I better add a little to my post, as I don't want anyone thinking I just shoot at anything from any distance. For me to shoot the elk I got this year, everything was perfect, or I wouldn't have even considered it. Virtually no wind, VERY open area with no chance of catching a branch/bush/etc., she stood exactly broadside on a cross trail, and most importantly, she stood there long enough for me to use my range finder, knowing she stood EXACTLY 42 yards.

If any of those factors were different, I would have passed it up in a heartbeat. You must also realize that the kill zone on an elk is much larger than a whitetail...my cow was a biggin' at about 800 on the hoof.

When I was in Iowa/South Dakota growing up, I rarely took a whitetail at over 15 yards. Most of that was due to plenty of scouting and placing my treestand very strategically. As far as I'm concerned, if you are treestand hunting and you are shooting outside of about 20 yards, you didn't do your homework.

Just my $.02