Necessary Accuracy for Elk

[Ryan28]

What kind of accuracy do you recommend for Elk ?
Right now, 200 yards, I'm about the size of a dollar bill. I can't get it any tighter. The windage is actually pretty good. But the elevation changes is about 6".

I'm zoomed in 16x on the scope. This is from a bench, so I figured I'd be good with elevation.

The question is, how much accuracy do you need for elk?.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

Are you shooting factory loads? A dollar Bill so roughly 6” at 200 yards? With a bench and rest and everything? I’d try different rounds personally. 6” at 200 could be 12” at 400. I mean it’s not terrible, how does your gun group at 50 yards? If your gun ammo combo can’t hold a quarter at 50 yards with a bench and rest I’d start trying different ammo


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[Moneyball]

Tough question.

More than likely, most if not all folks will not be able to shoot as accurately in a hunting scenario as they can off of a bench. As the conditions for accuracy diminish the distance to comfortably shoot should shorten. Only you can be the judge of where your comfort level is.

Get as close as you can, if you feel good about it, take the shot. If you don’t, don’t.

Best of luck.

-$


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[Salmonchaser]

Well one MOA is certainly accurate enough for four hundred yards and in. Don’t think you are there yet. Check all your screws, consider having someone else shoot the rifle, at this point I’ve an awful lot of questions. I’m certain those will be asked in the next couple of minutes.

 

[cnelk]

1" per 10yds - but Im an archery elk hunter

 

[Laramie]

Old school rule of thumb is only shoot as far as you can consistently place bullets in a pie plate. If you take responsible broadside shots, that will work. Since it is the offseason and you have time, work on your shooting form to improve. If you are shooting a premium factory load (which you should for elk), the ammo isn't likely to blame for that large of group. Most shooters with a little work can shoot a 3 shot group into a baseball at 200. Here are a couple of resources. First one is painfully simple but helpful for some.

Rifle-Firing Techniques: Practicing the Five Fundamentals

www.hunter-ed.com

Shooting Tips: Rifle Skills That Will Make You a Better Hunter

It's the time to elevate your skills for next hunting season. We reached out to two authorities to assemble this guide. Both are accomplished hunters, shooters, and competitors.

www.outdoorlife.com

7 Tips To Improve Your Rifle Shooting Accuracy - The Truth About Guns

Want to improve your rifle accuracy? It's a good chance the problem isn't the gun or your optics. Here are 7 tips to improve your long-range shooting...

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

 

[Beendare]

Effective distance is different for everyone.

The experienced guys will all tell you-and its true;

Your effective range drops drastically in actual field conditions....vs shooting on the range in perfect conditions with all of the time in the world to shoot. Its the same with bowhunting.

I can give you the most recent real world example; I was guiding a rifle hunter in AZ Elk. In camp shooting prone with a bad jazz custom rifle/Nightforce scope he was dialing in good groups out at 600 yds...the guy was money, and amazing shot.

He missed a bull at 240 on his first shot.

I was bowhunting with the IBO world champ one year....and he completely missed a shot at an elk at 27 yds +/-. This is a guy that drills a 50 cent piece on an unmarked 3D range out to 50 yds every time!

Not to knock these guys, I've done it myself overestimating my effective range.....its always less in actual hunting scenarios.........and much less in stressful 'gotta make a quick shot NOW' conditions

 

[journeyman713]

Sounds like you are good at 200yds. Capable distance is different for everyone though.
The question is, do you know the distance at which crosses over to an unethical shot for you?

 

[MThuntr]

6" at 200yards off the bench is a no go for me because say you impart error (hear rate, heavy breathing, etc) in the field then that could double.

Spend some time to find the issue then fix it OR toss the rifle and get one. Vertical stringing is indicative of poor eye alignment (scope is mounted too high or low), poor shouldering/gun control, possibly stock binding in the rest, rest wobble, hot barrel, heavy breathing, inconsistent ammo, bad trigger...the list continues so the fix could be cheap or expensive.

 

[Dos Perros]

I had a MOA'ish rifle and first opportunity at a cow at 350 yards I held over shooting seated with rifle over a tripod. Put two bullets right in the zone, missed clean with one, and hit her in the rear quarter with another. So, clearly, my shooting ability in that setup contributed variation than the rifle & load combo did. Had a similar result on a mule deer at 315 yards. Killed them both right there but I expect better. I just need to spend more time shooting in real life hunting situations instead of a nice bench and bags. All that to say while I would spend more time getting a better load, I'd spend even more time practicing.

 

[AaronMColeman]

Here's my rule of thumb...whatever you can do at the range is half what you can do in the field (it's science or something).

To be honest, I have not shot a modern rifle (choose any you'd like), with modern half way decent hunting factory ammo (corlok included) that grouped any worse than 1.5moa when I did my part behind that gun. That means 3" groups at 200y, and something around 5" groups at 300y, and still in the pie plate at 400y. Double that and you'd be fine shooting an elk.

