spaniel

Well, we got to Montana early the first day so I did take the Omega X7 out with us. Since the tag was $600 and it was my first elk/muley hunt ever I was not willing to go in with only the ML. The hike was hard enough that I decided I could not take the ML in when we were going in 8 miles over a high pass after bull elk, but would take it on the last day if I failed to get a bull and went after a cow in easier country. This was a true back country hunt; we were the only people going back that far without horses and we never saw another hunter the whole trip once we crossed the pass to the back country.

I wish I could say how the 300gr Shockwaves worked but the 200gr Accubonds out of my 300WM did all the work. The last day after a bull, after not seeing many muleys either, I decided to take this muley buck at 438 yards. A few hours later we found a bull still bugling in the late season, and I took him at 683 yards. I could have gotten a monster muley if I'd have held out but one never knows so I'm very happy with my hunt. If I draw a tag again next year we plan to have horses pack our camp into the back country and go from there; in that case I will take the ML to hunt the dark timber (the day before we'd called a bull within 100 yds but he would not come out of the timber and I never got a shot).

sabotloader

spaniel

Congratulationson an excellent & successful hunt... those are really nice looking animals...

At those rangesthey must have been awesome shots. It would have fun just to be there and watch... Ya, and does seem that those ranges were outside the capabilities of the X7....

cayugad

Great animals.. it must have been fun packing them all the way back out of there.. That was some long range shooting you pulled off..

spaniel

There was more than a week of rifle season open before we went in....the elk were spooky and the easy bulls already dead. This guy was shot within sight of where guys were camped after packing in on horses opening weekend.

I'm not the type to set up long shots on purpose, we were within probably 100 yds of the same bull the day before and I'd have been just as happy to shoot him there. But on the hunt of a lifetime you want to be prepared for anything! I neglected my poor favorite ML all summer to prep for those long shots with the 300 WM. Drops, wind drift values, compensating for the angle, altitude, etc etc.

It was VERY cool to watch. It was so long and quiet that you could hear the bullet going downrange, and we heard two of the hits clearly. It happened too quick to get the video camera out and it didn't have to zoom for the task anyways.

We packed out the head, tenderloins, and backstraps that night. Two days later we went back and dragged the quarters to the trail, and paid a couple guys on horses $50 and a bottle of liquor to pick them up for us as they hunted through. Money well spent!!

Still haven't killed anything with the X7, need to fix that!!

I made my favorite ML feel better today, I took it out to sight in for next weekend's Indiana deer season opener. I fired one shot at 100 yds, bullseye. Fired another at 300 yds, 3/4 inch to the left. Done! When the cheap Barska tactical I put on it last year craps out I need to poney up for the good tactical that rifle has earned...

sabotloader

spaniel

Will you have enough energy @ 300 with that ML to make a humane harvest? I have never ran ballistics to 300 @ 200 I am down to 1100#'s with a 300 grain bullet

bronko22000

Congrats Spaniel on a sucessful hunt. By the way that was pretty good shootin to hit that bull square in the nose at 683 yds....
At those yardages (438 and 683) you have to hold over a tad with the ML. You better not go braggin too much in here about using the 300WM. The Black Powder gods may pee in ur powder flask.

martin.8

Congratulations. Impressive long range shooting

spaniel

I could not read the wind through the valley in front of us and was getting a bit more drift than I thought. I hit him twice but did not quite catch a lung as a result, then he turned and with the angle I hit the nose. My spotter saw the dirt on that hit though and I immediately corrected and put the last one through the lungs.

spaniel

I joined the forum last season as some were discussing the doe I shot at 338 yards last year. I wish I could show the bullet to demonstrate how much energy was left for expansion, but darned if I wasn't still getting a pass-thru at that range (no shoulder though). She was DRT.

I believe in real life over calculations, but the calculations have me sufficiently skeptical that I am unlikely to try anything further!

The calculations also say my .40SW Glock is way below the limit, but I have finished numerous deer with it and it has yet not to pass thru with hollowpoints. Even my cap-and-ball will go through, but like the Glock there is no shock damage. If we're talking the same 800 ft lb figure I've heard thrown around, I do believe that it takes about that to get real shock transfer on a game animal. However you will still get a wound channel with less than that, and we all know what an arrow can do with a wound channel. A .40cal hole through the lungs is quickly lethal.