Who here has killed an elk at 1000 or more yards?

NotLongRange says "According to AI, the percentage of elk taken at 1000+ yards is < 1%. So, I think my categorization was spot on."

This is probably true for the general hunter population, but the percentage is much higher among the guys on this forum.

NotLongRange said:

I think the reason for this discussion post was a statement I made regarding 1000+ yard shots on elk (or other big game critters) are "exceedingly rare". Some folks balked, so here is where we are.

I will say great job to those who have made these shots - well done!

But my statement was about statistics and the probability of that shot even being presented. Numbers are hard to come by as there aren't a bunch of scientific polls. To this end, I used Google AI as it can assimilate the data that exists because…that's what we have available.

According to AI, the percentage of elk taken at 1000+ yards is < 1%. So, I think my categorization was spot on (see attached).

This isn't an indictment of taking long shots - I'm all for it and have done a little myself. But I know from my own experience and feedback from many, many hunters, that shot is very uncommon. Most people will never be presented with that shot opportunity in their lifetime. Part of that is just topography - elk generally hang out in the trees and in mountainous terrain. They just aren't in the open enough to make this shot very common.

Statistics are what they are - if anyone has a source of information that provides a different number, please post it.

Click to expand...

No, not really. Another member made it sound like 1k shots on elk were commonplace. My guess 1k shots on elk are a pretty small percentage and a much smaller percentage for the folks that can reliably make that shot. I can shoot at a lot of critters at 1k, but that doesn't mean I stand a 99% chance of being successful.

Where I live most shots on deer (we don't have elk) are probably less than 100 yards. Having said that there are river bottoms where you could shoot past 1 mile. My longest shots have been on groundhogs, twice at 470 yards, a chip shot for many here. I prefer to get closer than farther away.

MOA or bust said:

NotLongRange says "According to AI, the percentage of elk taken at 1000+ yards is < 1%. So, I think my categorization was spot on."

This is probably true for the general hunter population, but the percentage is much higher among the guys on this forum.

Click to expand...

I agree that there is likely a higher percentage of people on this forum that can make that shot, but the chances of being presented with the opportunity to even attempt that shot is about the same across the population of hunters.

It is still a very rare occurrence…

I sat next to an individual on the way to Alaska who was filming long range game shots and this was the last of the 10 animals selected for the video. Ranges involved were from 800 to 1200 yds. About 1/2 way thru the flight from Seattle to Anchorage, I asked how many animals were missed or wounded to achieve the 9 kills already made and the gentleman went silent. This guy represented the high end scope manufacturer that funded the operation.

Last years buck was 1077 yards using a custom 338 Lapua Improved shooting 300 grain Berger OTMs. Buck dropped on impact and rolled down the hill.



Jon

cabelasken said:

I sat next to an individual on the way to Alaska who was filming long range game shots and this was the last of the 10 animals selected for the video. Ranges involved were from 800 to 1200 yds. About 1/2 way thru the flight from Seattle to Anchorage, I asked how many animals were missed or wounded to achieve the 9 kills already made and the gentleman went silent. This guy represented the high end scope manufacturer that funded the operation.

Click to expand...

He didn't go silent. He pled the 5th.

I'd dare say that the avid hunter that practices and knows when to shoot is less likely to miss than someone who is under the gun to get good video footage for some marketing.

There's 2 different goals.

Browninglover1 said:

My 7 SAUM killed my spike elk at 965 and then my friend used the rifle to shoot a cow elk at 1040 with it a few months later.

The rifle was shooting 180 ELDM at 2920 and both elk dropped right where they stood.

I saw my other friend shoot a cow at 1150 with a 7 mag and a 195 Berger. Even with missed wind call that bullet anchored her right where she was at.

Click to expand...

On these that dropped right there, were they dead right there or in need of additional rounds? The 162 ELD-M is shoot fantastic in my 7 WSM and 7 Mashburn Super is why I ask.

Elk in New Mexico.
1060 yards. Dropped with broken spine. Had to walk to 200 to finish due to terrain. 338 Norma, 300 grain Scenar. Cannot recommend that bullet for elk even at that distance. Bergers were unavailable at the time. Not ideal but we could not get closer due to being in the wide open

These guys are killers. I wish I had enough time behind a gun to do it. I cut things off at 700 because I don't get enough trigger time. Rare air.

...should start a new thread with the title "How many animals have been missed or wounded shooting at 1000 or more yards?"

1018 on a muley buck(28 nosler) 1046 coyote(6.5x284) 1012 antelope (7 UM)

I have two ultra light rifles in 7-08 that i had made some 20 years ago for backpack hunts and no matter how much I practiced with them, my average group size was 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 MOA. I took them to my gunsmith that made 3 highly accurate 8 lb hunting rifles for me a few years before and asked him to see if improvements could be made to the bedding that I did, recrowning or if adding a donut or barrel pressure would help. After a few months, he called and I went to pick up my rifles. His report was that everything was good with both. So, when we sat in his office and talked about hunts, he asked about the other rifles he had made for me and their performance. All shot under 1/2 MOA at the range. Then he said that my expectations with the ultralight rifles needed to be rethought. He said that less than 10 percent of good shooters have the ability to shoot an ultralight well at the bench and way less than that in the field. I have settled on hunt ready rifles the weigh between 7 1/2 lbs and 8 1/2 lbs. And with those rifles, I limit my game shots to 500 yds. Misses and wounded animals are not acceptable. I have wounded 1 animal in the last 40 or 50 attempted shots and that was because of a bad decision on shot location.

Darn it. Make me feel So in depth in shooting! Elk from Aprox 50 yds (hand gun). Contender in 7 TCU, and out to again Aprox 800+/- yds Win Mag 300. 180 gr blistic tip, 79.5 gr H-1000 LRM Primers! One shot, one kill. Never moved, dropped were hit, next to last day of Season. Only "real"reason for this shot!
Most elk have been somewhere around 300- 500 yds. Cows just because They EAT BETTER! And what does one do with more than One set of Antelers? Only so many Knife handles, Buttons etc,Great Shooting Guys, girls. Eat on!

JustMe2 said:

I shot a SD prairedog at 1000 yds with a 243Win and 10x Weaver scope with a duplex reticle. Kentucky windage holdover. We were cheering. No laser rangefinders back then, so we paced it off at 1056 paces.

Click to expand...

This reminds me of how much shooting has changed since the '60s. Where I grew up poor in SD, we didn't have a shooting range, nor scope reticles with multiple stadia holdovers, range finders, etc. We sighted our rifles in by laying over the truck hood and aiming at a rock on a hillside. No idea of the distance, just aimed at something that was about the distance we'd normally shoot a deer - maybe a 100-200 yard rock. Group size, ladder tests, steel targets at multiple known ranges, suppressors, brakes, range finders, ballistics calculators, just wasn't done. Only used enough ammo each year to sight in on the rock and shoot game. The most practice we did was occasionally shooting prairedogs in the summer with a deer rifle and rabbits in the winter with a .22LR pistol and rifle. With all the gadgets we have now, I don't know how we ever hit anything.

Just remembered, I inherited my dad's Savage 110 243Win with Weaver 3-9 post reticle scope. Used it on a hunt in the woods of Alabama in about 2000. Middle of the morning, saw a doe from my ladder stand but couldn't see the deer at 3x through the scope the optics were so bad. How did we ever get any game. Most eastern SD hunting is done in open praire and cut corn fields so lots of light.