Elk

[tbpollard]

I'm going to stick to my jacketed bullets, but just curious if anyone has had any success long range hunting Elk with cast boolits?

[quilbilly]

Not sure what "long range" means. All of mine were taken with a 50 cal. sidelock and either PRB or cast 265 gr 429 SWC in a sabot in front of 78 gr of Goex 3F. I never needed to shoot over 75 yards but once calculated that the SWC would do just fine at 125 yards or a little more but the PRB is more limiting IMO to about 60 yards. The result was always so impressive that I decided that if I were to hunt with my 444, I would load the same size boolit (maybe with a gas check) to the same velocity. I did ride-alongs on many other elk hunts during modern seasons and the modern rifle results were never as definitive as with my old 50's.

[405grain]

If you're going to be taking shots at game beyond 200 yards, then jacketed bullets might be a better choice. The large meplat, (hollowpoint or flatnose), that makes cast boolits more effective on game doesn't have the most efficient ballistic shape, and will loose velocity and striking power faster. However, the vast majority of all shots taken at game animals is less than 100 yards. Taking "long range" shots at game animals is a trend that I've noticed, and is the feature of several online videos and many magazine articles. In my humble opinion there's more to being a hunter than just being a marksman. It takes skill and experience to stalk game. Can you move nearly silently through the woods? Can you travel towards game without being skylined, or giving away your scent? Are you able to approach your quarry both unseen and unheard?
Predators of all kinds use the method of stealthy approach before striking, and this has proven to be the most effective of all possible techniques. If you lay in wait in a tree stand or stalk your game over land, it makes you a better hunter to be able to get within ethical striking range. Hitting an animal from an impressive distance can be exhilarating, but it also increases the possibility of making a wounding, rather than a killing, shot.
I'm getting a little off track here, but to practice stalking skills you don't need to wait until hunting season, and you don't even need to be hunting. To be an effective hunter you need to be in good enough shape to actually navigate the regions where you will be hunting. A good way to get in shape, and sharpen your stalking skills is hiking. Get yourself a small backpack and toss in some snacks and a few bottles of water, then go for a walk in the woods. There's no law against sneaking up on deer and such just to see how close you can get without them noticing you. This builds skills, teaches you patience, prepares you for the actual hunt, and gets you in shape for the climbs and hikes that you'll encounter during the hunt.

[tbpollard]

I guess I would define "long range" in the context of hunting as anything over 300 yards. The furthest shot I've taken on Elk was in the 350 range, and I wouldn't consider using a cast boolit at that distance, but I was just curious if anyone actually does with success. Stalking elk in the snow during rifle season isn't easy, the closest I've been able to get without bumping them consistently is about 150 yards. Archery season is a different story because it's during the Elk rut and bulls tend to ignore their nose, in my experience at least.

[waksupi]

I consider it irresponsible to shoot at a game animal over 200 yards, regardless of what rifle and bullet is being used. The elk I've killed and seen killed, have mostly been well under 100 yards.

[Edward]

If you're going to be taking shots at game beyond 200 yards, then jacketed bullets might be a better choice. The large meplat, (hollowpoint or flatnose), that makes cast boolits more effective on game doesn't have the most efficient ballistic shape, and will loose velocity and striking power faster. However, the vast majority of all shots taken at game animals is less than 100 yards. Taking "long range" shots at game animals is a trend that I've noticed, and is the feature of several online videos and many magazine articles. In my humble opinion there's more to being a hunter than just being a marksman. It takes skill and experience to stalk game. Can you move nearly silently through the woods? Can you travel towards game without being skylined, or giving away your scent? Are you able to approach your quarry both unseen and unheard?
Predators of all kinds use the method of stealthy approach before striking, and this has proven to be the most effective of all possible techniques. If you lay in wait in a tree stand or stalk your game over land, it makes you a better hunter to be able to get within ethical striking range. Hitting an animal from an impressive distance can be exhilarating, but it also increases the possibility of making a wounding, rather than a killing, shot.
I'm getting a little off track here, but to practice stalking skills you don't need to wait until hunting season, and you don't even need to be hunting. To be an effective hunter you need to be in good enough shape to actually navigate the regions where you will be hunting. A good way to get in shape, and sharpen your stalking skills is hiking. Get yourself a small backpack and toss in some snacks and a few bottles of water, then go for a walk in the woods. There's no law against sneaking up on deer and such just to see how close you can get without them noticing you. This builds skills, teaches you patience, prepares you for the actual hunt, and gets you in shape for the climbs and hikes that you'll encounter during the hunt.

