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- Jan 28, 2003
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I do a lot of hunting in different terrain for different critters but for this thread I’ll limit it to my most common rifle hunts, I also hunt archery and muzzle loader so if you’re not a rifle hunter please feel free to include stick and string or muzzle stuffer etc.
My average mule deer, elk or antelope hunt is conducted in the in the Rocky Mountain region of the west, either in the mountains or in the high desert country that surrounds the mountains primarily on public, BLM or Forest Service land with the occasional big western 20,000 acre plus private ranch thrown in.
We don’t hunt in square acres we hunt in terms of square miles in a day. The thought of hunting a 40 acre plot of anything is completely foreign to me. Our primary method of hunting is to cover ground and glass, either on foot, horse or vehicle. An average day on foot will be 8+ miles walked, horse 10 to 20 miles and depending on the area it wouldn’t be unusual to do 40 to 70 miles in a day in a truck and never see the same place twice.
Once a critter is spotted a stalk is planned to get to a useable in range shooting location for the shot. Shot range can vary wildly but if you want to have better than average success on any of the species mentioned above in my country the ability to confidently hit the vitals at 450 yards should not be a problem for you or you’re rifle/scope set up.
Rifles used, I have a pile of them, however when I’m serious about killing a critter I generally grab one of three primarily. The most often used now days is a Steyr Scout with a 22” medium weight barrel, in .308 topped with a NF 2.5x10, I shoot 165 Gr Nosler Accubonds out of it. I’ve lost track of the number of deer and elk I’ve killed with it. Next up is custom built Model 70 chambered in .270 Weatherby Magnum, it’s topped with a Leupold VX-5 3x15. This rig tends to be my open country Antelope and deer rig. It also has many notches on its recoil pad. I‘ve printed 3” 5 shot groups at 600 yards with this rifle on several occasions. The rifle I’ve killed the most elk and everything else with is a Winchester Model 70 in .375H&H. It’s currently topped with a Leupold VX-6 in 1X6.
The .375 is the rifle I want in my hands when cruising dark timber for elk. It’ll put a 270gr LRX stem to stern on an elk, it’s fast handling for snap shots and perfectly capable of dropping them at 400+ yards too. I can get away with snap shots on big critters like elk or moose with a .375 that wouldn't try with a .308/.30-06. The crazy thing about a .375 is with a .270 Gr bullet such as the Barnes LRX it’s got the same exact same drop as a 308 Win or an 06 with a 165 or 180 Gr bullet respectively. It’s also world renowned for deep straight line penetration. I shot a big bull moose with it several years ago with a frontal shot at 260 ish yards. The bullet penetrated the thick muscles under the spine, heart, lungs, gut and stopped in the skin of its rump. That’s some no kidding deep penetration.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking that shot with a .308 and probably not even with a .300 with a 180 Gr bullet. It wouldn't even occur to me not to take that shot with my .375. I have ultimate confidence in that rifle and caliber.
That is the quick and dirty on what my average hunt looks like.
My average mule deer, elk or antelope hunt is conducted in the in the Rocky Mountain region of the west, either in the mountains or in the high desert country that surrounds the mountains primarily on public, BLM or Forest Service land with the occasional big western 20,000 acre plus private ranch thrown in.
We don’t hunt in square acres we hunt in terms of square miles in a day. The thought of hunting a 40 acre plot of anything is completely foreign to me. Our primary method of hunting is to cover ground and glass, either on foot, horse or vehicle. An average day on foot will be 8+ miles walked, horse 10 to 20 miles and depending on the area it wouldn’t be unusual to do 40 to 70 miles in a day in a truck and never see the same place twice.
Once a critter is spotted a stalk is planned to get to a useable in range shooting location for the shot. Shot range can vary wildly but if you want to have better than average success on any of the species mentioned above in my country the ability to confidently hit the vitals at 450 yards should not be a problem for you or you’re rifle/scope set up.
Rifles used, I have a pile of them, however when I’m serious about killing a critter I generally grab one of three primarily. The most often used now days is a Steyr Scout with a 22” medium weight barrel, in .308 topped with a NF 2.5x10, I shoot 165 Gr Nosler Accubonds out of it. I’ve lost track of the number of deer and elk I’ve killed with it. Next up is custom built Model 70 chambered in .270 Weatherby Magnum, it’s topped with a Leupold VX-5 3x15. This rig tends to be my open country Antelope and deer rig. It also has many notches on its recoil pad. I‘ve printed 3” 5 shot groups at 600 yards with this rifle on several occasions. The rifle I’ve killed the most elk and everything else with is a Winchester Model 70 in .375H&H. It’s currently topped with a Leupold VX-6 in 1X6.
The .375 is the rifle I want in my hands when cruising dark timber for elk. It’ll put a 270gr LRX stem to stern on an elk, it’s fast handling for snap shots and perfectly capable of dropping them at 400+ yards too. I can get away with snap shots on big critters like elk or moose with a .375 that wouldn't try with a .308/.30-06. The crazy thing about a .375 is with a .270 Gr bullet such as the Barnes LRX it’s got the same exact same drop as a 308 Win or an 06 with a 165 or 180 Gr bullet respectively. It’s also world renowned for deep straight line penetration. I shot a big bull moose with it several years ago with a frontal shot at 260 ish yards. The bullet penetrated the thick muscles under the spine, heart, lungs, gut and stopped in the skin of its rump. That’s some no kidding deep penetration.
I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking that shot with a .308 and probably not even with a .300 with a 180 Gr bullet. It wouldn't even occur to me not to take that shot with my .375. I have ultimate confidence in that rifle and caliber.
That is the quick and dirty on what my average hunt looks like.