Sniper training may help in hunting situations

MOSES LAKE - The buck was standing on the top edge of a knoll, land the hunter did not have permission to hunt. The hunter also overestimated the distance from his position to the deer. I know, because the bullets were whizzing over my head.

My thoughts returned to my tour in Vietnam, when bullets passing by were common and I was the target. Simply kneeling down and waiting for this idiot to finish shooting was the solution this time.

An hour or so on the sniper range at Joint Base Lewis-McChord a couple of weeks ago encouraged additional study about long-range shooting. After adjusting for the wind, placing killing rounds on an enemy combatant at 600 meters, or 656 yards, was accomplished. Why not use the sniper system for a hunting situation?

Know the range

Knowing the distance from a hunter's position to the game is fundamental in assuring a proper kill. Laser rangefinders are one of the most helpful tools in modern-day hunting situations.

My observations have concluded most hunters overestimate the range to a target. I quizzed a hunting partner during a hunting trip to Northeast Washington several years ago about the distance to various terrain objects.

"How far is it to the cliff on the right?"

"600 yards," he said.

The cliff was 450 yards from our position.

Later in the day I asked him to estimate the distance to a lone tree on a hill in front of us.

"400 yards," he said.

The tree was 300 yards in front of us.

A .30-06 Nosler 165 grain SP Partition bullet set to hit a 100-yard target at 3 inches high is zeroed at 245 yards. The maximum point-blank range is around 305 yards with a vital range of 10 inches on an animal. The point-blank range is the distance between the rifle and the target when no adjustment in elevation is required.

Hunters often go to the range in order to have the bullet hit the 100-yard target at 3-inches high. This allows the hunter to hold the crosshairs of the scope on the middle of the animal out to 300 yards without making an elevation adjustment. Beyond this distance, the hunter must aim higher because of the trajectory of the bullet.

If the elk is at 200 yards, the bullet will hit the animal 2.82 inches above the aiming point. At 300 yards, the bullet will hit the animal -5.72 below the aiming point, just barely within the vital zone.

I place the crosshairs 3 to 5 inches above my normal aiming point when my rangefinder indicates the distance to the buck is 300 yards. This actually happened about five years ago, when the buck was 303 yards from the end of my rifle. A slight elevation adjustment resulted in a double lung and heart kill.

Foot pounds of energy

Simply put the foot pounds of energy of a bullet diminish as a bullet travels down range. A bullet needs to penetrate an animal, hopefully reaching vital organs, which will cause death, hopefully an instant death.

It is difficult to get an authoritative explanation of the foot pounds of energy needed to kill an animal. The energy at 500 yards with the bullet described above is 1,116.7. At 550 yards it is 1,005.9. If my self-imposed range limit is 550 yards, the limit of foot pounds of energy would be above 1,000.

Shot placement

Most hunters realize shot or bullet placement is considered the most important factor in securing a clean kill. A heart shot will put an animal on the ground. So will a lung shot and a bullet in the spine. Not all well-placed shots will down the animal instantly. A deer suffering from a bullet to the heart might run for 100 yards, but it is a dead-deer running.

Wind

The wind will influence, manipulate and control the flight of a bullet. A bullet will be moved 9.04 inches to the left at 300 yards when the wind direction is coming from the 3 o'clock position at 10 miles per hour. At 500 yards the wind drift is 27.65 inches.

Snipers know wind direction and velocity may change several times from the rifle muzzle to a 600 yard target.

Shooting uphill or downhill

A bullet is affected the same if shooting at a 45-degree angle uphill or downhill. The same bullet as above hits the 300-yard target at minus 5.72 inches if shoot on level ground. The same bullet shoots a plus 2.62 inches above the target at 300 yards distance and at a 45-degree angle. This is an 8.62 inch difference in moving the bullet up or above the target.

A hunter may hold the crosshairs even with the back of the animal thinking the bullet will hit 5.72 inches below the point of aim, when it will actually go over the back of the animal.

Simply put, this is because the steeper angle of shooting, between level to straight up or down, gravity has less of an effect on the bullet.

Map of the area

Laser rangefinders help snipers make a map of the area they will be watching for potential targets. Hunters on a stand or in a ground blind should so the same. The rock to the left is 50 yards out, the brush on the right is 150 yards and the lone tree on the knoll is 300 yards distance. This provides known distances to terrain features when a target of opportunity appears.

The same can be accomplished when hunting an area on foot. Check the distances to different parts of the landscape before proceeding. When the next lay of the land comes into view, check the landscape again for distances. Continue doing so during the entire hunt by using the rangefinder often.

Practice

Before any hunter decides to pull the trigger on an animal out beyond 300 yards they should consider all of the information discussed above and then spend time at the shooting bench.

The Boyd Mordhorst Shooting Range near Ephrata has a 450 meter range, which equals 492 yards. This will be an adequate and acceptable starting point to determine if shooting at animals beyond 300 yards is within a hunter's capability.