redeemed
03-28-2015, 08:24 PM
I'm fairly new to the hunting and firearms scene, and I wanted to get some thoughts on what is a safe range for shooting on a parcel of land. My folks bought a cottage (north of the rifle line) that also came with a 10 acre lot, which is stacked side by side with other similar sized lots by other cottage owners that all use it for hunting. I was pretty excited to be able to hunt with a rifle for the first time (only used a muzzleloader in the lower zone), and also to have a spot to do some target practice. My dad seems to be overly concerned about using a rifle, and I want to see what some of you think.
I think dimensions are about 600 wide by 800 long. There is a slightly elevated deer blind right near the road facing away from the road, so it is about 750 ft away from the end of the property (which is divided by a wire fence going through the middle of the woods). The property is HEAVILY wooded, with two narrow shooting lanes through the trees that would give about an 80 yd max shot. Now I know that a .22 can go over a mile and the larger rifles 2-3+ miles. But that would require a skyline shot right? I saw ballistics for a .22 that shows a drop from 50-80" at 250 yards. So even if I shot perfectly level in a total clearing I should be in the mud before the next property, right? I suppose if it were clear, I might have a little more concern than I do (I honestly wasn't concerned at all before he said something). But I will always be shooting at a slight downward angle anyway because not only is the blind elevated, but the shooting lane is kind of swampy because it drops even more.
Do you factor in the dense woods into the equation? Would I still be safe to shoot to the side if I'm 300 feet from the next property? They have a window in the blind out that side so I'd like to believe the previous hunter would have (again, shooting slightly down).
Now I'm sure the ballistics for a .243 or .30-30 that I would be using for deer don't have nearly as steep of a drop, but I can't imagine that people are needing 2 miles of property to hunt with one of these.
Thoughts?
I think dimensions are about 600 wide by 800 long. There is a slightly elevated deer blind right near the road facing away from the road, so it is about 750 ft away from the end of the property (which is divided by a wire fence going through the middle of the woods). The property is HEAVILY wooded, with two narrow shooting lanes through the trees that would give about an 80 yd max shot. Now I know that a .22 can go over a mile and the larger rifles 2-3+ miles. But that would require a skyline shot right? I saw ballistics for a .22 that shows a drop from 50-80" at 250 yards. So even if I shot perfectly level in a total clearing I should be in the mud before the next property, right? I suppose if it were clear, I might have a little more concern than I do (I honestly wasn't concerned at all before he said something). But I will always be shooting at a slight downward angle anyway because not only is the blind elevated, but the shooting lane is kind of swampy because it drops even more.
Do you factor in the dense woods into the equation? Would I still be safe to shoot to the side if I'm 300 feet from the next property? They have a window in the blind out that side so I'd like to believe the previous hunter would have (again, shooting slightly down).
Now I'm sure the ballistics for a .243 or .30-30 that I would be using for deer don't have nearly as steep of a drop, but I can't imagine that people are needing 2 miles of property to hunt with one of these.
Thoughts?