I killed my first elk, a 5x5 bull, back in 1966 with a sproterized 30-40 Krag that I had borrowed from my Uncle.
That was only me second big game hunt and I was hunting with one of my college roommates north of Craig, CO, where he was from.
I spotted the bull and some cows in a valley a long way below us. The elk were moving toward a patch of timber and I told my roommate that I was going down to get a shot when they got out of the timber. I hadn't gone five steps when my roommate took a shot at them. I sat down to shoot and the front bead of my rifle completely covered up the bull. I tried a head shot. The elk disappeared into the timber.
Twelve more shots and a mile or so later, I finally had my bull on the ground. He had two bullet holes in his antlers, two bullet creases across his back, and I forgot how many in him.
I've never taken a shot at any animal that was that far away since.
