Rule of Thumb

[darrohn801]

What is everyone's "rule of thumb" when shooting around livestock, cattle, horses, etc? In the video below the land owner said he had no animals on his property so I'm not sure whose sheep those were, but I felt ok about taking the shots as there were no sheep directly behind my target. Curious what all of you consider the line for a go/no go shot?

143103 (convert-video-online.com).mp4

 

[FrankT]

well the sheep were behind the fence so had to be on someones property. Saying that you were safe in that shot but about as close as I would shoot.

 

[Curly Shuffle]

First shot fine second shot not so much. If it went thru it easily could of whacked one of the little fur balls to the right no problem. Just an opinion. BANG BANG!!

 

[Cazz]

Good question. To me it's different if the target is stationary or moving. If I'm swinging the gun I'm a lot less likely to take a shot if something other than my target is in my field of view.

 

[darrohn801]

Good question. To me it's different if the target is stationary or moving. If I'm swinging the gun I'm a lot less likely to take a shot if something other than my target is in my field of view.

Definitely think this is a factor. I feel like with a stationary shot and shooting into soft dirt the chances of a ricochet are very small.

 

[Chopperdrvr]

It might take some digging, but we have a video somewhere on here that shows a very solid hit on a stationary hog and the bullet changing direction by about 30 degrees AFTER passing through the hog. The way I approach it is I don't shoot near anything I can't afford to buy. That price has to also include being asked to never come back again.

 

[ZenArchery]

Better to be safer then owe land owner money and get kicked off property.

 

[darrohn801]

It might take some digging, but we have a video somewhere on here that shows a very solid hit on a stationary hog and the bullet changing direction by about 30 degrees AFTER passing through the hog. The way I approach it is I don't shoot near anything I can't afford to buy. That price has to also include being asked to never come back again.

Good point. Would love to see the video!

 

[lonepunman]

Here's the video and thread; you guys owe me 30 seconds.

Bullet Deflection and Livestock: Cautionary Consideration | Lone Star Boars

 

[Chopperdrvr]

Yeah! That's the one. Thanks for digging that one up.

 

[RattlesnakeDan]

If there were sheep there, then DJ was certainly responsible for bringing them.

 

[Brian Shaffer]

I don't mind shooting over or by livestock, but I don't like shooting at a hog if there is livestock anywhere close by behind it (directly behind, left, or right). I have seen rounds in various videos that pass through the target hog and deflect left or right and continue down range.

 

[der Teufel]

I don't have to worry about anything other than cattle where I hunt, and I'll shoot as long as they're a little off to the side. I've shot hogs that were wandering through the herd when they got to a gap in the cattle that was maybe 40 yards wide (at a range of ~100 yards). Generally the fear mechanism for a cow is to freeze. They might then decide to leave the area, but they don't stampede.

 

[fanninland]

der Tuefel's 40yd gap at 100 yds observation seems about right for me as well. This may sound backwards but if it's my cattle I'll shoot closer to them than if it's some of our leasee's cattle.