Angus1895,
I have personally seen at least 4 elk shot by myself that were DRT with the double lung shot. The only bones hit were the ribs. I've seen it a lot on deer also.
Also, saddlesore is not talking about a shoulder being half an elk. I believe he is talking about a direct broad side shoulder shot, where the bullet takes out both shoulders as well as damage to the surrounding meat. This shot will lose a significant amount of meat, maybe not an equal half of the elk, but it can amount to a lot.
I also wonder with your 9 inch plate being centered on the shoulder, how tiny of an elk are you shooting that the plate would cover part of the liver, small intesting, or rumen?
