Making the shot,and Your set up..

Reguardless if the shot is up or down, depending on distance and angle, you ALWAYS hold lower. Angle has more to do with it than distance, though. You need to keep in mind how far the bullet will be traveling distance wise on a straight line with gravity pulling against it rather than the distance it will be traveling from point A to point B, if that make any sense.

I'm sure someone else can explain it better than me, but gravity is the culprit on all shots. Angled shots may be more distant but less effect from gravity, thus you always aim lower.

PLP, 250 to 300 yards is where a lot of my zeros are set. So, I am dead on at those ranges with lets say my 270 wsm or really any flat shooting cartridge. This is generally in the 2.5-3.5 inch high @ 100 yard range.

When shooting at extreme angles either up or down your distance according to gravity is shorter so a low aim point is desired. There are formulas for this and several laser range finders available that can help. If your not hunting in really steep terrain just remember to hold on the lower side not high. Remember it is not the distance as seen by the eye but rather the distance according to gravity that counts.

If you can't practice a lot at longer ranges a good rule of thumb for the distances you mentioned is to always have hair in your aim point. Meaning no hold over.

I would suggest to anyone that wants to improve their shooting ability is to shoot high power cross course matches. 200 standing slow fire (20 rounds in 20 minutes) 200 yds sitting rapid fire ( 2 strings of 10 shots with one mag change in 60 seconds) 300 yards sitting rapid fire and prone rapid fire, followed by 20 rounds at 600 yards slow fire. You will soon find that you are a better more confident shooter and distance is not he biggest obstacle. Windage is the hardest function to master and can only be taught by experience.

These matches help you shoot from three positions that are very helpful in the field. I would also suggest to always use some sort of rest in you set up but also practice using that rest (ie. shootings sticks) because it can be a lot different from bench shooting.

In my opinion shooting from the bench tells you more about the accuracy of your rifle than how accurate you are at shooting it. ( with the exception of trigger control) So, practice from positions you might encounter or use in the field.

This is why I started shooting High power XC and I can say without a doubt it has made me a much better more confident shooter. Besides it is an awful lot of fun as well.

Most clubs offer sporting rifle matches that are not as many rounds and there are always experienced shooters ready to help you figure it out.

So, go to your state rifle association web site and look up area clubs shoots and start making yourself a better more confident shooter.

Abert hit it right on the head :not-worthy
Just remember the location of the heart on a deer, is the lower third on the chest, the boiler room is a big area over 4”.
Aim small miss small
Have fun in the mountains

These guys are all right. Last year when I had a shot at the big 4x4 I talked about in another post he was 230 yards away at a steep angle. Now take in mind I have hunted this steep country all my life but I got so excited I blew my chance. I aimed dead center since my rifle was zeroed at 200 yards. I shot right over his back and have been kicking myself every day since then! Oh well I think I learned from my mistake and I hope to find this big guy again this year!

I can take 300yd shots out here,maybe 400-500 if I shoot through a fence..lol..but all the land is flat.Thanks for the tips!!

Welcome! Hey nothing wrong with being a flatlander!
Ive been pretty lucky with both my elk. One was about 150 yards away and the other probably 300 yards away.. Again I said Luck.. I aimed right behind the front shoulders on each one and dropped them.
One was in thick scrub oak. I was laying down putting on my sneekeeness when I shot.
and my other bull I was sitting down and once again shaking so bad from excitement and too much adrenalin im really not sure how the heck I hit him..
I really havent been able to take a long distance shot like that to figure out what I need to do to adjust my gun.. I say go practice shooting long distance and get a feel for it..
Good luck!

Yep you always hold lower. Gravity acts on the horizontal distance to your target so trig it out to find that. Also at extreme long range the angle of your bore to your sights makes some difference and you'll find you shoot higher than you figured mathematically. Practice is the key. I have some spots that produced well yearly and I went to them and actually setup the shot and practiced a bit in the summer. Biggest elk I shot I used this method. Held dead on on a 425 yard shot. On long extreme angles down I usually wait to shoot at the animal facing away so I have the best opportunity to hit something important. Several whitetails I shot I got lucky using this method and broke their backs or necks. The bullets hit a good 8 to 10 inches from where I intended but dead center. :thumb
Mark

i figured this out first hand on a deer in 08 with my muzzl. it was farther than i had shot befor about 240 yards steep steep down hill. my dad and i decided that i should hold about 8'' above its back [being a muzzl and all] so i did and sure enough i shot about 8'' over it. luckly the deer saw the big dust cloud hit below it and ran up the hill to me about 50 yards. meanwile i was frantickly re-loading! after i got re-loaded about leaving my ram rod in the gun (thank godnes for the break action TC, when i broke it to prim it my ram rod went flying down the hill!!) i held right on its sholder and.......wack nailed it it went about 50 yards and died ..........so ya thats my story.