dwood190

I have a Belgium Browning FN High Power (made in 1967)-safari grade-. Im going to Colorado to hunt elk with it... Looking to shoot 400-500 yards. It has a Leupold 2x7 vari-x II scope...... will this work okay?... what grain bullet should i shoot,,, what would be the best brand Bullet?

bigbulls

No offense but if youhave toask if this would be a good choice then you probably shouldn't be taking 500 yard shots at elk.

Can a 30-06 kill elk at 500 yards? ------ All day long.

Can you consistantly get that bullet into the chest of an elk at 500 yards under real world hunting conditions? ------ We don't know. 500 yards is a long shot especially under less than ideal conditions.

Rebel Hog

That's easy, mark off 1500 ft and see what you can do?

Texasimport

I want to see you make that 500 yard shot. . .The gun might be capable but no offense you would be a very rare person to be able to state you can make a clean and proper shot at such a range. . .Take a trip to the range and see if you can even hit the paper more than one time in a row at that range. Then let's move that skill out into the filed and do it again this time with buck fever.

Good luck. . .

Texasimport

Oops. . .part two. . .while the 06 can reach out there a X7 scope will run out of gas at about 150/200yards . . . .I hunted a few seasons with a fixed 7x40 springfield scope. . .nice scope but that target does get pretty small past the ranges I mentioned.

James B

For most hunters 400-500 yard shots are a dream. Don't even think about it unless you have a 500-600 yard range to practice and can hit a 12 inch circle under all wind conditions.

IMO 400 yards is reaching the outside edge of the 30-06 capabilities. Energy is starting to drop off by that time and while a perfect hit at 400-500 yards would probably still kill an elk, you also need to figure on dropping them pretty close to where they are hit or you may well not be able to find them after working your way over there. Maybe you are capable of that kind of shooting but only about one of twenty average shooters could pull that off.

I once had a bunch of guys out for a steel silhouette shoot and I had to set up two 4x8 sheets of plywood at five hundred meters to even see where they were hitting. On the first round of shots nobody came within 30 feet of hitting the Ram. These were guys who thought they knew where their rifle would hit at that range. This was of course before range finders.

Folically Challenged

My $.02...

1) Texasimport is right: 500 yards is a long damned way, and shooting there consistently is tough for the best of marksmen

2) bigbulls is right: a .30-'06 will kill elk at that distance, but you'll need to nail the shot placement. See #1.

3) Texasimport is right, again: a 2-7x scope might be found wanting at that range.

I'm thinking you can get closer than 500 yards, & you should certainly TRY. I don't know what conditions you'll be hunting in, but you might be surprised at close you'll get: after all, many bulls fall to guys with bows every year. I was in BC last Fall, & the guides said there are many shots at 10 to 30 yards in the black timber they've got.

I'd suggest upgrading your scope, if not in magnification, then in quality. I just replaced a VXII with a Zeiss Conquest, and was "wowed" at the difference in brightness & clarity. Given the expense of an elkhunt, & the rarity with which many of us get to try our hands at it, why not put another $300 to $400 in a kick-a$$ scope? You can't hit what you can't see.

As for bullets, I'd go 165 grains to 180 grains, with the latter being preferrable. Premium makes are what you want, such as NP, Scirocco, Accubond, TBBC, Interbond, Barnes, etc. Get out to the range now, find out which ones your rifle likes best, then get lots of practice with those.

Good Luck,

FC

Colorado Bob

A 30/06 with a Leupold VarX-III 2.5 x 8 is my rifle. It's taken quite a few elk over the past 25 years. Your set-up is just fine. I think your a little off in your range. About 300 yards is my max & is a rough rule of thumb for most big game hunting. As far as bullets. The Federal Premium line is good----180 grain Nolser Partition is always a good choice. Most rifles I know with group them pretty well. CB

Rebel Hog

I wasn't saying it was easy to killat that distance, I was telling dwood190that it was easy to find out if he can do it consistantly, mark off 1500 ft and see what he can do?

I surely wouldn't come on here and ask for opinions if I could do it or not!

npaden

When I was deciding between a .30-06 and a 7 Rem Mag the only factory Ammo I found that I thought would be a good fit for Elk with the .30-06 was the Federal 180 gr Nosler Accubond. I ended up going with the 7 Rem Mag because there were several bullet choices that I felt would be effective on Elk with it so I have a better chance at matching up the ammo that my gun likes to eat the best.