Indian Summer
WKR
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2013
- Messages
- 2,334
I don’t doubt that for a minute Buzz. But think about what you are saying. You are saying that YOU were able to do that. You’re not just anyone. Guys asking about what gun to consider haven’t hunted for decades and shot 40 elk. But they’re not all scared to death of a little recoil either.I wonder what "logic" the outfitter had for a 160 grain minimum?
I've killed around 40ish elk combined with a 7RM shooting 160 grain AB's and a 7-08 shooting 140 AB's...you can't show me a difference between the two in killing elk...no way, unless your forte' is picking fly manure out of the pepper.
Want to know why an outfitter in the Bob wants more energy in his clients bullets? Because not all hunters can shoot like some of us. And wounding can vary from one end of the spectrum to the other. On one end you get a follow up shot. That can vary from on the spot shots to a hundred yards downhill where the critter finally fell to putting the animal out of it’s misery sometime the next day. And in the Bob that can mean your guide has to go see if the elk is still yours or it now belongs to a grizzly bear with a couple cubs and a bad attitude.
But there are outfitters nowhere near bears that do the same thing. If you think a guy who’s passion and livelihood is hunting doesn’t know anything about ballistics you’re not much of a realist. But it doesn’t matter. He’s seen the results of good and bad shot from every caliber of gun and different bullets out there. Not just what a particular bullet does mind you but what the majority of hunters are capable of doing with it.
All the numbers in the world aren’t as conclusive as what he’s seen with his own two eyes. He doesn’t want 4 guys to stomp all over hell’s half acre stinking the place up looking for an elk. If you ask him what gun you should bring he’ll ask about calibers and bullets and scopes but he’ll also tell you to bring the one you’re comfortable with. As long as it’s sufficient. And for anyone who says sarcastically he’ll push you to your limits because he wants you to kill an elk… what’s wrong with that? Isn’t that the goal? Isn’t that what you hired him to do?
No I’m not talking about pressuring you to shoot beyond your abilities. I’m talking more about making sure you have a setup that’s going to make your elk recoverable when you didn’t hit exactly where you wanted to because: You were huffing and puffing. You were hopped up on adrenaline. You didn’t have that good of a rest. You only had 1.5 seconds to shoulder your gun, find your target and make the shot. Because guys often times admit they barely shot their gun all year. The wind was blowing. Or….. the hunter just wasn’t that great of a shot to begin with. Just like deer elk get hit in the ass, in the lower jaw, spined etc.
To me if we’re on a hunting forum talking about guns we can’t just talk about them like we’re shooting into ballistic gel from a bench all calm cool and collected. We have to factor in real world chit! We have nothing better to do during the off season so let’s get the thousand opinions on what the most effective caliber, bullet, whatever is for killing and finding elk after shooting them anywhere except the vitals.
How about an elk that turned away at the exact moment the trigger broke and I hit him really far forward in the front shoulder and exited out the chest without entering the lung cavity or breaking a leg? I guess we don’t really have to talk about that stuff. But an outfitter has to think about it.
How about a hunter I had who talked about his new gun all year and after missing says “First time I shot this gun” What?! “Yeah I was busy so my brother in law sighted it in for me and said I was good to go”
I had a guy and his wife and young son book an elk hunt. Mom hung out. The guy said I have never hunted in my life but my son saw it on the internet and wants to try it. I asked another guy about his previous hunting experience. Pheasants. An outfitter just wants people to be prepared. And yes dead elk are better than telling a prospective client about the ones that got away.
There are new hunters reading this stuff. We all know most any gun can kill an elk if you put a quality bullet in the pump house. But I’m not comfortable with just suggesting light for purpose ones. I don’t suggest running out and buying a .300 Ultra Mag either. Instead go shoot a friends gun. See how you feel about them. Make an educated decision. Try to at least go with a middle of the road elk gun. If you’ve never shot a gun with a brake or suppressor you’d be very pleasantly surprised at how much they tame down any gun. It’s just common sense to me. No extremes. Middle of the road. I was a Cub Scout, a Boy Scout, and an outfitter and all three taught me to be prepared and that means hoping for the best but planning for the worst. That definitely applies to an elk gun. Ok good night 4:00 comes fast.