Reply #38: I think they run a little less than two miles... [View All]

That is the absolute ballistic maximum. Probably 30 or more degrees of elevation involed to get that.

The maximum effective range of a rifle is the lesser of:

a) the range at which the bullet transitions to subsonic speeds, the shock of which disrupts the trajectory of the bullet, or

b) the range at which the inheirent accuracy of the ammunition/rifle combination is no longer able to hit an 8-inch circle, the size of human vital organs in the chest.

These are, of course, independent of the shooter him/herself, which is even lower than those numbers. If you can only hit an 8" circle at less than 200 yards, then that is your personal effective range, pretty much regardless of hardware or bullet velocity.

Most off-the-shelf deer rifles can shoot accurately enough from a fixed rest to be lethal to about 400 yards.

Cartridges like the .308 and .30-'06 go subsonic in the 800-yard range, IIRC. About a half-mile or so.