Since I was the only one there, and filming myself, I guess I'm the only one who knows what actually happened and what the situation and conditions were.
Like I said in the video, I eff'd it up. Some folks might want to blame a scope, a rifle, the ammo, or some other distraction. That would be BS.
That set-up kills a lot of stuff. I shoot it a lot. Ammo is free for me, so I spare no expense with practice. This year in CO, that same set-up killed a really nice bull 342 yards across a canyon, at about the same shot angle, though from higher above. The bull went a few steps and slid down the canyon until getting hung up in oak brush.
I've killed a lot of elk with a .308 Win at that distance. It has nothing to do with the cartridge, the ammo, the rifle, or the scope. That rifle is dead nuts accurate when the nut behind the trigger does his job. In this case, that nut didn't do his job. It is not the fault of the .308 Win.
I have a three .300 Win Mags, a .300 WSM, and five .308s. I like them all. The most accurate of them all are the .308s. I can't say why, but that is just how it is. I've killed lots of elk with a .300 Win Mag, also. At that shot angle, a .300 Win Mag is going to drift almost the same, and such that it would have also been a miss, or possibly grazed the body.
For a little background, we had passed that bull the evening before. My son is a very good shot, but at 420, even with a prone rest, he and I agreed it was best too wait for a better set up, given the bull seem very relaxed and no other hunters were crawling into these canyons. He was carrying a .300 Win Mag.
We saw the bull again the following morning and tried to locate him in the P-J canyons. He milled around a bit, but was now about 500 yards. We hoped to wait him out and he would come down below us. No luck, he actually climbed out of the canyon, further away, and out of sight into the next canyon.
That afternoon we split up, with me going the direction least likely to be where I expected the bull to be, with Matthew and the camera guy going to the head of the drainage that would give them better view into the P-J down below.
Before splitting up, the camera guy gave me the extra video camera and an adapter to fit my tripod. His last words were, "If I hear a shot, you better get it on film."
I found the bull feeding broadside, about 50 yards left from where he was in this video. I was on a north canyon face among a burned patch of oak brush when he stepped out from behind a P-J while feeding.
I stopped and hoped he did not hear me. I glassed and saw it was the bull we had been chasing. About 40 yards below him was his buddy and he was on full alert, looking up my direction.
As quietly as I could, I took off my pack, withdrew the camera and tripod and tried to get it set-up. If not for the filming requirement, I would have leaned on a tree, probably not have been distracted by filming, and I suspect the broadside shot would have been lethal. But, that is not a luxury I am afforded when we have $20K wrapped up in production costs of each episode.
I finally got the camera set up, but it kept focusing on the burned trees and even when zoomed, burned limbs were obscuring the image. I had to move slightly to find a small opening that would allow for an unobscured image. The bull below was listening and trying to sort out what I was, eventually walking low and right of the screen.
I hit the record button and started to set up on the rifle, finding it difficult to find any shooting lanes unless I stoop upright, a shot I would not take at that distance. My only hope was to climb up about twenty feet and get above most the burned limbs.
In the time it took to do that, the bull turned and walked to my right and stopped where I ended up shooting.
That put him out of camera frame, so I had to go down to the camera and readjust the frame to the new location where the bull was now standing. He was now looking at his buddy, knowing something was wrong.
I quickly hopped up to my shooting position, not wanting him to move out of frame again. Once the crosshairs were steady, I shot. I was sure I hit him. But, he sure didn't act hit. So, I shot again, which if you look closely, a Pinion limb is clipped. He took off.
When I got there, all I found was some small pieces of long hair from his mane, which I think was the first shot. I followed for a long ways, but to no avail.
The bull was tucked into a small notch on the opposite canyon face, to my north. I was on the south side of this small canyon. There was a very stout wind blowing down the canyon, as is often the case at last light in the west.
Folks are welcome to judge, second guess, or make their own determinations of what would have killed the bull, what the wind speed was, etc.
I suspect if it had been a normal team of me and a camera guy and me not filming myself, the odds of me forgetting to hold for a crosswind would have been much less. And I am 100% sure that a .300 Win Mag would have not killed that bull when the operator made the mistake I did.
Every bull I have hit with a .308 Win has died. I had one bull I grazed with a .300 Win Mag that live to see many more days.
Plain and simple, I messed up. No good excuse. I could be like most other outdoor platforms who don't show, tell, write about, their misses. But, I have no interest in some sort of facade that doesn't show what happened.
With the decision to show it how it happened, miss or hit, comes the critique from others who weren't there, who don't know the conditions, the distractions, or the ample/rare shooting positions available, and who are going to second guess it. That's fine. Comes with the territory.
I think I drew that same tag again this year. I will know when they update the draw results this coming week. If so, I can assure you I will be holding for crosswinds this time and I am bringing two camera guys so if we split up both hunters will have a camera guy to worry about getting it on film.
Thanks for watching.
Last edited by BigFin; 03/25/17.
