# Long range target practice!!



## TheDogSlayer1 (Dec 15, 2006)

I'm going out to do a little long range target practice today. I'm pretty confident on yotes and foxes out to 300yds. but after that my success goes down a little. I alwalys try to get them in closer if I can but there always seems to be those few times (3-5 a year) where you have to take that 400 -500 yard shoot. I've been using the size of the animal in my scope compared to the reticals at 14 power to judge the distance and this has worked very well for foxes ut know that there's more yotes than foxes, I need to do the same for yotes. I took some measurements off some of my recent kills to get the dimensions of an adult yote and made a life size target. I'm going to go out and note how big the yote target looks in my scope at 14 power at different known distances and then do some long range shooting to verify my bullet drop and wind drift. I will let you all know how it goes. Here the target:


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## Bloodyblinddoors (Oct 25, 2006)

This sparks an interest. Interested to see how your tragectory maps out too. I've printed mine on paper out to 400 and am confident enough out to that range. Longest yotes are 383 and 393.

Mine maps out like this:
100yds= +1"
150= +1.5"
200= 0
300= -4.5
400= -14

At 400yds the top of my lower picket with the scope cranked to 18x is my Zero.
I've never tinkered with learning to range the animal with my reticle yet. Would be good to do though cause I've struggled with that in the past several times on long ones.


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## johngfoster (Oct 21, 2007)

I wish I could buy a life-size coyote target to practice on during the summer. May end up making one like this eventually if I don't find a good alternative.


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## alleyyooper (Jul 6, 2007)

Great idea and really good drawing. My drawing would leave ya wondering it it was a dog or fish.

 Al


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

TheDogSlayer1

Hey that is a very good idea to be shooting at long range like that, especially at a coyote type target.

We started doing something similar last summer. I made these plywood lifesize targets. I tried to emulate the appearance of a well furred out coyote. I got the dimensions from a government trapper, as I didn't have any measurements or dead coyotes while I was making these. They might look a little fat, but like I said, I tried to make them look furred out.

Papapete put the swinging metal plates in them, and we have shot at them at 200, 300, and 400 yards. I still need more practice like you said about judging them in my scope at certain powers. That will come with time.










There is us shooting.










One of the targets.










Closeup of the plates.

I have made 4 of these and I staple paper grocery sacs to the remainder of it so we can see where we hit, in the event we do not hit the VITAL PLATE. Its fun to do! We have also dabbled in some wind drift shooting on windy days.


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## nosib (Dec 4, 2008)

nice drawing :lol:


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## TheDogSlayer1 (Dec 15, 2006)

I have to start with; I got a yote today when I went out to practice shooting my 22-250!!!! You can see pics on other post.

OK. My target is below. I hope you can read the numbers I put on it. They're the order in which I shoot.
#1 & #2 were shot at 250 yds with little or no cross wind. They both hit less than an inch apart just to the right of the point of aim. As you can see my gun is zeroed at 250 yds. The very slight cross wind was from east to west or head to tail. Bullet #3 was shot at 350 yds and hit just to the right of 1&2. I was holding right even with the yotes back when I shot the 350 yd shot. It appears to have dropped about 5 - 6 inches and drifted an inch or two. By the time I looked at my target and walked back to 500 yds the wind picked up just a little (about 5-8 mph out of the east) head to tail. Shots 4,5 & 6 were all at 500yds and I was holding about 12-15 over the yotes back but I didn't allow for any wind drift. The height appears to be good but the bullets drifted about 10 inches. Shots 7 & 8 were at 250 yds again with the 5-8 mph cross wind. All shots were taken off my bipod. Bullets were 22-250 factory Federal Premiuns 40 grn hollow point.

At 250 yards the yote just fit between the area where the crosshairs go form fat to thin at 8X. At 500 yds. the yotes was just a little bit bigger than that area at 14X. The scope is a 4.5 X 14 VariXIII.


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## nosib (Dec 4, 2008)

500 yds is a long shot lol nice shooting


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## johngfoster (Oct 21, 2007)

Can you post the dimensions/measurements you used to make your target?


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## TheDogSlayer1 (Dec 15, 2006)

john, here you go:

Brisket to tail 24-26 inches (broadside)
Top of back to bottom of feet 18-19 inches
Top of back to belly 9-10 inches with hair (7 to 9 without)


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## Fallguy (Jan 23, 2004)

Looks like you got some learning in with that shooting session!

BradT (former moderator here) shot a 22-250 and he always told me at 300 yards he would hold right on the hairline and the bullet would be in the vitals. Looks like you found the same to be true.

johngfoster here are my dimensions on my lifelike target. Mine look to be comparable. Recall I tried to include the appearance of the fur in mine.

brisket to tail : 26"
top of back to ground (with hair): 24"
top of back to belly (with hair): 14"

I also have the dimensions given to me by that goverment trapper. It was taken off a few coyotes he had laying around. If anyone wants them let me know.


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## TheDogSlayer1 (Dec 15, 2006)

The yotes I measured were not that big. The biggest of the 3 was maybe 28-30 lbs.


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## bear_dog (Dec 30, 2005)

nice pic ? did you use mouth call or electric


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