I started hunting with an 06, and killed my first elk and mule deer in the early 60's. That was my first rifle a 721 Remington, with a Weaver 4 power scope. I killed around 15 elk and 50 deer with that rifle. Somewhere around 1970 i shot a cow elk in central Oregon across a small canyon. I was holding high and broke her knee on her near and far leg, when she went down. I recreated that same scenario a couple of years later, only the bull walked away. I then purchased a post 64 Model 70 in 300 WM, for the grand sum of $150 with a 3X9 Leupold, and went hunting. The scope eventually morphed into a Zeiss with a elevation turret. I have yet to shoot under an elk with that rifle , with the longest shot being 540 yards. Today's scopes and affordable range finders have really been a boon to today's hunter. They allow shots well beyond anything that we imagined in my early days. Where I hunt, most shots are football fields away ( lots of yards) and are done from a prone position with a magnum rifle. Two years ago a young hunter in our group made a one shot kill at over 600 yards, the next day another bull fell at nearly the same range, with a 06. My nearest shot in the last few years was at 200 or so, longest at 410, both with a 280AI. Bullet placement is probably the most critical factor, but right behind it, is energy, the more the batter.
