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14-09-2018, 19:00 #1
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- Aug 2012
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- Stella
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- 46
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Head shots at 300m - which scope?
A friend has the ability to take head and neck shots at 300m. His current rifle is a 308 and he has taken head shots out to 170m with a fixed scope.
We will load with 150gr SST's to start practising with. A 25-06 rifle is in the pipeline.
The big question: which magnification should he get? My suggestion was 4-16.
Brand is not that important: Lynx, Leupold or something similar will do.
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14-09-2018, 19:04 #2
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
So with his current record how do you know you is good to 300m?
One too many wasted sunsets and one too many for the road .........
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14-09-2018, 19:22 #3
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- Dec 2010
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- Philippolis
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- 4,771
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
I know some really great shots, I don't know any that can consistently take brain shots at 300 meters. Your friend is either supernaturally good or there are going to be animals dying an agonizing death from thirst due to jaws being shot off, because someone miss-read the wind or made another seemingly insignificant mistake. There is a huge difference between being able to do something and being able to do it consistently, animals are not paper targets they feel pain.
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14-09-2018, 19:35 #4
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- Feb 2011
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- Stormberg, EC
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- 3,062
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14-09-2018, 19:54 #5
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- Mar 2016
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- Kuils Rivier Kaapstad
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- 61
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- 219
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16-09-2018, 13:05 #6
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- Oct 2012
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- Noord van die biltong gordyn.
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- 57
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- 9,117
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
The people who can actually make these kind of shots on demand (not just by luck) usually already know what they want in terms of equipment. They tend more to give advice than ask for it, but usually in a very modest manner.
I see lots of hunters and shooters with scopes on their rifles that actually surpass their owner's abilities.
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14-09-2018, 20:01 #7
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- May 2016
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- port elizabeth
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- 60
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- 2,509
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
Ds J...Reading your query,3 things spring to mind.
.A 16 power magnification would do the job.
.An exact echo of TStones answer.
.If your friend has reached a level of markmanship where he is capable of taking head shots at 300m every shot then he is an individual who has spent many years in practice,has good ballistic knowledge,is an advanced re-loader and will have by now an almost inflexible knowledge/opinion on exactly what is required......not only in the choice of scope,but also in the choice of rifle,caliber ect.
I have worked with culling crews who are absolute proffesionals,most have custom set ups and some of these boys really can shoot BUT they shoot within their limitations and from 300m on there are too many variables involved such as the time the shooter has commited to the shot to the time the bullet reaches the animal,it can move its head. There are many other factors that also come into play which can cause the bullet to hit outside of a 3 inch target [the brain].
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14-09-2018, 20:20 #8
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- Aug 2012
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- Stella
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- 10,870
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
Somehow I am successful at choosing the wrong words and creating the wrong impressions. Exaggerating is not my intention.
This oke is really good and a natural. I really don't doubt his ability. He wants to practise to take head shots up to 300m.
The variable of a moving animal has not crossed my mind because I don't even dream of attempting such shots.
He has taken several animals with accurate body shots at close to 400m with a borrowed rifle. This was for rations on a farm he frequented for some time. I am sure that head and neck shots should be doable with the right gear.
However, since we know the dangers of shooting at those ranges he is set on practising a lot before taking on real animals.
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14-09-2018, 20:29 #9
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- Dec 2010
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- Philippolis
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- 4,771
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
I regularly shoot blesbuck at 400 meters with heart lung shots, I would not dream of trying a brain shot at 300 meters. Maybe the fact that I have found a lot of dead, or worse, not dead animals due to attempted head shots makes me prejudiced but I simply do not see any ethical hunter trying this at 300 meters.
Have a close look at the size of a springbok or even a blesbuck's brain, then have a look at the distance even a mild wind drifts a bullet at 300 meters. And to be blunt, as Pre 64 said, if your friend need to ask this question he should not be trying this.
The problem with practicing is that stationary targets are just that, stationary. Animals move their heads a lot and at 300 meters that head can easily start moving the moment the sear breaks. There is no way of predicting that, or compensating for it.
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17-09-2018, 22:02 #10
- Join Date
- Oct 2012
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- Noord van die biltong gordyn.
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- 57
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- 9,117
Re: Head shots at 300m - which scope?
I have done some long range shooting with various rifles and scopes. Nothing serious or competitive, just recreational plinking and popping a few crop-raiding baboons and monkeys.
The first scoped rifle I used had a 4x40 Niko Stirling Gold Crown (Japanese) scope on. With this I had no difficulty connecting with vervet monkeys at 200m.
When I started shooting at plates out to 700m, I used a Tasco (Japanese) 3-9x scope and had no issues seeing or connecting the targets. I just could not see the impacts on the rusty plates. More magnification and better glass may have helped with that.
While shooting at a plate at 1000m with 2 friends, I once forgot to dial the scope up to 20x, so I shot the plate on a 6,5x magnification setting on the scope. Only noticed it afterwards. The plate didn't notice the difference.
I have shot a few hunting rifle competitions alongside shooters with big-magnification scopes. Guess what? As soon as the mirage appears, they dial their scopes way down to much more "normal" magnification settings.
Yes, it is very nice to be able to see your bullet holes on a paper target out there in the distance, but that does not really make you a better shooter.
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