WOW!!!! I see my thread got derailed yesterday while I was away.
I may be new to elk hunting, but I'm not new to shooting past 100 yards. I can assure you I'm not sighting my rifle in 6" high at 100. If I have time to use my range finder, I have time to dial or better yet, pick a hash mark. Out to 400 or a little more, I can simply use hold-over. It's not that hard to estimate 18 or 20 inches when you know the approx. size of your target. I've done it on deer many times and an elk is twice as big. I'm not gonna shoot at an animal past 300ish that I haven't ranged or otherwise know the distance. I have too much respect for the game to just shoot at anything I see and hope my rifle trajectory is "flat enough" to make a hit. I can only assume that the reason for using that method is based on not ranging and not knowing the distance.
Originally Posted by country_20boy
Which load would you use, assuming I may have to reach out to 400 or beyond?
Since everyone was making assumptions about the intent of this statement, I'll clear it up. I was asking about the 7mm-08 performance, retained energy and velocity at 400 and beyond for the 2 bullets I was considering. It had nothing to do with how to make a shot at that range. I assume if my bullet will perform at 400, it will be fine for closer range. And for the record, I hope I get a 40 yard shot, but I know I need to be prepared for 400.
