How Far with a 7mm Rem Mag?-Elk Hunting

[2rocky]

Long story short. Any belted or new age magnum of .27 caliber or larger with have sufficient energy to kill an elk beyond the distance you will be able to shoot accurately (5/5 in an 8 inch circle).

Your job as a marksman is to be able to shoot accurately, CONSISTENTLY as far as possible.
Your job as an elk hunter is to get to a position that is a FRACTION of that Maximum distance. Think of that denominator being as large as possible as your goal. Don't confuse the two.

Out of 10 bull elk killed I've never shot at one over 400 yards. My average distance may well be around 130. I've missed entire elk at under 400 yards, mainly due to poor rests. I've also put three premium bullets through the lungs of a rutting bull with a belted magnum under 100 yards and he stayed on his feet for an astonishing long time.

Guiding hunters, I've started to think, the nicer the long range rifle and scope system a hunter has, the less likely he or she can shoot it. The guys shooting a pre-'64 with scratches on the stock, and a fixed 4x or 3-9x seem to be killers...

 

[WVmike]

This video is what everyone is obsessed with in todays world. They want to post awesome videos of shooting something way off and showing it to the world. The kid made a difficult shot sure and he is 12 sure but I don't have any idea as to why anyone would want to shoot an animal at that range and expect to be able to find it and use the meat for what most of us hunters use it for. We hear about snipers making shots over a mile, great BUT they have experience that most people will never be able to obtain just through the training they go through. I have a buddy that just strictly bow hunts elk, whitetail etc and he was a Marine scout sniper. He would rather stalk in to 10 yards and shoot something rather than a mile away. I've heard him say sure you can shoot something at 1000 yards but if you can get to 100 why not do it and it takes more variables out of it. Sure it makes you feel accomplished, if that's what you're after shoot a steel target at 1300 yards and it only takes a couple of seconds to know if you hit the target. I've had more enjoyment stalking within 20-30 yards of an animal with a bow than I have shooting one at 300 but that's just me and I would rather rifle hunt if given the choice.

 

[brymoore]

I’ve seen elk killed from 75 yards to 700 yards. It’s more the shooter than the rifle.

I’ve seen a lot more bad shooting occur at 300 yards or less.