Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Important ? Yor rifle load or physical condition

Not even a question in my mind. I've spent my life in the mountains regularly. I can exert myself below 1k elevation and not even get winded, even after smoking nearly 3 decades. Physical condition IS THE THING. Gun gack isn't going to do any good if you can't get to where the animals are, or do what you need to do when you get there. I suppose if you're hunting from horses with a staff of people who will process the animal after you kill it, the gun/ammo would have a bit more bearing on success, but other than in that scenario, it is the ability of your body to do what needs to be done.

So you are saying that there is no benefit to a load with a high BC bullet over let’s say factory power points on a mountain hunt?

you said the outcome is the same as the wimp...….the difference is...…..the guy with the good outlook on things, kinda laughs.....then try's it all over again.

the wimp quits, packs his schit up goes home....and tells his buddys how everything was against him.

it goes without saying to have good equipment...…...bob

Agree with most that has been said regarding physical conditioning. I'll add that one of the goals of physical conditioning is teaching your brain and body to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. Most guys I've taken dont have the mental toughness the first year or two. Mountain hunting is hard - no other way to explain it. To build that mental toughness requires putting increasing strains on your body to simulate the demands of mountain hunting. Most guys on this thread take that for granted because they've BTDT. Newbies not so much. I've had folks not sleep because they couldn't get used to the thin air, to the point of panic. After you experience that a few times, and realize you'll live and gets better as the week drags on, is the mental toughness most here are outlining.

not really...….I am not a rifle looney....I find the bullet weight and style I want, try different brands...till I get the groups I want.....for me that's 3 in an 1"@ 100...or close to it...and go hunting......I don't reload.....and stay in a range I feel good at.

its worked on sheep, goat, bears.....on and on.

now if you TRULY are a long range shooter.....everything I said is out the door.....a lot of guys think they are.....few really are.....sencar shooter sp?.....that is a guy I would listen to, if I wanted to learn how to shoot real long range.....and a few others....bob

Shooting a good load is important but I've never had an elk walk away from a good hit with any bullet. I've killed a bunch of them using a 270 with plain Jane Speer Hot-cor bullets. There's no need to obsess over it. It's far easier to get that good hit if you're not gasping for air and if your knees aren't shaking from a climb. Get in shape and stay there.

I also agree with Calvin on the rifle/ballistic side of the equation. Part of the deal is to match your gear to conditions and that includes your rifle. Most cartridges are capable. But what if you only hunt in the timber, shots are less than 100 yards, and shots may be hard quartering? I prefer not to have a thin skinned bullet capable of expanding at 6-7-800 yards. Conversely if your hunting is spot/stalk or meadows and shots be extended with time to let an animal position for a broadside shot, a higher BC bullet is likely a better choice.

Same goes with rifles. I tend to carry something shortish for my timber hunting and 24" barreled for my meadow hunts. Bullets matching both situations.

Hunting elk in Idaho isn't choosing between timber and meadows. Almost any hunt can put you in both sometime during the day. While most shots are under 200 yds, there's always the chance of needing a longer one.

If we are truly talking actually hunting mountains. Alpine, bowls, ravines, etc then a 4-500 yard shot is not far. Most of the time getting closer is not an option and changing you vantage point you will loose sight of that animal.


Climb up high, tack up some vital sized balloons on even a moderately windy day. Take a high bc rifle and a low bc rifle and let your “hits” tell you what bullet you ethically want to use. The wind is crazy variable up high.

No bigger nightmare than a poorly hit animal on the mountain. Lots of animals lost from that as the energy it takes to look for an animal on steep slopes is rediculous.

A little of both. When I was younger, and in pretty darn good shape, having run some sub 3 hour marathons 10 years prior.....I was hunting with a rifle that a bit heavy. Hunting here, in my new home state, I put in a lot of miles in some fairly rough country. That heavy rifle became a burden, caused me to change my hunting methods and lessened the “fun factor”! I dropped my rifle weight about 3 pounds, and began to enjoy my style of hunting again. Today, 30 years later.....I would like to have a “much” lighter rifle. Of course, I need to get in much better shape also. memtb

No, I didn't say anything close to that. I was commenting on this part of your post: " .....if your scope fogs, zero shifts, or you can’t see your crosshairs in low light when a shot presented itself." Maybe I should have said "most of those things" but wind can cause a miss even with a high BC bullet.

I'm no mind reader but I think the OP is getting at the fact that we spend endless hours discussing things that in the big picture don't influence success as much as the things we don't talk about like being in shape and being mentally tough.

calvin........not arguing with you......but, walk out in the prairie with your balloons, and if you can hold on to them....start shooting.................i used to obsess over the bc..sd..different weights....different calibers...

i would look at the charts and obsess over an 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 drop...........but for me in my real world hunting ...made no difference..........i have killed quite a bit of stuff, i can honestly say...calibre and bc and sd...never really came into play.

i would consider myself average....like 98% of other hunters.........i think the truly long range guys are the other 2%.........killing an elk , deer...fill in the blank....at 5 or 6 hundred...doesn't make you a long range shooter.

doing that and more...over and over dose.......hunters are worse than fishermen, when it comes to telling the truth about how long the shot was.....bob

^This^ memtb

Nailed it...

