The herds streamed across the ridge opposite us, disappearing into and popping out of draws and thickets, heading for dense cover higher up the mountain just below snowline. Prospecting with a sharp pair of 8X Leica binoculars, I spotted a big bunch much lower out in the sage. Then another milling in a cut wheat field at least two miles away. When I pointed them out, Kevin said "I got mine out there," pointing even farther southwest.

Ignoring the distant and off-limits herds for the moment, Jim led us along the rim of a high plateau, north toward high country, wending through dwarf oaks and chokecherries. The moist ground was pocked by elk tracks and littered with pellets.

We rounded a ledge and there appeared yet another collection of yellow elk rumps. We crouched and crept forward on hands and knees, wriggling into glassing positions. Cow, cow, spike, cow, two-point. More cows. No big bulls--except for a heavily antlered 5x5 bugling across the canyon, out of reach.

Seeing no opportunities for moving beyond our small herd of cows and young bulls without spooking them, we backed off and returned to the truck on trails churned to mud by hundreds of migrating elk.

According to Dick Dodd, manager of Elkhorn Outfitters near Craig, Colorado, the wapiti pour out of the high mountains north of town with the first substantial snow to stream across dozens of low ridges, valleys and canyons leading down to the Yampa River where they winter on sage grasslands and crop fields.

The forage is so good en route that they roam open country for days, sometimes weeks, slowly moving farther south and west, raising the ire of ranchers hoping to feed livestock on the grass and winter wheat the elk are gobbling up.

Dick said Colorado Division of Wildlife biologists have measured the carrying capacity in his area at approximately 12,000 elk. At last count the herd numbered over 25,000, more than enough to damage not only lowland crops but also summer habitats high in national forests.

Despite healthy black bear numbers and a large cougar population, human hunting remains the only viable way to achieve a significant reduction in elk numbers, but accommodating thousands of hunters on private ranchlands has traditionally been difficult. Many ranchers hunt, and most welcome family and friends, but few are willing to entertain the crowds needed to achieve a significant reduction in the huge herds. Just responding to requests for hunting permission would become a full-time job.

How Does The .325 WSM Stack Up?
Most elk hunters know you need a hard-hitting, deeply penetrating bullet to put these big deer down quickly. For years, .300 magnums shooting 180- to 200-grain bullets have been our most popular elk rounds, but a significant number of hunters like the extra punch of the .338 Win. Mag. and even the .375 H&H. The extra energy of the 250- and 300-grain bullets in these cartridges adds that extra bit of insurance, but you pay for it with extra recoil or extra-heavy rifles. Winchester's efficient new .325 WSM promises the best of both worlds. With 200-grain bullets, it shoots as flat as the .300 Win. Mag. and hits slightly harder than the .338 with less recoil. Felt recoil is subjective, but when I subjected my shoulder to a half-dozen rounds of .325 WSM 200-grain Accubonds off the bench, I didn't think the M70 kicked any more than a .300 Win. Mag. in a similar-weight rifle. My hunting partners judged it about the same. The table below lists actual recoil (not perceived) with a 200-grain bullet at maximum velocity in an eight-pound rifle. Velocities in fps; energies in ft.-lbs.
CALIBER		MUZZLE VELOCITY	RECOIL ENERGY	RECOIL VELOCITY
.300 Win. Mag.		2,860	34	16.5
.325 WSM		2,960	32	16
.338 Win. Mag		2,960	35	17
The difference is due to the lighter powder charge in the more efficient short magnum case, about 10 grains less than in the longer magnums. Here are downrange trajectory/energy figures for the same bullets with 250-yard zero. Ranges in yards, trajectory in inches.
	100	200	300	400
.300 WIN. MAG
Trajectory	2.9	2.3	-3.8	-16.6
Energy	3,162	2,742	2,366	2,032
.325 WSM
Trajectory	2.7	2.2	-3.7	-16.0
Energy	3,332	2,840	2,408
.338 WIN. MAG
Trajectory	2.7	2.2	-3.7	-16.0
Energy	3,316	2,814	2,373	1,988
You can shoot 180-grain bullets in the .300 or .325 and gain flatter trajectory and less recoil at the cost of downrange energy, or you can shoot heavier bullets in the .325 and .338 and lose trajectory but gain energy and recoil. As I see it, any of these rounds with a good controlled-expansion bullet carries more than enough punch for North America's biggest game. The .325 WSM just does it with slightly less recoil while burning slightly less powder. Some might appreciate the potentially lighter, shorter, faster-handling rifles that can be built around the .325 case. If you already own one of the other mags, you won't gain anything significant with a .325, but if you're looking for something in this class, the .325 WSM might be perfect.

Enter Colorado's Ranching for Wildlife Program (see accompanying sidebar), which gives large, private landowners a certain number of big game permits to sell in exchange for improving or protecting wildlife habitat and allowing free access to a certain number of "do-it-yourself" hunters who draw permits through the regular state lottery.