I was in NM this past week on my third elk hunt. I hadn't squeezed the trigger on my previous 2 hunts.
My guide spotted a cow and then the bull on a ridge across the canyon near mid morning. He said we could try to get closer, but it would take at least an hour. I was concerned that the cow would walk off and the bull would follow. We debated a lot about whether to take the shot. The bull had layed down as if to bed down. While we were debating, the bull got back up. I felt sure he was going to walk off and I'd never see him to get a shot. We had not seen any other shooters and had only heard a couple of other bulls, so the opportunities seemed to be limited.
There was no mirage and the wind seemed to be calm. It actually turned out to be 1 to 1 1/2 mph. I was laying on a large rock with the forearm of the rifle on the guide's backpack. Left had was under the back end of the stock for elevation adjustment. I could hold the rifle extremely still.
The rifle is a Winchester model 70 300 win mag with a Hart barrel, McMillan stock, Muscle brake, Timney trigger set at 2 1/2#, action trued, lugs lapped, stock bedded, Zeiss HD5 5-25x50 scope with Z-800 reticle and an anti-cant bubble on the scope. Shooting a Nosler 180 grain Accubond bullet at 3010 fps at the muzzle. During my practice shooting I could fairly consistently get 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. At 200 yards the groups were 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch.
And now for the "short distance". I had told the guide I wanted to shoot the rifle at 800 yards, but at a target. He said "here is your 800 yard shot. He is at 850 yards". He was using my Leica 1600-B range finder and had ranged a 10 foot boulder near the bull three times with exactly the same reading of 850 yards line of sight and 845 true horizontal.
When the bull stood up, I felt sure he was going to walk off. He was a 6x6 bull that measured around 290, so he was a respectable bull. I told the guide "I'm going to shoot him". I got settled and double checked the anti-cant bubble. During the load development the first shot was always higher than the second and third shot of a group. I had the scope set so that the first shot was just slightly high on the target. I figured that the slightly high first shot would compensate for the additional 50 yards, so I put the 800 yard hash mark just behind the line up the back of his leg and mid way up the body. The instant I felt the recoil start, the hash mark was exactly where I wanted it.
The 1 mph wind had blown the bullet about 4 inches forward. The bullet hit the shoulder and the bull dropped like a sack of rocks. He layed down flat for about 5 minutes before managing to get back up. He couldn't hardly walk and went only a few feet. The bullet also did vitals damage and he expired shortly.
I don't know who was more excited: me or the guide. That probably was the shot of a lifetime: a 6x6 bull at 850 yards. Half a mile. Amazing. Incredible. Unbelievable. For all of you guys that are saying "no way" or "I don't believe it", I can get an notarized affidavit from the guide swearing under oath that I did indeed make the 850 yard shot.
My guide spotted a cow and then the bull on a ridge across the canyon near mid morning. He said we could try to get closer, but it would take at least an hour. I was concerned that the cow would walk off and the bull would follow. We debated a lot about whether to take the shot. The bull had layed down as if to bed down. While we were debating, the bull got back up. I felt sure he was going to walk off and I'd never see him to get a shot. We had not seen any other shooters and had only heard a couple of other bulls, so the opportunities seemed to be limited.
There was no mirage and the wind seemed to be calm. It actually turned out to be 1 to 1 1/2 mph. I was laying on a large rock with the forearm of the rifle on the guide's backpack. Left had was under the back end of the stock for elevation adjustment. I could hold the rifle extremely still.
The rifle is a Winchester model 70 300 win mag with a Hart barrel, McMillan stock, Muscle brake, Timney trigger set at 2 1/2#, action trued, lugs lapped, stock bedded, Zeiss HD5 5-25x50 scope with Z-800 reticle and an anti-cant bubble on the scope. Shooting a Nosler 180 grain Accubond bullet at 3010 fps at the muzzle. During my practice shooting I could fairly consistently get 3/4 inch groups at 100 yards. At 200 yards the groups were 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inch.
And now for the "short distance". I had told the guide I wanted to shoot the rifle at 800 yards, but at a target. He said "here is your 800 yard shot. He is at 850 yards". He was using my Leica 1600-B range finder and had ranged a 10 foot boulder near the bull three times with exactly the same reading of 850 yards line of sight and 845 true horizontal.
When the bull stood up, I felt sure he was going to walk off. He was a 6x6 bull that measured around 290, so he was a respectable bull. I told the guide "I'm going to shoot him". I got settled and double checked the anti-cant bubble. During the load development the first shot was always higher than the second and third shot of a group. I had the scope set so that the first shot was just slightly high on the target. I figured that the slightly high first shot would compensate for the additional 50 yards, so I put the 800 yard hash mark just behind the line up the back of his leg and mid way up the body. The instant I felt the recoil start, the hash mark was exactly where I wanted it.
The 1 mph wind had blown the bullet about 4 inches forward. The bullet hit the shoulder and the bull dropped like a sack of rocks. He layed down flat for about 5 minutes before managing to get back up. He couldn't hardly walk and went only a few feet. The bullet also did vitals damage and he expired shortly.
I don't know who was more excited: me or the guide. That probably was the shot of a lifetime: a 6x6 bull at 850 yards. Half a mile. Amazing. Incredible. Unbelievable. For all of you guys that are saying "no way" or "I don't believe it", I can get an notarized affidavit from the guide swearing under oath that I did indeed make the 850 yard shot.