Agreed.

Need more details on this sister though.

It ain't easy hunting elk at 9500 feet, after a 3 mile hike in from 7500, coming from 50' home elevation, at age 70. And after 8 years hunting off a 4 wheeler or snow machine at virtual sea level. I was only 5 lbs overweight, had done some leg-conditioning hiking prior, but no "getting in shape" workout. That was me in October. I didn't even bother getting a tag or packing a rifle. (Delayed too long for the left-over, and had broken extractor, actually - not that a single-shot or another rifle won't work).

Even harder for a mid -30's "kid" , 30 lbs overweight, virtually no exercise, living in mile-high Denver.. That was my son, whom I accompanied/"guided".

Never saw a cow, for which he had a tag. Smelled them, heard them, saw their tracks.... I did jump a fair bull out of his bed, while out "scouting" while the kid rested his blistered feet.

I warned him..... I'm guessing he's all done elk hunting, but we'll see. I, personally, have plans...that was a "scouting trip" - $1K worth in airfare, room rental etc. Next year might be about the same- I'll skip room rental, tho, and backpack in and camp if I go back up there. Good area (thick and steep!), plenty elk, virtually no hunters (there's a reason why!!!).

Might get lucky with a draw tag for the "easy" areas around my brother's place, though, in which case....ANOTHER F'G SCOUTING TRIP!

I do know where that old horse trail up last year's mountain is now (I killed a cow up there 10 years ago, on a day hunt from the cabin at trailhead, where we stayed again this year ) and about where I'll camp (screw that daily hike in, tho a nice warm cabin with shower is down-right decadent!). I might even go in a week early, camp at the creek where I leave the trail for a few days, hand clear the trail, (wilderness area), then pack my camp up. And maybe water.

Still working on water supply thoughts if no snow or rain up there, tho. Wasn't much this year.

If one is going "sport hunting", might as well make it interesting.... be a damned nice camping trip anyway. . .

My wife is a hiking fanatic. Maybe I'll take her along and see if that will cure her affliction. She can carry the rifle, but I'll keep the cartridges. I tend to piss her off on these things.

Funny that nobody has mentioned flexibility along with endurance. Being limber helps you avoid injuries if you stumble and fall, so stretching plays a HUGE in my pre-hunt preparation starting several months before Opening Day.


Okie John

What I have noticed in high-altitude public land units is that everyone will move pretty well and climb pretty high and go far on opening day. Everyone is excited for the hunt and will push themselves, and lots of elk are killed opening day.
The 2nd day is different. Sore knees and feet. A lot of hunters find that it takes them longer than expected to get to where they intend to hunt. IMO the 2nd day is toughest because elk have been pressured heavily the day before.
Having the ability to rally on the following days can open some opportunities.
Many locals will hunt only the weekend then may or may not return again.
Lotta camps will clear out mid-week. Most seasons start Saturday and Wed is always a big exodus.
It doesn't take elk too long to filter back once the pressure eases.
If you can recover and begin to move well again you can get into them (but moving well at altitude is tough in the 1st place). This might be where the mental part comes in.
In these high-altitude public land areas I very seldom see elk in the open, in daylight, after 1st rifle season. Getting near treeline usually assures that I will not see other hunters. The herds I encounter above treeline are pretty safe. I've never gotten within range of those. It has been very rare for me to ever have an opportunity to set up for a shot so the choice of rifle or load has mattered very little.
Where I consistently have success is in remote areas, in cover, and typically encounter elk within 100 yds. Most shots could be done with any rifle/load combination.

In younger days I competed in the Pikes Peak ascent or marathon 13 years. Back in those days I could move well at altitude, consistently saw elk, but seldom closed the deal. I am age 60 now and will climb some 14,000 ft peaks as is reasonably possible to condition for the season. I feel I am very fragile now though - if I overdo it and twist or sprain anything the recovery time will erase any benefit I would have otherwise gotten.

I learned in RVN that mental toughness and a positive attitude was the difference between warriors and cannon fodder. Lots of PT studs folded in the heat and strain of humping a load in the jungle while expecting to get whacked. I saw some normal folks suck it up and hack it. A few liked it and became warriors.

Learning to laugh while suffering works for many things. Hunting hard in the mountains for > than 3 continuous days is painful and only worth the effort for some. Good physical conditioning helps increase the fun factor more than will a .5 moa rifle.


mike r

Very true, but lots of us on 24 hr are 70+. Flexibility is long gone as is balance. If I didn't carry a trekking pole, I'd be on my butt several times a day.