daveyj
Member
This years elk hunt took place in temps from 12-35degress and around 12-18inches of snow. This is considered a bit mild for us. The weather made access easier but seemed to make locating the elk more difficult. After 4 days of long range spotting we moved in under the cover of darkness and by morning had set up a position on top of a high knob. I had a 360 view of the surrounding area and long range shots in any direction. I had spotted elk that morning cross canyon about 2.5 miles and relocated them in the same area in the evening by spotting scope.
Just before dark a small herd began to filter out below me into an open area next to the stream. Three trys on the laser confirmed 731 yards. I dialled for 725, checked temperature 19deg, and compared barometric to std for 8300ft. Running out of time and motivation, I decided it was a snap shot with zero wind. I got into the prone on the Thermarest, bipod extended and let a slow sqeeze from the .300 win.
600-700 yards is usually where I can come out of recoil and see the shot, and I did. The elk went down and rolled about 30 yards to the place where it would it expire. I was nearly 20 minutes hiking to the animal and daylight was all but gone once I had arrived. Inspection upon arrival indicated that I was a few inches of my point of aim and I remembered that I did not dial for slope. Other than that the Sierra bullet had no problems entering and killing yet another elk.
Just before dark a small herd began to filter out below me into an open area next to the stream. Three trys on the laser confirmed 731 yards. I dialled for 725, checked temperature 19deg, and compared barometric to std for 8300ft. Running out of time and motivation, I decided it was a snap shot with zero wind. I got into the prone on the Thermarest, bipod extended and let a slow sqeeze from the .300 win.
600-700 yards is usually where I can come out of recoil and see the shot, and I did. The elk went down and rolled about 30 yards to the place where it would it expire. I was nearly 20 minutes hiking to the animal and daylight was all but gone once I had arrived. Inspection upon arrival indicated that I was a few inches of my point of aim and I remembered that I did not dial for slope. Other than that the Sierra bullet had no problems entering and killing yet another elk.
