12-YEAR-OLD MAKES STUNNING 1,376-YARD SHOT ON BIG BULL ELK

[Angry Perch]

Missing happens at all ranges.   Personally I wouldn't shoot at elk or deer at that distance due to too many variables.   I love target shooting to 1500 and bow shooting to 100yds.  That said I missed my biggest bull at 11 yds....    it haunts me.   Regardless,  shooting that far at elk probably shouldn't be encouraged.   I'm sure all the videos of maimed elk or missed elk are not shown...  it would hurt their whole business model.

I've seen a lot of hunting videos of guys making really terrible shots at much closer ranges that get neatly edited too though 

Watching the Sportsman Channel makes my feel pretty good about my shooting!

"Dude, you smoked him!" ... (cut to the guy finding his deer in the dead of night with blood running down his back leg)

[ctwiggs1]

Can someone do us all a favor and post a pixelated image of a possible bobcat sighting next? 

[bigdub257]

Completely agree with posts calling this unethical. Reminds me of watching 3 guys in Idaho last year shooting at an elk from 1300 yards. Watched them shoot at this elk probably 15 times between em and never saw a bullet connect. And low and behold WA license plates, way to make a good impression smh...Worst part was watching a kid about 13  stand up and run to their truck, grab more ammo and start shooting again. Guys teaching their kids that’s ethical hunting make me sick. Never saw them even hike over and look for blood that day. This whole long range fad is just straight up gross. You have these guys that think that them dumping 5k into a rifle will make their long range shots (that they’ve always missed) magically start to happen. Truth is there is so much more than their money pulling the trigger, reloading, ect. Led alone being able to accurately judge your variables just adds another twist to making these shots unethical shots. I’m sorry but if you can’t put 10 out of 10 bullets into the kill zone you have ZERO business letting it rip at long range. Makes me wonder how many animals get hit and never recovered bc they never look or know if they hit the animal.

 
To each his own, but to me that is not "hunting" it's target shooting at an animal instead of a target. I can only imagine how may animals are lost due to this type of behavior whether or not the shot was on it's intended mark.  What ever happened to "fair chase"?  Half the fun of hunting to me is trying to cut the distance and re-locate an animal that is spotted out of ethical range.  Way too many variables out of one's control at that range.

[bornhunter]

These threads always go the same way with the same tired arguments.

To me nothings beats a screaming bull on a string and I prefer them inside of 20 yards, I want to hear the thud of their hooves and smell that elk piss.

Can't get that experience at 1300 yards

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[bornhunter]

Completely agree with posts calling this unethical. Reminds me of watching 3 guys in Idaho last year shooting at an elk from 1300 yards. Watched them shoot at this elk probably 15 times between em and never saw a bullet connect. And low and behold WA license plates, way to make a good impression smh...Worst part was watching a kid about 13  stand up and run to their truck, grab more ammo and start shooting again. Guys teaching their kids that’s ethical hunting make me sick. Never saw them even hike over and look for blood that day. This whole long range fad is just straight up gross. You have these guys that think that them dumping 5k into a rifle will make their long range shots (that they’ve always missed) magically start to happen. Truth is there is so much more than their money pulling the trigger, reloading, ect. Led alone being able to accurately judge your variables just adds another twist to making these shots unethical shots. I’m sorry but if you can’t put 10 out of 10 bullets into the kill zone you have ZERO business letting it rip at long range. Makes me wonder how many animals get hit and never recovered bc they never look or know if they hit the animal.

 
To each his own, but to me that is not "hunting" it's target shooting at an animal instead of a target. I can only imagine how may animals are lost due to this type of behavior whether or not the shot was on it's intended mark.  What ever happened to "fair chase"?  Half the fun of hunting to me is trying to cut the distance and re-locate an animal that is spotted out of ethical range.  Way too many variables out of one's control at that range.

