Rifle was a Win M70 featherweight push feed .270, load was Fed premium 150 nosler partition. I couldn't help but think that my pet Sako AV .35 Whelen w/250 grain Horn RN bullet at 2500fps would have been a bit more decisive under the circumstances. I shot my cow with that combination a couple days before, one shot through the lungs at 205 yards, she did a death dash of about 40 yds and piled up.
My buddy got a little too excited when the big boy decided to thrash the willows for 5 minutes just 50 yds into the bush from his tree stand, but where it was so thick that he couldn't see him. A cow was standing directly under him and another just a few yards in front, and he couldn't hardly breathe for fear of spooking them and chasing away the bull. When the bull finally stepped out, he was shot 5 times, ( from only about 20- 70 yds) but all hit a bit too far forward, none hit the shoulder bones or spine and only one bullet grazed the lungs. The bull made it about 150 yds into the hay field before expiring. Not a perfect result, but if we didn't get excited we wouldn't be out there!
Like I wrote before, I can only estimate his weight, but my buddy told me tonight he put 260 lbs of perfectly trimmed & deboned meat in his freezer.
We usually hunt elk on the forest fringe, where farmland butts up against the vast crown lands. Our elk will feed on farm fields at night if they can, alfalfa is their preferred food but they will also eat wheat and other grains and forages. They tend to come out to the fields at night and retire to bed a few KM's deep in the forest for the day. We prefer to leave the bedding areas alone and usually hunt the edges morning and evening.
Last edited by castnblast; 10/18/14.
