Hunting & Fishing short range kill with long range gun...

[elk addict]

last spring i picked up this Savage 111LRH in 338 Lapua thinking i'd focus on long range hunting. i spent many hours working on the gun & mucho $$ doping it out to 1k...... then i shot this raghorn at less than 75 yards. i seem to either see no elk, or have them walk right over the top of me (the second part of that comes in real handy most years).

i first saw him at 470 yards, but it was snowing & soupy, so i used the snowstorm to close the distance to 250. i couldn't get steady for the shot (shooting up at a 30 degree tilt) and shot over his back. i'm pretty sure i was holding 1 mil too high, too (had some adrenaline going). then they spooked & ran right at me, stopping 50-75 yards away, and gave me 5 seconds to make a shot (i did), before running off into the trees.

my dilemma: every elk i've killed has been inside ~150 yards. my first 2 were 30-35 yards with rifle (308 & 7wsm- both cows), then a 50 yard shot with bow (310" bull- yeah, how do you like that? my longest & biggest kill so far was with a bow!), then ~150 with the 7wsm (cow), then 12 with a homemade bow (cow), then 75 with the 7wsm (little 6x6), then this one at 60-75 (didn't bother ranging him- he filled the scope at 5x).

i started seriously hunting elk (2004), i've been skunked 3 years in that time, and doubled up in 2010. 7 elk in 9 seasons- i get the feeling that it's not ALL luck.

why the heck am i packing 15#'s of long range boat anchor when i probably should be packing 7#?



who wants to show me their lightweight, short range elk rifle?

 

[huntermanpaul]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Any elk is something to be proud of!!! Congrats!!

 

[300rockbuster]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

I hear ya. My 300rum has not connected past 230 with this years spike at 75 yrd. The way I see it, I would rather have and not need than need and not have. Way to fill the freezer. Did your bullet pass through?

 

[Trevor300wsm]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

I'm sure many smarter people than me have already figured this out, but in the last 2yrs, I sure have.......and that is you don't need a big heavy gun to take game at long range. I have a true "hunting" rifle that I frequently practice with out past 750yds. The rifle only weighs about 8.5-9.0 pounds. This is still considered heavy for some folks, but it's a lot nicer that toting around my 13 pound 7wsm at 10,000-12,000 feet all day.
My rifle is as follows:
MCS-T with 90% shell
Rem 700 action
Krieger #4 @ 22"
BDL bottom metal
Harris bipod
Stock pack
Leupold MK4 M5 FFP Mil/Mil (only 22oz in weight)
NF Ultralight rings

I'd be comfortable shooting most anything with it out to 700yds if the conditons were right. It doesn't matter how big or how tactical the rifle is. As long as you know the ballistics and have a optic you can dial or use good holdovers with out to your desired distance.....that's all you need.

My next rifle will be another 7wsm, but it will be as light as I can possibly get it. I'm in pretty good shape, but I live at 800ft ASL, so when I go hunting at 10,000+ ASL it still always kicks my tail for the most part.

 

[elk addict]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

paul- thanks! stellar shot on your bull btw!

rokbuster- the bullet barely slowed down. i expected damage, but it went in between ribs & came out between ribs- not much damage at all. i knew there were risks with 300smk's, but felt confident that they would work. next time i shoot at something with this gun, i'm going for shoulder bones...

trevor- our local herds see alot of pressure- the only places i find them are small isolated basins or dark timber in the 7500-9500 foot range. they're also weather-dependent, it's pretty rare to have 800 yards of visibility when they're moving. i do like your hunting gun stats- although i think i'm done with carrying bipods on elk guns. i'm actually thinking of going for a 400 yard max gun (308 w/heavies or 338 federal) that starts out around 6# and putting my little viper 2-7 bdc on it- work smarter not harder & all that.

