Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 270 cal 150 grain OK for elk?

Thx Pat, what parts of the US or Canada?

Guided or unguided?

Baited for bears, and how do you hunt the deer, from stands or stalking?

Thx
Dober

Why the tenth degree?

MtnHtr

I think I know where he is going with it. I was thinking the same thing.

Dober, deer hunting has been stand(no treestands)/stalk/stillhunting, moose hunting either calling, stillhunting or stalking (more of a stalk on a nice piece of swamp that a classic stalk), bearhunting a combo of spot and stalk and stillhunting ( no baiting in BC). No experience outside the province, though in the province we have most everything from rainforest to alpine to boreal forest to semi-desert. ( no prairies, that's on the other side of the Rockies)
I have a total of about 60 big game animals, from as close as 10 yards to about 400 yards. Average distance last time I calculated was about 140 yards. Decent shot (nothing particularly special), I've competed in a couple service rifle matches and held my own (actually won one). I've done most of my hunting with standard calibers (270, 30-06, 280) and a couple mags (7 Rem mag and a 300 Win Mag that was a lucky moose gun).
Thanks for asking. Not looking to stir the pot, more like putting a viewpoint forward for discussion. (no right or wrong on this topic, just individual preferences)

Also Stacy, he stated that there was a big difference between hunting and shooting, I am just trying to sort out where the fella is coming from.

So seriously Stacy what's it to you, why on earth do you care so much about what I am curious about...?

What's it to you........?

Good to see you're still up to your old cow dog tricks of following me around and trying to start it with me. Well amigo, you've been wanting a war with me for some time, I've been trying to be nice but no mas, you wanted it so you have now got it.

The gloves have hit the ice so to speak.

Mark

Hey thx for the nice response pat, I appreciate it. I am always intrigued by what makes people tick and I thank you for your nice response.

Dober

Of course the other option here Stacey is to do as I mentioned b4 and pm me your phone number and I'll call you and we can sort this out over the phone.

If I could find the number that I had around here from when you called asking about elk hunting I'd call, but I can't find it so the ball is in your court.

I'd say you should pm me your number and we'll sort this out away from the public. Either way the choice is yours for the making.

Mark

Mark,

Let's keep the facts straight here, I was calling for my friend Martin who wanted to hunt one of the ranches up in your area. He was willing to spend some $$ on hunting a big bull so I thought of you as I've never hunted a private ranch for elk - my only experience hunting elk is on public DIY hunts. And you called him after I gave you his phone #.

You and I go back a long ways on this forum but the in the last year or so you have displayed quite a bit of condescending behavior towards others on here.

Other folks on here have noticed it too going by the PMs I've received.

MtnHtr

I can't know all the history (and don't really care), just what's popped up here and there lately. A year ago I didn't know Mark from Adam (or Eve for that matter). Last fall a hunting pard had a problem last minute with a stock and as we left for MT, his rifle wasn't sighted in, I had one for him to borrow but like most of us he'd as soon use his own. I PM'd Mark regarding somewhere near Boze to stop and sight in a rifle. He took time out of a Sat during Elk/Deer season to meet us at a private range, let my buddy in as a guest, helped get the rifle sorted and we parted ways. He offered us a room in his home on our return trip should we have needed it.

This spring a different pard and I got a wild hair to go spring bear hunting. I know a little bit of country around Dillon but I've never seen a bear there and know even less of their habits. So I PM Mark again and ask him what he thinks I should set as a date to hunt bears. He replies and also tries his darnest to get together with us a couple times before the hunt but scheduling just didn't work out. So, the day we're to start bear hunting he meets us for breakfast, fairly early on a day when he's got a ton of projects and gives us pointers for better than an hour.

The man has gone way out of his way for 3 all but total strangers who shared nothing with him save a love for hunting and an affliction of rifle loonyism. I can't honestly say that I'd have always been as helpful as he has to complete strangers. Condescending.....I've surely not seen it.

