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I know it would greatly depend on terrain but do you think a 300 yard personal limit is too restrictive for general Elk hunting?
I may get a chance to go to Colorado soon. The place I'm going,I've been told that out of over 20 a friend of mine can remember, the longest shot was just over 200 yards.
It may even be a silly question but I'm trying to set up my rifle and scope combo.I'm wondering if you guys would feel OK if you set yourself a 300 to possibly 350 or so personal limit with your equipment.
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My self imposed limit has been 300 yards. If you have the rifle, scope, ammo and practice to shoot longer distances, go for it. I'm sure that some members are comfortable up to and, in some cases, exceeding 500 yards, but I'm not one of them.
donsm70
PS. It is not the rifle, scope and ammo that concerns me.
Life Member...Safari Club International
Life Member...Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
Life Member...Keystone Country Elk Alliance
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I know it would greatly depend on terrain but do you think a 300 yard personal limit is too restrictive for general Elk hunting?... Perfectly reasonable. I've killed my share of elk and I don't think I've shot one over 200 yards away. A friend of mine was sneaking up on a small bull for a surer, closer shot, and bagged a 340 class bull while she crawled! 300 yards is too far for most hunters to shoot accurately under field conditions.
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I have only shot 3 elk. The longest was 50 yards (5x5 bull). The next longest was about 40 yards (cow) and a 20 yarder during archery season (7x8 bull).
So 300 yards sounds pretty far to me but everyone is different and you get the shots you get. So I might take a long shot if presented with one.
"Socialism produces bad music, bad art, social stagnation and really unhappy people", “I am a conservative, and you may not like that, but I am.” Frank Zappa 1986
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I bet 95% of elk are killed less than 300 yards out.
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My self imposed limit has been 300 yards. If you have the rifle, scope, ammo and practice to shoot longer distances, go for it. I'm sure that some members are comfortable up to and, in some cases, exceeding 500 yards, but I'm not one of them.
donsm70
PS. It is not the rifle, scope and ammo that concerns me.
Don,I can comfortably shoot 200 yards now but haven't really shot much farther except a couple times just because you are lucky here to be able to see over 200 yards in 99% of the hunting situations.Rest assured I have found a 500 yard range close enough to get in plenty of practice from field positions. 300 is just my thinking right now,hopefully shots will be closer but I'll practice until I know my limit regardless.I am an experienced hunter and I won't be taking off hand pot shots at 300.
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I know it would greatly depend on terrain but do you think a 300 yard personal limit is too restrictive for general Elk hunting? For some it is, and for others it's too generous. The trick is in knowing where you fall.
A wise man is frequently humbled.
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Try shooting farther, then see if you are going to be hunting alone or with spotters, helpers.
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Think in terms of time rather than distance.
Lotta elk just wander away while hunters are fiddling with scope dials.
If you hunt on your feet you'll mostly see elk at more-or-less the same time they see you. I read once the average elk kill distance in Colorado - 93 yards. I believe that statistic to be very accurate.
You might have 3 seconds, maybe 5 seconds. That sounds dramatic but it is actually plenty of time to get into a position and be sure of your shot.
The best elk hunting drill I know is - get your rifle off your shoulder and quickly get into position - standing, sitting, kneeling (prone probably won't be an option because there will be too much deadfall and low groundcover).
You won't have time to scout the nearby terrain for shooting rests - this has to happen wherever you are right then.
Once in position that should still you leave a full second to select the animal that presents the best shot, make sure you have a checkmate shot, and to take careful aim.
Be able to hit a basketball sized target with the 1st shot, cycle a cartridge, and hit again with a quick second shot.
Don't be that guy who is picking up brass instead of seeing which direction the elk went. Whether your shot found it's mark or not you will want that brass left on the ground as a reference.
If you somehow find yourself in a situation where an elk has broken cover at 300 yards in daylight during hunting season expect there to be some reason for it. Is it private land? special early season? an alfalfa field? busted out of cover? Anyway, if you are that lucky then you will probably have plenty of time to set up for that shot.
I hope you are that lucky.
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OP
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Think in terms of time rather than distance.
Lotta elk just wander away while hunters are fiddling with scope dials.
If you hunt on your feet you'll mostly see elk at more-or-less the same time they see you. I read once the average elk kill distance in Colorado - 93 yards. I believe that statistic to be very accurate.
You might have 3 seconds, maybe 5 seconds. That sounds dramatic but it is actually plenty of time to get into a position and be sure of your shot.
The best elk hunting drill I know is - get your rifle off your shoulder and quickly get into position - standing, sitting, kneeling (prone probably won't be an option because there will be too much deadfall and low groundcover).
You won't have time to scout the nearby terrain for shooting rests - this has to happen wherever you are right then.
Once in position that should still you leave a full second to select the animal that presents the best shot, make sure you have a checkmate shot, and to take careful aim.
Be able to hit a basketball sized target with the 1st shot, cycle a cartridge, and hit again with a quick second shot.
Don't be that guy who is picking up brass instead of seeing which direction the elk went. Whether your shot found it's mark or not you will want that brass left on the ground as a reference.
If you somehow find yourself in a situation where an elk has broken cover at 300 yards in daylight during hunting season expect there to be some reason for it. Is it private land? special early season? an alfalfa field? busted out of cover? Anyway, if you are that lucky then you will probably have plenty of time to set up for that shot.
I hope you are that lucky.
