To answer your question, a high shoulder shot puts them down without taking a step. Remember that last minute Bull CI?

The only animal I ever shot while laying down was a huge doe that laid down and started shewing it's cud about 40 yards from me. It was standing there and then it was gone, I scoped the area and saw it laying down, all I had was the back of its head and about a foot of neck. I pondered on whether or not to take the shot and since I had a good rest on the rails around my tree stand I decided to shoot it at the base of the skull. At the shot, the doe disappeared, when I walked down it was laying there with it's legs still folded under it. It is the only head shot I ever took and the only deer laying down I ever shot. However, I knew my gun and I had confidence in it.

I do remember it very well. I remember seeing your shot and the animal dropping like a ton of bricks never to move again. Then I remember standing guard over it in the growing darkness with only a fading flashlight and a dull knife to protect me from the wild creatures while your younger legs hiked up to the truck to get pack frames and game bags. Then I remember the quartering and pack out and supper back at the cabin at midnight. Then a short night sleep with an early morning processing job and then a 2100 mile truck ride home. Memories nothing like them.

Ah the good old days!

That sounds like a hunt I'd like to be on.
-Jake

It was one of our better ones with 2 decent bulls and a beast of a muley. To give a little history we were ready to close the cabin and leave for the trip home. We decided to take a quick run over some country that historically had been good for elk at 3pm on our last afternoon. We were packed and as a last minute thing we threw a couple of vests, pack frames and a pocket knife in the truck for the last couple of hours. We spotted a huge herd of elk a couple miles away along a meadow and made a stalk. The two of us in cabin clothes got down to an ambush site and along they came. Rob's well placed shot anchored that bull filling our last tag just as darkness was falling into that valley. Somewhere on here are a few pics of our success as posted by Rob. I can't seem to master the picture part of posting after my desktop computer died.

Thanks for the tip, this is something I will try and aim for in the future, ...Edited by Champlain Islander...