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Question for successful Traditional Elk hunters on this site. What is your maximum range to shoot at an elk? And at what distance has been your average shot you have taken at elk? Thanks!
Maximum range - 40-45 yards. Have shot at and killed two bulls at that range. Average shot on elk - about 15 yards. That is for over 15 bulls with traditional gear.
Max range about 35 but I don't think about it. If I can make the shot I shoot. Have killed a couple a little further. Average distance probably works out to 15-18 because quite a few have been under 10. I think I've killed around 27 with trad bows.
I like em under 30. will shoot a step or two past that if everything is right though.
Short shot 5 feet. Long shot 35 yards. Most in the 20 and under range after called in. Eliminate the 5 ft. shot and I would say average of 15 yards. Longest shot would depend on how I am shooting , feeling and the shot and situation presented. If I feel it will get closer I will simply wait it out. If there is a wind shift ect or swirling winds that would effect my decision. I think one of the most important factors in successful hunting is knowing when to take the shot. There a lot of missed opportunities by acting too soon and waiting too long. God bless, Steve
Prefer under 20.
Have passed on shots under 20 due to various circumstances and have shot elk as close as 5 feet as well.
Like Sixby said, it depends on how well I am shooting, feeling at the time, what is presented, etc as to how far I may shoot. Usually don't think about the distance until after the shot.
I'm new to this site and have only shot whitetails with traditional but plan on an elk hunt in 2016 with my boys (15 and 13). My max distance right now is 25 yards. With a sharp cut on contact broad head I've had complete pass thrus on deer at 25 yards - and I only shoot 45#.
All of mine have been sub 25 and I've never shot through one.
All but one was under 20, I prefer to get as close as possible. Farthest was about 40'ish. For me that is the greatest challenge is to get spitting close.
Some of you have a lot of experience. I thought most shots would be 20 or under. Just interesting to hear the facts. There are a lot of trad shooters on this site. Thanks!
same as Jaquomo, don't think about it. They are either close enough or not.
I've passed plenty of close shots and taken a few longer ones. Avg roughly 18 yards it seems, with the longest being 44 yards (steps), which thoroughly surprised me when stepped off.
Since others have brought it up, I've killed 19 with trad gear, and shot through many of those. I use tree sharks now, but have used grizzly's, snuffers and razorcaps, etc.. I usually shoot bows in the 60#-75# range and had one bow that was a 57# bamboo backed self bow which shot through and into the dirt on the other side of a bull and a cow within 24 hours of each other, with a snuffer. This year, I think, will be a homemade r/d longbow at 73#.
Good shot placement, arrow flight and sharp broadhead are all you need...trad gear is plenty capable as long as you stay within your limits. shoot straight and good luck this year!
My max range is only 25 yards due to being left eye dominant and right handed. I've killed bulls from 8 yds to 22 yds, with most in the 14-15 yd distance.
I've killed a bull at 42 and 47 but I would say average shots are around 25 to 30 yds.
>>don't think about it. They are either close enough or not.<<
+1 but usually 25 or less
That said, I come from a background of ultra skittish whitetails that turn inside out in less than a heartbeat so I don't like my arrow in the air too long before impact and any thing past 30yds puts it in the air for almost 0.5 sec. which is a LONG time for an animal to move.
If you think animals move fast 30 yards away, wait till you see a bull turn himself inside out when he sees you move suddenly 12 feet away!! We always tell hunters to take the first shot they get and feel comfortable with. When a bull is up close and personal, things can go wrong fast. With a compound, I don't mind the bulls being in tight, but when I'm carrying a stickbow, inside 15 yards is something I don't like. With a stickbow, we can't draw and hold as the bull walks in, and if I can stop him at 20 or 15 yards, I will. Way too many guys think closer is better, but the way some guys hide behind trees and things and kneel down, they gotta move too much when the bull is coming in. Say what you will, but with the right Camo, you shouldn't need to hide behind a tree or bush. I never hide, just make sure I've got something behind me, and cow call when I start to draw. When a bull hears a call and sees movement, he stops and looks. Move without making a sound and watch as he spins out of there.
