Since I need to post enough to buy things in classifieds, here it goes... Most of the panhandle is quite thick, but if you look at maps and plan hunts for clearcuts, you might have some far shots. I've shot elk with rifles at 35 yards in the panhandle, and missed this year at 610 before connecting at 350. That said, I'd expect most of the time you'd be able to close the distance to <400 if you needed to. The ability to shoot 800-1000 COULD come in handy, but is not a necessity. If you're going to hunt north of I90... most of that is thick enough that an open sight 45-70 would take care of most of your needs! Most of the time if we can see far away, we spot from over a mile, and sneak to inside of 400 yards. I think the panhandle is better as an archery hunt because it is the right amount of thick to support a call-in to bow range.