If you can"t shoot more than a 100 yds ,you'd be a starvin pilgrim in a lot of this country . Just because it is a cast bullet it is most certainly (NOT limited ) just a question of (practice) on your skill level . Anyone who questions the cast bullet with the hardness (correct BHN)to the critter hunted or efficiency of the perfect mushroom should ask the buffalo's opinion and they ain"t talkin . Rumor has it they don"t like cast boolits
very much , herd got thinned pretty good the last time ! /Ed

[waksupi]

If you can"t shoot more than a 100 yds ,you'd be a starvin pilgrim in a lot of this country . Just because it is a cast bullet it is most certainly (NOT limited ) just a question of (practice) on your skill level . Anyone who questions the cast bullet with the hardness (correct BHN)to the critter hunted or efficiency of the perfect mushroom should ask the buffalo's opinion and they ain"t talkin . Rumor has it they don"t like cast boolits
very much , herd got thinned pretty good the last time ! /Ed

If you are a real hunter, 100 yards is all that is needed. I've killed antelope with a smooth bore flintlock, and revolvers at well under 100 yards. You just need to be a sneaky type, and not mind crawling through prickly pear!.

[Tim357]

If you are a real hunter, 100 yards is all that is needed. I've killed antelope with a smooth bore flintlock, and revolvers at well under 100 yards. You just need to be a sneaky type, and not mind crawling through prickly pear!.

Not for nothin, and not elk, but I did whack a pronghorn north of Lewistown at 60' with a Lyman 31141 out of a .30-30. This was 1970, and I was a much younger version of myself. I'm still proud of that one!

[Larry Gibson]

The problem with hunting elk in many states during rifle season is it is difficult, if not impossible, to be a "real hunter". I lived in NE Oregon for many years and killed 19 elk on license and put down numerous injured elk as an LEO. I have killed elk with handguns and with rifles from .223 up through my 450-400-70...with jacketed and cast bullets. Truthfully, in many circumstance, elk are really not difficult to kill. How long it takes then to die between after being shot and how far they can travel is another story. During general rifle season I learned the elk must be put down quickly and you, the hunter, must have track shoes on to get to the elk before another hunter does and tags/claims it.

During the highly restrictive and short bull elk season in many states "hunting" is simply a matter of being in the right place where the elk is. While there can be some strategy to that there is little "stalking" of or "sneaking up closer" to the elk. Even when I spent days if not weeks before the season locating and planning a "hunt" on opening morning the elk were surrounded by nimrods stumbling around in the dark with flashlights. One time I was in "position" not 100 yards from the herd waiting for shooting light when an idiot walked right in among them and stampeded the herd in the opposite direction. My partner ask him what he did that for and he replied he didn't understand why they stampeded because he had the latest fashionable camo on and scent block......

Elk "hunting" can still be done in some locals if you live among them, are still young enough for rugged back country or, most likely, pay enough for a private hunt on a ranch or reservation. I no longer care to pursue elk at all. Much cheaper and far less frustrating or heartbreaking to just buy quality grass fed beef. Most real "hunters" who pursue elk in many areas went to archery hunting because there were longer seasons, less hunters and you could bugle them in during the rut (rifle seasons are mostly after the rut ends). However, even now, with the archery equipment available, seasons are shorter and are crowded with too many "hunters". Many complaints these days of archers bugling other archers in instead of elk. Success rate has dropped to less than 10% where I used to hunt with most of the "successes" being killed in the first 30 minutes of shooting light on opening morning.

Back to the question; "just curious if anyone has had any success long range hunting Elk with cast boolits?" I have not and would not even consider it if I were to hunt elk again. Caveat; if I won the lottery I might give it a whirl on a paid private ranch hunt where the game was "guaranteed" and I was the only hunter. But, even then, odds are I would be out there with my M70 24" barreled 30-06 with 180 Hornady SPBTs pushing 2750 fps. I have successfully killed elk from 25 to 478 yards with that when season was almost over and all the nimrods had given up and gone back to their condos. Then I could still "hunt". Where I hunted in NE oregon shots could come close in the timbered draws or at longer ranges (such as the 478 yard kill) on the open prairies where you could not get closer.