 

[tigerfan_9]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: trevor300wsm</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I'm sure many smarter people than me have already figured this out, but in the last 2yrs, I sure have.......and that is you don't need a big heavy gun to take game at long range. I have a true "hunting" rifle that I frequently practice with out past 750yds. The rifle only weighs about 8.5-9.0 pounds. This is still considered heavy for some folks, but it's a lot nicer that toting around my 13 pound 7wsm at 10,000-12,000 feet all day.
My rifle is as follows:
MCS-T with 90% shell
Rem 700 action
Krieger #4 @ 22"
BDL bottom metal
Harris bipod
Stock pack
Leupold MK4 M5 FFP Mil/Mil (only 22oz in weight)
NF Ultralight rings

I'd be comfortable shooting most anything with it out to 700yds if the conditons were right. It doesn't matter how big or how tactical the rifle is. As long as you know the ballistics and have a optic you can dial or use good holdovers with out to your desired distance.....that's all you need.

My next rifle will be another 7wsm, but it will be as light as I can possibly get it. I'm in pretty good shape, but I live at 800ft ASL, so when I go hunting at 10,000+ ASL it still always kicks my tail for the most part. </div></div>

What caliber is your hunting rig?

 

[Alaskaguide]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Trevor
Your rifle sounds like a good compromise

I have a 6 pound 30-06 that is a 2 moa rifle
Also have a 12 pound tactical rifle in .308 it shoots .5 moa. I always struggle on choosing which to take hunting.

 

[Alaskaguide]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Elk

Nice job and congrats on a full freezer

 

[mdesign]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Nice elk you got there! I hear you on toting heavy rifles, I'd say trevor summed the ideal build up pretty well.

 

[ddubas]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Nice job on taking an elk. I have the same issue when deer hunting. Practice shooting out to 700 yards and end up shooting them under 200 yards. I have also dropped the heavy rifle in favor of lighter ones. Had a 15 pound 25-06 that shot lightsout but too dang heavy for spot and stalk hunting. Anyways long range practice makes short range shots easy.

 

[5spd]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

Both my Elk guns are Savage rigs, all stock. 7mm-08 & a 30-06.
I shoot to 700 yards at the range and have all my dialups & wind dopes to 30mph.
No reason to pack a 12+ lb gun for elk at all IMO. I have run into them at 1/4 mile, but working the terrain Ive not had to shoot past 200 yards to this day.

 

[SledDog]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

I get most of my elk shots under 100yds, lots of brush in our spots. So I usually go with a Marlin 336 in 30-30 with irons.

 

[Garvey]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Sled Dog</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I get most of my elk shots under 100yds, lots of brush in our spots. So I usually go with a Marlin 336 in 30-30 with irons. </div></div>

Ok, you win. That's a Texas brush whitetail rig and you're killing freakin elk with it! I've had one handing on the wall since 97. Never, ever considered it an elk rifle.

 

[elk addict]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

A lot of the old timers talk about calibers that kill critters better than paper. 30-30's are devastating at the right range- that's what got me interested in the 338 federal. Partitions will open up at 1600 fps, so why the obsession with pushing them at 3000+ fps?
Suddenly I see a savage hog hunter in my future. Maybe try out the 200 gr partitions & get a 2nd barrel made in 338 fed...

 

[ykrvak]

Re: short range kill with long range gun...

I have two "hunting" rifles that are accurate enough that I practice with them out to 800. However, being a 338wm and a 30-06 I feel they are getting a bit anemic in the 550 to 600 range. Unless you looking for an excuse to shoot farther than that, there really isn't any "need" to shoot farther when hunting. I chose those two chamberings for several reasons , but one of the biggest was they were effective as far out as I wanted to shoot a critter (except maybe wolves. I'll take a swing at them from almost any distance) but weren't so destructive to meat in close like 3000+fps type rounds can be. Both have standard factory contour barrels and are bedded in McM HTG stocks with nxs 2.5-10's on them. They are about 9 pounds all up and are heavy enough for fairly extended range sessions yet not so bad to pack around. That said, they are a little heavy for sheep/goat hunting, but would still be usable. Both are Classic Stainless Mod 70's and with handloads are consistent .5 to .7 shooters.