RIFLES must not be fired unless there is a good backstop - something behind the target to stop bullets that miss or pass through that target.
At official rifle ranges, backstops are always part of the range's layout.
However, when we use a rifle elsewhere, the situation changes.
Responsibility for backstops then rests with us, and we must ensure there's an adequate backstop before we touch the trigger.
Sometimes the quarry and terrain force us to shoot at upward angles; feral goats in hill country often present such shots, for example.
All bullets reach their maximum range when fired somewhere between 25 and 37 degrees above horizontal, so many upward shots can be taken at angles that will cause bullets to travel as far as they possibly can unless a good backstop intervenes.
That's why shooting at a skylined animal is not on.
There is no backstop, and we cannot see where an errant bullet might land or what it might hit.
When a projectile reaches its maximum range and hits the ground, we say it is "spent", but spent doesn't mean harmless. It's a fact that most spent bullets are potential killers.
Their ability to injure is beyond question, and most can still ricochet, too. At maximum range, virtually all bullets are still travelling at 300 to 500 feet per second (fps).
For example, a 55gn bullet fired from a factory-loaded .223 Rem will hit the ground at about 385fps, while a 175gn bullet from a 7mm Rem Mag factory load is still good for 475 fps.
The table (below) gives calculated maximum ranges for various well-known cartridges.
MAXIMUM RANGES
Cartridge Bullet Max. Range
.30-06 200gn BTSP 5.66 km
7mm Rem Mag 175gn 4.73 km
.30-06 180gn 4.72 km
7mm WSM 162gn 4.60 km
.270 Win 130gn 4.38 km
.25-06 120gn 4.26 km
.243 Win 100gn 4.19 km
.308 Win 150gn 4.08 km
6mm PPC 75gn 3.95 km
.458 Win Mag 500gn 3.68 km
.220 Swift 55gn 3.52 km
22-250 55gn 3.21 km
.17 Rem 25gn 3.19 km
.30-30 170gn 3.13 km
223 Rem 55gn 2.93 km
.17 HMRF 22gn 1.94 km
.22 Hornet 45gn 1.91 km
.22 Mag RF 40gn 1.57 km
.22LR rimfire (HV) 40gn 1.48 km
For each, I've used the load which should reach the furthest. It is not necessarily the load with the heaviest bullet or the highest muzzle velocity.