I've only spoken with Mark a few times on the phone, but he has been quite helpful with this big game(elk) hunting noob!

He has not seemed even slightly condescending with me.

I don't know you from Adam but the gentleman you refer to is about as good as it gets on this forum for as long as I've been here.

The deal with these forums is that it can be tough to get a read on people(how they come across) and easy to take things the wrong way.

I'll bet 99% of the internet spats wouldn't happen in the first place if folks were talkin' face to face.

I'm quite certain its safe to say:
If you dont close the distance to as close as possible before shooting, thereby making as sure a shot as possible, you need to rethink your hunter ethics.

[/qu I think Clint Eastwood coined this phrase: A man gots to know his limitations. 300 yds might be a long shot for you but it might be a chip shot for some one else. you can't put a yardage on hunter ethics.

Gents,

I could post the links and paste the quotes refering to Dober's past remarks but what good would that do??? Dober darn well knows what I'm talking about. And other posters have seen it that way too.

And I'm not pissed either, just disappointed in ole Dober. I did not think he was like that.

MtnHtr

True.



But there IS a difference between a shooter and a hunter....



Casey

Sometimes(as we all know)conditions of terrain make getting closer impossible; or you may have too many other herd animals to deal with, or maybe you've already been "made" by your intended quarry. There are a million variations on this theme, but the end result is the same: you may have to take your "best shot"from where you are...

This is where you come to grips with your own limitations and that of your gear.Not to mention prevailing conditions of wind, weather terrain,position of animal(in the open, edge of cover, etc.)Modern scopes,accurate rifles,and better bullets all help but in the end, it is still within the discretion, knowledge, and experience of the nut behind the trigger...the more experienced he is, the greater the liklihood he will turn down a shot if everything is not "just so"...just because you CAN take a long shot, does not mean you should.There is no disgrace in walking away and waiting for another day.

Question � why did you shoot at 330 instead of closing to 300? Are you not much of a hunter?

The fact is that it is not always possible to close to �X� yards and sometimes you either have to take the shot as presented or take a pass. Sometimes the reality is that animal movement, the presence or movement of other hunters, the weather, terrain, property boundaries, game management unit boundaries, season dates, season dates, legal shooting hours, time sensitive commitments or other factors prevent the hunter from closing.

To define a hunter�s skills by the range at which he shoots a particular animal makes no sense whatsoever. Some of the easiest hunts I have had involved the closest range shots while some of the elk I worked hardest for involved the longest shots. In my opinion a �hunter� is one that knows where to find game, how to find it and is willing to limit their shots a maximum range dictated by their ability with the firearm in hand. For some people 100 yards is too far, for others 300 yards is a chip shot. I have more respect for the hunter that prepares for the long shot and works hard to close but nevertheless ends up with and takes a 600 yard (or pick your range) shot than I do a hunter that can get close but can�t shoot worth a darn and is generally unprepared to skillfully use the firearm in hand.

Someone's signature line used to read: "Get as close as you can, but be prepared to use your skills as required". That sorta sums it up for me. Wind, especially swirling wind is a much bigger limiting factor for me than pure distance.

My goal with my hunting rifles is to be able to shoot them to the limit of their utility. Seems silly to be carrying a rifle capable of 500+ yards, and only know how to shoot it to 200+ yards (as was the case for me a couple years ago).

That said my longest shot on game is about 125 yards <g>...

SO MUCH of the "how long is too long" debate could be individually settled with some trigger time, shooting at longer ranges. The shooter and their gear set the outer limit of what's possible, then the conditions of the moment (wind, light, inability to get "sandbag solid", etc) chip away at that.

A huge side bonus of longer-range practicing is that suddenly, 300 yards isn't so far anymore! Plus, it's big-time fun.

Just my ramblings as the coffee kicks in. Be nice to me if you don't like this post... it's my birthday and I'm immersed in Advanced Contract Law right now (Bob- that's "advanced" for Realtors, which I'm sure is NOT really advanced! :-) ) which is like being immersed in... poo.

-jeff