[cavemann]

Man didn't realize we had so many snipers on this forum who have never missed a shot. And if you've ever missed than apparently you were shooting beyond your capabilities.  Ive personally been in the woods a lot and y'all are full of crap if you claim you don't miss   I'm in no way supporting shooting animals that far, but to chastise this kid for missing his first shot has apparently never been hunting with a kid or even hunting at all because I've seen the cartwheeling legs, limps, dangling jaws, etc that tell stuff happens at a lot closer distances. Hell guys miss moose clean inside 100 yards.  Ill never understand this notion that bad things only happen at longer ranges. The ability to miss or wound is not exclusive to distance. By what I saw in that video and what I see at my local range id trust that kid at 800 yards over most guys at 100-200 yards

Take the range out of the equation and what I saw was a 12 year old kid who setup fast, got into a solid shooting position, missed, stayed on target, made a correction and got his second shot off accurately. Very impressive for such a young shooter.

Once again, I AM NOT condoning shooting anything but targets at that kind of distance but I feel that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Carl, I'd never question your experience and value your opinion..  My issue with long distance shots and misses vs 1/4 mile shots is this..  Yes, misses happen far frequent then any of us would like to admit.  To me fair chase includes the ability to locate, track and pursue a wounded animal after a bad shot to finish the job.  I don't see the ethics or reasonable ability to do the same at these distances..  Sure, even 200, 20 or 75 yard wounded animals disappear.  But at least there is reasonable chance to put a spot on where it was standing, look for blood and track..  Just my opinion..  Great skill and shot but its not for me.

[Jonathan_S]

I'd rather have a gutshot animal at 1000 yards than 100, for practical reasons.

[fishngamereaper]

We can go back and forth on this all day long and get everyone on  both sides worked up... disagree to agree or agree to disagree..



Or we can just all agree that the only real way to hunt elk is with a bow and move on... 

[Karl Blanchard]

We'll have to agree to disagree there. The same lazy guy that won't follow up on a long shot isn't gonna do much even at a closer distance. Theres idiots among every user group but at least the guys I know who are into long range are at least putting in some effort to master their craft. The same cannot be said for a LARGE majority of hunters. I stand by my statement that id trust that 12 year old to hold his stuff together and make a long shot vs most grown men inside 200. And like I said in my previous comment I AM IN NO WAY CONDONING SHOOTING ANIMALS THAT FAR but let's call a spade a spade. Probably a decent chunk of folks commenting on this very topic that have some good skeletons in their own closet. My big lost animal story was from just a few years ago at 240 yards. That sure as hell is WELL within my proficiency zone.

[Jonathan_S]

We can go back and forth on this all day long and get everyone on  both sides worked up... disagree to agree or agree to disagree..

Or we can just all agree that the only real way to hunt elk is with a bow and move on... 

  

[Karl Blanchard]

We can go back and forth on this all day long and get everyone on  both sides worked up... disagree to agree or agree to disagree..



Or we can just all agree that the only real way to hunt elk is with a bow and move on... 

  oh man, then we can really get down to discussing an incredible amount of wounded animals and some ethics

[fishngamereaper]

We can go back and forth on this all day long and get everyone on  both sides worked up... disagree to agree or agree to disagree..



Or we can just all agree that the only real way to hunt elk is with a bow and move on... 

  oh man, then we can really get down to discussing an incredible amount of wounded animals and some ethics

 
Probably get moved to off topics/ politics section so let's try n keep it civil...

[jaymark6655]

Its not fair chase unless you're running them down with a knife. Expect new laws to be implemented shortly, good luck. 

As far as energy, I had personal cutoffs that went right out the window as soon as I started using muzzle loader with round ball. Most animals I take now are 250 ft-lbs to 400 at the most.

Was it too far? I don't know, wasn't there and don't know the kid or the setup. By know I mean personally/intimately: having shot the rifle, know what the ammo SDs and what the projectile does at different velocities, watched the kid shoot for months, been in the field looking at the wind push the mirage around or grass. A whole bunch of stuff that can't be seen in a video.

I have missed 4 - 5 deer at ranges under 100 yards. I have also not missed a shot between 100 and 600, so do I have a minimum distance now to be ethical? I do know I spent a lot of the day chasing those deer down to make sure it wasn't a hit. (Mostly because I didn't want to accept I had missed.)

To be fair, one my front sight had almost slid of the barrel and I didn't notice it. Another was archery, still not sure what that arrow hit, but I can tell you it is heart breaking and extremely loud for an arrow to bounce of a rack that big. Others were stupidity on my part.