That said, if your groups are opening up that much, I don't mean to be a jerk, but in my experience it's user error (or rifle set up poorly). Good news is, that can be corrected easily...but it takes a lot of range time and shooting from various positions. I can hit a 6" plate off-hand every time at 150y and sub-moa at pretty much any distance inside 600y. I missed an antelope (missed antelope twice) last year under 150y from a very good prone position...I couldn't tell you what went wrong but that's the field vs the bench. Again, not to be a jerk, but more range time will tighten things up. I highly doubt it's the rifle and ammo, unless you have a messed up scope, rings, screws, loose rings etc.

 

[CAElkhunter]

6 " off a bench at 200 yds means unless you practice shooting off shooting stix, tripod, or your knees and can group that your rifle is not
a 200 yd field gun on elk. Bench is for zeroing rifle not judging how far you can shoot in the field.
You should be able to shoot 6 " groups in field conditions at 200 or don't try that shot.

 

[SDHNTR]

Keep trying. How many different ammo types have you tried. Your rifle might just not like that ammo. Also study up on shooting form. Peeking at the shot can cause vertical stringing. As can heat. Let the gun cool way down between shots.

 

[CAElkhunter]

good point above. Shoot 3 shots. Let gun cool. Shoot 3 more. A hot barrel will open up the group.

I still say you need to shoot in "Field positions" to determine your real accuracy for Elk.

My buddy shot 11 times at an Elk this year at 400 yds. He ended up killing it but I told him he kept
missing because he didn't let the barrel cool...Ha ha......

 

[DawnPatrol]

You can miss your point of aim by 6 inches on a good broadside shot and still likely kill the elk. BUT you will not shoot as well in the field as you do from the bench. So practice shooting off a pack, the ground, prone, kneeling, in the rain, after doing jumping jacks etc. and see what your groups look like at 50, 100, 200, 300 yards. Then just don't take shots further than you can make. Embrace the stalk--it's the best part of the hunt.

As others have said, your group size at 200 yards suggests an underlying issue with the rifle, the ammo, and/or the shooter. No disrespect intended; I'm not a great rifle shot by any means, so I'm not qualified to diagnose what's going there.

 

[Seamaster]

I have seen a few guys have vertical problems from the bench when they are shooting hunting type rifles with a bit of recoil. Most of them were not holding the rifle in a way that would inhibit "bag bounce" as they had one hand on the rear bag and the other working the trigger. That is a good way to shoot the varmint rifles and the target rifles, but a light weight sporter may need a hand on the forearm (not the barrel) or on the top of the scope.
If your form is good, and the rifle does not have a bedding problem, most rilfes are roughly the same with both horizontal and vertical at short ranges.

 

[Texasbuckeye]

I always try to get my Rifle dialed as much as possible on the bench so i know when i get to real world shooting/hunting is all on me.

6 inches at 200 is not anywhere close to what i demand out of my systems. If i am
Not MOA then i am looking for the cause.
I would bet you have some loose screws somewhere or your form is just not good.

when it comes to hunting rifles, i expect my shots to he ethical kill shots, and with 6” at 200 off the bench, there is no expectation of that with your system.

i am not trying to sound oreachy or holier than thou, but you “should” be able to do much better. Something isnt right, whether its the rifle, the ammo, or the shooter. Dont settle for “ok” when any factory rifle out there can shoot so much better. You owe the animal better.

 

[Crowmangler]

Before I burned any additional powder I'd make sure I had a quality scope (and don't skimp on the rings). Take it to a gunsmith & let him inspect everything. Let him reinstall the rings & scope making sure your eye relief is correct & all screws are correct torque, loctite on the threads, etc.
I want to start with the baseline of knowing that all components are exactly right.
Let another person shoot it as well to see if they have the same results.
If it still underperforms then switch out the scope or rifle (or both).
Get it dialed in on the bench to gain confidence in the gun. Then practice real world shooting situations off your pack, shooting sticks, rocks, trees, prone, etc. to gain confidence in your abilities.
Practice with a 22LR to sharpen your skills without the recoil & expense.

 

[BigAntlerGetter]

I don’t care if this offends anyone on here but anyone who says well you have an 18” target and long as you can hit within that area ur good... NO you need to be able to shoot your rifle from ANY position at the distance you are comfortable with and hit well. The hole well I can hit the metal target at 500 yards 2 of 3 times so I can shoot that far is wrong. You need to practice grouping your shots.
Before my guided clients come in I ask their “comfortable” distance, and then ask what their grouping is at that distance... if they say 3” at 250 yards that’s awesome until they say using my lead sled. So how far can you shoot using a tree to rest on, bipods, off a pack, on your knee. If they say I’ve never tried it we go to the range. You also need to jump up do 30 jumping jacks then try to shoot.

You as a sportsman owe it to the animal to make clean ethical shots, if you cannot Group ur shots relatively well, and take 3 shots you could hit lung, gut, and front quarter. I don’t take shots over 300 yards unless I can put 3 shots into a 6” plate from the given shooting position. I know my limits with my rifle from each shooting position, the steadier the position the further I can shoot. Standing no rest I limit to 100 yards.


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[87TT]

Stick to what range you can accurately shoot offhand standing up. Hard to say what your problem is but elk or any animal deserves a clean shot. I can't remember the last time I shot an animal from a rest. I rarely shoot over a hundred to two hundred. Off the bench (used to check my rifle) I do much better. Don't out shoot your ability.