Elkaddict
Well-Known Member
My son and I just finished hunting Colorado’s second season (this was in Garfield county). We were hunting with an outfitter I’ve known for 4 years but had never hunted with. First two days were cold with significant wind and single digit lows. In addition, visibility was poor to non existent. While we saw elk and deer each day, visibility was impacting our ability to spot and stalk. In the afternoon of the second day, I spotted a pair of bulls and directed my son and the guide into position to ambush the bulls near water. After a number of shots, the bull was down. Two shots from a 30-06 shooting 165 Accubonds anchored the bull at about 175 yds.
The guide made quick work of quartering the bull and he and my son used pack frames to get the quarters to the truck where the rifle was left. As they were hauling out the hind quarters, my son spotted a large buck a couple hundred yards on the the other side of the truck. They ran to the truck with the quarters and exchanged them for a rifle and shooting sticks. By this time, the buck had realized something was up and was moving down the ridge. After another sprint as the buck went into some thick brush, they closed the distance to 250yds. They found the buck visible in a hole in the thick oaks, and my boy took a shot. The buck hunched up and disappeared in the thick brush. At this point, there had been no opportunity to judge the deer….
After a brief search, they found the buck which had gone 60yds with both shoulders broken. When they reached the buck, they were stunned at what they found. The buck was was very heavy with deep forks and treme eyeguards. At camp that night, it was rough scored at just over 198”. Even today, I’m not sure my son realizes what he has accomplished.
The Tikka T3X shooting 165g Accubonds at 2830fps performed as expected. The bullets from the elk were found just under the skin on the opposite shoulder. The single shot on the deer exited and the performance was great.
The guide made quick work of quartering the bull and he and my son used pack frames to get the quarters to the truck where the rifle was left. As they were hauling out the hind quarters, my son spotted a large buck a couple hundred yards on the the other side of the truck. They ran to the truck with the quarters and exchanged them for a rifle and shooting sticks. By this time, the buck had realized something was up and was moving down the ridge. After another sprint as the buck went into some thick brush, they closed the distance to 250yds. They found the buck visible in a hole in the thick oaks, and my boy took a shot. The buck hunched up and disappeared in the thick brush. At this point, there had been no opportunity to judge the deer….
After a brief search, they found the buck which had gone 60yds with both shoulders broken. When they reached the buck, they were stunned at what they found. The buck was was very heavy with deep forks and treme eyeguards. At camp that night, it was rough scored at just over 198”. Even today, I’m not sure my son realizes what he has accomplished.
The Tikka T3X shooting 165g Accubonds at 2830fps performed as expected. The bullets from the elk were found just under the skin on the opposite shoulder. The single shot on the deer exited and the performance was great.
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