You're likely to get a fabricated answer.
As much as I don't really enjoy the guy, watching old Erik Cortina showcase a bunch of "Joes" trying to CBS a MOA target at 500 from a prone position with the latest PRS cartridges is a reality-maker. Yes, a lot of near misses would have resulted in dead deer...but there would be a lot of tracking involved.
I would think that a field position version would be pretty entertaining to watch, but that the success rate would be pretty humbling.
Great example.
the first challenge EC did, a buddy of mine was the guy who hit the target in this video.
The equipment featured in these videos definitely gives pause to a lot of guys talking about "shots past 500" for hunting.
The setups in this video were easily $3000+, heavy ass rigs, that no one is carrying around out west.
Keep in mind these videos are situations where you have ample time to setup your shot, get comfortable, daylight, etc etc every advantage possible.
Last season I shot at a buck which I spotted glancing pretty much over my shoulder. Had to completely turn sideways, sitting on a hang-on, where one of the seat pins broke off mid-shot. He donkey-kicked and then stood there..then I watched him slowly head into an overgrown field off the field edge..I imagined I'd be greeted with a collapsed buck once we got down to track later..250 yards, blood everywhere, and we were not able to recover him after tracking (he was still plenty alive and took off when we got close...coyotes got him later that night unfortunately when we went back for tracking round 2).
I learned a few lessons there:
1. I wont shoot past 200 with straight-wall/350 legend (a few were lost this year in my group all past that distance).
2. Practicing shots I would never imagine trying at the range (not seated at a bench, or prone..neither happens in the woods for me)...even possibly implementing some of the sling work I've seen guys do to support their standing service rifle shots..
3. I did not shoot enough at 200 with this rifle to understand it well, just knew the drop..roughly...from a few shots. All my practice and sight in was at 100..which is common for michigan, as we rarely get shots past 100 yards in most of the terrain here.
Point being, with my novice ramblings aside, its never as easy as it is in the youtube videos, in real life. Im partially colorblind to boot. Without snow, my tracking is handicapped. I cant imagine hiking out 500+ yards over western terrain to look for blood. I have a hard time believing most are doing this and recovering game successfully after, even without my issue of not seeing certain colors.
A lot of guys make their buying decisions on hypothetical scenarios they imagine will happen in their head. Once you get out there to actually hunt, its very humbling. Its like buying a track-capable car for daily driving. Sure the potential is there, but most guys I know have never seen a day at the track, or a professional driving course to even know how to drive the car to its potential to begin with.
