I'm glad I'm in the other 5%. If what you say is true, I feel sorry for the other 95%. However, I think you are short changing a lot of guys on here and trying to put them in the category that you fit in. Long shots in Colorado are very common. I don't usually take them but I will with the right weapon in my hand. I turned down a 385 yard shot on a nice elk this year because I was shooting a 30.06 that I had only practiced out to 250 yards with. I wouldn't hesitate to take that shot with my 300 Ultra mag.

My buddy was just here a few minutes ago, trading me a shotgun for my old bow. He was telling me how his wife shot her elk this year with a .270. Her shot placement was perfect. No exit wound. No blood trail. (fresh snow) The elk lived for 15 minutes before it expired. She decided that she wants to get a 30.06 for next years hunt.

If you want to hunt with the minimum caliber to do the job, I hope you are patient and really do wait for the right shot. There is a reason the DOW places minimum calibers on big game animals. They know if they didn't some A-hole would be hunting eik with a 22.250 and telling all of his friends how his grandpa had killed hundreds of elk with a 22lr.