December 10, 2006 at 10:52am
I'm not sure if you want to know how far the bullet can fly or how far it will kill a deer. I will assume you mean kill a deer.
The question is, what is your maximum distance. The gun will kill a lot farther than you can ethically shoot. You need to know your limitations. How well you group your shots from a sitting, prone, free hand and rested position. What range is your gun sighted in for and what is its trajectory for your maximum range. Some people are such poor shots they shouldn't hunt at all till they learn how to shoot. Others can, under the right conditions, shoot 1000 yds. In my opinion, and everybody has one, the average person walking around the woods today should limit themselves to 200 yds. The above average 300 yds. Those that work at it and practice rifle control, trigger control, body control, know their rifle and cartridge, have a range finder 500 yds.
If you are having to ask, I would start at the 100 yds till I could prove on paper under field conditions that I could perform at longer ranges. You should hunt with the sniper mentality, one shot one deer.
Good luck with your shooting and hunting.