Would you take the shot?

[Triple BB]

I was elk hunting last Thursday and had located two large bull elk that we had scouted a few days before the season opened. The bigger of the two was a 360 class bull. When I first located them, they were 1185 yards away near the top of a ridge. I was one draw away on an adjacent ridge with a steep & deep draw between us. The wind was blowing 30 - 35 mph. Knowing some of you guys have amazing shooting skills, would anyone feel comfortable taking the shot with a cross wind like that? It took me 40 minutes to get over to where they were and unfortunately they had moved off into the timber by the time I got to the edge of their ridge...

 

[RMulhern]

No!

 

[SBruce]

Another vote for no.

Misjudging the wind speed by only 2mph would've resulted in a 12" error with my 338AX at my altitude, not to mention the possible vertical winds from the canyon walls.

I wouldn't even have taken it at 800 yds.

 

[MachV]

We take this kind of shot often.......on rocks and NO I would not send a cold bore shot at a big game animal in those conditions. Like Shane mentioned a missed call on the wind can mean a poor hit.

 

[Hairtrigger]

Doping wind is my weak point
I would not shoot

 

[Greyfox]

No. The chance of a clean kill at that range and wind under those conditions is 0% with the best of cartridges and shooters.

 

[royinidaho]

Another No.

I've seen how wrong I can be in high wind conditions.

Rocks yep. Game no.

 

[Broz]

I took an antelope this season at 1285. My longest shot ever on a game animal. The set up before I decided to shoot took probably 15 minutes while I watched vegitation, mirage, and anything else I could to get for a reading if there was a wind. These were morning steller conditions. So I took the shot and the goat fell.

So lets look at your shot with the same rifle I used.

Dial up 26.7 MOA

30 mph full value (9:00) wind....... 15.7 MOA or about 15 1/2 FEET of drift
add 1 mph of wind to 31................16.2 moa or about 16 feet of drift
go to your max wind of 35 mph..... 18.2 Moa orabout 18 feet of drift

So the difference between 30 and 35 mph for this shot with my rifle and a High BC bullet would be 2 1/2 feet.

Couple that with the 1.52 seconds of flight time, the to of the bullet arc being 0ver 26 feet above line of sight and shooting across a canyon where the wind was surely stronger in the middle and a cold bore hit even close to the vitals would be more like a lottery win than marksmanship.

Even though we practice in similar conditions and have good equipment. Wind rules us all.

Good post!! You did the right thing! You deserve another chance at that bull and I hope you get it in better conditions and closer.

Short answer.......... Hell no I wouldn't touch that shot with a 10' pole. Unless it was a wolf...gun)


Jeff

 

[Coyboy]

i agree with everyone else, even if it was a 10-15 mph wind I would likely decide against it.

 

[COBrad]

All I can add to this is "yup".
Good call.

 

[toddc]

Of course I'd take that shot. Oops I mistook bull elk for coyote.

 

[gspman]

nope......no way, come back tmro get closer

 

[436]

I was elk hunting last Thursday and had located two large bull elk that we had scouted a few days before the season opened. The bigger of the two was a 360 class bull. When I first located them, they were 1185 yards away near the top of a ridge. I was one draw away on an adjacent ridge with a steep & deep draw between us. The wind was blowing 30 - 35 mph. Knowing some of you guys have amazing shooting skills, would anyone feel comfortable taking the shot with a cross wind like that? It took me 40 minutes to get over to where they were and unfortunately they had moved off into the timber by the time I got to the edge of their ridge...

Elk's kill zones are generous, the distance is going to a problem for people that don't regularly shoot at 1k much. But the wind!'.., at that speed; full or half value would make the best long range shooters back off. Once 20 mph plus is in the air; a game hit (first round) is pretty much luck at 1k on most game, even for a seasoned competition or military/police shooter. You might be able to machine gun the bolt and get lucky hitting something, but it's luck and not very Sportsmen like.
So.. NO... I would not.
Cheer's
436

 

[aroshtr]

No I would not take that shot. But like Broz said... Wolves beware!