Can you shoot this Rabbit from 282 Yards out?

What you are about to witness is an amazing feat of shooting with a .17 HMR as a rabbit at 282 yards away goes down with no problem.
We know that the .17 HMR was made to shoot accurately at long distances, but because the bullet is so small, it’s hard for most people to hit longer shots. But if you really know what you are doing, and know the science of long range shooting, hitting something like this 282 Yard shot on a rabbit is no problem. Most people won’t even be able to spot the rabbit from that far away, much less actually pull off this amazing shot.

It’s absolutely amazing how when a person knows exactly what the conditions are and how to account for them you are able to hit such a difficult shot with such ease. If you can hit a shot like this, well done on you; if not, it looks like you need to spend a little more time out on the range practicing your technique.

Video Transcription
Ok, that’s 282 yards away, I’ve got an 8-mile an hour wind going from left to right (the wind at ground level is less), and I’ve got 42 clicks left and 40 clicks up. I’ll just show you what that looks like.

That’s a long way. [chuckles] Ok, I’ll be eating that later, it won’t go to waste. And to all you people who don’t like seeing these sorts of videos, either don’t watch them, or just learn that that’s the way things happen.

And as always, once you’ve adjusted for elevation, always make sure that you take it back off again. Ok. So we’re now gonna wind it back down.

Some of the kit I’m using to pull off a shot like that is the Kestral 1000 wind gauge, with the HMR, it’s absolutely critical that those sorts of distances, that you get the wind bang on. Ok, at those sorts of distances, one mile an hour is gonna push your bullet off the target.

For initially spotting the rabbit at that distance, I’m using a set of Leicas. The Leica 8×42 BNs, they’re excellent in all light conditions, with exception of where it’s completely too dark, at dawn and dusk it’s superb.

Ok, the rifle, a CZ452 Arment, 16in barrel, I’ve got a Sirocco moderator on it, and I’ve got a Nikon monarch 3 scope, with 4-16 magnification, however I always shoot distance on 12-times.

Now the bullets I use are the Hornadys 17-grain ballistic tip. Don’t waste your money payin’ a few quid on more expensive bullets, they all come out of the same factory, they all do the same job.

Ok, there’s the rabbit, let’s go around to the right so we can look better. Ok, let’s see if I can work out where I hit it.

Ok, at these sort of distances, the little 17 doesn’t tend to explode or to disintigrate or fragment as much as it does at further distances. I was aiming here for a chest shot somewhere, and I can’t see either the entrance or the exit. Ok, so the chances are, that bullet’s still inside it. trapped inside I think. Yeah, we’ve got a very small exit wound. I don’t know whether you can see that there. Very small exit wound. So even at that distance, 282 yards, this tiny little bullet goes straight through that rabbit. Ok. And that will be pretty much a good heart shot. Instant death.

Ok and if you want to see where that shot was taken, again, it was taken right up on that high ground. Ok so we were shooting down safely at a good angle, into this soft soil, if I was to get a miss, which we all do from time to time. Hope you enjoyed the video, and I’ll do another one soon.

Sources: freedomofabird Youtube, Chris Buckner