That hunting scenario sounds just like how I hunt whitetails here,except I've shot a bunch a lot quicker than 5 seconds in a full out run at 50-75 yards. I don't know the terrain and situation there yet. It is private owned and set up as a men's Christian retreat, complete with cabin. It's not run as a business,just as a wealthy individual who offers it to whoever he wants.
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In 31 years of hunting in Colorado, I've shot one of my 22 Elk over 300 yards. That one was shot while I was standing next to a tree and I had the time to use that tree as a rest. I do have my rifle scope zeroed in at 300 yards but that is because there is only a 3" difference between 100 yards and 350 yards. So I don't have to think about anything except placing the shot where I want it. Over 300 yards and I will try to get closer. I would rather let them walk away before taking the chance of wounding them. But as others have said, most of my elk have been taken at under 200 yards with around 3 to 5 seconds to make the shot.
Good luck with your hunt.
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All but about 4 of the more than 40 elk that I have killed were under 150 yards and about half of those were less than 100. I know that I shot one at a little over 330 and one of the others may have been a few yards over 300--I would have to dig out my field notes to be sure. Both of those bulls were stationary and I had a good, solid rest for my rifle.
I was a lot younger then, and thought that a good hunt required an animal on the ground. These days, I just want them as close as possible and a clean kill. Most every big game animal I have taken for the last 11 or 12 years has been with the aid of shooting sticks, either a Stoney Point Polecat or a Bog Pod.
Ben
Some days it takes most of the day for me to do practically nothing...
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I use the 6" and 10" paper party plate test.
Buy some 6" or 10" diameter paper plates like those you get at birthday parties. 6" for deer. 10" for elk.
The range you can hit 5 out of 5 shots is your limit. NO MISSES AT ALL!
That's the test I gave to my clients years ago when I was doing a lot of guiding.
Didn't matter if they were hunting with irons sighted rifles. scoped rifles, muzzleloaders handguns or a bow and arrow. If I had someone that could not shoot well I just hunted them in different ways so I would always get my client within HIS range. I got a LOT of tips and satisfied clients because I would use tactics that fit their abilities and I never even told them what I was doing.
5 out of 5. NO MISSES.
That how you can tell what your limit is. No one else can tell you. Only you can know the answer, but do the test and be 100% honest with yourself.
Last edited by szihn; 04/06/17.
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how many paper plates, and at what ranges would you put them out at? and how many plates would they get to burn up 5 shots on, before you knew their special range?
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If I haven't made the shot in practice, I don't try it at an animal.
If you've proven the distance you can make the shot and proven when you can't, your limit is a known.
Otherwise, why set an arbitrary limit?
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You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend."
Isak Dinesen
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I don't think anyone else can really tell you how far you can shoot. Last fall at the range a fella was there shooting 3" groups at 100 yds and claimed his self imposed limit was 200 yds. That's a 6" pie plate at 200. A friend of mine was there shooting and hung his first target at 500 yds. The other fella who was there said he was wasting ammo as 500 was way to far. My friend then shot a 3ish" group at 500. In fact he does it all the time.
So the question is would you take a 6" 200 yd self imposed limit, or would you take a 3" 500 yd self imposed limit?
I think the answer is.....only you know how well you and your gun shoot, what bullet your useing, cartridge, etc.
Trystan
Last edited by Trystan; 04/06/17.
Good bullets properly placed always work, but not everyone knows what good bullets are, or can reliably place them in the field
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I've killed a lot of elk over the years and only 1 was over 300. I lasered it at 350.
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If I haven't made the shot in practice, I don't try it at an animal.
If you've proven the distance you can make the shot and proven when you can't, your limit is a known.
Otherwise, why set an arbitrary limit? The 300 yard limit is as far as I want to use an elevation turret and a plex reticle without any windage hold marks.The edge of the thick portion of the plex is 3 moa from center. I figure I can guess wind as far as 300 and not be off enough to miss a kill zone.
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I have killed a few at 300 and 300 +, but I have killed a lot more at less than 100 yards. My elk rifle is zeroed dead on at 100 yards with my 220gr RN. If I am using the 180's the rifle shoots them 2" high at 100 with the same scope setting.
It is a lot easier to adjust you sight picture to accomodate 300 yards than it is to do it at 35 yards with your rifle sighted in to 300 yards and you are trying to thread a bullet thru thick timber
Last edited by saddlesore; 04/06/17.
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There aren't a lot of ranges in the south to practice at 300+. I live in NW Ga and the local range where I shoot stops at 300. I have a hay farmer friend that lets me shoot at his place a few times a year, I could go 1000 if I wanted to. I usually go in the spring after everything dries out and before the hay starts growing. Once he starts cutting hay he doesn't want me there and during deer season someone else has hunting rights so Fall is out.
I've gone and practiced with shooting sticks a few times out to 600. To be honest I found it a lot easier than I thought, at least with no wind. I was able to keep all shots at 400 within 5-6" and 6-8" at 500. Shooting at 600 around 12" was the best I could do. This was with shooting sticks. If I'd gone prone with a pack for a rest I know I could have done better. With a range finder, basic knowledge of your drops and a scope with dots hold overs aren't that hard.
But I have no experience reading wind. I'd take a shot at 400 with no wind. In windy conditions, I'd probably limit myself to 200-250 at most. If someone has shot in the wind and knows how to compensate for it longer shots are probably doable. But it is hard to replicate the windy conditions you see in the west while practicing in GA.
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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