Would be interesting if all hunters had to pass the Master Hunter proficiency test before they could use that means of harvest.

[cavemann]

We'll have to agree to disagree there. The same lazy guy that won't follow up on a long shot isn't gonna do much even at a closer distance. Theres idiots among every user group but at least the guys I know who are into long range are at least putting in some effort to master their craft. The same cannot be said for a LARGE majority of hunters. I stand by my statement that id trust that 12 year old to hold his stuff together and make a long shot vs most grown men inside 200. And like I said in my previous comment I AM IN NO WAY CONDONING SHOOTING ANIMALS THAT FAR but let's call a spade a spade. Probably a decent chunk of folks commenting on this very topic that have some good skeletons in their own closet. My big lost animal story was from just a few years ago at 240 yards. That sure as hell is WELL within my proficiency zone.

I agree with you, it comes down to practice to determine comfort level and most exceed that at the chance at an animal at any level...  I'd never debate that people take horrible shots at all ranges.  And people miss even within short distance.  I hear you there..  I guess I'm just saying my reasons for not liking the LD shots, but I consider 200+ long so there's that!!  LOL

[idaho guy]

Man didn't realize we had so many snipers on this forum who have never missed a shot. And if you've ever missed than apparently you were shooting beyond your capabilities.  Ive personally been in the woods a lot and y'all are full of crap if you claim you don't miss   I'm in no way supporting shooting animals that far, but to chastise this kid for missing his first shot has apparently never been hunting with a kid or even hunting at all because I've seen the cartwheeling legs, limps, dangling jaws, etc that tell stuff happens at a lot closer distances. Hell guys miss moose clean inside 100 yards.  Ill never understand this notion that bad things only happen at longer ranges. The ability to miss or wound is not exclusive to distance. By what I saw in that video and what I see at my local range id trust that kid at 800 yards over most guys at 100-200 yards

Take the range out of the equation and what I saw was a 12 year old kid who setup fast, got into a solid shooting position, missed, stayed on target, made a correction and got his second shot off accurately. Very impressive for such a young shooter.

Once again, I AM NOT condoning shooting anything but targets at that kind of distance but I feel that those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones

Carl, I'd never question your experience and value your opinion..  My issue with long distance shots and misses vs 1/4 mile shots is this..  Yes, misses happen far frequent then any of us would like to admit.  To me fair chase includes the ability to locate, track and pursue a wounded animal after a bad shot to finish the job.  I don't see the ethics or reasonable ability to do the same at these distances..  Sure, even 200, 20 or 75 yard wounded animals disappear.  But at least there is reasonable chance to put a spot on where it was standing, look for blood and track..  Just my opinion..  Great skill and shot but its not for me.

   

I agree with Karl on this. I have seen way too much crappy shooting at short range to ever criticize someone for taking a long range shot  That's only  if they have shot a lot at that range and also have the right equipment. I have done a lot of longer range shooting but have limited myself to 700 yards  and under on live animals thats just where I feel pretty confident in efficiently killing stuff. I am not sure 700 yards is even considered long range shooting anymore . In the same season I shot my moose bedded at a little over 650 yards(one shot and he rolled over) and missed a small bull elk at 50 yards broadside with the same rifle! I smelled some elk so I did a few cow calls and bull appears at point blank range so i just rushed it and  point and shoot and he walks off  If we hunt alot AND we are honest about it we all have made bad shots for whatever reason. If you have never made a bad shot at any range you need to hunt more ha ha. I hate when an animal is wounded but in reality it will happen to the best of us. The one thing that really bothers me is I don't think a lot of so called long range hunters really take the effort to hike all the way to the animal and verify a clean miss. I also agree that too many hunters buy a 5k rifle and think they can suddenly shoot everything they see at 1000 yards. I see both sides of the argument but dont feel like any of us had the right to instantly criticize another hunter for actually killing a bull at extreme long range. I love getting close with and arrow and also shooting stuff at longer range its just as satisfying to me just a different way of hunting. Disclaimer I have hit elk bad at 10 yards with an arrow too and shoot consistently out to 80 yards all summer. Crap happens in the woods. At the end of the day the kid kept his composure after a miss and then  made an awesome shot. Carry on!