up/downhill shots on game

the bullets will generally stay high for the average distance game is shot at.

it has proved out for me to work best when i hold the horizontal x-hair on the hairline of the brisket... unless you are shooting pretty long range.

i have heard it said that if the critter is 100 yards downhill and 50 yards out, that you hold for a 50 yard shot, even though he is 150 yards away...

i can visualize what i am trying to say but am having trouble verbalizing it. maybe someone else can un-muddy the waters i made?

i don't recall ever seeing it... perhaps you could bless us w/ your wisdom?

What is a hill?

max

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It is really simple:

Shooting up hill or down hill rifles shoot flatter.

Unless you are shooting over 300 yds or steep angles (45 degrees or more) ignore this.

BEAR

I do believe some have not mastered this shooting fact as of the posts I read.

First off I would like to ask a question or two perhaps. How do your know that the animal your shooting at is at say 250 yards? I am speaking of a hunter who doesn't have a guide at his right arm to whisper in his ear or a range finder either.

Next how do you calculate that the horizontal line is a 150 yards? Another thing is you ain't got all day to look it up in the shooting books Gents. This is a once in a lifetime buck!

Just suppose that big mulie was standing on a butt somewhere's in the area of 400 yards and you got your 300 Win mag with ya. You zeroed the rifle for 300 yards dead on center bulls eye. This big buck is above you facing to your left with his head and front shoulder, at about 65 degrees up hill, with the sun at his backside in that Western sky.

He is showing out like a black pearl under a 250 watt lamp! The wind has picked up a mite, runnin 12 miles an hour give or take, across your shootin plane in front from left to right. So where you gonna aim on the mulie buck, shooting that 165 grain premium bullet going 3200fps?

2bits given the description of the shot you just layed out. I'ld say probably better hold off till that deer isn't skylined. Remember the old rule about not shooting at anything  when you don't know what's in the background?

 If you spend enough time with the sights/ scope on your rifle you can figure out after a bit how to use it as a crude range finder.

You're going to have to hold low on the uphill critter in the first place. You want a low entry for a center of mass kill shot. On the downhill guy you can hold where you would normally place the bullet but expect it to hit high, which you want so the bullet goes through the middle of the lungs. This is for 250 yards and less. More than that you you best have some skills and you wouldn't be asking me.:)

A buddy shot an elk at 450 yards with a 7 MM Mag. He got rattled and aimed just where he wanted the bullet to go. The bull was maybe 30 degrees downhill so there was some bullet drop, but not near as much as there would have been. He hit low and slightly back (probably shouldn't have taken the shot). He tracked it and finished it.

2 bits,I'd either practice my rangefinding skills or buy a rangefinder.Inclination can be hard to judge so a lot of LR shooters have an inclinator on their rifle to help.Failing that a rough guide for angle is estimating the 90 then 45 and going from their with pythagorous(sp).

Macca