Captdavid, dozens of elk hit with bullets from the .30-30 and .250 Savage to the .340 Wby and .375 have warned me off generalizations about shot reaction. I'm careful with my shots, call them as best I can and immediately try to hit the elk again, no matter how deadly I thought the first bullet. An elk that drops instantly concerns me, because often it is spine-shot. I stay put, ready to fire again. If the shot didn't smash the spinal cord, the elk may recover its feet, at which point you must fire right away or face low odds of recovery. Just my thoughts... WvZ
I thought I posted this, but it's lost.
In my one and only elk hunt, I shot a cull elk cow. She was old and weighed over 400lbs according to the landowner. I was using a 30-06, 165gn Partitions 2850fps.I took a slightly quartering double-lung shot. The distance was around 100yds and she was unaware of me. At the shot she immediately began that shuttling run. She showed no physical sign of being hit. By the time I got over thinking I had missed. At 60yds she began to wobble. At 75yds she was down and obviously dead. Is this reaction, or lack thereof common? Thanks captdavid