Hunting with someone else that can do the calling is great for letting the bull walk past you, but when your alone, the bull knows we're the calls are coming from. Too many times guys wait too long to shoot and end up with the bull in tight and head on.
Excellent tips guys! Amazing experience on Bowsite!
My "in my mind" was 40 back in my recurve days & 2 fell with 35 yd shots & 55#s. Compound 35yds also & have had several under 25 yds. I think my average of shots taken (miss or kill) round out at under 30 though as I said, 3 shot at 35 yds. I can only recall taking what I thought was a 40 one time. I prefer them over 15 cause they sure can "EXPLODE" up close.
Buglmin - timing the draw and shot is very critical and very different with a compound vs a trad bow. Compound guys can draw and hold as a bull comes in and wait for the shot so only have to pull the trigger when the angle is right. I don't go to full draw until the angle is right and the shot is there. Have had elk too close to shoot several times - usually due to bad angles for the shot (frontal, quartering to) or looking right at me or the guy trying to shoot. Really like to have them set up quartering slightly away.
I will typically move my bow to shooting position pointed and slowly start putting tension on the string where I expect the bull to step into the shooting lane to minimize movement. Very seldom do I take much time to draw and shoot on an elk - hopefully the only movement they might see is my elbow going back which is not a big movement. Always try to make that movement when they aren't looking directly at me.
As a compound shooter who's never shot trad (other than as a kid ), some very impressive info here! Shot distances near and far! 27 elk? Congrats Lou!
Keep it coming, what a great thread!
Mark
Tree line, I know that, I hunt with a recurve, and my biggest Colorado bull was shot head on at 12 steps when he came down a lil off a bench to pick up the vow and calf he thought he left behind. And like I stated, using a call or sound before you draw doesn't scare them as bad as the sudden movement as you draw without any sound. And even when they see sudden movement out of the corner of the eye they will spook. And I never kneel down or hide behind trees or brush. I stand with the bottom limb tip in a pocket that's sewn on below my left knee, that way the bow is already vertical and I don't have to pick it.
Thanks, Mark. I've killed others with compounds, from the old Carroll 4 wheeler barebow back in the day to the modern Mathews I'm dabbling with again. To me the bow is just a tool.
Compounds have advantages and disadvantages, as do longbows and recurves. I've killed bulls at longer distances with a longbow than with compounds. I get a kick out of some trad guys who act like shooting one with a stickbow is some sort of mystical ascension to a higher moral plane.
I get away with a lot if movement with the elk hat. Sometimes even waving it at them won't make them leave. Ths year I plan to try the Heads Up on the compound to see how much movement I can get away with.
Hey Lou, you still got that old Caroll's compound? There's a guy in Grand Junction that can make recurve limbs to fit it. I'm sending one up to him next week. Also, I was told Keith Chastian could make them...
Bugl, lots people can make limbs for old compound risers. ILF plates are much easier and cheaper plus you can use many more limbs.Pricewise you're usually better off with a new metal riser Ike an Excel or Axiom.
Anthony, I don't have it, unfortunately. I gave it to my future former brother in law years ago. Thing was a beast. Weighed a ton and with the 20# letoff it shot like a cannon at 70# but started to goof my shoulder up.
Wish I did still have it for nostalgia's sake.
ILF limbs don't fit on a Carroll's riser, and no one makes plates for them. I know all about warfin' bows, one of my old hunters was the one that Bob Gordon taught and I've got several risers Hiram gave me. The rise beds are extremely curved, and have a shape like the old Wing Presitation riser.
The Carroll bows were made in Utah, and yessir, very heavy. My cousin got one in the mid 70's, and I remember him putting a Wire Witch on the cables to help with feather clearance. Extremely narrow grip, like the old Astro compounds.
