The question frequently comes up about the terrain,we hunt in, the time available to make a shot, and if youll be able to shoot from a solid prone, shoot from off hand or a sitting position, etc. and conditions a shot in the field might be made under, and how long you might expect too have,to set up, too make a shot?
Ive hunted almost all my elk in steep , mostly well wooded canyon areas,shooting thru aspen and conifer can make getting a shot challenging and you might get a shot at very close range still hunting or a shot out on the far canyon slope where you have to wait as the elk feed out to where you make a shot past cover, they can be very different conditions, ranges can vary from a few yards to well over 200 yards at times, requiring far different skills,over the last 45 plus years Ive hunted elk Id say the average time between having the opportunity to shoot and my friends or I actually making the shot might have been close to 10-15 seconds,(and yes occasionally at times shooting off hand in thick timber on a running elk,at near bayonet distances much faster) but it could easily have been far longer on most hunts between the time I spotted movement or verified it was a legal to shoot elk and getting into position or waiting for the elk to move into position where a shot could reasonably taken, where you had an excellent chance of placing the bullet where you intended it to impact.
Id say that many times we locate elk several minutes before getting into anything like a reasonable position where a shot might be made is also rather common.
Ive shot most of the elk Ive killed from a siting position,with a bi-pod and sling, but several while standing , shooting off hand (usually leaning against a tree) and a couple shooting prone with a bi-pod so you need to be flexible and take whats offered.
when I started hunting ELK , I was 19 years old ,most of my mentors were old geezers were much older ,in their 40s-60s, and most carried Remington 760 30/06 rifles with receiver peep sights and loaded with 220 grain peters ammo, it work well...and it was what I was advised to buy, I tried a great many other things over the next 4 decades, but have to admit that original equipment choice would still work well on 90% of the elk Ive seen in the last 45 years, simply because its fast to use has the required range and power and its easy to carry.
Ok, your still hunting thru some aspen and a nice bull bolts from cover your within 50-70 yards and you have 2-4 seconds to make a shot, thats all too common, where I hunt,rifles like these,that are easily handled tend to be far easier to hit with when you must make a shot in seconds or miss the opportunity,
A 35 whelen slide action Remington with peep sights or a 2x/7x Leopold compact scope is a very popular choice with my friends
while this is NOT my 375 H&H sako carbine, in the picture posted above, My SAKO CARBINE is almost an exact clone except, that my stocks about 5 shades darker, so its about as dark as walnut gets.
I found this picture posted on the internet, it could be a clone of the sako carbine Ive used for decades, if the stock color was about 6 shades darker walnut ,
mines about the color of a semi sweet dark chocolate
MY 375 H&H sakos claimed its share of ELK
its been decades since any member of out elk hunt club has killed any elk at over 250-300 yards, and the last time we actually took the effort to calculate the average distance, it was in the high 80-90 yard range , thats probably got a great deal to do with the gradual shift from the 7mm and 300 mags many of the guys started with,to calibers like 358 win, 35 whelen, 45/70 and 450 marlin, and shorter carbine length weapons that has slowly taken place.
yes a good many guys started with a 30/06 and 180 grain-200 grain and 220 grain bullets and many of the older guys have stuck with that combo, and at least in our group the remington pump action 30/06 and 35 whelen, and BLR in 30/06 and 450 marlin and 358 win are very common.
my personal average is probably in the 70 yard range with several shot at under 35 yards
I usually have my 35 whelen, and 450 marlin rifles along, sometimes my 375 H&H carbine,
most of the areas I hunt look like these pictures
ELK ARE NOT STUPID, as soon as they detect hunters they move to the least accessible areas with the thickest cover , and that usually means youll spend a great deal more time slowly and carefully sneaking thru timber than shooting across open fields like those magazine article pictures taken of elk in parks like yellow-stone suggest.
the speed you can accurately make a first shot hit exactly where you intend it too, will depend on several factors like the scope or sights your using ,the range to the target , terrain and cover in some cases and how well the stock actually fits you.
