homemade elk target

[elkchaser]

Heres a little project I have been working on.I have a 1000 yard range that im going to put him at. I figured the best way to practice shooting one is to practice on the closest to real thing I can.

I tried to get him as close to life sized as I could. Im going to get all the rough edges worked down and then trace it out on a sheet of marine grade plywood so it will handle the weather better. I still have to cut the vitals out and hang a steel plate in there and then paint him up.

Since I have never seen an elk up close does he look to be about the same size? I know he doesnt have any legs thats going to be taken care of by a stand Im working on. The rzr that hes leaning agaisnt is 9 foot long. How far off the ground is an elk chest? Ive read that they are about 26-28 inches. Does that sound right?

[ORelksniper]

Taken from REMF. Hope this helps some.

Size and Weight of Rocky Mountain Elk
Newborn calf: 35 pounds (16 kg)

Cow: 500 pounds (225 kg) (Tule elk: 300 lbs., Roosevelt’s elk: 600 lbs.)
4 1/2 feet (1.3 m) at the shoulder
6 1/2 feet (2 m) from nose to tail

Bull: 700 pounds (315 kg) (Tule elk: 400 lbs., Roosevelt’s elk: 900 lbs.)
5 feet (1.5 m) at the shoulder
8 feet (2.4 m) from nose to tail

PS isn't that steel plate gonna be hard on arrows?

[elkchaser]

yea it would be! good thing im using a rifle. Im going to keep this cutout as a spare in case one day I want to make one set up for archery.

Im pretty close to the right size. He was about 2-4 inches short from nose to tail of using the entire sheet of underlayment. Now to give him legs to make him the correct height and ill be set.

[Swede]

elkchaser, I do not know how or where you are planning to hunt elk, but even when I was hunting with a rifle, I had more opportunities to shoot elk at less than 100 yards away than over. If you want realism; practice getting off an killing shot at 100 yards in less than 5 seconds, from the time you first see your target.

[elkchaser]

elkchaser, I do not know how or where you are planning to hunt elk, but even when I was hunting with a rifle, I had more opportunities to shoot elk at less than 100 yards away than over. If you want realism; practice getting off an killing shot at 100 yards in less than 5 seconds, from the time you first see your target.

Thats in the plans also. Try different positions and shot angles. Just because i said I have a big range doesnt mean I would take an elk at a great distance. Im thinking 250 yards and under just like I do for deer. I practice at long distances so the closer shots seem easier. Plus building this gives me a reason to get out of the house.

[Swede]

Elkchaser: Your plan makes perfect sense. I thought the 100 yard shot was a part of your quest to approximate "closest to the real thing". I see it was only the elk silhouette you were trying to make real. In that case I just hope you will want everything even bigger for your next target. Best wishes.