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

[treefarmer]

I was second guessing letting my kid shoot at a buck bedded at 205 yards this year.  First shot clean Miss, second heart shot, never got up.   Feel better after reading these comments 

[pianoman9701]

That was a fine shot. Congratulations to the young hunter and his spotting team. 

[Mtnwalker]

Completely disagree ( with Pegasus).Where do you draw the line? 500 yards? 1000 yards?

That video has made the rounds.  Kid did his part on the trigger no doubt. Lot of cash went into that set up.

I draw the line at 1500 ft lbs for elk.    He  was at 1070 ( assuming 195s at 6000 ft) My lapua with 300 gr is double that for same shot.

I don't think those guys run 195's. Not sure about that exact setup but I know they normally like 168's for 7saums and Rem mags, and 180's for LRMs and 28's. My guess is this was an LRM/180 since the vid is a few years old.

As far as ethics... definitely too far for my taste, but I'd be willing to bet that the "elk shot at vs. elk in the truck" ratio for their crew far exceeds that of the average joe weekend warrior so it is what it is. Guys who eat sleep and breathe long range hunting doing what they do is the least of my worries.

[Magnum_Willys]

With 180’s at 3100 fps and 8000 ft elevation he’s at 1376 ft lbs so still lil light imo on elk,  but It worked!

[pianoman9701]

Would I do this? No, I couldn't, actually. Would I take a 100-yd shot with my bow? No. Are there people who do these things with regular success? Yes. Who am I to tell another that they must adhere to my standards of hunting? No, I'm not Hunting God, either. Support other hunters even when they do things of which you're incapable.

[Igor]

Would I do this? No, I couldn't, actually. Would I take a 100-yd shot with my bow? No. Are there people who do these things with regular success? Yes. Who am I to tell another that they must adhere to my standards of hunting? No, I'm not Hunting God, either. Support other hunters even when they do things of which you're incapable.

In this case, do you think they are showing respect for the animal they are "hunting".  Serious question.

[Mtnwalker]

Would I do this? No, I couldn't, actually. Would I take a 100-yd shot with my bow? No. Are there people who do these things with regular success? Yes. Who am I to tell another that they must adhere to my standards of hunting? No, I'm not Hunting God, either. Support other hunters even when they do things of which you're incapable.

In this case, do you think they are showing respect for the animal they are "hunting".  Serious question.

I think that honing your craft, however you choose to pursue them, is showing respect to the animals. Putting in the time (not to mention money), practicing day in and day out, being as good as you can possibly be with your chosen weapon. Shots like that don't just happen by spinning the turrets and flinging lead. Sure the kid missed the first time, but he's also a 12 year old shooting at his biggest bull. I would have been crapping myself having that bull in my scope at 12. I'll admit that this shot was pushing it a bit, but like I said before... give me a choice of that crew at 1375, or pick a random archery tag holder out of a hat and put that bull at 60, and I'll tell you which one I'm putting my money on... 

[pd]

This entire thread reminds me of a dispiriting conversation that I had with my (life-long hunter) relative, a few years ago.

He was criticizing the type of rifle that other hunters occasionally carry.  You know, the ones that supposedly can hold 30 rounds in the clip.  (Ignore the caliber and actual number of rounds.)

He lost my interest when he said that: "It should be against the law to hunt with anything but a wooden stocked rifle..."

True story.  I wonder if any of you offended hunters agree with this sentiment.

To each his own.  The young man is with his father, and he is apparently a minor.  His father gets to make the judgement call, whatever happens after that is none of your cotton-picking business.

[elkrack]

All I can say is that I was way more excited than that kid when I shot my first elk and it was a cow

[pianoman9701]

Would I do this? No, I couldn't, actually. Would I take a 100-yd shot with my bow? No. Are there people who do these things with regular success? Yes. Who am I to tell another that they must adhere to my standards of hunting? No, I'm not Hunting God, either. Support other hunters even when they do things of which you're incapable.

In this case, do you think they are showing respect for the animal they are "hunting".  Serious question.

Yes, the amount of practice it takes to be able to perform a shot like that shows respect, as opposed to just going out with a computer and no practice and expecting the same result. This specific hunt, I suspect, took not only a great deal of shooting but conditioning, as well. There are thousands of hunters here in WA who don't work that hard to put it together.

[Pegasus]

All I can say is that I was way more excited than that kid when I shot my first elk and it was a cow

The kid probably thinks he is playing video at that distance. No stalk, no sneak, no up close and personal. Just a speck in the dirt on the opposite hill. He was probably surprised when he did not see a score increase in his scope for hitting a target.

[Jonathan_S]

Yeah that kid needs to start shooting an unbraked -06 and missing elk at reasonable ranges like most guys. Also needs to ham it up for the camera or he's not excited enough.

[h20hunter]

Exactly.  Kid needs to take a rushed shot offhand with a point blamk follow up.

Just another example of putting our own ideas of ethics on a perfectly legal and successful hunt. Let's find the video...it's all over of the kid that drills an elk, frontal,  bleeds out, falls om it's face. Kid clearly took a high risk shot in a massively unethical manner and should have his bow confiscated and burned.

[Karl Blanchard]

All I can say is that I was way more excited than that kid when I shot my first elk and it was a cow

The kid probably thinks he is playing video at that distance. No stalk, no sneak, no up close and personal. Just a speck in the dirt on the opposite hill. He was probably surprised when he did not see a score increase in his scope for hitting a target.

thats a pretty bold and frankly absurd comment. Maybe he's just a shy kid  I've mentored a lot of youth hunters over the years and every one of them reacted to death differently. This particular kid was high up in the wyoming mountains. He's high stepping up and down drainage and your you're busting his chops about video games? Poor form sir.


Also, you are a grown man insulting a child on the internet. Let that sink in for a bit    

[10thmountainarcher]

These kind of discussions I feel are extremely detrimental to hunting. We are so quick to judge each other on things based on our own personal feelings. How hard is it to say “you know what I don’t think shooting that far is my cup of tea, but that is an incredible shot.” Instead we get on here and talk about how he missed the first shot, how he wasn’t excited, how it’s not really hunting, etc... Not everyone hunts the same, but as long as it’s legal and ethical, we should really focus on not tearing it down.