500mag_guy
Well-Known Member
This year I was blessed with another very successful season. I hunted hard and put a ton of miles on the heal toe express but with a full freezer it was all worth it!
This year I had drawn an elk B tag and was lucky enough to fill both my B tag and my general elk license and with a little more luck, out of the same group of elk.
Myself and a very good friend had made it to the top of a ridge where we had spotted elk from earlier that week. Within an hour of glassing I had spotted one lone spike bull feeding into an opening out of thick timber. I ranged him at 754 yards and dialed accordingly. He was angling away from me so I steadied up for a neck shot. I squeezed off and watched as the bullet went right over his neck. I dropped another round into my rifle and to my surprise he was still standing there, I held for a heart shot and touched off. He dropped immediately then got back up and made three steps then down for good. Just as I stood up my buddy who was spotting for me said here they come!! I look back over in the direction of my spike and here comes the rest of the group boiling out of the trees. I got back down and ranged where a group of cows were heading. 648 yards, i readjusted and waited. The lead cow came into the opening and stopped looking back. I held for her neck and touched off. She dropped like a ton of bricks! My buddy and I hooted and high fived then started our journey over to them. 5 hours later we had them loaded up and headed for home.
As we were headed for my place he asked me, Do you still have the thrill of the hunt when you can shoot like that? I immediately answered hell yes! It's an incredible experience to be able to shoot that far accurately! He said ok and that was the end of it.
Later in the season I had found a deer at 450 yards away I dialed my scope and placed the crosshairs on his neck. Just as I was getting ready to touch off, my friends words went through my mind... After a few minutes of arguing with myself in my head I decided that maybe it was time to let the animal have the advantage. I walked back down to the truck and put my rifle back in my rig and headed after him with my pistol, a 500 s&w that I carry for bear protection. Once I was on the same hill side as the buck I drew my pistol and eased my way though the downed timber. I spotted him then drew free hand for the shot. I touched off and he jumped then took off into the trees. I ranged to where he was standing at 74 yards then gave him a few minutes as I was unsure where exactly I had hit him due to shooting with open sights without a spotter. I walked up to where he was standing and there he was 30 yards into the trees piled up behind a downed tree. I had hit him mid brisket on the right side and it exited right behind the shoulder on the left side. What an incredible experience!
After this experience I asked myself, Am I loosing the thrill of the hunt by being able to look at a screen that tells me exactly what I need to do to hit exactly where I am aiming?
I have yet to be able to answer this question for myself but my question to everyone else is: Do you think you've lost that thrill of the hunt after practicing year round at long range, fine tuning your rifle, loads and getting to know your rifle inside and out?
Thanks for reading, Eric
This year I had drawn an elk B tag and was lucky enough to fill both my B tag and my general elk license and with a little more luck, out of the same group of elk.
Myself and a very good friend had made it to the top of a ridge where we had spotted elk from earlier that week. Within an hour of glassing I had spotted one lone spike bull feeding into an opening out of thick timber. I ranged him at 754 yards and dialed accordingly. He was angling away from me so I steadied up for a neck shot. I squeezed off and watched as the bullet went right over his neck. I dropped another round into my rifle and to my surprise he was still standing there, I held for a heart shot and touched off. He dropped immediately then got back up and made three steps then down for good. Just as I stood up my buddy who was spotting for me said here they come!! I look back over in the direction of my spike and here comes the rest of the group boiling out of the trees. I got back down and ranged where a group of cows were heading. 648 yards, i readjusted and waited. The lead cow came into the opening and stopped looking back. I held for her neck and touched off. She dropped like a ton of bricks! My buddy and I hooted and high fived then started our journey over to them. 5 hours later we had them loaded up and headed for home.
As we were headed for my place he asked me, Do you still have the thrill of the hunt when you can shoot like that? I immediately answered hell yes! It's an incredible experience to be able to shoot that far accurately! He said ok and that was the end of it.
Later in the season I had found a deer at 450 yards away I dialed my scope and placed the crosshairs on his neck. Just as I was getting ready to touch off, my friends words went through my mind... After a few minutes of arguing with myself in my head I decided that maybe it was time to let the animal have the advantage. I walked back down to the truck and put my rifle back in my rig and headed after him with my pistol, a 500 s&w that I carry for bear protection. Once I was on the same hill side as the buck I drew my pistol and eased my way though the downed timber. I spotted him then drew free hand for the shot. I touched off and he jumped then took off into the trees. I ranged to where he was standing at 74 yards then gave him a few minutes as I was unsure where exactly I had hit him due to shooting with open sights without a spotter. I walked up to where he was standing and there he was 30 yards into the trees piled up behind a downed tree. I had hit him mid brisket on the right side and it exited right behind the shoulder on the left side. What an incredible experience!
After this experience I asked myself, Am I loosing the thrill of the hunt by being able to look at a screen that tells me exactly what I need to do to hit exactly where I am aiming?
I have yet to be able to answer this question for myself but my question to everyone else is: Do you think you've lost that thrill of the hunt after practicing year round at long range, fine tuning your rifle, loads and getting to know your rifle inside and out?
Thanks for reading, Eric
