In 2014 I lost my first elk in 32 years of hunting them.
Tell us the difference in your elk that got away and what you are complaining about.
First, I'm not "complaining", merely commenting. What other people do is up to them but what these people in the video did wasn't something I would do and no. I don't give them any kudos for their "hunting" skills as I didn't see anything I would remotely consider "hunting" in the video.
The elk I lost was the first and only one I've lost since I started elk hunting in 1982 and would have been the 14th for me since 2000 (15 years). Not at all sure just how many more I took between 1982 through 1999, or how many I passed on during those years because the shot opportunity didn't measure up to what I was comfortable with.
A second difference is I hit the elk with the first and only shot. In spite of the most massive blood trail I have ever seen, it escaped to private land where we couldn't follow. The dark blood and chest-high blood on the brush on both sides of its trail suggested a liver hit with a pass-through.
Another is that the range was 389 yards, not 1376 yards. I practice pretty regularly out to 600 yards and when the wind cooperates I am able to hit clay pigeons at that range on a pretty regular basis - something I proved two weekends ago to hit 8 clay pigeons at 600 with about 30 tries. While that is only about a 27% success rate all but a couple would have hit an 8" plate and I believe all would have been in the kill zone for an animal the size of an elk. I underestimated a crosswind, which we couldn't see or feel from our position, and that lead to my shot hitting the elk a bit further back than I intended, assuming it was indeed a liver hit. Add 1,000 yards and there is a lot more room for things to go wrong, as the kid's first shot miss proved.
Finally, I actually "hunted" to obtain the shot opportunity, something you suggest the people in the video did but without any evidence to back up your claim.
Convince me that the video wasn't just a promotional video with the kid and the elk being props.
FWIW wind is always visible in one way or anohter.
Likely why I have not made many longer shots, because I take the time to read it all the way out and back in and check side draws etc....
If you continue practicing at 600, which is a good thing even if you don't shoot at game at that distance, start figuring out WHY you are missing clay targets. There is always a cause. If its not you or the gun/ammo, then you are not seeing everything you need to.
Remember mirage and wind are 2 seperate issues. One shows there is wind and lets you guess speed, but it also optically moves the aiming/impact point. Wind moves the bullet.
There is a LOT more to learn over years of time, to shooting well especially at longer distances, than there is to figuring out how to get closer and make a chip shot.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
