American Hunter – August 2019

and if he does his part. After measuring

the precise distance with the Geovid, it

was a simple matter to dial up the reticle

of the Leica Magnus i 2.4X-16X-56mm

scope atop the rifle. The two Leica instru-

ments are designed, after all, to work in

concert. After doing a little math, all I had

to do was focus, breathe and squeeze.

It was all going swimmingly ... until

Fred and Neil got to talking and decided

this bull dead on the ground before

us was not the one they were watch-

ing through their binoculars—that it,

indeed, was not the herd bull.

“You’re kidding,” I said, expecting

them to admit they were joking.

Nope, they weren’t. I was embarrassed

... momentarily. This was the second

head of game in the last few years I’d mis-

identified. Neither hunt had ended badly,

but still ... a fella likes to think he can

follow instructions. The best I can figure

is in the early-morning light I’d become

confused and entranced by a really nice

pair of antlers. I thought I was looking at

the herd bull, a nice 5x5, but in fact I was

looking at another 5x5.

But I didn’t really care. It didn’t really

matter. I shot a great bull. I did so with a

brand-new cartridge. I used some whiz-

bang optics. True, none of the equipment

helped me shoot the right bull, but it did

help me to ably deliver a lethal blow.

Besides, it’d been a couple of years since

I’d taken an elk, and I wanted meat for the

freezer. Now I had it.

I like elk hunting too much to fret over

human error. I like everything about it. The

sights, sounds and smells, the weather, the

landscapes, the flora and fauna—they all

add up to a positive experience, even when

things don’t go according to plan. ah

Photos: Author

The Hornady 212-grain ELD-X was pro-

pelled by the .300 PRC rifle to about

2900 fps. At 479 yards, the bullet deliv-

ered about 2,400 ft.-lbs. energy.