Your maximum effective range for elk should not differ from the maximum distance that you feel competent shooting a deer from. Elk are very tough animals that often go a long distance before making their final bed. Accuracy is critical in putting an elk down quickly.
Yep, I liked the grip on that Carroll. I put a Berger button and flipper on it to help with clearance.
Anthony, to your point about how fast they can move at close range- I called a bull in once that trotted right at me. I was hiding behind a small spruce and was going to let him pass and shoot him quartering away at about 6 yards (longbow).
He suddenly turned and was going to barrel right over me so I drew and shot him straight on at point blank, picking a spot where if he turned I'd have the right height at whatever angle.
A straight on shot as fast as I could draw and release a longbow - less than a second - turned into a severe quartering-away hit. He only went about 80 yards running the other way before he fell down.
People would do well to understand that just because they're big doesn't mean they aren't nimble as a cutting horse and can quickly get out of the way of an arrow. I totally agree that the "first best shot" is often better than the "closest best shot".
Lou, couple years ago, a good friend from Wisconsin comes out to chase elk with me again. He's shooting this new Widow, and he listens to everyone about the 10 grains per pound rule, but you know you can't get 560 grain cedar shafts, so he has Paul from Elite Arrows make him these 600 grain poc arrows, beautiful, tipped with Black Diamonds. And he can shoot!! Anyways, for the past week I'd been chasin this big herd bull, had a voice on him that even scared me! Anyways, I figured him out, noticed that he would always come up this ridge. So, we go in there early, and I head up this lil ridge opposite of the one he goes up. Soon, he starts screaming and heading up, and we keep pace with him. I hadn't said anything, no cow calls, no bugles, nothing. It's just him and a few other bulls. After bout 15 minutes, I can't take it anymore, and when he sounds off, I cut him off and scream at him. Man, he gets mad. He screams and screams at everything, calf calls, cow call, cuts my bugles off...the ridge he's on and the one I'm on intersect about 200 yards above us, and I'm grinning knowing this is goin work! He's screaming, I'm screaming, and we're bout 100 yards below this intersection when I scream at him, and he comes running off that ridge. I point to a big tree and Mark runs to it as I bail off the side of this ridge. I chuckle and he comes into view, head laid back and red in his eyes. He walks by this tree Marks hiding behind, and when he passes by Mark 10 steps away, Mark sucks that Widow back, and shoots a foot over his back!! The bulls gone in seconds, the only thing left of his memory is the smell in the air, the wide tracks in the dirt, and a shaking Mark. I'm laughing and Marks just shaking his head, not believing he shot that high... The only thing I can think of is the bull ducked the arrow...
I leave the area alone for several days, and we go in there in the evening. I don't say anything, just leave the calls hanging around my neck. We cross this small meadow and catch a trail that goes up through some scrub oak. I'm now below where this bull likes to bed. It's a big aspen covered hillside, and we're in this lil draw with that the trail runs down. I send Mark up ahead towards a clump on trees roughly 20 yards away from where I plan to call from. He backs into some trees about 10 yards below the trail. He's roughly 25 yards out in front of me. I go back down and get into the scrub oak. The bull has to come by me to look into the meadow. Once we're set up, I calf call a few times and then answer myself with a cow call. He screams from the head of the draw, and here he comes. He comes by Mark too fast for Mark to shoot, headed straight at me. He's about 15 yards coming straight towards me when I suck the Bob Lee back. He slams to a stop, looks at me for a second, and then spins away from me, then drops to the ground, and starts trying to gain his feet. Not knowing what's going on, I shove a shaft through his chest. Mark comes running up and shoots him again. Mark starts to shake, and tells he he took a quarting away shot when the bull stopped, but the bull dropped as he spun and caught the cedar arrow through the spine, on the opposite side that Mark shot at! That bull had did a 180 before Marks arrow could cover roughly 10 yards...
