after 400 yds, any rifle drops like a rock. ain't no way to escape gravity. you can make 700 yds shots. but you best aim high. i shot at a deer with my .270 4 years ago, just because i knew it was the only shot i would get. he was so far away and running that i elevated and led as far as my scope would allow. hit him in the heart. i was so stunned that he fell over i figured he tripped. went back the next day with a range finder, found my brass and ranged the gutpile. 680+ yds. i know i'll get some flack over it, but i don't care. but i can guarantee that if he would have stood still i'd have never got him. he ran into the bullet, i didn't hit him. my .270 drops like 7 feet or so at that range. even these new huge magnums, like the RUM, drop like crazy after 400 yds. and every yard after that the drop gets more dramatic. at 700 yds they're going almost straight down. just can't get around it. physics just won't allow it. if he got the elk at 700 yds by aiming just over it's back, his rifle was sighted in at least 4' high at 100 yds. or he flinched real bad.