2016 Idaho Rifle Elk Hunt

This video is the story of my 2016 Rifle Elk Hunt. I only hunt DIY on public land in Idaho.

Before you decide to comment "Nice gut shots", please read: I wanted to include a little additional information about the harvest of this bull. I was using a custom built titanium and carbon .300 Remington Ultra Mag, shooting Berger 215gr Hybrids at 3030fps. I try to practice as much as I can in the off season. I shoot 300-400 rounds per year with my hunting rifle and I regularly shoot out to 1000 yards. I was confident in the shots I took on these animals in the film. That being said, as much as anyone practices, there's always going to be extraneous factors in hunting. The terrain was steep and difficult to get a good prone shot on the first bull. I made a critical error by shooting off the tree stump instead of proning out, and in doing so, the inconsistent recoil delivered a high impact. The G7 rangefinder did its job. The elevation dialed was perfect, but the shooter was not.

If you thought I shot high on the bull I harvested, look again. My spotter kept saying that I was hitting him high, but he also told me the second shot hit him in the head. :) I don't fault him for the call, he did the best that he could. He is inexperienced and was obviously not making correct shot calls. I shot 4 times at 565 yards, all of which hit the bull dead center as far as elevation. The wind call wasn't enough on the first three shots. All three of those impacts were within 4" of each other. Right before the 4th shot I realized the wind was gusting hard and held 3MOA left and hit him right in the heart. If u look at minute 6:48 of the video I stick my finger in the entry hole.

I knew I would be subject to criticism for posting this video. It doesn't offend me. What offends me is when people make hunting videos and edit out all of their mistakes, missed shots, trips, falls, bloody hands, and unfilled tags to make it look like things went much smoother than they really did. It's hunting! There's no such thing as a "Pro", just people with more experiences. Hunting is raw, emotional, and exciting. People make mistakes and even with years of training and practice the elements work against you and the worst usually happens. We just try to do the very best that we know how at the time and continually develop our skills. Thanks for watching and commenting, I appreciate the feedback. Enjoy!