifle use, but like my smoke pole, and pistol. I've never really felt short-changed by it, I'm sure you probably feel the same way.

I fall in the successful category under 50 yards, .45 ACP 1911 and .40+ caliber revolvers for the most part. One miss with Ruger Old Army, standing at 60 yards, high grass, no support, no excuse. I have a Ruger Super Redhawk 480 Ruger 9.5" with 30mm Ultradot which "needs" to go hunting at longer range or closer to sunset. I also have a scoped T/C in 7mm TCU. No loads worked up yet, but plan on increasing the range to <= 200 yards. Average: 40 yards.

Linebaugh, you are correct, I never felt at a disadvantage when hunting with any sort of firearm in the past. The terrain and vegetation make shots in excess of 100 yds. somewhat rare. Anyone who knows how to use the terrain to close a few more yards is even less likely to have to take a longer shot. Having grown up bowhunting, I prefer to get as close as possible.

Yessir. 454 casull

Great caliber. That was my first love, when I started into big bore revolvers. And still one of my favorites. I remember the looks I would get when I first started shooting her at the range. The guys around me, looked at me like I was a maniac. But look where handguns have gone to now... I guess I wasn't the only maniac that liked to be tossed around a little by a handgun:)

1st deer shot with handgun, RSBH open sights, was @ 6 yards. Dumbest buck on the planet. 1st shot was 30 yards and he kept walking at me. Missed 2 more times. Finally dropped him at 6 yards. Decided to put scope on it after that because I was hooked. Have hunted with handgun only since, 12 years now. 22 deer since, all 1st shot kills. Range was anywhere from 12 yards to 94 yards.