I've found shooting SKEET , starting with a shotgun held with the butt near your belt ,with the shotgun in your hands tends to help you get a feel for making faster rifle shots in the field.
a 2x-4x wide view scope with good clear optics helps and a good deal of practice with your selected weapon of choice and familiarity with it helps immensely.
theres no way I can predict what stock length of pull and drop in butt angle etc. will fit you best. personally I find many factory stocks too short until a 1.25" THICK RECOIL PAD, gets the length up near 14" but your going to find youll require a different stock in most cases as I'm 6'3" and 260lbs
I missed a really nice 4x5 bull , back when I was about 20-22 years old. A bull that was running diagonally away from my partner and I, we spotted him out at 200 yards in thin aspen cover when I first started hunting back in the early 70s, I missed because I had just read an article on how to judge the required lead on a running elk.
the article suggested that at about 200 yards you need to lead the elk, a couple feet, I fired twice, both misses,.. my partner fired once and the bull cart-wheeled nose first into the dirt on a dead run, I was using a single shot browning 78 , caliber 300 wby my partner was using his 358 win blr. Ive always loved the way the browning 78 rifles looked, I wanted one chambered in 300 wby, but could never find one, so, I had a browning 78 re-chambered from 30/06 to 300wby added a 7mm rem extractor, and added a 3x9x leopold scope , and found i had a really nice elk combo that threw 190 hornadys into tight groups
velocities were not spectacular, at about 3000fps but 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 yards off the bench were common
years of being reminded of that miss motivates you to become a better shot!
he had aimed at the shoulder , Id lead the bull about 18"
there was a single 250 grain speer in the bull, it hit the last rib and angles forward.
Id ignored the fact that the lead running at at 90 degrees requires far more lead than one running at a 30 degree angle
with experience I learned the art, but that was one of the few times that I needed to shoot much past 120 yards or needed to take a shot at a elk moving at more than a slow walk.
http://www.udarrell.com/leading-running ... frames.htm
http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/ ... ning-game/
http://www.longrangehunting.com/article ... g-deer.php
http://www.liveoutdoors.com/hunting/109 ... ning-shot/
http://hunting.about.com/od/deerbiggame/a/maxims.htm
http://my.kingscamo.com/2012/running-an ... mule-deer/
Ive hunted almost all my elk in steep , mostly well wooded canyon areas,shooting thru aspen and conifer can make getting a shot challenging and you might get a shot at very close range still hunting or a shot out on the far canyon slope where you have to wait as the elk feed out to where you make a shot past cover, they can be very different conditions, ranges can vary from a few yards to well over 200 yards at times, requiring far different skills,over the last 45 plus years Ive hunted elk Id say the average time between having the opportunity to shoot and my friends or I actually making the shot might have been close to 10-15 seconds,(and yes occasionally at times shooting off hand in thick timber on a running elk,at near bayonet distances much faster) but it could easily have been far longer on most hunts between the time I spotted movement or verified it was a legal to shoot elk and getting into position or waiting for the elk to move into position where a shot could reasonably taken, where you had an excellent chance of placing the bullet where you intended it to impact.
Id say that many times we locate elk several minutes before getting into anything like a reasonable position where a shot might be made is also rather common.
Ive shot most of the elk Ive killed from a siting position,with a bi-pod and sling, but several while standing , shooting off hand (usually leaning against a tree) and a couple shooting prone with a bi-pod so you need to be flexible and take whats offered.
when I started hunting ELK , I was 19 years old ,most of my mentors were old geezers were much older ,in their 40s-60s, and most carried Remington 760 30/06 rifles with receiver peep sights and loaded with 220 grain peters ammo, it work well...and it was what I was advised to buy, I tried a great many other things over the next 4 decades, but have to admit that original equipment choice would still work well on 90% of the elk Ive seen in the last 45 years, simply because its fast to use has the required range and power and its easy to carry.
Ok, your still hunting thru some aspen and a nice bull bolts from cover your within 50-70 yards and you have 2-4 seconds to make a shot, thats all too common, where I hunt,rifles like these,that are easily handled tend to be far easier to hit with when you must make a shot in seconds or miss the opportunity,
A 35 whelen slide action Remington with peep sights or a 2x/7x Leopold compact scope is a very popular choice with my friends
while this is NOT my 375 H&H sako carbine, in the picture posted above, My SAKO CARBINE is almost an exact clone except, that my stocks about 5 shades darker, so its about as dark as walnut gets.
