My neighbor in Great Falls has a garage full of 6x6 or better elk racks. He is disabled and can't walk but a few yards at a time. He packs in to a pass between the Bob Marshall Wilderness and the Sun River game range and camps out by himself for as long as it takes. Sometimes a month or more. When the snow gets deep enough the elk come over that pass. He sits in a lawn chair and kills a big one every year with his .220 Swift. Every skull I looked at had a little hole just below the ear.

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Ignorance is curable but stupidity is terminal.

I shot a few elk in my early days with a 25-35, a 30-30 and a 250 Savage...but that was then and the elk came out in the open and you could get a lot closer to them on a horse...Todays elk head for the dark timber at the first shot of the season...Now I use a 338 with 250 or 300 gr. bullets as most shots are going away..I have to walk and only use a horse to get to the area..I liked the old days, ride up on them, jump off and shoot at 50 to a 100 yds.

I did see a cowboy one time bounce a 25-20 off a Elks head, saw the same thing happen with a Charlais bull and a 30 carbine, they don't always work.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

To be an effective hunter, one needs to know the limitations of his bullet, arrow, etc., and make his shot accordingly. I have no doubt one could keep themselves in game with a 22 mag, 22 hornet, 223, 25-20 etc. I would also try not to be a smart aleck and tell someone that has taken more game then I likely ever will that he isn't using enough gun.

I know the type of performance I prefer, and pick my rounds accordingly, I don't begrudge those that value different aspects of a cartridges performance, and hence choose something different.

Canuck

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Ignorance is curable, but stupidity is terminal.

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Ignorance is curable, but stupidity is terminal.

True story.
About 15 years ago my Dad sold his farm and moved to 25 acres on the lake. He mentioned to me that he would like to have a smaller cartridge than his 7mm Rem. I picked up a used Marlin 340 in .222 for him thinking it would be a great groundhog gun. He has made a one-shot kill on deer with it every year since. Factory Win 50 grainers. Lung and shoulder shots every one. None have run more than 60 yards. He swears it's a better deer rifle than his big 7.

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Ignorance is curable, but stupidity is terminal.

quote:

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Originally posted by Ol' Sarge:
IF you know what you are doing either is effective.

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A favorite saying of mine comes from the Dirty Harry series of movies:

"A man's gotta know his limitations."

So true.

It is human nature to minimize limitations, but, something seldom discussed in hunting circles is the fact that for many hunters, placing limitations on themeselves (or increasing the degree of difficulty) enhances the satisfaction of a successful hunt.

Canuck

Maybe its just me but it seem's that the lousier the shot a guy is the more he makes up stories about "shooting long", thank Lord I have some humility about my shooting it keep's my mouth glued when this subject comes up and I want to join in. 400 yrds is plenty long and thats only on a hit animal on the way out.

Dollars to doughnuts there are 10 times more animals crippled by 600 yrd hero's then there are guy's who show up with "shiney new magnum's" and still keep their shot's reasonable.

But boy just let some guy's go to a 600 yrd flat, wind protected, stepped off range, with flags, and hit a target while shooting off the bench.

I dont think most guy's realize just how far 400 yrds is. I only know because its longer then I can shoot and hit an animal 100% of the time.

I can kill 100% of the time from 300 yrds tho, maybe 350. That I know, ive shot 100 times in a day ,from all fixed position's, from those yardages. I guess I can only hunt the Cous deer that are stupid enough to be 300 yrds away, is there such a place with Cous deer that stupid ?

But 600 yrds ? hahahahahah....sure baby, lay dem stories on me.........:-).....10

I use an -06 with 165gr Speer Grand Slams at 2850 for elk. None went more than 50yds or so. One dropped in it's tracks. All were shot at less than 100yds through the heart or lungs. I know the limitations of my gun and myself.

I have shot several deer at over 450yds though. I knew the exact distance and the trajectory of my rifle, there was no wind and I had a rock steady rest, and I practice a LOT out to 500yds. I never pull the trigger unless I KNOW I can make the shot.
However, I much prefer to get close. As close as I can. That's 10x more fun than making a long shot. I have killed way more deer at less than 20yds than I have at over 200.
I've done a lot of bowhunting since I was about 15, but have gotten real serious about it in the last 5 years. It has taught me a lot about deer and elk.

As far as real long range goes, I have shot at paper and varmints enough to know that it's pretty iffy when the range gets real long. Now, I just got a new Sendero in .300 RUM and when I get a scope for it I'm going to start practicing way out there.

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To be old and wise.....first you have to be young and stupid!