The Elk are Back

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Dave

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I have a cow tag that is good until the end of the month. This morning they are hanging out in an alfalfa field. Where they are is far enough from cover that I would have to be a Marine sniper to shoot one. For some reason they don't want to stand some place where I could easily sneak into range. I am not going to belly crawl out to shoot a cow elk in a hay field. Eventually they will be somewhere that makes for a good easy shot.
PC032744.JPG
 
On the west side our cow season runs three months. But the herds are very small, 5 to 25 head usually. I have never seen that many in one group. Very impressive 🙂
 
Must have a better camera than me because my rifle scope is a lot better than my camera lens. If they would show up on film they would show up in the freezer.
 
Some Tennessee elk . Hatfield knob close to LaFollette
 

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On the west side our cow season runs three months. But the herds are very small, 5 to 25 head usually. I have never seen that many in one group. Very impressive 🙂
I have seen 4 times that many there in the past. One year before bull season I counted 14 branch antler bulls in the herd. They get chased around and split up during bull season. Today I saw one spike and no branch antler bulls.

Must have a better camera than me because my rifle scope is a lot better than my camera lens. If they would show up on film they would show up in the freezer.
That picture is with a 8 power lens on the camera. They are on the far edge of a quarter mile pivot so they have to be around 400 yards which is further than I am shooting a cow elk. Generally they get in the corner off to the right of the picture. If they would get there I can come down an irrigation ditch and get a nice easy 100 yard shot.
 
Dave I think you would just have to aim in the general direction and you would get one, there is so many of them.

Ken
Well Ken, An elk can pack a lot of lead if you don't hit them right. And once you shoot they will all be running. Which one is the one that you shot at? That is the reason that a person picks out the one you want and hit it right on the first shot. Also for eating purposes a yearling cow is pretty good. A 10 year old cow...... well think a grass fed 10 year old cow, maybe not so good.
 
What caliber/ load do you use?
I have several to choose from. A 30-06 with 180 grain Nosler partitioned. I have shot a lot of elk with that gun. Mainly because it was my only gun for a lot of years. I have a 300 Win Mag shooting 200 grain Nosler partitioned bullets. I started using it back in 2004. It works real well. My deer rifle of choice is a 7x57 with 140 grain bullets. It is a tack driver. If I were hunting bull elk I would use the 300. I will be picky and only shoot a yearling cow. I will also be selective about the shot I take. So I am packing the 7x57.
 
Well Ken, An elk can pack a lot of lead if you don't hit them right. And once you shoot they will all be running. Which one is the one that you shot at? That is the reason that a person picks out the one you want and hit it right on the first shot. Also for eating purposes a yearling cow is pretty good. A 10 year old cow...... well think a grass fed 10 year old cow, maybe not so good.
Just joking Dave. I'd like to have that many deer in my front paddock but instead I get that many kangaroos.

Ken
 
I have several to choose from. A 30-06 with 180 grain Nosler partitioned. I have shot a lot of elk with that gun. Mainly because it was my only gun for a lot of years. I have a 300 Win Mag shooting 200 grain Nosler partitioned bullets. I started using it back in 2004. It works real well. My deer rifle of choice is a 7x57 with 140 grain bullets. It is a tack driver. If I were hunting bull elk I would use the 300. I will be picky and only shoot a yearling cow. I will also be selective about the shot I take. So I am packing the 7x57.
Looks like a great rifle battery. Have you considered a graduated cross hairs scope?
 
I have several to choose from. A 30-06 with 180 grain Nosler partitioned. I have shot a lot of elk with that gun. Mainly because it was my only gun for a lot of years. I have a 300 Win Mag shooting 200 grain Nosler partitioned bullets. I started using it back in 2004. It works real well. My deer rifle of choice is a 7x57 with 140 grain bullets. It is a tack driver. If I were hunting bull elk I would use the 300. I will be picky and only shoot a yearling cow. I will also be selective about the shot I take. So I am packing the 7x57.
I was wondering. I've never had a chance to go elk hunting. I love my 30-06. A lot of what I've read 06 is very popular elk gun, then you read the next article and it says 300win mag or larger.
 
I was wondering. I've never had a chance to go elk hunting. I love my 30-06. A lot of what I've read 06 is very popular elk gun, then you read the next article and it says 300win mag or larger.
I have killed a lot of elk with that 06. Elk can pack a lot of lead but hit right they don't die that hard. I worry more about bullet construction and weight than I do caliber. I have probably shot 8 elk with that 300. I have watched elk shot with a 338 and 375 H&H. None of them died any faster than they would have with the same shot placement from the 06. The reason I said if I were bull hunting I would use the 300 is not the caliber. It has a more powerful scope. The 300 has a 4x14 scope mounted on it. The 06 which I have had since the mid 70's has a 2x7. Hunting for a bull up in the hills one can't be as picky about the shot as shooting a cow in the hay fields.
 
Looks like a great rifle battery. Have you considered a graduated cross hairs scope?
All three have Leopold scopes with duplex cross hairs. The 06 has a mid 70's model 2x7. The 300 has a 4x14. I poured my eye out trying to put points on a bull in a 3 point or better area looking through a 9 power scope. On 14 power I can count their nose hairs. The 7x57 has that 3x9 mounted on it.
 
Elk die fine with a well placed shot in the vitals area. Many elk killed with well placed shots with a .270, .308, .30-06, etc. And probably plenty with a 30-30. The rifle you can shoot accurately and taking a disciplined shot saves a lot of time trying to find the blood trail. Have dropped them with one shot with 30-06 and 300 WSM and chased them all over the mountain with poor shots same rifles. Probably had the fewest long tracking recoveries with archery equipment. They don't go very far with a well placed broadhead.
 
Just joking Dave. I'd like to have that many deer in my front paddock but instead I get that many kangaroos.

Ken
This is where I get lost. Australia has plenty of Kangaroos, kangaroos are suppose to be edible. Why do we hear of so many Kangaroo issues?
 

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