I found this picture posted on the internet, it could be a clone of the sako carbine Ive used for decades, if the stock color was about 6 shades darker walnut ,
mines about the color of a semi sweet dark chocolate
MY 375 H&H sakos claimed its share of ELK
its been decades since any member of out elk hunt club has killed any elk at over 250-300 yards, and the last time we actually took the effort to calculate the average distance, it was in the high 80-90 yard range , thats probably got a great deal to do with the gradual shift from the 7mm and 300 mags many of the guys started with,to calibers like 358 win, 35 whelen, 45/70 and 450 marlin, and shorter carbine length weapons that has slowly taken place.
yes a good many guys started with a 30/06 and 180 grain-200 grain and 220 grain bullets and many of the older guys have stuck with that combo, and at least in our group the remington pump action 30/06 and 35 whelen, and BLR in 30/06 and 450 marlin and 358 win are very common.
my personal average is probably in the 70 yard range with several shot at under 35 yards
I usually have my 35 whelen, and 450 marlin rifles along, sometimes my 375 H&H carbine,
most of the areas I hunt look like these pictures
ELK ARE NOT STUPID, as soon as they detect hunters they move to the least accessible areas with the thickest cover , and that usually means youll spend a great deal more time slowly and carefully sneaking thru timber than shooting across open fields like those magazine article pictures taken of elk in parks like yellow-stone suggest.
the speed you can accurately make a first shot hit exactly where you intend it too, will depend on several factors like the scope or sights your using ,the range to the target , terrain and cover in some cases and how well the stock actually fits you.
I've found shooting SKEET , starting with a shotgun held with the butt near your belt ,with the shotgun in your hands tends to help you get a feel for making faster rifle shots in the field.
a 2x-4x wide view scope with good clear optics helps and a good deal of practice with your selected weapon of choice and familiarity with it helps immensely.
theres no way I can predict what stock length of pull and drop in butt angle etc. will fit you best. personally I find many factory stocks too short until a 1.25" THICK RECOIL PAD, gets the length up near 14" but your going to find youll require a different stock in most cases as I'm 6'3" and 260lbs
I missed a really nice 4x5 bull , back when I was about 20-22 years old. A bull that was running diagonally away from my partner and I, we spotted him out at 200 yards in thin aspen cover when I first started hunting back in the early 70s, I missed because I had just read an article on how to judge the required lead on a running elk.
the article suggested that at about 200 yards you need to lead the elk, a couple feet, I fired twice, both misses,.. my partner fired once and the bull cart-wheeled nose first into the dirt on a dead run, I was using a single shot browning 78 , caliber 300 wby my partner was using his 358 win blr. Ive always loved the way the browning 78 rifles looked, I wanted one chambered in 300 wby, but could never find one, so, I had a browning 78 re-chambered from 30/06 to 300wby added a 7mm rem extractor, and added a 3x9x leopold scope , and found i had a really nice elk combo that threw 190 hornadys into tight groups
velocities were not spectacular, at about 3000fps but 1/2" 3 shot groups at 100 yards off the bench were common
years of being reminded of that miss motivates you to become a better shot!
he had aimed at the shoulder , Id lead the bull about 18"
there was a single 250 grain speer in the bull, it hit the last rib and angles forward.
Id ignored the fact that the lead running at at 90 degrees requires far more lead than one running at a 30 degree angle
with experience I learned the art, but that was one of the few times that I needed to shoot much past 120 yards or needed to take a shot at a elk moving at more than a slow walk.
http://www.udarrell.com/leading-running ... frames.htm
http://www.americanhunter.org/articles/ ... ning-game/
http://www.longrangehunting.com/article ... g-deer.php
http://www.liveoutdoors.com/hunting/109 ... ning-shot/
http://hunting.about.com/od/deerbiggame/a/maxims.htm
http://my.kingscamo.com/2012/running-an ... mule-deer/
Last edited by a moderator: