First Elk taken

[cmorsch]

I was able to go on my first elk hunt ever this year in south western Colorado, and was fortunate enough to be able to take a 5x5 bull on the 3rd day of the season. The shot was around 200 yards using a 30-06 shooting a 200gr accubond at 2600 fps. It took 3 shots to anchor him. What supprised me was that none of the bullets exited the body cavity and I was able to recover 2 of the rounds, the 3 I think was in the gut pile. Is it normal for the accubonds not to exit a elk at that distance?

The picture was taken the following day as he died down a nasty hill, and it was almost sunset when I shot him. He measured 262.5 in camp when we got a chance to put a tape to him.

 

[SBruce]

Hey Congratulations on your first! I just got my first too, 4 days ago. I can't comment on the accubonds but none of my shots exited either. I was shooting 140 Bergers at 575 yds.

Man they are really tough animals, the hide seems to be about 3 times the thickness and toughness of a big mule deer and the ribs/fat/meat appeared to be at least 2" maybe 3" thick on each side!

I had always heard they were big, but really didn't comprehend just how big until I was gutting one by myself in the dark.

Here's mine hanging from a 325 JD skid steer loader. Top of the cab is about 6' above the ground if I remember correctly. It was 30" from the withers to the brisket on this fella, I bet yours was just absolutely massive!!

Nice Job.

 

[dromsky]

Congrats to both of you on your first Elk. How about some details of the hunt for those of us that are still planning our 1st attempt. Planning on 2014 got a lot of details to fill in!

 

[cmorsch]

Well as far as the hunt went, It kicked my butt all over the place, being out of shape and the difference in elevation tore me up every day. Shooting sticks are a life saver, as well as good clothing, it was cold and windy in the mornings and evenings, but warmed up in the afternoon. The elk really only seemed to be moving right after sunrise and just before sunset. The biggest thing I took away from it was carry as light a rifle as possible. Mine weighs in at just over 14 lbs., and once I added in all my other equipment in my eberlestock j107 I was packing over 40 lbs. of gear up and down mountains all day. I know that I'm also going to use the 30-06 as a back up from now on, and will build a mag of some sort since I think its odd my rounds never exited the bull, it could of made tracking blood a pain if I had needed to do so.

 

[dromsky]

DIY hunt or guided? Camp, backpack or hotel?

 

[cmorsch]

I did a guided hunt that had a camp on the mountain.

 

[Derek M.]

Well as far as the hunt went, It kicked my butt all over the place, being out of shape and the difference in elevation tore me up every day. Shooting sticks are a life saver, as well as good clothing, it was cold and windy in the mornings and evenings, but warmed up in the afternoon. The elk really only seemed to be moving right after sunrise and just before sunset. The biggest thing I took away from it was carry as light a rifle as possible. Mine weighs in at just over 14 lbs., and once I added in all my other equipment in my eberlestock j107 I was packing over 40 lbs. of gear up and down mountains all day. I know that I'm also going to use the 30-06 as a back up from now on, and will build a mag of some sort since I think its odd my rounds never exited the bull, it could of made tracking blood a pain if I had needed to do so.

It's not the 30.06. Congratulations by the way! I've killed a few game with the Accubond and curiously, I've had very few exit. A stark contrast to that is every single ballistic tip I've ever used since the late 80s passed through everything. You don't need a magnum anything for elk but you do need a lighter rifle. Your choice.

I have a 30.06 that's got a lot of work done but I kept a 22" barrel on it by PacNor and the factory wood stock, just pillar and skim bedded it, added a decelertor pad on it. It is one of my lightest rifles and I LOVE hunting with it.

Do yourself a favor, load some 180 Barnes TSX or TTSX as hot as your rifle will take it where accuracy is to your satisfaction. Reloder 22 should accomplish this. Only drawback is the weight of your current rifle. I wouldn't hump the mountains with that on my back, ever.

If you are building, obviously, your choices are unlimited really, but there's NOTHING wrong with your 30.06 choice. In fact, I have 168 Barnes TSX and TTSX with a stiff charge of H4350 in the TSX and Re19 for the TTSX and I wouldn't hesitate to use either on an elk to 400 yards. If those or a 180 won't pass through nearly 100% of the time I'd be surprised.

 

[HARPERC]

Very nice! I get a bit more athletically impaired each season. A 14 lb rifle has it's place, but hiking much and a featherweight 30-06 will work.

My 2 cents on the bullet would be neither surprised or, disappointed. My experience with the Accubond, and other bonded bullets is contrary to the popular advice to drop down a weight, with the front end expanded well they don't drive as deep. If the petals at the front come off they will go deeper. A friend has a couple of 225 Accubonds fired into small whitetails from an Edge he's recovered. The old 210 Nosler partition in 338 penetrated better.

The 200 Accubond is my first choice in the 30-06, but the "harder" bullets will more likely exit, and exit holes are desirable in my opinion. It's just trade offs.

 

[bigngreen]

Awesome to see so many guys getting their first bulls!!