I think that sometimes an elk will go into shock with the 1st shot and is unable to react to the later ones. I once shot a bull 4 times in the chest with a 270. He just stood there for an abnormally long time. The lungs were literally jello and the far shoulder was broken. Every shot killed him, but his nervous system just didn't let him react.

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”
― George Orwell

It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.