Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Avergae Shooting Distance on Elk Hunt

I have taken 4 elk. 1 in Col. and 3 in Wy. Average distance was 235yds.

For me, while hunting in Eastern Oregon's Wallowa County only;
Average- 115 yards
Shortest- 40 yards
Longest-225 yards

FWIW- I sight in for 3.5 in high at 100 yards and then shoot at 200 and 300 yards to figure out what the load really does. I then use Norma or Hornady's ballistic program to give me rough ideas on trajecoty based on the three known points.

Since you are considering cartridges and rifles- I have killed elk with 308-150/165, 30-06-180, and 338-225's.

They all worked fine. I think with the 338 it is easier to tell from their reaction that they are hit than with the 30's. Not everyone agrees.

Even though I have never killed an elk with one. I have also seen enough folks use 200 grain Noslers out of a 300 Magnum [two Sako's, two Ruger 300 Win Mags and a Win 70 in 300 H&H] to recommend that as well.

I hunt our coast range also but it is pretty challenging to hunt so the ranges tend to be either quite short or quite long and measuring range prior to the range finders was essentially impossible.

I agree with the .338. On the other hand, if you don't know what kind of area you will be hunting and if its going to be a once and done deal, I would go with the all around bolt action 3006 with 180s.

I have 2 at 300 yds, most are 100 to 200. I hunt in so. Idaho where the country is very open, lots of sagebrush. The last 2 were with a 300 WSM. It's a little flatter shooting than a 30-06 or 270 but I haven't needed that edge so far. Before I bought it, all of my elk were with a 270 out to 300 yds. None went more than 100 yds after the shot.

your question was: "at what distance are most elks taken?"

my answer: the majority are killed at less than 300 yards.

you didn't ask about caliber or bullet type, so i imagine you already have made that choice.

I think my elk this year was taken at about the 26 mile mark. (That is how far I walked in the 2.5 days prior to shooting it.)

The gun is way less important than the running shoe/boot tread you have worn off in the previous 6 months.

I'll plus 1 that last post.

Best post I have read in a LONG time!!

The average is one thing, at 163, but the longest was 350 and there are many shots at longer ranges that I have turned down. These days I practice out to 600 yards, although I wouldn�t take a shot at that range unless conditions were good.

The closest shot has been 25 yards but I�ve turned down shots at 25 feet.

Get yourself a 7mm Rem Mag, .30-06, or .300 Win Mag, use good bullets (Partition or better) and you�ll have all the gun you need inside 500 yards and the 7mm RM and .300 WM are good beyond 500. More important than the cartridge is your ability with it.

Shot a few Elk and my experience says your shoe leather statement is right on. All my Elk have been between 50 feet and 75 yards. But you know I'll not pass on that Boone and Crockett Elk that I don't think I can sneak closer too. I'm an 8MM Remington Magnum kinda guy when it comes to Elk I don't worry about those quartering shots.

50-150yds. Been lucky I guess.

Average? Or most frequent?

Since I started carying an elk rifle in 1970, I've killed a lot more elk at less than a hundred yds than over........

Both elk this year were 80-90 yds--and both were running/trotting at the time.

My longest elk kill was later lasered at 441 yds.

It's going to depend on the area you hunt, and how you hunt--but in most elk country, you'll find more elk holed up in the timber than wandering around in the open.

Practicing bringing up the rifle, flipping off scope covers and safety, finding the target in the scope, keeping both eyes open to find a shooting lane, will get you more elk than will hitting a milk jug from prone at 600 yds..........

Guiding, I see more clients miss the whole opportunity at an elk moving through the timber at less than a 100 yds, than they just plain miss the elk at 250-300 yds.

Casey

Good advice,Casey.

The elk my wife and I have taken (mostly in Montana) have been shot at an average of 158 yards. That includes a little bowhunting, but the shortest shots with the rifle are right in there with bowhunting, around 40 yards. The longest shot I've ever made (or even attempted was 375 yards.

Aside from Montana, I have hunted elk from New Mexico to British Columbia, from early September into December. There have been some opportunities for very long range shooting, especially in Colorado and above timberline in BC, but I have never been very tempted by such shots. Maybe if I'd seen a really big bull at 500 yards I would have been, but my three biggest bulls were taken at 75, 100 and 250 yards.

I have never had any diffculty killing elk with a .30 caliber, and all of my wife's have been taken with a .270. No problems there either.

I'm with the crowd that advises practice that stresses the ability to shoot quickly at the shorter ranges vs. the longer ranges.
Having killed a few big, tough critters way out there, I've learned a few things.
First, I would not sacrifice any handling quality of my rifle choice that slowed me down for those quick shots in favor of one that favors the longer shots.
Second, I'd know the maximum expansion range and other characteristics of the bullets I'm using. All bullets expand very little, if at all, after a certain point. There is also the concern about hitting a big animal in the fanny and then finding either of these later. I, for one, would be very reluctant to take either shot if it were on the edge of my bullet's performance.
Last of all, I've learned that wind can be very complicated in the areas where elk live. As far as I'm concerned, no long shots for this elk hunter under any kind of windy conditions. E

Doing the math in my head for the 7-8 I've been personally involved with...

Around 200 yards...

Now let's talk average packing distance to get the dang things out of there... And average vertical distance... Grin/groan...

Plus one. Elk ghosting through the timber, or crashing along is even worse, will make a monkey out of you if you don't really focus on staying cool and keeping the captain in charge of the ship so to speak.

It never cost me an elk, because there were no legal shooters, but my first couple years there were a couple times where, after the encounter, I'd do a self-analysis and realize that if there HAD been a shooter, I'd likely not have got him... You have to stay sharp, and most importantly, make decisions and stick with them. That shape among a dozen others that you already ID'd as a cow needs to be OFF the radar...

WTF?

It seem's that most shots are less than 200yds, 150yds being the average. Hunting in timber can be from 20 -100yds. Allot of non-magnum rifle calibers are perfectly suited for the job. Light to medium weight, fast handling, with a variable scope (1.5x4, 2x8, 3x9). A short action rifle like a 308, 358. or the WSM calibers known for mild recoil. known your limits, adapt to the hunting conditions, practice with your the rifle, use premium bullets, use a rifle caliber with enough velocity and energy for the game your hunting, get in shape, and be prepared to wear out some shoes.

thank you all for the sound advise.
SEMPER FIDELIS

Sounds like you've got it figured out, but I would add one thing that I've seen in the 2 dozen (non-archery) elk kills I've been in on. Seems like most folks are over-scoped as well as over-rifled. Not too many years ago, I gave up the 30-30 for a .270 and got talked into a "whiz-bang" new scope for the new rifle - a 3-9 power scope. Most of us shoot either a 4x or a peep sight of some sort, but figured with this high-speed rifle, I needed a bigger scope. Anyway, we/I mostly backpack in and timber hunt to avoid the crowds and get the elk pushed out of the harder hit areas, so shots are pretty short. Somehow the scope either was set at 6x or moved there due to brush/whatever bumping against it - nearly cost me either a huge mistake or an elk that year. I had a spike tag and the limited field of view from the high setting nearly had me shoot a 5x5 rather than the spike directly behind it.

Just something to consider...

Paul